they can make God and will God be better pleas'd with these than he was with those of Israel that were deform'd with Maims and Blemishes Mal. 1.8 offer now these to thy Governour will he he pleased with thee or accept of thy Person saith the Lord of Host The Magi indeed left their Country and offer'd Gold Frankincense and Myrrh to our Saviour Mat. 2. David would not Sacrifice to God of that which cost him nothing 2 Sam. 24. 24. The Primitive Christians offered up to God Prayers and Tears Labours and Travels Nay their Honours their Fortunes their Lives their Blood But alas what have these Men to offer they have not Love enough to put them upon any Expence nor Faith enough to put them upon any Hardships for the sake of God and Vertue For though they think themselves rich and incresed in goods and to have need of nothing yet are they poor wretched and miserable and blind and naked Rev. 3.17 And shall these receive a Crown of Righteousness shall these share in the Kingdom of Jesus shall these partake in the Triumph of the Last Day it can never be they do nothing worthy of the Gospel nothing that can entitle them to the Benefit of the Cross of Christ 3. The Life of the Laodicean Christian will never do any do any Credit to Religion or reflect any Honour on the Gospel No Man will be ever able to discern the Beauty of Holiness or the Power and Efficacy of Divine Truths from the Practise and Conversation of such an one Ah! had the Carriage of the Primitive Times been such as his I know not what Miracles might have done I am sure Examples would never have made many Proselites But the Christians then acted those Vertues which the Pagan only pretended to and Faith in Jesus atchiev'd those Victories over the World which the Jews so debauch'd and stupid were they grown did in the Declension of that State neither understand nor pretend to This was that which made the World admire and love Christianity After thus much said of the Effects of this sort of Carriage I need scarcely put any one in Mind what will be the last and saddest Effect of it for if our Christianity be such that it neither truly sets us free from our Bondage to the World and Flesh nor enrich our Soul with true and solid Vertues if it neither promote the Honour of God nor the Good of Man it must unavoidably follow that having no true Title to God's Favour nor any rational Ground on which to build an Assurance of it we can reap no true Comfort or Pleasure from Religion here nor any Reward from it hereafter Alas what talk I of Comfort and Reward Distress and Anguish must take hold of the Sinners in Sion and Fearfulness must suprize the Hypocrite And from the Troubles and Miseries of thu Life they must go down into the Everlasting Torments of another The Scripture is plain God will spue them out of his Mouth as he did the Laodicean He will shut the Gate of Heaven against them as against the foolish Virgins that had no Oyl in their Lamps And their Hell will have one Torment in it which is incident to no others that they had once the Hopes of Heaven and it is no small Aggravation of Misery to fall into it even from the Expectation of Happiness This is not as I observed above to be apply'd to accidental Dulness or Deadness in Duty nor are the Decays or Abatements of Love which good Men somtimes suffer immediately to be pronounced damnable But yet these are to be put in Mind of the Danger they are in and recall'd to their former Zeal in the Words of the Spirit to the Church of Ephesus Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee because thou hast left thy first Love Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen and repent and do the first Works or else I will come unto thee quickly and will remote thy Candlestick out of his place except thou repent Rev. 2.4 5. CHAP. IX Of Zeal Or the First thing to be consider'd in a State of Zeal namely what Holiness or Righteousness he may be supposed to have arrived at I Am arriv'd at the last Stage of Perfection which I chuse to call a State of Zeal not only because the Scripture seems to direct me to this Expression but also because it seems to me more full and proper than others that may be or are made use of for the same End A State of Vnion is an Expression that better suits another Life that this For the Lesson the Perfect Man is ever and anon to revolve in his Mind is That the present Life is a Life of Labour and Travel and Sufferings the future one of Rewards and Crowns and Enjoyments Then as to that other Expression the State of Love it suits my purpose well enough but does not come up so justly and exactly to it as the State of Zeal for I take Zeal to be Love in the utmost Elevation and Vivacity that it is capable of And now what a noble what a fruitful Argument am I entering upon Methinks I feel my Soul grow warm and enkindle upon my approaching it and my first Views or contemplations of it inspire me with Desires of the same Nature with it self I am concern'd to see my self confin'd and limited by the Laws of Method and find my self inclin'd to wish That I were now to write rather a just Volume than a few Pages Here the Heroick Acts or what is more the Heroick Lives of Saints Martyrs and Confessors present themselves to my Thoughts Here Human Nature enriched adorned and elevated to the utmost Degree by a Participation of the Divine one Here the Power of God's Word the Energy of the Holy Ghost the Triumphs of Faith and the Exstasies of Love would be described Here the different Excellencies of different Vertues and the different Value of good Works should be stated and setled and the various Paths in which Men pursue the Heights of Vertue and the noblest Designs be examin'd and solid Piety and true Wisdom be refin'd from the Alloys and Mixtures of Enthusiasm Superstition Fancy or whatever else they are disfigur'd and debas'd by But this cannot now be done and it may be it could not at all be done by me No Measure of the Spirit peradventure below that with which the Apostles were inspir'd is sufficient to treat this Argument as it requires Besides according to my Capacity I have been all along making this point When in the First Section I stated the Notion of Perfection shew'd by what Steps we advanced to it what Means we are to make use of and what would be the Fruit of it I did in Effect describe to my Reader the State of Zeal and mark'd out the Path that leads to it When in the Second I labour to establish the true Liberty of Man upon the Overthrow and Extirpation not only of Mortal Sin and
Perfect Man's past Life or the slips and defects of his best State or whether we consider Man's continual dependance upon God in all respects but especially in reference to the Beginning Progress and Consummation of his Perfection or whether Lastly we consider the scantiness and deficiency not only of this or that Man's Perfection in particular but of Human Perfection in general we cannot but conclude that nothing can become Mortal Man even though all the Excellence Human Nature is capable of were United in one better then Humility Humility therefore must begin and compleat Religious Perfection it must accompany the Christian in every Stage of his spiritual Progress it must Crown all his Actions and add that Beauty and Excellence that Grace and Lustre to all his other Vertues that is wholly necessary to render them acceptable to God The general Notion of Perfection being thus resolved into its Parts 't is plain I am now to Discourse of each of these And what I have to say on each ought according to the strict Rules of Method to be comprised within the same Chapter But to consult the ease and benefit of my Reader I shall slight this Nicety and distribute my Thoughts into as many Chapters as I shall judge most convenient for the case and support of the Memory CHAP. I. Of Illumination what it consists in THE Method I have set my self obliges me here to three things 1. To state the Notion of Illumination and resolve what it is 2. To consider the Fruits of it And 3. To shew how it may be obtained § 1. What it is It happens in the point of Illumination as it does in that of Happiness All Men at first hearing form in general an agreeable and pleasing Notion of it all Men admire and love it but few have any distinct and true Understanding of those things which 't is made up of All Men conceive Illumination to be a state of Light and Knowledge as they do Happiness to be a State of Pleasure But are as little agreed in particular wherein consists the Light or Knowledge which makes the one as wherein consists the Pleasure that makes the other The Lust and Passion of some the Superstition and Prejudice of others Curiosity and Confidence Weakness and Design Enthusiasm and Fancy embroil and perplex all things However every honest Man hath a Clue by which he may escape out of this Labyrinth The Scripture shines with bright and gracious Beams throughout all this Darkness And if we will attend to it we cannot wander into any dangerous mistake This describes the state of Illumination very plainly to us calling it sometimes Wisdom sometimes Knowledge and understanding sometimes Faith sometimes the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation Next it acquaints us with the Design and End of it namely to convert us from the power of Satan to the service of the Living God to Purifie and Sanctifie us to enable us to approve the Holy acceptable and perfect Will of God and in one word to make us wise unto Salvation Nay it procedes further and points out to us particularly the Truths in the Knowledge of which Illumination consists Thus the Old Testament reckons Wisdom to be sometimes the Knowledge of God sometimes the Knowledge of his Law sometimes the Vnderstanding of Proverbs and Parables these containing as it were the Soul of Moral Instruction and wrapping up in few and lively Words whatever the Experience of the Aged or the observation of Men of the most piercing Judgment thought best deserved to be transmitted to Posterity But all this amounts to the same thing and all the Descriptions of Wisdom in the Old Testament may be sum'd up into that one Job 28.28 Behold the fear of the Lord that is Wisdom and to depart from evil is understanding The New Testament tells us this is Life Eternal to know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent That Christ is the Way the Truth and the Life That in Him are hid all the Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge That true Understanding consists in knowing the Will of God which Will is our Sanctification And when St. Paul understands by Wisdom as sometimes he does the penetrating into the Spirit and Mystery the Depths and Recesses of the Old Testament and discovering the great Design of Man's Redemption carried on through all the Ages of the World and through a wise variety of Dispensations this alters not the Notion of Illumination For this does not point out to us any new or different Truths but only regards one peculiar way of explaining or establishing and confirming the great Christian Doctrines To conclude we may easily learn what sort of Knowledge the Spirit of God recommends to us above all other from those Petitions which St. Paul puts up for the Ephesians and Collosians For the Former he Prays thus That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of Glory may give unto you the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in the knowledge of him the Eyes of your Vnderstanding being enlightned that ye may know what is the Hope of his Calling and what the Riches of the Glory of his Inheritance in the Saints and what is the exceeding greatness of his Power to us-ward who Believe according to the working of his Mighty Power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the Dead and set him at his own Right Hand in the Heavenly places c. Eph. 1.17 18 19 20. For the Latter thus That ye might be filled with the Knowledge of his Will in all Wisdom and Spiritual Vnderstanding That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the Knowledge of God c. Col. 1.9 10. If from these and the like Texts we form a general Idea of Illumination it will be this Illumination is a State of Knowledge consisting in the abolishing or relinquishing those Errors which deprave and pervert our Affections and undermine and supplant the Empire and Authority of Reason and in entertaining and embracing those Truths which purifie the one and restore and establish the other All this in order to entitle us to the Favour of God and a blessed Eternity I might content my self with this general Delineation of Illumination But because this is a subject from which we cannot but reap so much Pleasure and Advantage as will abundantly requite whatever Labour can be bestowed upon it I will proceed to a fuller discovery of it if I can Illumination then being a State of Knowledge the Object of this Knowledge being Truth 't is plain that in order to form a just and distinct Notion of Illumination it will be necessary to enquire into two things First what kind of Truth and Next what kind of Knowledge of these Truths constitutes Illumination 1. Of the Truths which Illuminate We have many noble Characters in the Old Testament and the New which distinguish these from Truths of an
most sanctified Nature and some Venial Defects and Imperfections or other may still leave room for the greatest of Saints to extend his Conquest Besides 't is hard to determine or fix the Bounds of Knowledge and every new Degree of Light seems to make way for more So that after all nothing hinders but that the Path of the Perfect Man may as well with respect to his Righteousness as his Fortunes be like the shining Light which shineth more and more unto the Perfect day I mean the Day of a blessed Eternity The Motives to Perfection the Fruit of it the Means and Methods of attaining it laid down in the First Section will all serve here therefore I have nothing to offer of this sort only if I forgot to pay that Deference to the Institutions of our Church which they justly deserve I do it now and do earnestly perswade my Reader to a strict Observance of them I do not only think this necessary to maintain a Face of Religion amongst us but also highly conducive to true Perfection I am fully satisfied That there is a peculiar Presence of God in his publick Ordinances That the Devotion of good Men does mutually inflame and enkindle one another That there is a holy Awe and Reverence seizes the Minds of good Men when they draw near to God in publick Worship And finally That if the Offices of our Liturgy do not affect our Hearts 't is because they are very much indisposed and very poorly qualified for the true and spiritual Worship of God CHAP. X. Of Zeal as it consists in Good Works AND now let not any one think that I have taken Pains to advance the Illumination of a Sinner to knock off his Chains and Fetters to raise him as far as might be above the Corruption of Nature and the Defects and Infirmities of Life to scatter those lazy Fogs and Mists which hung upon his Spirits and to enrich him with Heroick Vertues let no Man I say fancy that I have laboured to do all this that after all my Perfect Man might sit down like an Epicurean God and enjoy himself might talk finely of Solitary Shades and Gardens and spend a precious Life fitted for the noblest Designs in a sluggish Retirement No no as Vertue is the Perfection of Human Life so is Action the Perfection of Vertue and Zeal is that Principle of Action which I require in a Saint of God Accordingly the Scriptures describe this great this happy Man as full of the Holy Ghost fervent in Spirit zealous of good Works Such a one was Moses mighty in Word and Deed as well as learned in all the Knowledge of the Egyptians Such a one was St. Stephen as full of a Divine Ardour and irresistible Fervency of Spirit as of an irresistible Wisdom And such a one was the excellent Cornelius a devout Man one that had transfus'd and deriv'd the fear of God from his own Bosom throughout his Family and Relations and Friends too one that gave much Alms and prayed to God always What need I multiply Instances this is that which distinguishes the Perfect Man from all others the Victories of Faith the Labours of Charity the Constancy and Patience of Hope and the Ardors of Devotion Need I here distinguish a Zeal of God from the Fierceness of Faction the Cruelty of Superstition from the wakeful and indefatigable Activity of Avarice and Ambition from the unruly Heats of Pride and Passion and from the implacable Fury of Revenge it needs not No foolish no false fantastick earthly or devilish Principle can counterfeit a Divine Zeal 'T is a Perfection that shines with such a peculiar Lustre with such an Heavenly Majesty and Sweetness that nothing else can imitate it 't is always pursuing Good the Honour of God and the Happiness of Man it contends earnestly for the Faith once delivered to the Saints but it contends as earnestly too to root out Wickedness and implant the Righteousness of the Gospel in the World It is not eager for the Articles of a Sect or Party and unconcern'd for Catholick ones When it presses for Reformation it begins at home and sets a bright Example of what it would recommend to others 'T is meek and gentle under its own Affronts but warm and bold against those which are offer'd to God In a word though Love fill its Sails Divine Wisdom and Prudence give it Ballast and it has no Heat but what is temper'd and refracted by Charity and Humility Need I in the next place fix or state the various Degrees of Zeal Alas it is not requisite Zeal being nothing else but an ardent Thirst of promoting the Divine Glory by the best Works 'T is plain the more excellent the Work and the more it cost the more Perfect the more exalted the Zeal that performs it When like Mary we quit the Cumber and Destraction of this World and chuse Religion for our Portion then do we love it in good earnest When with the Disciples we can say Lord we have forsaken all and followed thee or are ready to do so when we are continually blessing and praising God when if the Necessities of Christ's Church require it we are ready to call nothing our own when we are prepared if the Will of God be so to resist even unto Blood when nothing is dear nothing delightful to us but God and Holiness then have we reached the Height of Zeal In a word Zeal is nothing else but the Love of God made Perfect in us And if we would see it drawn to the Life we must contemplate it in the blessed Jesus who is the Perfect Pattern of Heroick Love How boundless was his Love when the whole World and how transcendent when a World of Enemies was the Object of it how indefatigable was his Zeal how wakeful how meek how humble how firm and resolv'd His Labours and Travels his Self-denial Prayers and Tears his Silence and Patience his Agony and Blood and charitable Prayers poured out with it for his Persecutors instruct us fully what Divine Love what Divine Zeal is And now even at this time Love reigns in him as he reigns in Heaven Love is still the Predominant the darling Passion of his Soul Worthy art thou O Jesus to receive Honour and Glory and Dominion worthy art thou to sit down with thy Father on his Throne worthy art thou to judge the World because thou hast loved because thou hast been zealous unto Death because thou hast overcome Some there are indeed who have followed thy bright Example though at a great Distance First Martyrs and Confessors Next those belov'd and admir'd Princes who have govern'd their Kingdoms in Righteousness to whom the Honour of God and the Good of the World has been far dearer than Pleasure than Empire than absolute Power or that ominous Blaze that is now called Glory And next follow hold this is the Work of Angels they must Marshal the Field of Glory in the End
Number and Strength of Temptations the deplorable Falls of the greatest Saints and the Conscience of our own Weakness will not fail to work in us Let us then not only begin but also perfect Holiness in the Fear of God Blessed is he that feareth always Secondly The Steadfastness of Hope of Hope that waits and longs for the Coming of our Lord. This will invite us often to take a View of Canaan this will fill the Mind often with the Beauties and the Glories of Eternity this will often call to our Thoughts and Security the Rest the Transports of another World the Love of God and of Jesus incorruptible Crowns the Hallelujah's of Angels the Shouts of Victory the Fruit of the Tree of Life the Streams that water the Paradise of God And every such Object will chide us out of our Weakness and Cowardise every such Thought will upbraid us out of our Laziness and Negligence We shall hear always Sounding in our Ears the Words of Jesus to his Disciples What can ye not watch with me one hour and yet do you expect to reign with me for ever Or those to the Church of Laodicea to him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me upon my Throne as I have overcome and am sate down with my Father on his Throne And now Reader if you find I have done you any Service if you think your self under any Obligation to me the Return I beg from you is that you will first offer Praise and Thanks unto God and next whenever you are in the Vigour of the Spirit in the Ardors of Faith and Love before God in Prayer put up these or the like Petitions for me which I now offer up for my self O My God and my Father increase the Knowledge of thy Word and the Grace of thy Spirit in me Enable me to Perfect Holiness in thy Fear and to hold fast the steadfastness of my Hope unto the End Pardon all the Sins and Errors of my Life and accept of my imperfect Services though Jesus Christ And because though after all we can do we are unprofitable Servants thy Infinite Bounty will yet certainly recompense our sincere Endevour to promote thy Glory let me find my Reward from thee or rather do thou thy self vouchsafe to be my Reward I should have ever thought my self unworthy to have put up this Petition to thee O thou glorious and incomprehensible Majesty had not thine own Goodness thine own Spirit kindled this Ambition in me Behold what manner of Love is this that we should be called the Sons of GOD these are the Words of thy Servant St. John And now therefore my Soul can never be at rest till I awake at the last Day after thy Likeness I can never be satisfied till I behold thy Glory which vouchsafe me I beseech thee by thy Mercy and thy Faithfulness by the Sufferings and Intercession of thy Dearly Beloved Son FINIS Several Books Published by Dr. Lucas Vicar of St. Steven's Coleman-street and Sold by Sam. Smith and Benj. Walford at the Princes Arms in St. Paul's Church-Yard PRactical Christianity Or an Account of the Holiness which the Gospel Enjoyns with the Motives to it c. Fourth Edition 1693. An Enquiry after Happiness in several Parts Vol. I. The Second Edition Corrected and Enlarged 1692. Human Life or a Second Part of the Enquiry after Happiness Second Edition 1696. Religious Perfection or a Third Part of the Enquiry after Happiness 1696. The Duty of Apprentices and Servants with some Prayers and Directions for the worthy Receiving the Holy Sacrament 1685. Price One Shilling Six Pence The Plain Man's Guide to Heaven Containing 1st His Duty towards God 2ly Towards his Neighbour with proper Prayers Meditations and Ejaculations designed chiefly for the Country-man Tradesman Labourers c. 1691. Price One Shilling Christian Thoughts for every day of the Month 12. Price One Shilling Several Sermons Preached before the Queen Lord Mayor Assizes c.