â—…hird is open and bare-faced The Devil in express words tempts him to â—…dolatry with the Promise of all the Kingdoms of the World and the Glory of them which he had drawn a beautiful Landskip of and shew'd him from a high Mountain All these things will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me Or as St. Luke relates it All this power will I give thee and the glory of them for it is delivered unto me and to whomsoever I will I give it Which in some sense was true at that time not that the Devil had the Supreme and Absolute disposal of Kingdoms for St. Paul assures us that all the Powers even of the Pagan World were of God and ordained by 13 Rom 1. God But yet he was at that time the God of this World and had a more visible Kingdom than God himself The true Worshippers of God were aâ—… that time chiefly confined to Iudea aâ—… very little spot of Earth but all the Power and Glory of the World was in the hands of Idolaters who Worshipped the Devil and wicked Spirits And the force of the Argument is as if he had said to our Saviour You call your self the Son of God and Worship him but will God do that foâ—… you which I can and will do if you Worship me You your self see that he has no Kingdom but Iudea to bestow on you and that also is at present in the hands of my Worshippers but what is that to all the Kingdom of the World which are at my disposal and which you see your self are mine and under my Government But our â—…aviour without disputing the value of â—…is World or what Power the Devil â—…ad in the disposal of it chides away â—…e Tempter with Indignation Be gone â—…atan For it is written Thou shalt worâ—…ip the Lord thy God and him only shalt â—…ou serve But though Christ refused â—…is proffer his pretended Vicar has â—…ken it and revived the old Pagan â—…olatry for the Kingdoms of the â—…orld and the Glory of them This is the prevailing Temptation 〈◊〉 this day to corrupt Religion the â—…aith and Worship of God for some â—…mporal Advantages too many Men â—…ink That the best Religion which â—…ill best serve a secular Interest â—…nd we have reason to think that â—…o many do this and know â—…hat they do that their furious â—…eal for a false Religion is not all â—…gnorance and Mistake but an undisâ—…mbled Love of this World For can â—…e think that the Devil never temptâ—… any Man but Christ knowingly â—…d willingly to renounce the true Reâ—…gion and the true Worship of God â—…r this World No doubt he does â—…d very often prevails too and these knowing Idolaters who make a downright bargain to Worship the Devil for the Kingdoms of the World and the Glory of them are those who abuse the Ignorant and Credulous with a false and hypocritical Zeal But let us remember that we musâ—… Worship the Lord our God and him only must we serve Let us remember what our Saviour tells us What shall it proâ—… a man if he gain the whole world aâ—… lose his own soul Or What shall a maâ—… give in exchange for his soul Let us â—…member that the end of Religion 〈◊〉 to please God to Glorify him to 〈◊〉 like him and to enjoy him for everâ—… and this will give us a secure Victoâ—… over the World and the Devil Whiâ—… God of his infinite Mercy grant throug our Lord Iesus Christ To whom with tâ—… Father and the Holy Ghost be Honoâ—… Glory and Power now and for ever Amen SERMON V. â—…each'd before the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor at St. Bridget's Church on Tuesday in Easter-Week 1692. IV. LUKE 35. â—…t love ye your enemies and do good and lend hoping for nothing again and your reward shall be great and ye shall be the children of the Highest for he is kind to the unthankful and to the evil OUR Conformity to the Death and Resurrection of our Saviour consists in dying to 〈◊〉 and walking in newness of life â—…ich St. Paul tells us is represented 〈◊〉 the External Ceremony of Bapâ—…m the baptised Person being buried with Christ in Baptism and rising out of his watry grave a new born Creature 6. Rom. 3 4. For in that he died he died unto sin once but in that he liveth he liveth unto God Likewise reckon ye also your selves to be dead indeed unto sin but alive unto God through Iesus Christ our Lord 9 10. And the principal Exercise of this Divine Life which is our conformity to the Resurrection of Christ is a Divine Conversation If ye then be risen with Christ seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God Set your affections on things above not on things on the earth 3. Col. 1 2. And to set our affections on things above does not only signify to think sometimes of Heaven and to desire to go to Heaven when we dye which very worldly-minded men may do but to lay up for our selves Treasures in Heaven which are durable and eternal in opposition to those perishing Treasures on Earth which are subject to Thieves to Moths and Rust 6. Matth. 19 20 21. To make to our selves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness that when we fail they may receive us into everlasting habitations 16. Luke 9. Now ye all know what this means viz. To purge our minds from the love of Riches and from all covetous Desires to improve â—…r Estates in Acts of Piety and Chaâ—…ty for the Service of God and to â—…pply the wants of the poor and miâ—…rable to return our Money into the â—…ther World where it will encrease â—…to Eternal Life and Glory for this 〈◊〉 truly to have our Conversation in â—…eaven to live above this World to â—…t loose from all the Enjoyments of it â—…o live to God and another World â—…o improve every thing we enjoy here â—…o secure and advance our future Hapâ—…iness when men are Charitable upon â—…hese Principles and these Designs they â—…ust live a very heavenly Life For where our Treasure is there our hearts will be also This our Ancestors who appointed this Annual Solemnity seem to have been very sensible of That there is no particular Grace or Virtue the exercise of which is a more visible demonstration of a Divine and purified Mind which is risen with Christ and lives to God as Christ doth than the Grace of Charity and therefore that there was no time more proper to exercise Charity and to exhort Christians to Charity and to show Charity in all its Pomp and humble Bravery than the Feast of the Resurrection wherein we commemorate the Love of our Lord in dying for us and his triumph over Death and in full assurance of a blessed Immortality of which the Resurrection of our Saviour was an ocular Demonstration send our Hearts and our Eyes after him to Heaven and contemplate that Glory to which he is advanced
one Place neither to the Temple of Ierusalem nor Samaria but it should be free all the World over to erect Houses of Prayer and Worship where God would be as present with them as in the Temple of Ierusalem for there should be an end now put to that Typical State and Typical Worship which was confined to the Temple and the true Worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth and this Spiritual Worship is confined to no one Place but will find God present all the World over which is so far from abrogating all peculiar Places of Worship such as the Temple at Ierusalem and Samaria were that it makes every Church whatever part of the World it be in in a truer Sense the House of God than ever the Temple at Ierusalem was And there is one thing more of great consequence which we learn from this that we now want no new Appearance of God to consecrate a Place for his Worship as it was in the Days of the Patriarchs nor any new Command to appoint us where to build a House for God as it was under the Law Our Saviour has consecrated every part of the World where Christians live to be such Holy Ground as is fit to receive a Temple and House of God and his Promise to be in the midst of the Assemblies of Christians gives us as great an Assurance of a Divine Presence in such Places as if like the Tabernacle and Temple we saw them again filled with a Cloud and a visible Glory Having thus shewn you that God who fills all Places is yet peculiarly present in some Places and what this peculiar Presence is that God is present as the Object of our Worship to hear our Prayers and to receive our Praises and Thanksgivings our Alms and Oblations let us now consider the Exhortation of my Text which is the natural Improvement of this O worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness 1st And here first I observe that the very External Beauty and Ornament of God's House is one Part of Homage which we owe to him The Riches and visible Glory of Solomon's Temple was one of the Wonders of the World a Divine Art and Nature conspired to build a House as fit as Art and Nature could make it to signifie the incommunicable Majesty and Glory of that God who dwelt there And this Nature taught all Mankind the Magnificence of their Temples did not only shew their Devotion but what their Art and what their Riches were And the Primitive Christians when they enjoyed Peace and Plenty under Christian Emperors were so far from thinking this a Piece of Pagan or Iewish Superstition that their first Care was to erect Beautiful and Stately Churches to rival and out-do all the External Glory of Pagan Temples and it was always accounted a great Instance of the Piety of Princes to encourage and promote such Works But you 'll say what is all this to God Can we think that he who has made the World with such unimitable Art and Beauty can be pleas'd with any House we can build for him whatever Art or Riches we bestow on it But this very Objection answers it self For God has made this Beautiful World for his Temple and has chose the most Glorious Part of it for his Throne which shews that though he be an infinite pure Spirit he does not despise an External Glory for thus he must represent his invisible Greatness and Majesty to his Creatures And therefore when he thinks fit to vouchsafe his Presence with us on Earth we must provide the most honourable Reception for him that we can and when we have done all that Art and Nature can do we have so far express'd our Devotion and Reverence for the Divine Presence This Objection lay against the Temple at Ierusalem as well as against Christian Churches and yet David thought it very undecent and a want of a just Reverence for God that he himself should dwell in a House of Cedar and the Ark of God dwell within Curtains 2 Sam. 7. 2. which should be considered by those Men who think all that is bestowed upon Beautifying and Adorning God's House a vain and superfluous Expence when they think no Cost too great to adorn their own 2dly The House of God too must be used as God's House that is must be separated from common Uses and appropriated to the Worship of God It must not be a Place of Trade and Commerce and ordinary Conversation as we learn from our Saviour's Zeal in driving those who sold Oxen and Sheep and Doves and the Changers of Money out of the Temple which he did at two several times the first immediately upon his entrance on his Ministry Ioh 2. 13 14 15 16. the second immediately before his Crucifixion Matth. 21. 12 13. Some learned Men observe that the Place of this Merchandise in the Temple was the Court of the Gentiles and from hence conclude that our Saviour's Zeal was not confined to the Iewish Temple but concerned all Christian Churches to which the Court of the Gentiles bore a greater Analogy but whatever Force there may be in this I think the Reasons our Saviour gives do much better explain his meaning Make not my Father's House a House of Merchandise John 2. 16. and it is written My House shall be called a House of Prayer but ye have made it a Den of Thieves Matth. 21. 13. Which Reasons have no relation to the typical State of the Iewish Temple but equally concern all Places which are the House of God and the House of Prayer that is where God vouchsafes his peculiar Presence to hear our Prayers And indeed when Christ expressed so much Zeal for the House of God when the typical Glory of the Iewish Temple was at an end having received its Accomplishment in his own Person it is a very good Reason to believe that he intended this as a standing Rule for the Religious Use of all Christian Churches and Oratories I am sure the Reason is universal and unanswerable that the House of God which is a House of Prayer ought not to be prophaned by any common Uses 3dly Let us worship in the Beauty of Holiness that is let us resort to the House of God to the House of Prayer there to offer up our Prayers and Thanksgivings to him For if God have a House where he has promised his peculiar Presence to hear our Prayers that is the proper and peculiar Place of Worship The Scripture makes it a very material Circumstance of Worship to approach God's House to enter into his Courts to come into his Presence to own our selves his Servants and Worshippers and without disparaging private Prayers or Closet and Family Devotions there is no reason to think God will own those for his Worshippers who deny him this publick Homage There is no doubt but God knows our Prayers where-ever we make them for he knows our very Thoughts but to hear Prayers
the thing and the only Dispute is about Matter of Fact whether God have revealed his Will to Mankind whether there ever were such inspired Men sent by God to instruct the World whether there ever were any true Miracles wrought or any certain Predictions of things to come and when Men are satisfied that such things may be as they certainly may be if there be a God it will dispose them to a more modest and impartial Examination of such Matters and not suffer them to despise Revealed Religion at all adventures For in Matters especially of such vast moment no wise Man will reject and scorn what may be true till he can prove it to be false 2. Since then we must confess that it is possible that God should reveal his Will to Mankind let us consider which is most probable which is most agreeable to those Notions we have of God that he should or should not make such a Revelation of his Will Now if we may judge of this by the general Sense of Mankind there was not a Man in the World in former Ages who believed a God but did believe also some kind of Commerce and Communication between God and Men. This was the Foundation of all their Religious Rites and Ceremonies which every Nation pretended to receive from their Gods This gave Birth to all their Superstious Arts of Divination that they believed their Gods had a perpetual Intercourse with Men and by various Means gave them notice of things to come â—…nd the Stoick in Tully thought That â—…e Acknowledgment of a God did as â—…ecessarily infer Divination as Divinaâ—…on did prove the Being of a God Ego â—…im sic existimo si sint ea genera diviâ—…andi vera de quibus accepimus quoeque coâ—…imus esse Deos vicissimque si Dii sint esse â—…ui divinent Is it possible as I observed before to â—…magine that God should make reasoâ—…able Creatures who are made to know â—…im and to be happy in the Knowledge and Love and Admiration of him and withdraw himself from them without giving them any visible Tokens of his Presence or any other View of his Glory then in the weak and glimmering Reflections of his Works Had Man preserved the Innocence and Purity of his Nature for whether we believe the History of Moses or not if we believe that God made Man we must believe that he made him Holy he had been fit for the Presence and Conversation of God as Angels and Holy and Pure Spirits are and in this State there can be no doubt but God would have shewn himself and his Glory to Man in some Measure and Proportion as he does to the Angels in Heaven as the History of Moses assures us that God did to Adam in Paradise So that Man was made if I may so speak with Reverence for the Conversation of God which pious and devout Souls recover in some measure on Earth and which we all hope perfectly to enjoy in Heaven Sin indeed as necessarily it must has made a greater distance between God and Man but if we must live in the other World and be happy or miserable there as the Deist professes to believe if God still exercises any Care and Providence over Mankind it seems absolutely necessary that he should give some sensible Tokens of his own Being and Presence and instruct them more perfectly in his own Nature and Will then the Light of Nature teaches For how much soever Men may magnifie the Light of Nature it is certain the State of the World was very ignorant and corrupt and Mankind knew little of God beyond a general Perswasion that there was such a Being and therefore worshipped a Multiplicity of Gods and any thing for God and that with such ridiculous and barbarous Rites as were a Reproach to the Naâ—…e both of God and Man And can â—…y Man who believes a Divine Proviâ—…nce think that God takes no care of â—…s own Glory and Worship nor of the â—…uls of Men And it is certain he has â—…ken none if he have not revealed â—…mself and his Will to the World Especially when we consider that in â—…ose dark Times of Paganism the Deâ—…l and Evil Spirits had every where â—…eir Temples and Altars and Priests â—…d Sacrifices frequently appeared to â—…eir Votaries in visible Shapes and inâ—…ituted their own Rites of Worship and â—…ave forth their Oracles and Responses â—…nd by their various Arts of Divinatiâ—…n gave them notice of many Events â—…or though these were Cheats and Imâ—…ostures they were not all the Cheats â—…f Priests but of Evil Spirits who imâ—…osed both upon Priests and People and â—…y these Arts begot in them a great Oâ—…inion of their own Divinity as we must confess unless we will deny the Credit of all Histories And when this by the secret and hidden Counsels of God was the miserable and degenerate State of Mankind can we think that God should leave himself without any other Witness than the Light of Nature should give no Demonstrations of a Power superior to all these vulgar Deities nor give Men any certain Notices of his Will no Rules of Conversation or Worship It is certain in Matter of Fact that all the Reformation which has been made in Mens Faith and Worship and Manners is owing to the Jewish and Christian Religion This put a stop to their absurd Idolatries and restored the Worship of the One Supreme God in the World which is so wonderful a Change as could not have been wrought without some visible and irresistible Proofs of Divinity This is sufficient to shew how unreasonable it is in those Men who believe a God to deny all Revelation For it is certain that God can reveal Himself and his Will to Mankind if he pleases and that the Nature and Providence of God and the State of the World makes it highly reasonable to think he has done it The Design of all which is no more but this to remove Mens Prejudices against the very Notion of a Revealed Religion For were this effectually done they would soon discover the most unquestionable Characters of Divinity in the Gospel of our Saviour I am sure if we do believe a God and another World nothing can be so desirable as a more explicite and perfect Account of â—…he Will of God and the Way to Heaven than meer Nature can give us What Impression this may make upon profess'd Deists I cannot tell they â—…ave so used themselves to laugh at eveâ—…y thing that is serious and to confute â—…he wisest Arguments with bold and profane Jests that little Good can be expected from them But I hope this may caution those who are not yet â—…nfected and make the Name of a Deist â—…n a Christian Nation as contemptible â—…s the Name of an Atheist they are both â—…wing to the same Cause they live much alike they are equal Enemies to Christianity and equally dangerous to any Government where they themselves are not â—…ppermost It is a
Steward there are not many men I should sooner have thought on than Dr. Calamy to have been the Pattern That he did take care to give you Meat in due season I need not tell you because you all know it If Preaching in season and out of season if publick Instructions and private Applications where they were needful or desired be feed the Flock of Christ and to give â—…eat to his Houshold and Family this â—…e did and that very faithfully and â—…isely too In the first place he took care â—…o inform himself and to furnish â—…is own Mind with all useful knowâ—…edge and his constant Preaching though without any vain affectation of Learning which serves onely to amuse not to instruct did sufficiently discover â—…oth his natural and acquired Abilities He had a clear and distinct apprehension of things an easy and manly Rhetorick strong Sense conveyed to the mind in familiar words good Reasons inspired with a decent Passion which did not onely teach but move and transport the Hearers and at the same time gave both light and heat for indeed he was a good man which is necessary to make a good Preacher he had an inward vital sense of Religion and that animated his discourses with the same Divine Passions which he felt in himself He did not entertain his Hearers with School Subtilties or a conjectural Divinity with such thin and airy Speculations as can neither be seen nor felt nor understood but his chief care was to explain the great Articles of Faith and Rules of Life what we must believe and how we must live that we may be eternally happy And he did as a faithful Servant ought to do as he declared a little before his death that he never preached any thing but what he himself firmly believed to be true I need not tell you what a troublesome World we have lived in for some years past such Critical times as would try the Principles and Spirits of men when a prevaling Faction threatned both Church and State and the fears of Popery were thought a sufficient Justification of the most illegal and irreligious methods to keep it out when it was scandalous to speak a word either for the King or the Church when cunning men were silent and those who affected Popularity swam with the Stream then this great and good man durst reprove Schism and Faction durst teach men to conform to the Church and to obey and honour the King durst vindicate the despised Church of England and the hated Doctrine of Passive Obedience though the one was thought to favour Popery and the â—…ther to introduce Slavery but he was â—…bove the powerful Charms of Names â—…nd liked Truth never the worse beâ—…ause it was mis-called His publick â—…ermons preached in those days and â—…rinted by publick Authority are â—…asting Proofs of this and yet he was no â—…apist neither but durst reprove the Errors of Popery when some others who made the greatest noise and outâ—…ry about it grew wise and cautious This was like a truly honest and faithâ—…l Servant to oppose the growing Diâ—…tempers of the Age without any regard either to unjust Censures or apparent Danger And yet he did not needlesly provoke any man he gave no hard words but thought it severe enough to confute mens errors without upbraiding or reproaching their persons His Conversation was courteous and affable to all men soft and easy as his Principles were stubborn he could yeild any thing but the Truth and bear with any thing but the Vices of men He would indeed have been the wonder of his Age had he not lived in such an Age as thanks be to God can shew many such wonders and yet in such an Age as this he made an Illustrious Figure though he had his Equals he had not many Superiors Thus he lived and thus this good man died for thus he was found doing when his Lord came The first symptoms of his Distemper seized him just before his last Sermon at White-hall but gave him so much respite as to take his leave of the World in an excellent Discourse of Immortality which he speaks of with such a sensible gust and relish as if his Soul had been then upon the wing and had some fore-taste of those joys it was just a going to possess And indeed he encountered the apprehensions of Death like one who believed and hoped for Immortality he was neither over-fond of living nor afraid to die He received the Supper of our Lord professed his Communion with the Church of England in which he had lived and in which he now died and having recommended his Soul to God he quietly expected how he would dispose of him But I must not forget to tell you that he died like a true and faithful Pastor with a tender care and affection for his Flock When he imposed this unwelcome Office upon me he told me he â—…d not desire any praises of himself but â—…t I would give some good advice to â—…s people who said he are indeed 〈◊〉 very kind and loving people And â—…is was not the first nor the onely time 〈◊〉 have heard him own not onely your â—…nd reception of him at first but the repeated and renewed expressions of your affection which did signally manifest it self in his late Sickness and now accompanies him to the Grave A Character which to your honour I speak it you have now made good for several successions and which I hope you will never forfeit But what that good counsel is he would have me give you he told me not and therefore I can onely guess at his intentions in this Were he now present to speak to you I believe he could not give you better counsel than he has already done and therefore my advice to you is 1. To remember those Counsels and Exhortations which you have heard from your deceased Pastor Though the Sower be removed yet let that immortal Seed that Word of Life which he has sown live and fructifie in your hearts and bring forth the blessed Fruits of Righteousness He has shewed you the plain way to Heaven have a care you do not forget it have a care you do not wander out of it He has recommended the Communion of the Church of England to you He has taught you to be Loyal to your Prince and to be true to your Religion take care then that neither your Religion destroy your Loyalty nor your Loyalty corrupt your Religion remember that beloved person whose Memory is dear and sacred to you was neither a Rebel Papist nor a Fanatick 2. Since you have lost your Guide a faithful and a prudent Guide and the choice of a Successour is in your selves be very careful as the concernment of your Souls requires you should be of your Choice Consider what an Age we live in which requires an experienced and skilful Pilot to steer a secure and steady course Have a care of dividing into Factions and Parties let not meer private
Ghost descended like a Dove and rested on him before he was led by the Spirit into the Wilderness to be tempted of the Devil For Human Nature and it was the Human Nature of Christ on which the Holy Ghost descended cannot resist such powerful Assaults without Divine Assistances And the Example of our Saviour assures us that God will not expose us to any Temptations without giving us proportionable measures of Grace to resist them That if we are at any time conquered it is not for want of power but for want of will to conquer that is the fault is wholly our own and we cannot blame God for it I doubt there are few men in the world â—…ut the Devil had he the full power of â—…empting could find out some Temptaâ—…ions too big for them but the Divine Goodness is seen as well in restraining â—…he power of the Devil that we shall â—…ot be tempted above what we are able â—…o bear as by the strengthning our â—…inds by the internal Assistances of his Grace and therefore our Saviour has â—…aught us to pray Lead us not into â—…emptation but deliver us from evil 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from the wicked One which â—…oes not signify that we may never be tempted which is impossible while we live in Bodies of Flesh and Blood and are incompassed with all the Flattering Objects of Flesh and Sense but that God would not give us up into the power of the Devil to be tempted above what we are able Some of the Ancients observe from this Story That when we devote and consecrate our selves to God we must expect to be tempted as our Saviour was As for bad men who are the Slaves and Vassals of the Devil he cannot so properly be said to tempt as to govern them for he is the Spiriâ—… that worketh in the Children of disobedience but when men desert his service he is very busie to recover his Slaves again but then our comfort and security too is That when we give up our selves to the Service of God he takes us into his protection the Wicked One cannot touch us without his leave and he always proportions our Trials to our Strength 3dly Consider the Place of our Saviour's Temtation He was led by the Spirit into the Wilderness where there were no tempting Objects but yet there the tempting Spirit found him Some men think that the surest way 〈◊〉 get rid of Temptations is to get â—…t of the World to withdraw themâ—…ves from Human Conversation or 〈◊〉 make a shew of doing it without â—…ing it as if the Devil could not â—…llow them into a Desert or a Cell â—…hile we live in Bodies of Flesh and â—…ood we may be tempted where-ever â—…e are If we mortify our Sensual Apâ—…tites and our love to this World â—…e may live very innocently in the â—…orld if we do not we can never â—…t rid of the World but where-ever â—…e go we carry it in our hearts Do these men imagine they can neâ—…r be tempted to lust unless they daily â—…e and converse with beautiful Women 〈◊〉 that they cannot love the World â—…ithout living in a Court and enjoyâ—…g all the ease and luxury of a Plentiful â—…rtune or that it is not possible to â—…spise the World with as much haughtiâ—…ss and vanity of mind as any â—…an has who most admires it That a â—…onk can't be as proud as an Emperor â—…d glory as much in a sullen Retireâ—…ent in Voluntary Austerities in an â—…ffected Poverty in a Vain Opinion â—…f extraordinary Sanctity as any Man can do in Wealth and Power Whence came all those Superstitions which have corrupted both the Faith and Worship of Christianity and done more mischief to the Church and Religion than all the looseness of a Secular Life but from Desarts and the Cells of Monks and Hermites Which proves that the Devil has his Temptations for thâ—… Wilderness as well as for the Court for the most Religious Devotees anâ—… Melancholly Enthusiasts as well as fâ—… the Men of this World and those tâ—… most dangerous Temptations too whicâ—… as experience tells us open a bacâ—… door for Pride and Ambition and Secular Power and a general corruptioâ—… of Manners to enter into the Church and into the Lives of Christians Anâ—… therefore we must guard our selveâ—… against the Tempter as well in oâ—… greatest solitudes and retirements froâ—… the World as in a croud of busineâ—… We must have a care of the temptatioâ—… of Devotion and Mortification 〈◊〉 Fastings and Penances of a sullen dâ—… content at this World as well as 〈◊〉 the temptations of a busie Life and 〈◊〉 an easie and prosperous Fortune 4thly I observe That Christ was led â—…y the Spirit into the Wilderness to be â—…empted of the Devil that is It was God's appointment not his own voâ—…untary choice And this Teaches us â—…anfully to resist Temptations when â—…he Providence of God and the unâ—…voidable circumstances of our Conâ—…ition bring us into Temptations but â—…ot presumptuously to thrust our selves â—…nto them There is always danger in Temptaâ—…ions especially when we rashly venâ—…ure upon them Let not him that putteth on his Armour boast as he that putteth it off is true in our Spiritual Warfare We have seen great Men conquered even St. Peter himself and therefore Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall and not unnecessarily venture too near a Precipice where he may be in danger of falling Our Saviour has taught us to pray that God would not lead us into Temptation as I observed before much less then ought we to lead our selves into Temptation We may easily presume too far upon the strength of our Faith our Courage our Resolution as St. Peter did who had he been more diffident of himself had kept out of the High-Priest's Hall and escaped the Temptation which he could not resist We daily see that Men who presume upon the Strength of their Constitution and use their Bodies ill destroy their Health and shorten their Lives while Men who feel their own weak and crazy Temper live on with Care to a good Old Age and thus it is with respect to the Mind as well as to the Body Presumption will destroy those whom Fear and Caution will secure and therefore let us not be high-minded but fear There are a great many ways whereby Men expose themselves to Temptation and tempt even the Tempter some of which are very obvious As to keep Ill Company whose Conversation is a daily Temptation Sloth and Idleness which betrays Men to any Wickedness which offers its self For it is an uneasie thing to have nothing to do and that it self is a Temptation and the Devil never wants Business to employ such Men in and I know nothing worse than this but when Men choose such Business as is nothing else but Idleness and Vanity or can only minister to their own or to other Mens Lusts. But there are other ways whereby Men thrust themselves into Temptations without
in Danger when we cannot reasonably promise our selves to receive our own again no man can deny but this is great Charity but then this must be conducted by the measures and proportions of giving what Charity will oblige us to give it will as reasonably oblige us to lend but where the Retuâ—…n is very hazardous it can oblige us to lend no more than what it would become us to â—…e and yet in such Cases lending â—…y be a greater Charity than giving â—…ich is the Second thing proposed â—…ich I can speak but briefly to 2. The Excellency and Advantaâ—…s of this Charity of Lending and â—…w it may be improved to be the best â—…rpose Now if we compare Giving and â—…nding together Lending has much â—…e Advantage of Giving as to â—…e true End and Purposes of Chaâ—…y To lend is a greater Obligation to â—…dustry than to give and there canâ—…ot be a greater Kindness done to the â—…oor next to keeping them from starâ—…ing than to teach them Industry I â—…eed not tell you that there are many â—…oor who will never work while they â—…an meet with charitable People to â—…ive nay who chuse to be sick to â—…e lame to be blind to move Chariâ—…y rather than work to supply their Wants but when Men have nothing â—…o live on but the improvement of lent Money which they know they must repay when it is called for this must make them industrious for it both encourages their Industry and keeps the Rod over them especially were this made a standing Rule to give nothing to those who are able but will not work who have a Stock lent them to trade with and neglect to improve it Thus what we give does but one single Act of Charity for we can give it but once but what we lend may circulate as the Blood does in our Veins and communicate Warmth and Spirits to more parts of the Body than one that is what we lend may be lent again and do a great many successive Charities as great or greater than that one single Charity had been if we had given it And that certainly is one of the greatest and noblest Charities which is most diffusive But yet to make this Charity of â—…ending the more effectual it must be confessed that a Publick Bank of Charity raised out of such free Loans will have many Advantages above any Private Acts of this Nature and I can â—…y no means think this either impractiâ—…able or difficult I doubt not but most of this Hoâ—…ourable Assembly could contrive very Advantageous ways of doing this were Men but Charitably disposed For suppose you should make your Hospitals or your Companies such Publick Banks or if it could be more Publick still the more Useful and the more secure where charitable People may safely deposite their Money without Use or those who cannot spare the whole Interest may abate some part of it and where the running Cash may be lodged which Men expect no Interest for this might easily rise to a very vast Sum which with wise Improvement would make a sure and lasting Fund of Charity And could any thing in the World be more easie than this which no man could feel What would it be to a Rich Man who has many thousands employed in Trade or secured at Interest or if he knows when he has enough has no need to increase it to drop some thousands into such a free Bank to sanctify and prosper his Trade and other ways of Gain and to secure a Blessing to his Posterity How may others are there who could spare a hundred or it may be some hundred pounds out of their Stock and not feel the want of Interest or at least if they could not spare the whole Interest might spare the half or third part of it How many are there who have some hundreds by them useless which they would not and could not with any reason grudge to lay up in a safe Bank How many are there who would easily be perswaded to lend were there such a safe Bank to receive it who are very unwilling to give And were there such a Bank of Charity once setled there would be very little need of giving For I know not any kind of Charity but might be provided for in this way were men but free and liberal in lending It would enlarge your Hospitals clear your Streets of Beggars the great Reproach of this City maintain those who can't work and employ those who can put poor Children to Apprentice provide Stocks for â—…ngenious and Industrious Young Men â—…ho want them redeem Prisoners â—…nd which Justice and Honour requires â—…f you as far as possibly you can may 〈◊〉 some measure provide a Fund for â—…our Orphans This would advance the Glory of â—…his great City it would perpetuate â—…nd consecrate the Memory of such â—…orthy Persons as would begin and â—…romote such a lasting and extensive Charity the Children which are unâ—…orn would rise up and call them blesâ—…ed it would draw a great share of â—…e Charitable Money of the Nation â—…to your hands which would quicken â—…rade and encrease your Riches and â—…bove all it would procure all the great â—…ewards which are promised to Chariâ—…y both in this World and in the â—…ext But whatever becomes of this Proâ—…osal you must always remember that 〈◊〉 is great Charity to lend as well as â—…o give This is what our Saviour exâ—…ects from us this is what he Comâ—…ands To do good and lend hoping for â—…othing again and if out of a greedy desire of gain we will lend nothing freely to the Relief and Encouragement of the Industrious Poor this will make all our other Usury and Increase which is Lawful and Innocent in it self when it neither Oppresses the Poor nor stops our Charity to become sin SERMON VI. â—…reach'd before the Queen at Whitehall Iune 26. 1692. Prov. XVIII 14. â—…he spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity but a wounded spirit who can bear ONE great Objection against Providence is taken from the many Evils and Calamities â—…hich mankind suffer which would â—…e a reasonable Objection were they more than are deserved or more than â—…are necessary for the wise Government of the world But besides other Answers that may be given to it the Wise-man's Observation in my Text furnishes us with Two very plain Answers 1. That the Sufferings of this â—…ife are not disproportioned to our strength to bear them and when Afflictions and Misfortunes are necessary to the wise government of the world it is a sufficient vindication of Providence that God lays no more on us than what the spirit of a man can bear The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmities And 2dly That the only Evils that are intolerable and insupportable are wholly owing to our selves and then we have no reason to quarrel at the Divine Providence when God is more merciful to us than we are to our selves But a wounded spirit who caâ—… bear For the Explication and
Improvement of these Words I shall 1. Enquire what is meant by sustaining Infirmities 2. By what means the spirit of a man can sustain his Infirmities 3. What is meant by a Wounded Spirit 4. How unsupportable a Wounded Spirit is 5. Conclude with some Practical Inferences from the whole 1. What is meant by sustaining Infirmities Now Infirmities in this place being opposed to a Wounded Spirit must signify only external sufferings whatever is grievous and afflicting excepting the disorders and troubles of our own minds And by sustaining Infirmities is not meant that we must â—…ot feel them nor have any afflicting â—…ense of them for the Stoicks themâ—…elves would not say that pain was â—…ot pain for then there would be no need of Patience Non ego dolorem dolorem esse nego cur enâ—…m fortitudo desid raretur sed eum opprimi dico patientia si moâ—…o est aliqua patientia Cicer. â—…o bear it but that Patience â—…f there be any such thing can conquer pain And â—…herefore to sustain Infirmiâ—…ies is to feel but not to sink under the weight of them as that man sustains his burden who can go upright and not stagger at least not fall though he feels the weight of it on his shoulders That is he who can in any measure enjoy himself under suffering does so far sustain it and the more perfectly we can enjoy our selves though the brightness and gaiety of our Spirits may be a little sullied and overcast the more compleat and perfect is our Conquest over all the Calamities of Life 2dly But the great Enquiry is How the spirit of a man can sustain his Infirmities And that is done Three ways 1. By Natural Courage and Strength of Mind 2. By the Powers of Reason 3. By the Diviner Aids and Succours of Religion 1. Natural Courage and Strength of Mind A man of Spirit thinks it a reproach to be easily disturbed and ruffled to be put out of humour by every accident to sink under the common Calamities of life nay to be wholly mastered by the most extraordinary and formidable Events There is an inbred Greatness in human Nature which does not care to confess its own weakness which will not yield or submit or own a Conquest an untaught Courage which supports the rude and illiterate part of mankind even without Reason and Discourse which is improved by a sense of Honour in men of Fortune increases by exercise and discipline by hard labour and difficult trials and is lost by ease and luxury and softness which makes the Mind as tender as the Body to feel all the Vicissitudes of Fortune as a crazy and distempered body does the change of Weather God has put a spirit into man which can bear his Infirmity and if we have it not it is our own fault 2dly The spirit of a man sustains â—…is Infirmities by the Power of Reason which adds to our Natural Courage gives us a more confirmed sense of Deâ—…cency and Honour teaches us the true value of things quiets our Passions undeceives our abused Imaginations convinces us that some fancied evils are none at all others not so great as we thought and that the worst condition has its allays which make it tolerable to a Wise and Good man I am far from thinking That the mere Power of Natural Reason and Moral Arguments is able to support us under all events much less that the Arguments of the Heathen Philosophers though they said a great many wise and good things were sufficient to this purpose but yet it is certain That Reason is the strength of the Mind and it is the Mind which must bear up under external Sufferings and it is as certain that Nature furnishes us with a great many Arguments to bear them easily without fainting As for Instance We must consider the state of the World which is in a continual flux and motion and does not long shew the same face of things that the various Lusts and Passions of men among whom we live will create a great deal of trouble to us and that our mortal bodies are liable to pain and hunger and many Calamities This is the state of all mankind in this world and if after all it be desirable to live to come into and to continue in this world upon these terms we must make the best of our condition and bear our sufferings patiently and not repine if we escape as well as the generality of Mankind In such a state of life we must not promise to our selves a compleat and undisturbed Happiness for then we must be disappointed and be very uneasy and impatient at such a disappointment but we must expect to suffer more or less and that will make us think we escape well when our Sufferings are but light and teach us to arm our selves against those which are greater with courage and patience Thus a Wise man sees through the frightful or flattering Disguises of things and judges by Nature not by Fancy and Opinion and then he finds no mighty reason to be disturbed about many things which are judged and resented as great Calamities by unthinking Men. Reason teaches them that Nature is contented with a little and that poor men enjoy themselves and have their Pleasures and Satisfactions as well as the Rich and therefore Poverty without pressing Wants is not so great an Evil as it is thought by some men and then it can be no intolerable Evil neither to fall from a high and prosperous Fortune to a meaner State Reason teaches them that a good man who is conscious to himself of his own Virtue and Integrity ought not to be concerned for unjust Reproaches which are the effects of Ignorance or Malice That undeserved Honours unjust Praises and Commendations are only the Entertainments of Fools and that unjust Reproaches ought not to put Wise men out of countenance And thus it is in other Cases There is a vast difference between the natures of things and mens Opinions and were our Passions and Resentments governed by Reason and proportioned to the nature of things not to the Opinions of men about them it would make our Condition in this World much more easy and tolerable But I cannot now particularly shew you all the variety of Arguments whereby men may support themselves under several Calamities of Life it is sufficient to my present purpose that Reason gives a new strength and vigour to the spirit of a man to sustain his Infirmities Thirdly But the greatest Supports of all are the Arguments Religion furnishes us with as to name but two at present 1. That whatever we suffer is not the effect of a blind Chance or fatal Necessity but is ordered by a Wise and Good Providence 2. That if we bear our present Sufferings with patience and submission to the Will of God and make a wise use of them to our improvement in Grace and Virtue our very sufferings shall be greatly rewarded in the next World These two Principles
are the Foundations of all Religion and as certain as any thing in Religion all other Arguments without this belief cannot support us and there are no Sufferings too great for a man to bear who is throughly possessed with a firm belief and vigorous sense of these Can we our selves or the kindest â—…riend in the World chuse better for â—…s than God Do we suspect his Wisdom or his Goodness Can he mistake our Condition who knows our Frame Can he be wanting in his care of us or in good will to us who made us What is it we desire but to be happy and if God intends our happiness in his severest Corrections why should we complain Religion teaches us that the care of our Souls is of much greater concernment to us than bodily Ease or Pleasure and if God sees Pain and Sickness Poverty and Disgrace necessary to cure or restrain our vicious and distempered Passions or to improve and exercise our Graces have we any reason to complain that God takes such severe methods to save our Souls Had we rather be miserable for ever than suffer some present want and pain The Soul is the best part of Man and to take care of a man is to improve his better Part and this is the Design of God's Providence towards particular men to train them up to Virtue by such methods of Kindness or Severity as he sees them want This I confess may be very grievous and afflicting at present but then we have the hopes of Immortal Life to support us and can that man be miserable can he sink under present Sufferings who has the hope of Immortal Life as the Anchor of the Soul both sure and stedfast To believe that all things at present are intended for our good and shall work together for our good if we love God and that when we have out-rid the Storms of this World by Faith and Patience and Hope These light afflictions which are but for a moment shall work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory This if any thing will make all the Sufferings of this Life easie if natural Courage or natural Reason fail the Spirit of a man supported by Religion will sustain his Infirmity Thirdly Let us now consider what is meant by a wounded Spirit This is a metaphorical Expression and signifies a Spirit which suffers pain and trouble A wound in the Body is a Division of one part from another which is always painful and though a Spirit cannot be thus divided yet because a Wound causes Pain a Spirit which is disordered and suffers pain is said to be wounded As for instance Some mens Spirits are wounded with the disorders and violence of their own Passions they love or hope or fear or desire or grieve immoderately and all Passions are very painful when they are in excess Upon this account the Wicked are said to be like a troubled sea when it cannot rest whose waters cast up mire and dirt there is no peace saith my God to the wicked Other mens Spirits are wounded with a sense of Guilt their own Consciences reproach and shame them and threaten the Vengeance of God against them they have gratified their Lust or Revenge their Ambition or Covetousness and dreamt of nothing but ease and pleasure the Temptation was very charming as it came towards them but now the heat and impetus is allay'd and the enjoyment over they can't review what they have done without horror their affrighted Consciences draw the most amazing scenes of Judgment and paint their Fancies with all the blackest Images of Terror The Sinners of Sion are afraid fear hath surpriz'd the Hypocrites Who shall dwell with devouring fire who shall dwell with everlasting burnings 4thly This is the wounded Spirit and such a wounded Spirit who can bear This is Matter of Sense and therefore for the Proof of it we must appeal to the Sense of Mankind and there is no danger in this Appeal for though some Men may scorn to confess what they feel yet if all Mens Minds be of a make we can feel in our selves what other Men feel And then we all know that Anger when it grows immoderate and encreases into Rage and Fury worries the Mind and sharpens it self into such a keeness as cuts deep into our own Souls that an immoderate love of Riches or Honours or Pleasures creates us infinite Trouble torments with an impatient Thirst with restless and uneasy Expectations distracts us between Hopes and Fears kills with Delays and Disappointments and there are but few Men who can long dissemble their inward pain and uneasiness but confess it in their Looks and Words and Behaviour by external and visible Symptoms of Frenzy and Distraction And yet all this is nothing to the Agonies of a guilty Mind as any Man â—…ust confess who knows what it is to â—…e Self-condemned and to live under â—…he Apprehensions of God's Wrath and â—…he terrible Expectations of endless Torments for with what Courage and Patience can any Man bear such a Thought as this That he must be miserable for ever Some Men may laugh away the Thoughts of Hell but it is certain that no Man who believes in good earnest that there is a Hell and that he himself is in the most apparent danger of falling into it can bear this Thought The many sad Examples of despairing Sinners who at the last moment groan out their Souls in Agonies and Horrors are an undeniable Proof of this Men who do not believe a Hell may laugh at it till they feel it but for experiments sake let them only suppose that there were a Hell and that Hell were to be their Portion and then let them tell me how they can bear such a Thought This is sufficient to satisfy us how unsupportable a wounded Spirit is but to give us a deeper and more lasting Sense of it I shall further observe that a wounded Spirit has no refuge or retreat has nothing left to support it self with The Spirit of a Man can bear his Infirmities but when the Spirit it self is wounded there is nothing to support that this wounds our Courage our Reason makes all external Comforts tastless and deprives us of all the Comforts of Religion For 1st What Courage can any Man have against Himself against the Wounds and Disorders of his own Mind Courage is nothing else but a firmness of Mind to govern its own Resentments and Passions to suffer Pain and Reproach and other Evils without immoderate Grief and to encounter dangers without an amazing fear but when the Mind it self is oppressed with Grief and Fears and Cares the Disease which Courage should prevent has already seized the Spirits Courage fortifies us against external Evils to keep them at a distance from wounding our Spirits but the Disorders of our own Passions are inward Wounds which we must feel and languish under When our own Consciences reproach chide and threaten us the good Opinion and
Courtships of the World cannot defend us from our selves we cannot stop our ears against 〈◊〉 we cannot harden our selves against â—…s Terrors it is a domestick Fury â—…hich when it is provoked and awakenâ—…d will be heard and will make us â—…emble will make us judge and conâ—…emn our selves and begin our own â—…orments in frightful Horrors and Agoâ—…es of Mind 2dly Whereas Reason can fortify the â—…ind against all external Calamities â—…hen our Spirits are wounded that â—…ttle Reason we have left proves our â—…ormentor When we are under the â—…ransports of violent and disorderly â—…assions Reason can't be heard or is â—…ibed by Passion to justify its own Exâ—…esses Wise Counsels are lost on such â—…en as much as a Lecture of Philoâ—…phy would be in the Noise and Diâ—…raction of an Alarm or Battel What a sullen and obstinate thing is â—…rief how does it pore on its own â—…isfortune nourish its Disease and â—…espise all Arts of Diversion that it is â—…ommonly above the cure of any thing â—…ut Time which weakens the Impresâ—…on or tires men with their own Comâ—…laints When our Consciences are wounded with Guilt this arms all the Reason we have against us for Reason in such Cases can never be on our side then Reason discovers our Shame and Danger aggravates our Sins and many times drives such awaken'd Sinners into the very Horrors of Dispair disputes against the possibility of their Pardon and blots their Names out of all the Promises of the Gospel how large and universal soever they be The Guides of Souls who are always consulted upon such Occasions how much soever they are despised at other times could tell a great many sad Stories of thiâ—… kind enow to convince Sinners that even Wit and Reason is a very dangerous Enemy when a guilty Conscience turns the edge of it against our selves 3dly When there is no Ease and Comfort within there is no other Remedy but to seek for Support and Comfort from abroad and there are a great many pretty Diversions in the World to entertain Men who are at leisure to attend them but these are no Entertainments to a wounded Spirit When men are galled by their own Passions by Fear Emulation Jealousy Discontent in the very midst of laughter â—…e heart is sorrowful As great as Haâ—…n was all his Riches and Power â—…ailed him nothing while he saw â—…ordecai the Iew sitting at the King 's â—…ate 5. Esth. 13. The good things of this World are â—…ry considerable when there is an eaâ—… and cheerful mind to enjoy them â—…t they cannot make a man easy and â—…ppy whose Mind is disturbed they â—…ay entertain an easy Mind but canâ—…t quiet the Tumults and Disorders of â—…ssions nor give any Ease to a woundâ—… Spirit Much less can external things apâ—…ase the Horrors of a guilty Consciâ—…ce Away all ye vain Delights will â—…ch a man say what have I to do with â—…easure when Torments everlasting â—…orments must be my Portion Why â—…o you tell me of Riches and Honours â—…hen the great God is my Enemy â—…hen I am despised and abhorred of my â—…aker and am thought worthy of no â—…etter Portion than Eternal Flames 〈◊〉 am not at leisure to attend the Flatâ—…ering Courtships of this World my Thoughts are taken up with a more â—…readful Prospect of things to come O Eternity Eternity the never-dying Worm the never-dying Death 4thly Nor can a wounded Spiâ—… find any Support from the Considerations of Religion unless it find its Câ—… there If the Belief of a Divine Providence and another World can cure oâ—… Love to present things it will give uâ—… quiet and easy Passions too but without this a wounded and distemper'â—… Spirit will reproach God as well aâ—… Men and rage against Heaven it self â—… like that wicked King This evil is 〈◊〉 the Lord why should I wait on the Lâ—… any longer As Solomon observes Tâ—… foolishness of Man perverteth his waâ—… and his heart fretteth against the Lord. If the Fear of God and of thoâ—… Punishments He has threatned agaiâ—… Sin makes us true and sincere Peâ—…tents conquers our vicious Habiâ—… and reforms our Lives this is such 〈◊〉 wounded Spirit as God will bind up again such a broken and contrite heaâ—… as God will not despise but the Thoughâ—… of God and of a future Judgment aâ—… very terrible to Impenitent Sinners It is a dreadful Prospect to look intâ—… the other World and to see those Lakes of Fire and Brimstone prepared for the Devil and his Angels And this 〈◊〉 all that Bad men can see in the next â—…orld Thus we see how supportable all â—…ternal Evils and Calamities are how â—…supportable a wounded Spirit is and â—…e comparing these two Cases will â—…ggest some very useful Thoughts to â—…s As First This is a great Vindicatiâ—… of the Providence of God with â—…spect to those Evils and Calamities â—…at are in the World Sufferings are â—…ery necessary in this corrupt and deâ—…enerate State of Mankind but though â—…od sees it necessary to punish Sinners â—…et he has made abundant Provision to â—…pport us under all external Sufferâ—…gs He inflicts nothing on us but â—…hat the Spirit of a Man can sustain â—…d support it self under but our â—…reatest Sufferings are owing to our â—…elves and no more chargeable on the â—…rovidence of God than our Sins are â—…othing that is external can hurt us â—…hile our minds are sound and healthâ—…l but it is only a disordered or guilty â—…ind which gives a Sting to Afflictiâ—…ns God corrects in measure as we â—…re able to bear but we our selves tye the Knots or add the Scorpions to thâ—… Scourge Secondly This greatly recommendâ—… the Divine Wisdom in that Provisioâ—… God has made for our Support undâ—… Sufferings As â—…t Since the generality oâ—… Mankind were not likely to prove anyâ—… great Philosophers GOD hath bestowed on them such a measure of Naturâ—… Courage as will bear Afflictions betteâ—… than the Reason and Philosophy 〈◊〉 more thinking men and we may generally observe that those who maâ—… the least use of their Reason and haâ—… the least share of External Comforâ—… have the greatest Portion of this â—…taught Courage because they need 〈◊〉 most 2. God has provided the greatâ—… Supports for the best men Thoâ—… who use their Reason and examine thâ—… nature of things will more easily beâ—… Poverty and Disgrace and such otheâ—… Evils than men who judge by Opinion and popular Mistakes Those who live by Reason and govern their sensual Appetites and Inclinations and use the things of this World so as not to be mastered by them retain that Courage and Strength of Mind which is lost by softness and Effeminacy But a truly devout man who beâ—…ieves the Wisdom and Goodness of Providence and the Rewards of the next Life has the greatest Support of all Whereas an impenitent Sinner who wounds his Conscience with Guilt and an Atheist who believes neither a God nor a Providence have nothing but Sottishness and Stupidity to support them and
of Earthly Rivals yet it fires at great Examples and is ashamed to be out-done by Equals in love to God or Men especially when the Honour of the Church whereof they are Members and the Religion which they profess is concerned It is well known how many pious and charitable Foundations are owing to Popish Superstition they hoped to expiate their Sins and to merit Heaven by their good Works and in this hope and this perswasion they did a very great many We understand better than to think of meriting any thing of God much less of purchasing a liberty of sinning by Acts of Charity but if those great Rewards which are promised to Charity and which we profess to believe will not make us charitable without the Opinion of Merit and Satisfaction Charity is so great and excellent a Vertue and so very useful to Mankind that at least thus far Popery will be thought the better Religion and therefore as the Apostle argues As ye abound in every thing in faith and utterance and knowledge and all diligence and in your love to us see that ye abound in this grace also As we have a more Orthodox Faith a clearer and a distincter Knowledge and a purer Worship than the Church of Rome let us excel in Charity too and convince the World that to renounce Popery is not to renounce good Works SERMON X. Preach'd before the Right Honourable the Lord-Mayor and Court of Aldermen at Guild-hall Chappel on Sunday April 25. 1697. Coloss. II. 8. Beware lest any man spoil you through Philosophy and vain deceit after the traditions of men after the Rudiments of the world and not after Christ. HAD St. Paul lived in our Age it would have required little less than the Courage and Bravery of the Spirit of Martyrdom to have said this And nothing but the Authority of so great an Apostle which though some Men do not much value yet they dare not openly despise can skreen those who venture to say iâ—… after him What some Men call Philosophy and Reason and there is nothing so foolish and absurd which some Men will not call so is the only thing which those Men adore who would either have no God or a God and a Religion of their own making And what Attempts some have made to undermine all Religion and others to corrupt and transform the whole Frame of the Christian Religion upon a Pretence of its contradicting Natural Reason and Philosophy is too well known to need a Proof That thus it was in his days and that thus it was likely to be in future Ages St. Paul was very sensible when he gave this Caution to his Colossians and I 'm sure it is as proper a Caution for us as ever it was for any Age since the writing of this Epistle for this vain Pretence to Reason and Philosophy never more prevailed and never did more mischief to the World It is an endless and fruitless Task to go about to confute all the absurd Hypotheses and wild inconsistent Reasonings wherewith Men abuse themselves and others The Experience of so â—…ny Ages wherein Philosophy was in all 〈◊〉 Glory and the several Sects disputed â—…d wrangled eternally without ending â—…y one Controversie gives no great Enâ—…uragement to hope for much this way 〈◊〉 least it can never be expected that â—…dinary Christians should be better â—…structed and confirm'd in the Faith by â—…hilosophical Disputes The Christian Religion has from â—…e very Beginning been corrupted by 〈◊〉 mixture of Philosophy Thus it was 〈◊〉 the Apostles days and thus it has â—…een more or less in all Ages of the Church to this day and the direction the Apostle gives for the security of the Christian Faith is Not to dispute such Matters but to distinguish between Philosophical Disputes and Matters of Revelation and to reject all the Pretences of Philosophy when it does or seems to contradict the Faith of Christ or would make any corrupt Additions to it Beware lest any man spoil you through Philosophy and vain deceit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is to make a Prey or to carry away as a Prey that is to seduce them from the Christian Faith or from the Pâ—…rity and Simplicity of it Through Philosophy and vain deceit that is through the vain deceit of Philosophy which cheats Men with a flattering but empty appearance may unsettle weak Minds but cannot lay a sure and solid foundation of Faith may cheat Men out of their Faith but when that is done can give them nothing certain in the room of it For it is but after the traditions of men and after the rudiments of this world Some of these Doctrines may possibly plead Prescription as having been so long received that no Man knows their Original or if they have the Authority of some Great Name yet it is but a Human Authority and they are but the traditions of men and of Men who at best had no better Information than from the visible appearances of Nature and their own imperfect Observations and corrupt or defective Reasonings after the rudiments of this world And is this an Authority to oppose against the Faith of Christ which both wants that Divine Confirmation which he gave to his Doctrines and contradicts them For they are not after Christ neither taught by Christ nor consonant to what he taught These Words might afford great Variety of Discourse but I shall confine my self to what is most Usefull and reduce that into as narrow a compass as I can by shewing I. What great need there is of this Caution To beware lest any man spoil us through Philosophy and vain deceit II. What great reason we have to rejectall these vain Pretences to Philosophy when they are opposed to the Authority of a Divine Revelation I. As for the first of these Whoever considers what an Enemy these vain Pretences to Philosophy have always been to Religion will see need enough for this Caution True Reason and the true Knowledge of Nature which is true Philosophy would certainly direct us to the Acknowledgment and Worship of that Supreme Being who made the World And yet we know that there never was an Athiest without some Pretence to Philosophy and generally such loud noisy Pretences too as make ignorant people think them very notable Philosophers and that tempts some vain empty Persons to affect Atheism that they may be thought Philosophers That this is vain deceit all Men must own who believe there is a God And if it be possible to pretend Philosophy for Atheism it self it is no great wonder if it be made to patronize Infidelity and Heresy But this plainly shews of what dangerous Consequence it is to admit Philosophical Disputes into Religion which if at any time they may do any service to Religion much oftner greatly corrupt it and shake the very Foundations of it of which more anon At present I shall only shew you how the Matter of Fact stands That most of the Disputes in Religion
of our Church that Men who have no Devotion come only for Musick For Church-Musick can't create Devotion tho' it may improve it where it is But indeed we ought all to be aware that the Musick does not Employ our Thoughts more than our Devotions which it can never do if as Common Sense teaches us it ought to be our Minds be in the first place fix'd and intent upon the Praises of God which are express'd in the Hymn or Anthem which when conveyed unto us in Musical Sounds will give Life and Quickness to our Devotions not first fixed on the Musick which most probably will leave the Devotion of the Anthem behind it Those who find that Musick does not Assist but Stifle their Devotion and many such there may be had much better keep to their Parish-Churches and prefer Devotion before Musick For to come to Church without any Intention to Worship God in his own House or to pretend to Worship him without Devotion are great Affronts to the Divine Majesty In a word Those who profess themselves Lovers of Musick ought to consider what the true End of Musick is and to improve it to the Noblest Purposes The meer Harmony of Sounds is a very pleasant and innocent Entertainment Of all the Delights of Sense this is in it self the least sensual when it is not abused to recommend Vice and to convey impure Images to our Minds But yet meerly to be delighted with Charming and Musical Aires does not answer the true Character of a Lover of Musick For it is the least thing in Musick to please the Ear its proper natural Use and the great Advantage and Pleasure of it relates to our Passions To Compose to Soften to Inflame them and the Diviner Passions it inspires us with the more it is to be admired and valued and then Musick must attain its greatest Glory and Perfection in true Devotion That the Lovers of Musick ought to be very Devout Men if they love Musick for that which is most valuable in it and its last and noblest End To conclude It concerns the Lovers of Musick to vindicate it from all Prophane Abuses not to suffer so Divine a thing to be prostituted to Mens Lusts To discountenance all Lewd Prophane Atheistical Songs how admirable soever the Composition be To preserve Musick in its Virgin Modesty and without confining her always to the Temple make the Praises of God her Chief Employment as it is her greatest Glory Thus have I spoke my Mind very freely shewed you the Use and the Abuses of Musick which was one great Inducement to me to comply with the Desires of those Honourable and Worthy Persons who imposed this Office on me that I might have an Opportunity of Saying that which I thought fit should be said at one time or other and for saying of which there could not be a more proper Occasion than this And I hope this may plead my Excuse with all good Christians if it have drawn my Sermon out to too great a Length and given too long an Interruption to the Entertainment of those the least part of whose Business it was to hear a Sermon To God the Father God the Son and God the Holy Ghost be Honour Glory and Power now and ever Amen SERMON XV. Preach'd before the QUEEN at White Hall in Lent 2 Tim. iii. ver 1 2. This know also that in the last days perillous times shall come For men shall be lovers of their own selves IS Self-love then so dangerous a thing as to make the Times perillous What Times then can be prosperous and happy What Age produces such Monsters as do not love themselves And where is the Man that would be contented to live in such an Age The Apostle then by the Lovers of their own selves cannot mean all those who are acted by this natural Principle of Self-love to take care of their own Happiness for that is all Mankind in all Ages of the World and cannot be the Character only of the last Days nor the cause of perillous Times Self-love is the very Life and Spirit of the reasonable World which has no other Spring of Motion It unites Men into Societies is the Parent of all Arts and Sciences it makes us take care of our selves and it teaches us to do good to others It is no Vertue it self because it is not Matter of our choice but as necessary as our Being but it is the Seed and Principle of all Moral Vertues as it obliges us to make our selves happy to preserve our Health to encrease our Fortunes to gain the Good-will and good Opinion of our Neighbours to be easie to our selves and to make the World easie to us which requires the Practice of all healthful thriving and sociable Virtues It is Self-love which inspires us with that Divine Principle of Universal Goodness and Charity to do to other Men what we desire they should do to us It is this which makes us soft and tender to all the Impressions of Kindness which makes us feel other Mens Sufferings and other Mens Resentments in our own which makes us relish the Sweetness and Pleasure of doing Good by the Pleasure of receiving it and gives us an Antipathy and Abhorrence of doing Injuries from our natural Aversion to suffer them It is this Self-love which makes Mankind governable and secures the Peace and good Order of Humane Societies Humane Laws would signifie very little without Rewards and Punishments and Rewards and Punishments would signifie as little as Laws without Self-love For could Men be unconcerned for themselves did they neither hope nor fear any thing they could be governed only as Beasts are by external Force It is the love of our selves which makes us delight in Humane Conversation and promote the Publick Good wherein all Mens private Fortunes are involved In a word This Self-love is the Principle of all Religion which teaches us to love and worship God who is eternal and essential Love and Goodness to praise him for our Being for our Preservation for all the Enjoyments of this Life and for the great Hopes and Expectations of the next It teaches us to reverence his Laws to fear his Justice and Power to depend on his Providence to pray for the Supply of our Wants and for the Pardon of our Sins 〈◊〉 It gives Virtue and Efficacy to Faith and Hope which are the great Gospel-Principles of Obedience For what would the belief and expectation of unseen Glories signifie if Men were not concerned to make themselves eternally happy So wild and extravagant is that Enthusiastick Conceit of serving God without respect to the Recompence of Reward which contradicts the whole Scope of the Gospel all the Motives and all the Principles of Evangelical Obedience the Examples of all good Men and of Christ himself who for the Ioy that was set before him endured the Cross despised the Shame and is set down at the Right Hand of God This is sufficient to prove
that St. Paul did not intend to condemn all Self-love which when it acts regularly is the natural Principle of all Moral and Religious Actions and having prevented this Objection which lay in my way for the further Explication and Improvement of these Words I shall do these three Things 1. Inquire what that Self-love is which the Apostle here condemns 2. How dangerous and perillous such Times must needs be wherein this Self-love prevails 3. Shew the Folly and Unreasonableness as well as Wickedness and Impiety of it 1. What that Self-love is which the Apostle condemns For can Self-love be the fruitful Parent of all Piety and Virtue and the cause of all the Evil and Wickedness which is committed in the World Can the same Fountain send forth sweet water and bitter and yet thus we see it is both good and bad Men act from a Principle of Self-love and design their own happiness and satisfaction This inspires good Men with great and generous designs sets them above this World makes them devout Worshippers of God and very just and charitable to Men and it is the same Principle which acts in bad Men and drives them into all the Excesses of wickedness they gratifie their own Inclinations and Appetites â—…y it they find present Ease and Pleasure they do what they love they please themselves they pursue what they call Happiness which is Self-love still though turned off of its natural Byass by mistaken Notions of Happiness All Men love themselves but Self-love does not act alike in all Men because they are not all agreed what Self to love For Man consists of Soul and Body of Spirit and Flesh which have different Interests Appetites and Inclinations and have distinct Pleasures and Satisfactions of their own A good Man loves his whole Self Soul and Body too and designs and endeavours the Happiness of both which is the entire Happiness of a Man and this is a vertuous Self-love which makes the Flesh subordinate to the Spirit governs our sensual Appetites by Reason improves our Minds in Wisdom and Knowledge raises our Souls up to God and entertains them with the love and the admiration of that best of Beings and above all things secures an eternal Interest the Salvation of our Souls and the glorious Resurrection of our Bodies into immortal Life But a Bad Man loves but one part of himself and that the meanest part too and made much more mean and vile by being loved alone His Self-love is nothing else but the love of the Flesh and of the Lusts and Appetites and Pleasures of it a love of this World and all the objects of Sense which gratifie a carnal and fleshly Mind the Soul is no part of his care so far from it that he is not willing to believe he has a Soul unless it be to subdue Reason to Sense and brutish Passions to stifle the natural notions of a Deity to root up all the seeds of Piety and Vertue or to charm his Conscience that it may not chide and condemn and disturb him in his Enjoyments For the understanding of this we must observe that when the Scripture condemns the love of our selves it does not mean our Personal Self for so every man does and must love himself or his own Person but it is to love something for our selves which we will have to be our selves when God never made it to be so which is our own Self or a Self of our own making and to love this Self in opposition to the Love of God and Men which is to love our selves only and to make all other things subordinate to Self which is the adequate notion of a vitious Self-love 1. It is a Self of our own making that is it is what a Sinner will call Himself and will account his whole Self and in pleasing of which he placeth his whole happiness though it be but a little part of that Self which God made God made Man Soul and Body but such Men will call nothing themselves but Flesh God made Man for a rational and intellectual Happiness as he made him a reasonable Creature but such Men place their whole Happiness in Sense Now Flesh is not the Man of Gods making the Pleasures of Sense are not the Happiness of a Man Man was made to enjoy the Pleasures of Sense in conjunction with those of Reason and in subordination to the Diviner Pleasures of the Mind but a sensual Happiness he was not made for that 's the Happiness of an inferiour and brutish Nature And those who will have this to be their Self and their Happiness are their own Creatures not Gods and are lovers of their own Selves of their own Inventions their own Ways and Devices as the Scripture speaks 2. Such Men are Lovers of themselves in opposition to the Love of God that is they are lovers of Pleasures more than lovers of God as the Apostle here speaks They prefer their own Will and Humour and the Gratification of their Lusts before the Will and Laws of God and in contradiction to them A Good Man lives in subordination to God as a Creature ought to do to his Maker and Sovereign Lord the Will of God is the Rule of his Will and Choice the Love of God gives Laws and Bounds to his Love of himself He pleaseth himself in such Instances as God allows he denies his own Will and Appetites Inclinations and Interests when they oppose the Will and Laws of God Such a Man can hardly be said to have any Self to have any Will any Love any Desires of his own for God is all this to him God lives in him he is more Gods than he is his own as St. Paul speaks I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me 2 Gal. 20. But a Bad Man hath divided himself from God cast off his obedience affects an independent State to stand by himself and to be his own Lord and Master and a God to himself and such a Man is properly said to love himself for he distinguishes himself from God and prefers himself before him 3dly Such Men are properly said to be Lovers of themselves because they love themselves in opposition to the rest of Mankind they gratifie their Lusts and serve their private Interests without any regard to the Laws of Justice or Charity It is their Principle to do good to themselves without ever being concerned what either private Men or publick Societies suffer by it They are the whole world to themselves and have no body else to please or take care of unless they can serve their own designs by it Such men are properly Lovers of themselves that is only of themselves for they love no body else And this is the sordid narrow selfish Spirit of Flesh and Sense which dwells within it Self is its own Center and its own Circumference for Flesh is a narrow Principle can have no Pleasures nor feel any Pains but its own and therefore must confine
is as easie and natural as of an Eternal Being and that natural Notion we have of the Relation and Dependance between Causes and Effects necessarily leads us to the Belief of a First Cause for if all things were Eternal without a Cause it is hard to conceive how there should ever after be any natural Relation between them of Causes and Effects and yet destroy the Doctrine of Causes and Effects and there is an end of all Reason and Discourse But then as we have no natural Notion of the Eternity of all things so all the Appearances of Nature contradict it and will not suffer it to lie easie in our Minds We see every day that all Individuals are made Men are born every day and die and one Generation succeeds another and thus it is with Beasts and Birds and all other Animals with Trees and Fruit and Corn and Herbs and is it possible for any Man to believe that any of these things were Eternal when we see that the Individuals of all these several kinds of Beings are daily made for the World consists of Individuals and if they are all made the World was made Necessary Existence is Essential to the Notion of an Eternal Being which has no Beginning nor any Cause and therefore must be always what it is without the least Change that to ascribe Eternity to a World which is subject to perpetual Changes is as great an Absurdity as to assert an Eternal Succession without a Beginning Thus it is very natural to think that the Effect can have nothing but what the Cause can give it and therefore we may learn what the invisible Cause is from visible Effects that if we see any thing wisely made we may conclude it had a wise Cause and therefore nothing can more contradict the natural Sense of our Minds than to ascribe such a World as we now live in which discovers such wonderful Art in its Contrivance to blind and undesigning Chance I do not dispute these Matters now but only consider how unnatural it is to think so and therefore how very difficult it is for any Man in good earnest to espouse these Atheistick Principles Thus as for the Principles of Infidelity how hard is it for any Man to perswade himself that God never revealed himself and his Will to the World any otherwise than by the Works of Creation when all Mankind have believed otherwise and are naturally inclined to believe so and there are great Reasons to think that God will do so and none to think that he will not especially when we have such evident Proof of this in Prophecy and Miracles which so strongly perswade the rest of Mankind For to deny Prophecy and Miracles when the Matter of Fact is plain that there have been true Prophecies or Miracles and no Man besides themselves who believes a God doubts whether he can foretel things to come or exercise a Sovereign Authority over Nature when he pleases can be called by no softer Names than Stupidity or Impudence and whatever they say it is not so easie for them to believe what they say for Prophecy and Miracles carry such a Conviction with them of a Divine Power and give such Authority to the Prophet as is not easily resisted as is evident from hence that some of the wisest of these Men dare not deny the Authority of Prophecy and Miracles could they be assured o the Truth of them but they hear no Prophecies nor see any Miracles now and may be imposed on by fabulous Relations should they be over credulous of such Matters This would have been a good Answer had they only some idle and uncertain Reports of such things but it can never satisfie themselves when they have such an Authentick History as the Bible the Old and New Testament for the Foundation of Faith Can any Man perswade himself to reject the Credit and Authority of all Histories If he can't whatever he may pretend he will find it a very hard matter after all his Criticisms to disbelieve the Gospel which is the best attested and most credible History in the World These are the Difficulties of being an Atheist or Infidel without which Men can never reject or confound the Differences of Good and Evil that all these Principles contradict the natural Ideas of our Minds and destroy all the natural Rules and Measures of Reason that we can no more distinguish between Truth and Falshood than between Good and Evil and if it be possible ever thus to efface the natural Notions of our Minds yet it must be a very uneasie and difficult Task 3dly And yet it is at least as difficult to put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter Men may bribe their Understandings but our natural Passions are not so easily stifled When the Frame and Constitution of our Natures has annexed Shame and Fear and Remorse to bad Actions which makes them very bitter and grievous in the Review whatever they were in the Act it is not laughing at these Fears as superstitious and owing to Education which will cure them no more than the Stoicks Brags that Pain was no Evil could prevent their feeling Pain What is painful will make us feel it and Atheists and Infidels themselves when they think they have reasoned and laught away all their Fears find that besides their frequent Misgivings and Jealousies when any great or surprizing Occasion sets them free these Passions return on them with such a Fury as all their Philosophy cannot resist Now this endangers all again for natural Shame and Fear and Remorse will make them own an Essential Difference between Good and Evil when they feel it 4thly But let us suppose all these Difficulties conquered they are sensible that there is one still remaining viz. That all the rest of Mankind are against them The Heathen World owned a God and as learned Men have proved one Supream God though they corrupted both the Notion and Worship of God by Polytheism and Idolatry but Atheism was so infamous among them that some Atheistick Philosophers such as Epicurus himself was forced to dissemble it They owned a moral Difference between Good and Evil they owned Revelation and instituted Religions and had them though not from God yet from those evil Spirits whom they worshipped for Gods The whole Iewish Nation own the Writings of Moses and the Prophets and the whole Christian World whom they are most at present concerned with own both the Old and New Testament These are great Authorities against them which one would think should make Men modest and put them a little out of countenance and incline them to suspect that they may be mistaken but they are sensible that Modesty would undo them that to suspect whether they are in the right is as fatal to them as to know that they are in the wrong and therefore they have no way left but to out-face all the World to laugh at all the rest of Mankind as superstitious
Evidence â—…f them that they are what we cannot â—…onceive and comprehend To believe no farther than Natural â—…eason can conceive and comprehend is â—…o reject the Divine Authority of Reveâ—…tion and to destroy the distinction beâ—…ween Reason and Faith He who will â—…elieve no farther than Natural Reason â—…pproves believes his Reason not the Revelation and is in truth a Natural Philosopher not a Believer He believes â—…he Scriptures as he would believe Plato â—…nd Tully not as inspired Writings but â—…s agreeable to Reason and the result of wise and deep Thoughts and this puts an end to all the Disputes about Faith and Revelation at once For what use is there of Faith What matter whether the Scriptures be divinely inspired or not when we are no farther concerned with them than with other Humane Writings to believe what they teach agreeable to our own Reason Let these Men then either reject Faith and Scripture or confess that Revelation as to all supernatural Truths must serve us instead of Sense and Reason I would gladly know of them whether they would not believe such Supernatural Truths as are not evident to Reason were they sure that God had revealed them I guess they will not be so hardy as to say That they would not believe God himself should he reveal such things as their Reason cannot comprehend and if they would believe God in such matters why will they not believe a Revelation which they themselves acknowledge to be Divine in such matters For is there any difference between believing God and believing a Divine Revelation If God does know and can reveal such Mysteries and is to be believed when he does reveal them and such Doctrines are contained in an undoubted Revelation then the unconceivableness of them can be no Argument against the Truth of the Revelation or that sense of the words which contains such Mysteries Let us then consider the natural consequence of this which is of great moment in this dispute viz. That we must allow of no Objections against Revealed Mysteries which we will not allow to be good Objections against Sense and Reason which is a necessary and unavoidable consequence if Revelation with respect to supernatural Truths stand in the place of Sense and Reason Now no man questions the Truth of what he sees and feels or what he can prove to be true by plain and undeniable Reason meerly because there are unconceivable difficulties in it as there are in every thing even the most certain and familiar things in Nature And if Revealed Truths are not more unconceivable than many natural objects of Sense and Reason why should their being unconceivable be a greater objection against believing a Revelation than it is against believing our Sense and Reason in matters equally unconceivable When God has revealed to us That he has an Eternal and only begotten Son though we cannot comprehend the Mystery of the Eternal Generation why should we not as firmly believe it as we do that Man begets a Son in his own likeness the Philosophy of which we as little understand Nor can we any more conceive the Union of the Soul and Body than we do the Incarnation of the Son of God or the Union of the Divine and Humane Nature in one Person And if we own the Authority of Revelation why should we not as well believe what Revelation teaches how unconceivable soever it be as we do what Sense and Reason teaches though it be alike unconceivable All men are sensible that it is very absurd and foolish to deny the Being of any thing which they have certain evidence of because they cannot comprehend the Nature and Reasons of it The Man who rose up and walked before the Philosopher who was disputing subtilly against the possibility of Motion put a scorn upon all his Arguments by shewing him that he could move And therefore we see that all men believe their Senses and Reason against all the difficulties in Nature and will never be perswaded by the subtillest Disputant that that is not which they certainly see and know to be Now for the same reason if Men will allow the Authority of Revelation they must believe what is revealed how unconceivable and incomprehensible soever its nature be for when we know what a thing is and this may be known by Revelation as well as by Sense as those Men must confess who acknowledge a Divine Revelation no difficulties in conceiving it must perswade us to deny that it is This is very plain in it self though few men consider it That to disbelieve what is Revealed for the sake of any difficulties in understanding or conceiving it is to reject the certainty of Revelation For what other account can be given of that difference men make between the Evidence of Sense and Reason and of Revelation but that they allow Sense and Reason to be good and certain proofs of the Being of such things as are evident to Sense and Reason how Mysterious soever their natures are but that mere Revelation is no certain proof of the Being of any thing which is not evident also to Sense and Reason how plainly soever it be revealed that is that Revelation alone can prove nothing for if Revelation it self could prove the certainty of what is revealed the difficulties in Nature and Philosophy could no more disprove a Revelation than confute our Senses Now let any man judge whether this be not unequal usage to expect more from Revelation than they do from Sense and Reason and not to believe Revelation upon the same terms that they believe their Senses Should Men resolve to believe nothing which they see till they could give a Philosophical account of the Reasons and Causes and Natures of all they see as they refuse to believe a Revelation any farther than they can conceive and comprehend the thing revealed they must of necessity be as great-Scepticks as they are Infidels For as for Contradictions it is an easy matter to make or find seeming Contradictions in what we do not understand for when we know not the Philosophical Natures of things nor how they act and yet will be reasoning and guessing at them all our false guesses may be full of Contradictions and Impossibilities because we know not the true Mystery of Nature It is this vain humour of Criticizing upon Nature which makes so many Atheists They go upon the same Principle with Infidels and Hereticks To believe nothing which natural Reason cannot conceive and comprehend now they cannot comprehend the Notion and Idea of a God which they say is made up of Contradictions and Impossibilities and therefore they reject the Being of a God They cannot conceive a Creating Power which can give Being to that which had no Being before which they think a plain Contradiction to make Something of Nothing and therefore they reject the Creation of the World and either assert the Eternity of the World or at least the Eternity of Matter They can
conceive no Substance but Matter and Body and therefore reject the Notion of a Spirit as Nonsense and Contradiction They will allow nothing to be wisely made which they understand not the reason and uses of and therefore they fancy a great many botches and blunders in Nature which cannot be the designs and contrivance of Wisdom but the effects of Chance and then the consequence is plain That the World was made by Chance not by a Wise Author Now I confess if this way of Reasoning be allowed it will be impossible to defend either Sense or Reason or Revelation against the Cavils of Atheists and Infidels for there are unconceivable and incomprehensible Secrets and Mysteries in them all and if to conceive and comprehend the Natures of things must be made the measure and standard of true and false we must deny our Senses and Reason as well as our Faith and if we do and must believe our Sense and Reason beyond our Comprehension why must we believe nothing that is Revealed any farther than we can conceive and comprehend the Nature and Reasons of it The Sum is this Humane Knowledge whatever the means of knowing be whether Sense or Reason or Revelation does not reach to the Philosophical Causes and Natures of things but only to their Being and Natural Vertues and Powers and as a Wise man who knows the Measure of his understanding expects no more from Sense and Reason than to know what things there are in the World and what they are as far as they fall under the notice of Sense and Natural Reason so we must expect no more from Revelation than the knowledge of such things as Sense and Natural Reason cannot discover But we must no more expect the Philosophy of Supernatural Truths from Revelation than we do the Mysteries of Nature from Sense and Reason Now since Humane Knowledge is not a knowledge of the Mysterious Natures of things but only to know what things there are and what they are there can be no contradiction between Sense and Reason and Revelation unless one denies what the other affirms not that one teaches more than the other teaches or that one cannot comprehend what the other teaches Reason teaches more than Sense teaches or can comprehend and Revelation teaches more than either Sense or Natural Reason teaches or can comprehend but this is no contradiction but only a subordination between these different kinds and degrees of Knowledge but as for Unconceivableness and Incomprehensibility that is no argument against any thing for Sense and Natural Reason can no more comprehend their own Objects than they do what is revealed And it is manifest perverseness to make that an objection against Revelation which we will not allow to be an objection against Sense and Reason This is sufficient as to the reason of the thing but as far as it is possible to remove mens Prejudices also against believing Mysteries I shall briefly answer two very popular Objections 1. It is thought very unnatural that when God has made us reasonable Creatures and therefore made Natural Reason to us the measure of Truth and Falshood he should require us to believe without Reason as we must do if he reveals such things to us as we know not and cannot possibly know the reasons of If we must believe with our Understanding how can we believe things which we cannot understand This were a reasonable Objection were it true for we cannot believe what we have no knowledge nor understanding of for Faith is Knowledge though not Natural Knowledge But do we not understand what it is we believe Do we not know what we mean when we say we believe in Father Son and Holy Ghost Nay do not our Adversaries understand what we mean by it How then come they to charge us with believing Contradictions and Impossibilities For if they know not what we believe they cannot know whether we believe Contradictions or not And if we do understand what it is we believe then we do not believe without understanding which is absolutely impossible if we know what it is we believe And we know also why we believe Our Faith is founded in Sense and Reason and resolved into the Authority of God which is the highest and most infallible Reason The Miracles which Christ and his Apostles wrought were evident to Sense and owned by Reason to be the effects of a Divine Power and the Answer the Blind man gave to the Pharisees when Christ had opened his eyes speaks the true Sense of Nature Herein is a marvellous thing that ye know not from whence he is and yet he hath opened mine Eyes Now we know that God heareth not Sinners but if any man be a Worshipper of God and doth his will him he heareth Since the World began was it not heard that any man opened the Eyes of one that was born blind If this man were not of God he could do nothing 9 John 30 31 32 33. And all Mankind own that the most absolute Faith is due to God and to those who speake from God and this as I take it is to believe with Reason But still we believe such things whose Natures we do not understand and cannot account for by Natural Reason and this is to believe without Reason We believe that God the Father hath an Eternal Son and an Eternal Spirit and that Father Son and Holy Ghost are but one Eternal God but this is what Natural Reason cannot comprehend nor give us any notion or conception of how God can have an Eternal Son and an Eternal Spirit really distinct from himself and yet with himself One Eternal and Infinite God Reason can give no account of the Eternal Generation of the Son nor of the Eternal Procession of the Holy Spirit and is not this to believe without Reason which a reasonable Creature ought not to do and which we ought not to think that God who made us reasonable Creatures expects from us And this I grant would be a material Objection were Reason the Judge of the Nature and Philosophy of things and did Reason require us to believe nothing but what we understand and comprehend But then we must no more believe Sense and Reason than Revelation for we do not comprehend the Nature of any one thing in the World how evident soever it is to Sense and Reason that there are such things Nature is as great a Mystery as Revelation and it is no greater affront to our Understandings no more against Reason for God to reveal such things to us as our Reason cannot comprehend than 〈◊〉 is to make a whole World which â—…eason cannot comprehend When we make it an Objection against â—…ny thing that it is without Reason or â—…s we apprehend against Reason and contrary to Reason we must first conâ—…ider whether it be the proper object of Reason otherwise it is no Objection as it is no Objection against Sounds that we cannot see them nor against Colours