Spirit of God 1 Cor. 2.14 There is a Divine quickness and sagacity that springs up in a purified Soul whereby it readily apprehends and has a Vital Sense of Heavenly and Divine Things which they that are sunk and lost in Bodily Lusts and Passions are perfect strangers to And not only Philosophy but Christianity tells us of Two distinct Principles in Man which St. Paul calls by the Name of the inner and outer Man And these Two have their different Motions Tendencies and Designs The outer Man is the Inheritance we derive from Adam which he elsewhere Rom. 6.6 stiles the old Man which is to be Crucified with Christ That the Body of Sin might be destroyed that henceforth we should not serve Sin Now this outer Man or old Adam is only the Corrupt Life of the Body which leads to all manner of Impurity and Vice and is to be Mortified and Destroyed But the inner Man is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Plotinus calls it the true Man whose very Form and Nature consists in pure and unspotted Righteousness and Holiness it is the Image of the Lord from Heaven and as is the Heavenly Adam such are they that are Heavenly Now each of these Two Principles of Life is very diligent and industrious to Diffuse and Propogate it self and therefore is never wanting to offer all fit and insinuating Arguments to promote its own Interest Hence the Apostle St. James Chap. 3.15 tells us of a Wisdom that is Earthly Sensual and Devilish Now this Wisdom is the Genuine Production and true Offspring of the Bodily Life 't is the Thoughts and Projects of the Old Adam and is said to be Earthly because all its Designs and Purposes are laid out and contrived merely for this Earth and World wherein we live And it is Sensual because it studies only for the Gratification of Sense and the Animal or Brutish Life And Devilish being such as only upholds the Devil's Kingdom and promotes his Reign and Empire throughout the World But then he says Verse 17. that there is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Wisdom that descends from above from the Father of Lights and as it derives from Heaven so it is still endeavouring to attract and lift up the Soul thitherward This is that Wisdom which is communicated to the Soul from the Spirit of Christ and being it self so Pure and Holy will not dwell in a Body that is Polluted with all Carnal Excesses and Defilements And if we should look upon the Effects of Sensuality and Debauchery as they are Daily visible before our Eyes we shall find that nothing does more Corrupt and Spoil our Rational Powers There are none that spend their whole Time in Gratifying their Carnal Lusts but their Understandings grow Dull and Heavy and lose their Briskness and Liveliness their Memories are Treacherous and Decayed and their Fansies and Imaginations serve only as a Stage to Represent and Act over again their past Filthiness and Pollutions 3. Without this Purity of Flesh and Spirit there is no Union of our Souls with God Union and Communion with God are the greatest Blessings the Soul of Man can partake of But none can think that God will dwell in a Charnel-house or take up his Habitation among Dead Bones And those that are given up to Bodily Pleasures and drown themselves in Sensual Delights in St. Paul's sense are no better than Dead even while they Live an Earthly Life 1 Tim. 5.6 We Read indeed of Spirits conversing among the Tombs but God will have no Society with the Dead It is the Living alone that praise him and declare his Truth There can be no Intercourse nor Communion between God and such a Man's Soul that has no Life stirring in it but what is the very Life and Nature of the Spirits of Darkness who are the most of all alienated and estranged from him He that is joined unto the Lord is one Spirit saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 6.17 that is there is such an intire Consent and Agreement between such an One and God that he wills nothing and desires nothing but what God wills and desires But there is is no Harmony Consent or Concord between God and that Person that is joined and tied to his Bodily Lusts and Corrupt Affections The pure Virgin-Chastity of the Soul is Violated and Defiled by Prostituting it to the Foul Embraces of Corporeal Pleasures so that it is a kind of Spiritual Fornication or Adultery Now to the intent we may all endeavour to attain this Purity that God requires and which it is our Interest to pursue let us 1. Abstract our Souls as much as we can from Sense and Sensible Delights Pleasures Even a Heathen could say Simpl. in Epictet p. 257. 78. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is That there is nothing more Destructive and Pernicious to the Soul than to give it self up to Bodily Pleasures because they do as it were nail and bind it fast to the Earth that it hath no might nor strength to lift up it self towards Heaven Therefore our Blessed Saviour requiring us to pluck out the Right Eye and cut off the Right Hand would have us do Violence to the Unruly Affections of the Body and bring them low and abate their Power by such a due Moderation that they may never betray us to Act against Reason and Conscience If we would endeavour to set a little loose from our Bodies and withdraw our Hearts from Sensual Pleasures and deny the Cravings of our Carnal Appetites we should not only find a mighty Peace and Satisfaction within our own Breasts but be more fitted to Converse with the God of Purity 2. Let us frequently represent to our selves that pure state of Angels in the upper Regions and that such a state cannot consist with Carnal Impurities Heaven is no Mahumetan Paradise filled with Carnal and Sensual but Divine and Intellectual Joys and Pleasures The time will quickly come when we shall be stript of these Earthly Bodies which we now so fondly Dote upon and Caress and Pamper to the fulfilling all their Impure Lusts And therefore it were our Wisdom to separate and disjoin our Minds from their too near Intimacy and Familiarity with them and to dwell often and much in our Thoughts upon that Future State in which all these Corporeal Pleasures will be at an end Then we should not be so unwilling and uneasie to leave our Bodies but should put them off with a full Assurance that we should not be left Naked but Clothed upon with our House from Heaven 3. Consider how infinitely Bodily Lusts and Affections debase our Souls and render them Brutish Every Christians Body is or ought to be God's Temple wherein he dwells and makes his Residence and it is a great Abuse and Profanation of this his Temple to make it a place for nothing but Carnal Debaucheries and Pollutions and in our Saviour's Language Turning it into a Den of Thieves and which is all one
very sensible that God his Father looked not upon Men as they were high or low in the World but designed equally the Salvation of them all We read in Matth. 8.2 that there came a Leper to Christ If he had come to the Pharisees they would have bidden him stand off because he was Unclean though they never considered the Uncleanness of their own Hearts which made them appear as Deformed and Polluted in God's Eyes as possibly the Leper could be in theirs But Jesus put forth his Hand and touched him He was as willing to Heal him as the poor Leper was to be Cleansed Search but into the Gospel and you shall see such Rays and Beams of Loveliness flow from our Saviour as cannot but possess your Souls with something of that Mild and Amiable Glory He was Courteous and Affable to all and easie to be intreated to any Good Office that lay in his way In Matth. 15.32 it is said That when the Multitude had been long with him and had nothing to Eat Jesus had Compassion on them They were in a Wilderness a place very unfit to procure Food and they had a great way to go and without some Relief might have fainted by the way It is true it was Christ's chief Business to distribute the Bread of Life to their Languishing Souls but he considered likewise the Infirmities of Humane Nature and was willing to sustain their Bodies likewise From whence we see that our Saviour had rather work a Miracle than not be helpful to the Infirmities of Mankind Nay where there was no absolute Necessity but only a matter of Courtesie and Good Nature yet our Lord was willing to shew it As when he turned Water into Wine at the Marriage in Canaa of Galilee All these Actions made his Soul appear with as clear and serene Loveliness as his outward Visage when his Face was Glorious as the Sun in the Day of his Transfiguration But the greatest Sign of a good and excellent Nature was his readiness to pass by Affronts and Disgraces without the least shew of Anger or Impatiency In John 11.8 we read that though the People a little before were ready to stone him yet he goes again to teach and instruct them as if he had clean forgotten the Wrong they intended against him Yea when that Execrable Traytor came by a Treacherous Kiss to betray him into the Hands of his implacable Enemies though he had in the most shameful manner Violated all the Ties of Friendship being one of them that familiarly Eat of his Bread yet he gives him no harsher Language than that of Friend And when he was Mocked and set at Naught by Herod's Men of War he never uttered an Impatient Word nor was ever heard to Revile those that Reviled him Nor was he ever moved with Anger against any unless it were for their obstinate Unbelief How Amiable and Lovely was the Person of our Lord and Saviour How Divine and Godlike was his Carriage The Foundation of all true Friendship lies in Virtue and here we may see Virtue in her most Exalted Lustre all those winning Graces which may Conciliate Friendship Benevolence and Kindness There was nothing that can possibly render any Man Grateful and Acceptable to others but it was found in him He always went about doing Good and like the Sun shedding a Salutary Influence even upon the Unthankful and Evil. If he met with any that were troubled with Bodily Pains and desirous of his Help he gave them Ease if in Doubts and Perplexities he Resolved them shewing to the World that he came to bring Health and Happiness both to Soul and Body As for those black and ill-favoured Passions of Malice and Revenge they never had any place in his Heart which was constantly inflamed with Love whereby he forgot and forgave the Injuries he received When the Samaritans rejected him and would give him no Entertainment his Apostles in their thoughts had already devoted them to Destruction and want only their Master's Permission to call for Fire from Heaven to Consume them Luke 9.54 But Jesus was of a better and milder Temper and tells them That his Business was not to destroy Life but to save it Think with your selves now Was there ever a more Courteous and Obliging Nature in the World than that of Christ Jesus Was the Divinity it self with all its inconceivable Beauty and Glory ever more Conspicuously manifested to Flesh and Blood than in the Person of our Blessed Lord These things were Lovely in him and the Practice of them made him win the Respect and Favour of all Virtuous Persons wherever he came And doubtless the Apostle when he bids us mind things that are Lovely means all these Acts of Love and Benevolence and Philanthropy which we have seen in Christ Jesus 2. The Innocence of our Saviour's Life and Actions As his Converse was Obliging and his Deportment exceeding Courteous so his Life was Innocent and never Blemished with any Sin All his Actions were squared by the most exact Rules and Measures of Virtue For his most implacable Enemies could never Tax him with any Spot in his Life or with any Unrighteous Deed during his whole Abode upon Earth He was indeed the most useful Person that ever Lived in the World For though a Man have never so excellent a Spirit yet if this be wholly shut up within himself it falls short of our Saviour's Pattern And if Self-interest and Self-design be the Motive of Acting whatever proceeds thence loses all its Beauty and Loveliness But the Purity of our Saviour's Soul and the Exaltedness of that Divine Life that was in him made him Sagacious and of a quick Perception between things that were really Lovely and such as were Ugly and Deformed And these Two things rendred our Blessed Lord the most Exact and Compleat Pattern of a Lovely and Excellent Nature that ever appeared upon the Stage of the Earth Now though we have given a General Delineation of what is Lovely from the Life of our Blessed Saviour yet perhaps it may be more easily apprehended if we reduce these General Observations into some more Particular and Distinct Heads He therefore that would do things that are really Lovely and come up as near to the Similitude of the Life of our Holy Lord and Master as he can must Breath nothing but Love and Good-will to the World And 1. He must be of easie Access and ready without any Contempt or Disdain of any Man's Person to afford his Assistance as far as he is able to the Meanest both in Word and Deed according as he shall find their Necessities require Chearfully affording Counsel to the Afflicted and binding up the Broken-Hearted and without any Bitterness or Reproach or Base and Shameful Flattery making his Converse with others Sweet and Delightful 2. He that would do things Lovely must take care even in the Reprehensions and Rebukes of others for what is Amiss that it be done with so
Imprimatur Geo. Royse R. R. in Christo Patri ac Domino Domino Johanni Archiep. Cantuar. a Sacris Domest April 23d 1692. THE EXCELLENCY OF Moral Vertue FROM THE Serious Exhortation of St. Paul to the Practice of it In several Discourses upon Phil. 4.8 To which is added A Discourse of Sincerity FROM JOHN i. 47. By HENRY HALLYWELL Vicar of Cowfold in Sussex LONDON Printed for Iames Adamson at the Angel and Crown in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1692. To the most Reverend Father in God JOHN by the Divine Providence Lord Archbishop of Canterbury Primate of all England and Metropolitan and one of their Majesties most Honourable Privy-Council c. May it please your Grace TO accept of the following Discourses as a Testimony of my Humble Thankfulness for your Grace's Favours towards me The Substance of them was lately delivered to a small Country Auditory into whose Minds I endeavoured to instill a Generous Sense of Virtue being Convinced not only of the Great Vsefulness of such Monitory Exhortations in a Degenerate Age but fully persuaded that if Men Neglect the Sincere Practice of Virtue the Renovation of their Minds into the faultless Image of Jesus will never effectually be carried on I most Humbly Beg your Grace's Pardon for their Imperfections hoping your Grace will not be offended at the Meanness of an Offering which proceeds only from a Desire of doing Good And to Assure your Grace of the Vprightness of my Intentions herein I have added as an Appendix I judged not unsuitable to the foregoing Discourses one likewise of Sincerity in which your Grace will see the high Esteem and Value I have of that Lovely Qualification Now that God would preserve your Grace in Health and Prosperity for the Good and Benefit of this Church and Nation and after you have finished your Course that your Grace may receive a never fading Crown of Glory when the chief Shepherd shall appear is the hearty Prayer of My Lord Your Grace's most Humble and most Affectionate Servant Henry Hallywell Phil. 4.8 Finally Brethren whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest whatsoever things are just whatsoever things are pure whatsoever things are lovely whatsoever things are of good report if there be any Virtue and if there be any Praise think on these things THE true life and spirit of Religion consists not in dry and barren Speculation but in Practice And that we may the better know what is the matter of our Practice the Apostle here instances in divers Moral Duties which frequently occur in the life of Man and indeed seems to resolve all Religion into the serious and hearty Regulation of the Life and Actions according to the Rules and Measures of Virtue And because Morality by some hath been too much slighted and undervalued and a Moral Man looked upon but as a more refined Reprobate or Cast-away I shall endeavour to make good this in the first place That the sincere Practice of Moral Virtue is the Ground work and Foundation of that Life by which we must be saved or That the main and substantial part of Religion consists in the Practice of Moral Virtue For to be a Christian is to be all this that the Apostle mentions to be true in our Words and Promises to be honest in walking answerably to the Dignity of our Natures to be just in our dealings one with another to be pure in our Bodies and Souls and to practise such things as are lovely and of good report amongst the best and wisest Men. And if there were any Pagans that ever attained to this high and excellent pitch they must be reckoned amongst those that were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fitly disposed for the Kingdom of God Luke 9.62 Acts 13.48 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ranked and set in order for Eternal Life And whoever thinks himself to be a Christian without the due observance of these and such like Duties which flow from true and right Reason he has the name indeed but wants the thing it self and does but cheat and deceive himself and will hereafter feel the ill effects of his delusion when he comes into the other World By Morality then I understand all these Virtues the Apostle mentions and whatever else is consonant to true and right Reason and tends to the improving and bettering the Life of Man I do not say that the Practice of these Virtues alone will save a Man because the Gospel is set at something a higher Pitch and requires such a Nature as cannot be attained barely by these But this I say that all these Virtues are the foundation of our Salvation and without the sincere Practice of these we shall never be saved They are as necessary to Salvation as the casting of Corn into the Ground is to the future Harvest And he that is not right in the practice of these let him otherwise never so much applaud himself is so far from being a true Christian that he is but a dissembling Hypocrite both in the sight of God and Man Now that the main of Christian Religion consists in the Practice of Moral-Virtue will appear 1. In that God in the Scriptures seems to set this as the ultimate end and perfection of Religion Micah 6.8 What doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God that is God requires nothing more or greater in comparison of these for otherwise there were other things which God required as immediate parts of his Worship and a Prevarication in which had doubtless been a very great sin but he required the Practice of these Virtues chiefly and in respect of themselves and declares that the doing these things is more grateful to him than a Thousand Sacrifices And Christ himself approved of what the Scribe said Mark 12.33 That to love the Lord with all our heart with all our understanding and with all our Soul and with all our strength and to love our Neighbour as our selves is more than all Burnt-Offerings and Sacrifices For though God had commanded the Daily Sacrifice to be offered yet the practice of Moral Virtue was more pleasing to him this having an inward Goodness and Loveliness in it which the other had not Nay God disdains and reproaches even the Acts of his own Worship when they are performed by Men of unholy Lives and Conversations as we read Isa 1.11 To what purpose is the multitude of your Sacrifices unto me saith the Lord I am full of the Burnt-Offerings of Rams and the fat of fed Beasts and I delight not in the blood of Bullocks or of Lambs or of He-goats Here is a manifest slighting even of those very Acts of Worship which he himself had injoined and what should be the reason that the Lord should abhor his own Offering and not be pleased with what he himself had commanded We find it expressed Verse 15. Your hands are full of Blood They were guilty of open Violations
Here now is that Divine Nature that we are called to partake of and this is the perfect Image and Resemblance of the Divinity that we are to be conformed to and yet these are no other than Moral Vertues and our partaking of the Nature of God is the conformity of our Souls to these and such like Rules of Eternal Reason 3. The Practice of Moral Virtues is so absolutely necessary that without it we can never perform any Christian and Acceptable Service unto God The Ten Commandments must first be kept before we can arrive to that higher measure of Perfection required of us under the Gospel and we must first be good Men before we can be good Christians and none can be good except he be true and faithful and just and honest For what Sign can that Man give that he desires to be like to God in Justice and Equity who never omits any occasion of injuring and defrauding his Neighbour How can he be said to be a Follower of Jesus who went about doing good that will neither afford Relief to the Bodies or Souls of Men God is Love but when Men live in Envy and Hatred and Malice it were strange they should be like to God Suppose any Person should say That he desires and hopes to inherit the pure State of Angels hereafter can we believe this when we see him at the same time pursuing all beastly and sensual Pleasures The Practice of Moral Vertue is a thing that God has put into our Power and he requires that we should be faithful to it because from hence Springs that new Nature which is wrought in us by the overshadowing Power of the Spirit of God There is such a near connection between these Moral Virtues and that Divine Life which Jesus came to plant in our Souls that one cannot be without the other nor can we perform any Service acceptable to God while we either neglect or are false in the Practice of these These are the Arguments which may serve to enforce the serious Practice of Vertue in general upon us and to let us know that the esteem which God hath of us is according to our Growth and Progress in it All other Qualifications are of little or no worth in Comparison of this And if we are defective here though we are otherwise never so gloriously accomplished it will do us no good We may now briefly consider the Incouragements the Apostle gives to the faithful Discharge of these Virtues in general They are these two express'd v. 9. 1. That these things are not new nor strange the Apostle desires nothing but what they had learnt and heard and seen in him If they feared the Truth of what he said they should look on him and see if his Life and Actions were not conformable to his Doctrin Examples are very great Encouragements to a Holy Life and Christians ought not to walk every Man by himself but imitate and stir up and follow one another in the same Course of Holiness That as they offer up the same Common Petitions and Prayers for themselves and all Mankind so they should all strive together and incourage one another in the same way of Virtue that so at last they may all come to the glory and felicity of Jesus who is gone before them 2. He tells them the God of Peace should be with them in so doing The highest Motive and Incentive to the Practice of Holiness and Virtue that can be thought of Though all the World be in a Storm and Confusion about us yet so long as we are Holy and Good that God who Creates an Everlasting Peace for Righteous Men shall be always with us And where he is present there is an Eternal Quietness and Calm God will never forsake his own Life and Nature and Holiness being the very Nature of God he cannot but love and regard it wherever he finds it in any person Though Earthly Parents may forget their Children yet God cannot be unmindful of those that are Good Virtuous and Holy He can never withdraw himself from them but will continually visit them with his Powerful Love He gives them that Peace of Conscience in this Life that the World cannot give and brings them at last to that Land of Peace and Blessedness where there is no Disturbance or Alteration 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Whatsoever things are true The Gospel being given to amend the Manners and reform the Lives of Mankind and to bring into use those Virtues which began to grow out of fashion through the general Wickedness and Corruption of the World the Apostle begins with Truth Whatsoever things are true Now Truth is to be considered 1. As it refers purely to the Understanding 2. As it relates to Practice First in Opinions and in reference to our belief of any Doctrin that is propounded to us and thus 't is opposed to Error or Falshood and Heresie So that when the Apostle injoins us to follow those things that are true he would have us entertain no other Doctrins but such as are purely Christian Now although a good Christian that believes the Scriptures and sincerely endeavours to understand them aright and to lead his Life according to them may be well assured that God will keep him from all Errors that are destructive of his Salvation yet because Error is so various and that there be too many who act the Devil's part and make it their business to delude Harmless and Innocent Persons it will not be amiss to lay down some few Rules whereby we may discern true Doctrins from false and secure our selves in a good measure from being imposed upon For the Scripture being a Book that is not all of the same Nature nor written by one Man in the same Method and Style but is filled in some places with Advices and Counsels to that which is best sometimes with Precepts and Commands and in other places with dark and obscure Prophesies and lastly with the choicest Parts of true Reason and Knowledg though often delivered in somewhat a Mysterious way These things being considered it is impossible that all Men should have the same Thoughts and Apprehensions and conceive of all places in the Scripture after the same way and manner Hence it comes to pass that some Men through weakness and carelesness and others out of design broach many Errors and Falshoods and spread them abroad in the World Therefore if there may be some plain Rules set down which may serve as a Mark to guide us in a doubtful and dangerous way it cannot but be gratefully received by every one that loves Ingenuity and Truth 1. Therefore whatever Doctrin is repugnant and inconsistent with the Goodness Wisdom and Power of God it is to be rejected as an Error For the Goodness Wisdom and Power of God are so manifest in all things and in all places that as no Man can miss of the knowledg of the Being of his Creator so it cannot be a
our selves if we will but when we come into the other World we shall find the great Enquiry there to be whether we have Acted according to the Prescriptions of Virtue or not Hence it is that the Holy Apostle so fervently Exhorts us to the Observance of all Virtue and particularly of that which is Just God has made Man a Reasonable Creature and by this distinguished him from Brutes Now Right Reason is nothing but that Eternal Law which God has Engraven upon every Man's Soul and from this general Law of Reason are derived all Particular Virtues amongst which this of Justice which always supposes some Law to which as to some standing Measure all its Acts must be Reduced and made Conformable For Just in a large sense is no more than Crongruous and Agreeable And there must be something which of necessity must be the Rule and Measure of this Congruity and Agreeableness which can be nothing else but that Nature of Eternal Reason that God hath formed in our Souls Hence it follows that to do that which is Just is to do that which is Agreeable to Eternal and Immutable Reason But the Words of the Apostle here seem a little more restrained and confined and when he says Whatever things are Just it is all one as whatsoever things are Righteous Now Righteousness that respects others and then to be Just is to give every Man his due And that we may know these things the better Christ gives us an Excellent Rule which is indeed the foundation of all Justice and for which the very Heathens Reverenced Christianity Mat. 7.12 Whatever you would that Men should do to you do ye so to them Into this great Principle all Natural Justice and Equity may be resolved Which that we may not abuse by a wrong understanding of our Saviour's meaning as some are too apt to do thereby to palliate excuse or shift off their Sin there are Two things to be considered 1. That it was not Christ's Mind to Confound the different States and Conditions of Men as if by this Law Princes were bound to perform all those Duties back again to their Subjects that their Subjects do to them Or that Masters are bound to Obey their Servants because they would have their Servants Obey them Or that Parents should Reverence their Children because their Children are obliged to Reverence and Honour them For this would destroy all the differences of things and set Princes and People Masters and Servants Parents and Children upon equal terms which it was never Christ's intent to do But only to consider how we would be dealt withal if we were in the place of those we deal with and to Act accordingly 2. Nor did our Saviour intend that this Precept of doing as we would be done by should be enlarged to things Unjust and against the Common and Publick Good of Mankind As for Example Because Men that Violate the Sanctions of Right and Just and break those Laws that are made for the Common Profit of the World would willingly be freed from Punishment that therefore we are bound by this Precept of Christ to deal so with them For this would be to encourage all Wickedness and Impiety and to open a Door to all the Villanies and Enormous Actions the Vilest Wretches can think to commit This were to give a liberty to Wicked Men to Invade that which is anothers and to Countenance Rapine and Fraud by Christ's Law Therefore it is certain that our Saviour who came to discountenance all Vice and to give Men Rules of Holy Living and teach them Justice and Equity never intended his Words should be understood in this Sense But his Words are to be restrained to whatever is Lawful and Right that which is agreeable to the Nature of God who is the highest and most Impartial Justice a Copy of which he has Transcribed and Written in every Man's Soul And so the Command signifies thus much That we never do that to another which if we were in that other Man's place we would clearly and truly suppose to be Injustice and against the Laws of Evident and Right Reason To give a plain instance of this Law If a Man were brought into great Difficulties Straits and Distresses he would willingly be relieved by those that are able to help him therefore now he must do the same to others and be ready to relieve them If a Man would not be Defrauded or Oppressed by another he is bound by our Saviour's Command to bear such an Honest and Just Temper of Mind as not to Defraud and Undermine and Circumvent and Oppress any other You see now by this what the Apostle means by things that are Just viz. That it is to follow that Excellent Precept of our Saviour in which all the Parts of Justice are in a few Words comprized i. e. To do as we would be done by Now you will better understand and peradventure remember this if I shew you in a few particulars what every good Man desires and would have done to him for then you will evidently discern that what you desire to your selves you ought to do to others 1. Every Good Man desires above all things his own Happiness both in this Life and in the next And since he is so willing to have this for himself it is a piece of Christian Justice and Charity that he should stand so affected to all others He would not have any Man disturb the Ease and Comfort and Quiet of his Life here he desires not to be Pained or Grieved or to have his Spirits wasted and consumed with Cares and Miseries Now if we would but be as Just to others as we are to our selves we should not only desire but endeavour to help forward as far as we are able the Happiness of all Mankind We should Comfort those that are cast down and pour in the Oil of Joy and Gladness into the Bones that God has broken we should never behold any Watry Eyes but be ready to dry them up nor find any Aking Heads but endeavour to Bind and Ease them We should never send away any without the real signs of our Charity and Compassion If there be any that desire our Counsel and Advice in weighty and doubtful Affairs any that are wavering and unsettled in Religion that stand in need of and want some Faithful Guide to resolve and settle their Fluctuating Minds All these are Objects to which this great Law of Justice obliges us to afford our best Skill and Assistance because we would desire the same at their Hands if they were in our Circumstances and we in theirs Let those then reflect seriously upon themselves and behold how far they are removed from this great Law of Justice and Charity who take delight in the Miseries of others that are pleased in anothers Ruin and Affliction that have an inward Joy and Contentment as it were when they have Defrauded and Over-reached another And yet their own Hearts
testifie against them that they would not be served so themselves they would not willingly receive such Measure again Is there not all the Reason in the World that Men should abstain from doing that which they are not willing to receive 2. Every Good Man would willingly enjoy so much of this Worlds Goods as may make his passage Comfortable while he is Travelling towards the next And if every Man wish such things to himself in Justice he ought not to Envy them to others much less ought any to hinder or endeavour to frustrate the honest Industry and Diligence of another to support himself in the World And the Reason is because no Man would be Abused so himself And if Men would always in the performance of their Duty to others strive to square their Actions by this Rule the World could not be so over-run with Deceit and Treachery If every one when he is going to hinder the welfare of another or Oppress and Encroach upon his Neighbour would but Ask himself the Question Would I be pleased to be so dealt with by another Or if I might have my own Choice would I not desire to be otherwise used by other Men Why then should I mete that Measure which I cannot endure to receive again This would be the way to free the World from that great Burden of Cruelty and Oppression that it groans under There would not be so many Complaints of Mens hard Usage of one another of their Unmercifulness and those frequent Instances of Rapine and Extortion Moreover every Man does not only wish and desire his own Good but this desire is sincere and accompanied with real Endeavours What a Man does for himself he does it with a real intent to do himself good and with the same Measure ought all others to be Treated Let Love be without Dissimulation says St. Paul Rom. 12.9 Every Man loves himself sincerely and desires that all others should do so too which by way of Justice engages us all to unfeigned Kindness without Hypocrisie Those that the Apostle mentions in James 2.16 that would give good Words to the Poor and Indigent and bid them depart in Peace and be Warmed and Filled but never gave them any thing whereby they should be so they would not have been served so themselves They would have said that Good Words could not Fill a Hungry Belly nor Cloth a Naked Back nor Warm Chill and Benummed Limbs Therefore he is Unjust that uses those very Courses he Complains against 3. Every Man desires that God would Pardon all the Offences done against him and if so then our Saviour's Rule of Justice must take place in reference to others For if we desire that God would remit the Trespasses done against him it were Injustice in us to Treasure up the Wrongs of others against us in order to a Retaliation and Revenge Nay our Blessed Lord is so express in this Duty that he makes it a part of our Prayers to be forgiven no otherwise than we forgive others This would make the World better indeed if all Men were Convinced they ought to walk thus and if upon this Conviction they would sincerely endeavour to manage the Course of their Lives accordingly there would not be so much Hatred and Malice and Revenge and Bitterness in the World as there is But Men's rough and uneven Tempers would be changed and wrought into Mildness and Kindness forgiving one another as God for Christ's sake has forgiven them 4. Every Good Man would have God supply all his Wants and Necessities and therefore in Justice we ought to do the same to others We that must Ask even our Daily Bread at the Bountiful Hands of God must remember that there is a piece of Justice due to others Whether it be to supply the Bodily Wants and Necessities of any one or whether it be to Comfort a troubled Spirit and Cheer up a drooping Soul or whether it be to defend the Cause of such as are injuriously Wronged and Oppressed All these are parts of Justice that we owe to others forasmuch as we would have them deal in that fair manner with us With what Measure ye mete it shall be Measured to you said our Saviour i. e. you cannot but expect that God and Man should deal with you as you deal with others You see now by these particular Instances which are all included in that general Precept before mentioned of our Blessed Lord how Comprehensive this Virtue of Justice is And I have the rather made choice of them for their plainness-sake and the general Influence they have upon all the Actions of our Lives and also because Justice seems to bear a part and to be interwoven into the Frame and Nature of all other Virtues and from the distinct Consideration of other particular Virtues the several Offices of Justice may be taken For as Justice respects God it is Piety as it relates to Men it may be termed Probity and because Mercy and Kindness and Good-Nature are due to their respective Objects so far forth they are comprehended under Justice and involved in that Golden Rule given by Christ It remains now that we briefly prosecute such Inferences as may naturally flow from the Apostles Exhortation to such things as are Just 1. This Teaches us that Just Right are not Arbitrarious and Factitious things and Changeable by Will and Pleasure They are not things that are merely made so by Law for then it would be in the Power of Men to turn the greatest Villanies into the most Consummate Virtues and Consecrate Wickedness by the Sanction of a Law Indeed Plato as he is Cited by that Excellently Learned Person Dr. Cudworth represents the Old Atheistick Hypothesis something after this manner Intellectual System l. 1. c. 5. p. 892. That every Man has an infinite Right to all things and that whatever his Sensual Appetite desires though it be the Murder of another Person he has a Right to do it yet because it is impossible that all Men should have Dominion and every Man having a Natural Right or Jus ad omnia it so came to pass that after Men had been a good while Cutting and Slashing and Justling against one another the State of Nature being a State of War against all they became at length weary hereof and therefore compounding the business amongst themselves they agreed together by Pacts and Covenants neither to do nor suffer Injury but to submit to Rules of Equality and make Laws by Compact in order to their Peaceable Cohabitation they calling that which was required in those Laws by the Name of Just Here we have the Sum of the Atheistick Ethicks whose Foundation is laid as the forecited Author observes in the Villanizing of Humane Nature as that which has not the least Seeds of Equity and Philanthropy Charity or Benevolence but what arises from mere Fear Imbecillity and Indigency No Care and Concern for Publick and Common Good but tends directly
a Receptacle for those Unclean Spirits which sollicit Men to all Impurities Therefore let every Man reflect with himself that he has a Soul that was made in the Image of God and that Christ came into the World to renew in it his Holy and Pure Image and therefore that he ought not to turn himself into a Beast by Drunkenness Debauchery and Lasciviousness For how unreasonable a thing is it that any Man should thus fall from the Excellency of his Nature which is fitted to Converse with God by Associating himself only with his Brutish part that he should so far derogate from his Native Glory that whereas he was first made in Honour he should be only now fit to be compared with the Beasts that perish 4. Lastly Consider that this is the Field of Virtue and herein lies true Fortitude and Courage in over-coming all the Deceitful Allurements and Inescations of Flesh and Blood This is the Province which God has given every Man to undertake and wherein he who is the first and the last if we be not Faithless and Hypocritical will undoubtedly give us a compleat Victory and Conquest Here lies the Gallantry of a Noble Mind which scorns to be enfeebled with Flesh and Blood but soars aloft and is impatient till it attain its Crown of Glory For certainly 't is the inordinacy of our Corporeal Affections that Effeminates our Spirits and makes them so nice and tender as not to endure or undergo any thing for the sake of God and Virtue 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Whatsoever things are lovely After the Apostle's Exhortation to things pure he proceeds to things that are lovely For unless our Minds are first purified from all Earthly and Sensual Drugs we are in no fit disposition to discern Intellectual Loveliness and Beauty Whatsoever things are lovely that is Attractive and Desirable such as carry an inward Beauty in them and are suited and accommodated to win Favour and Friendship and by their obliging Sweetness bind as it were the Minds of others to us For as there is an Inward and Natural Deformity in all Vitious Actions so there is a Natural Pulchritude in those that are Virtuous Which Beauty and Loveliness wherever it may be scattered and in whatever subject it may reside is only a Ray or Emanation from God who is the Original Fountain of all Pulchritude and Beauty Now the Great Difficulty here will be in discerning what things are Lovely and Desirable and what are not For though there be never so many Amiable and Desirable Objects in the World yet unless we have some Criterium something into which they may be resolved and which is able to distinguish them from others and to discern True from False and Adulterate Beauties it will signifie little to us To this Purpose therefore we ought to know that there is an Intellectual Beauty and Loveliness as well as that which is External and Corporeal Hence Plato that Contemplative and Thinking Philosopher speaks of a twofold Venus the one is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Celestial Venus which is nothing but the fair Pulchritude of the Divine Nature it self which though it dwell in those upper Regions yet has made very visible Impressions of it self upon the whole Creation and has contracted and closely sealed that Beauty which lies dispersed and diffused in all Parts of the Universe upon all the Orders of Intellectual Beings The other is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a kind of Common and Harlotry Venus which deriving only from the Body and a branch of the Animal Life draws down the Soul to what is merely Corporeal and mingling with it defiles and pollutes it Now when St. Paul Exhorts here to things that are lovely he does not mean what is Grateful and Acceptable to this Earthly Love but that which is agreeable and symmetral as I may so speak with Divine and Heavenly Love So that things are to be accounted so far Lovely as they more or less partake of and resemble that Uncreated and Eternal Pulchritude above And whatever things may exalt the Soul to a Participation of this Primitive and Original Beauty the practice of them is called by St. Peter 1 Epist 3.4 The Adorning of the hidden Man of the Heart whose incorruptible Glory and Excellency is seen and discovered in a meek and calm Spirit And surely nothing in the World can be more Beautiful and Lovely than that which hath the most exact Symmetry and Conformity with that Archetypal Copy of Divine Loveliness and Beauty Which was never made so visible to Mortal Eyes as it was in our Blessed Lord and Saviour who being the express Image and Character of his Fathers Person came on purpose to restore in Men that Beautiful resemblance of the Great Author of their Being which their Tumultuous and Disorderly Affections had Obliterated and Defaced It is said of Christ and his Apostles that they increased in favour with God and Men Of our Saviour we have it in Luke 2.52 that he increased in favour with God and Man And of his Apostles it is written Acts 2.47 Praising God and having favour with all the People Now surely the great things that purchased them this favour was in general the doing and practising all such things as were Lovely in the Eyes of all Virtuous Men. For what else could make our Saviour and his Apostles appear such excellent Persons in the World but only the doing of all grateful and obliging things They left great Obligations upon all Men. There are Two things considerable in the Person of our Saviour which will excellently well instruct us in what things are lovely For he is certainly the best Pattern we can imitate and by beholding the fair Character and irreprehensible Example of his Holy Life we may learn in all general respects how to lead our own 1. The Obligingness of his Carriage and Deportment 2. The Innocency of his Life and Actions As for the first of these Our Holy Lord was of the sweetest Nature and Temper that ever was in the World We usually account it matter of Praise to a Person that he is of a Fair and Obliging Temper Behold then a Description of the best Nature that ever was Clothed in Flesh and Blood Our blessed Master whose steps all Men are bound to follow was no Proud or Morose Person Slighting Undervaluing and Contemning others but so Humble and Meek that he disdained not the Company of the meanest and lowest upon Earth to do them Good Insomuch as this free and excellent Temper of his drew upon him the Envy and Hatred of the Supercilious and Censorious Pharisees Luke 15.2 they upbraid him That he received Sinners and Eat with them and he defends himself That he came to call Sinners to Repentance He did not think it below him to do good to the worst of Men. For he knew himself sent and his Compassions extended to the Salvation of the Souls of the Meanest as well as the Greatest Persons Being
Apostle Now to the end we may judg of our own Sincerity we may resolve our selves by these Two plain Notes or Characters 1. If our Religion be as well in Private as in Publick For he that confines his Religion only to the Church or to a Festival-Day is like those Heathens that Chained up their gods for fear they should run away and they should never find them again But when we are hearty in Religion and it be deeply sealed and impressed upon our Souls it will exert and shew it self as well when none but God is present as if Ten Thousand Eyes of Men were upon it For since we believe that God is Omnipresent and that the bright Eyes of Eternity are ever broad awake and looking upon us it argues little Fear and Veneration of that Holy Being if we can dare commit a Sin in his presence though no other Being in the World were privy to it Therefore when all Circumstances are fair and inviting and concur to the Acting a pleasant or profitable Vice with the greatest Secrecy and Impunity then to Abstain and Hate the Sin out of a Religious Fear of offending God and debasing our own Souls it is a good Argument that the Purposes of our Hearts are Right and Sincere 2. If we adhere to God and keep firm in the ways of Virtue as well in Adversity as Prosperity It is easie to be Religious when God incircles us with his Blessings and Rains down Pearls as it were into our Mouths but when he hides his Face and writes bitter things against us and a Storm of Miseries and Afflictions from without blows hard upon us then to be Virtuous is truly Honourable and Praise-worthy And as it si no great Credit to practise a Virtue that is in Fashion or to Adorn our selves with a Modish Piety But to follow Virtue through rough and uneven Paths and to be Religious when Holiness is contemned and disgraced that shews a steady Resolution and that a Man Loves God because he is the most Excellent Being These Notes and Characters of Sincerity are few and plain and by them we may examine our own Hearts and discern whether there be any Hypocrisie in them or not And by these we may discover the state of our Souls without perplexing our selves with a Multitude of Evidences and Signs of our Salvation which it may be upon an exact search may prove either Impertinent or Unreasonable Nay certainly he that is throughly possessed with a Vigorous Sense of God and Virtue and makes it his whole business incessantly to breath after though with the loss and hazard of all these Worldly Enjoyments yea even of Life it self shall find a more lasting Comfort and a stronger Security for Heaven flowing from his own Soul than if an Angel should tell him he was Ordained to a Celestial Happiness And we have the more reason to endeavour after this Integrity and Uprightness of Heart from its great Necessity and apparent Usefulness There are Two main Seasons or Times of Tryal of a Christian wherein a Sincere and Candid Breast will be his greatest Strength and Support And these are 1. The Days of Affliction and Calamity Prosperity is a very false Glass and most commonly represents us to our selves in other Colours and Features than really we are But Adversity and Affliction wipes off all this Painted Gloss and Varnish and shews us the true Face of things And in this Case a Formal and Hypocritical Dress will do us no good While we can draw Waters at our own Cisterns we speak well of God and make a chearful Profession of Religion But when a severe Providence dries up the Well-springs of our Comforts and leads us through a Scorching Wilderness wherein we Combat with fierce and fiery-flying Serpents then is the time of Tryal And indeed the True and Native Glory of Virtue is never made so Visible and Conspicuous as when it is surrounded and begirt with the greatest Dangers Adversity is a proper mean to discover whether our Love to God and Virtue be Sincere and Unfeigned or whether it be Counterfeit and Adulterate Which our Saviour intimated in a Parable in the Gospel where the Scorching Beams of the Sun i. e. the Times of Misery and Tribulation quickly shew'd the difference of the Soil wherein that Divine Seed was cast 2. The Hour of Death is another of those Times which will discover our Sincerity Men have not the same Apprehensions of Sin in their Health and Strength as when they are drawing near their End and entring upon the borders of another World For as the Body in Sickness Loaths even those things that were most grateful and pleasant in its Health So is it with the Mind or Spirit When it foresees that 't is hastning to another and stranger World it distasts and hates the thoughts of those Sins it so freely Acted and Indulged it self in before For then the Body which is the Root and Occasion of Sin being broken and out of order the Soul may more freely and clearly behold the difference between Good and Evil and accordingly is more sensibly affected with it And the clearer sight we have of Sin and Wickedness the greater is that Horror and Fear the Conscience inflicts upon us when we are sensible of our own Guilt Now since the Hour of Death and Dissolution of our Earthly Tabernacles makes so perfect a Representation of Things to us stript of all their outward Appearances and divested of that Paint and Flourish we put upon them it must needs be a mighty support and comfort to find the Face of our Souls Calm and Smooth and our selves not burdened with the Heaviness and Weight of Guilt But when the Sins of our past Days come into our Remembrance and we consider how False we have been to God and our own Souls when it may be we have betrayed our Faith and Religion to support a frail and tottering Interest in this World there will then be little else but a dismal Scene of Horror presented to our Eyes The nearness of our Approach to that State wherein we must dwell for ever strikes a Chilness and Coldness to our very Hearts And all because we have lost that Hope and Confidence which flows from Sincerity when we have done our best to serve God And if now I should endeavour to bring into view this Frame and Temper of Spirit which we call Sincerity Clothed with all its Native Richness and Glory I should sooner want Words to express it than be able fully to represent the Excellency of it It s Beauty is so faultless and irreprehensible and the sweetness of its Nature so great that there is nothing on Earth so Lovely and so Desirable 'T is such a State of Soul which he that is possessed of would not lose and he that has it not if he knew but the worth of it would give all the World if he had it in his power to purchase it For certainly if ever