likewise a sobriety moderation and inoffensiveness in all particulars The kingdom of God is not meat and drink it doth not consist in contests and disputes and animosities about such trivial things but righteousness and peace and joy in the holy Ghost For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God and approved of men Rom. 14.17 18. 3. But lastly There is a sober singularity when men keep themselves free from the real corruptions of the times wherein they live and of the places and persons where their lot is cast and with whom they converse When they will not wallow in the filth and mire of the world nor defile themselves with the abominations and defilements of the wicked though in matters warrantable and not dissonant to Gods word they do as the rest of men do In this respect all sincere Christians must be singular they must not follow a multitude to do evil When others are lukewarm in the service of God they must be fervent in spirit serving the Lord Rom. 12.11 Whilst others place their worship in shadows and ceremonies and a a pompous outside of devotion they must worship God in spirit and in truth Joh. 4.24 And glorifie him both with their bodies and with their spirits which are Gods 1 Cor. 6.20 When others drink and card and dice and are vain and wanton they must study to live quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty 1 Tim. 2.2 To walk honestly as in the day not in rioting and drunkenness not in chambering wantonness not in strife and envying But putting on the Lord Jesus Christ and not making provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof Rom. 13.13 14. When others walk carelessly they must be precise and circumspect Eph. 5.15 You must not be afraid of being exactly conscientious in Gods way or of bearing an awful respect to all even the least of his commandments for fear of being singular or so accounted For that is the way which he hath chalked out for you Thou shalt not follow a multitude to sin So much for the second Inference 3. If we must not follow a multitude to do evil Then from hence we may draw this Conclusion as an undeniable truth That unity and unanimity and uniformity wherein persons joyn together with one consent and without any divisions amongst them is not in all cases to be commended and approved but only where they are exercised and as far as they are imployed in the doing of good For if people commit evil in the sight of the Lord I must not sin with them for uniformities sake These very expressions of unity and uniformity have made a great deal of bustle in the world and they are engines whereby poor ignorant souls are commonly deluded and imposed upon Will you break asunder the unity that ought to be amongst Christians You ought to do thus or thus were it but for uniformities sake Such fallacious argumentations are usually pressed to deceive the hearts of the simple Whereas Sirs uniformity or a general and unanimous agreement is not a matter commendable in all cases whatsoever without limitation or restriction but only so far as the persons at unity are ingaged in following that which is good If they be doing of evil there must be no union or conjunction with them We read of as great unity and uniformity as is lightly imagined amongst a people that set themselves in open rebellion against the most-High and for which very thing the Lord threatned to bring them to utter desolation Jer. 44.15 16 17. Then all the men which knew that their wives had burnt incense unto other gods and all the women that stood by a great multitude even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt in Pathros answered Jeremiah saying As for the word that thou hast spoken to us in the name of the Lord we will not hearken unto thee But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth to burn incense unto the Queen of heaven and to pour out drink-offerings to her as we have done we and our fathers our kings and our princes in the Cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem Mark it Here was a great measure of unity and a full consent and harmony in their resolutions and practises But see the dreadful doom wherewith they are sentenced v. 25 26 27. There is no society of men but are subject to corruptions and may be guilty of imposing some things to be believed and practised which are corrupt and sinful And it is utterly impossible to prove that Christianity obligeth a man to communicate or comply with that which is corrupt and abominable In such cases the whole stress of a controversie lieth in the proof of the lawfulness and warrantableness of the matter enjoyned and practised or else an argument from uniformity is of no validity and will signifie nothing at all with judicious persons For we must not joyn with the greatest number to do evil A little to open this matter more distinctly and to clear it up more fully to your apprehensions let these four things be observed 1. That unity and uniformity an unanimous consent and agreement are of the number of those things which borrow their goodness or evil that are commendable or to be condemned from the nature and quality of the subject unto which they are annexed Just as it is in case of forwardness and activity of spirit If men are vigorous and active in carrying on a mischievous design in bring forth the fruits of unrighteousness as some men commit wickedness with both hands earnestly There activity of spirit is odious in the sight of God But if men be diligent and industrious about that which is good then is their industry worthy of praise and honour The like may be said in case of unanimity and general agreement As Astronomers speak of the Planet Mercury that he hath little distinct influence of his own but is malignant or auspicious according to the nature of the other Planets with which he is in conjunction So doth unity and uniformity accomodate themselves to the subject matter about which they are exercised Uniformity Sirs will not justifie a sinful action But it is the holiness of the action must commend the uniformity And therefore it is not a bare unity which the holy Ghost presseth upon Believers But unity of the spirit when persons with one consent hold the doctrines taught by the spirit and are uniform in their subjection to the dictates of the spirit and in following the guidance of the holy Ghost Eph. 4.3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace 2. If this unity and uniformity be fixed upon and conversant about that which is holy and honest it renders that holiness exceeding amiable and lovely It puts a lustre and beauty upon mens fear and worship of the Lord when they serve him with one heart and
earthly and sensual and do not walk with God in your particular places and callings and then think to make it up by duties of worship Such worship is detestable in his sight and will not be received favourably at your hands God will reckon all such acts of worship but as the dissimulation of hypocrites who pretend to love him but are indeed his enemies Jor. 7.9 10 11. Will ye steal and murder and commit adultery and swear falsely and burn incense unto Baal and walk after other Gods whom ye know not And come and stand before me in this house which is called by my name and say We are delivered to do all these abominations Is this house which is called by my name become a den of robbers in your eyes Behold I have seen it saith the Lord. Do you think by religious exercises and acts of devotion to expiate the guilt of your unrighteous dealings and other crying enormities Behold I have seen it saith the Lord i. e. not only with an eye of observation and knowledge but with an eye of indignation and fury I will recompence your wayes upon your heads Brethren let every man wherein he is called therein abide with God 1 Cor. 7.24 Let pure Religion and the fear of the Lord go with you into your fields and accompany you in your markets and abide with you in your shops and be closely impacted and interwoven with all your civil affairs As he which hath called you is holy so be ye holy in all manner of conversation 1 Pet. 1.15 This is the second instance as to the matter of Religion 3. The multitude are accustomed to place their Religion only in external performances and outward acts of piety But they little study to ingage their hearts and spirits in the service of God They give him their bodies and outward demeanour but surely think they our thoughts are free and they heed not to mortifie vile and inordinate affections provided that they break not forth into any overt acts of ungodliness Prov. 21.2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes but the Lord pondereth the hearts q. d. Men commonly neglect the consideration of their hearts they think it enough to mind their outward actions but little regard the workings of their spirits But ye my beloved keep your hearts above all keeping Give unto God your very souls and spirits and see that all that is within you be employed in his service Psal 103.1 2. Let us cleanse our selves from all the filthiness both of the flesh and spirit 2 Cor. 7.1 And therefore be much in the study of these three considerations following 1. The greatest number of transgressions whereof sinners are ordinarily guilty are sins of the spirit and the most heinous impieties keep their residence and habitation there As the heart of man is the cursed principle from whence they flow so it is the shop where they are forged These spiritual sins are the most devilish wickednesses as carrying the greatest conformity and resemblance to the deeds of the Prince of darkness And then as I said they are ever the greatest number Prov. 26.25 When he speaketh fair believe him not for there are seven abominations in his heart Seven abominations i. e. a multitude of abominations wickednesses of every kind For one gross act of murder committed there is much hatred and malice which are spiritual murder in the sight of God For one robbery done there is abundance of envy and covetousness For one gross act of fornication or adultery there is much sinful lusting which is adultery in the heart Now where sin hath its principal residence there should a Christian be most vigilant and careful 2. God doth judg and pass sentence upon mens outward actions according as the heart is ingaged in them So much of the spirit as is imployed in duty so much worth and excellency in the duty and so much of the heart as is set upon the commission of a sin so much malignity and sinfulness is therein Jer. 17.10 I the Lord search the heart I try the reins even to give every man according to his wayes and according to the fruit of his doings Jer. 30.21 Who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me saith the Lord 3. The God whom we serve and with whom in all concernments we have to do is such a being as we call a spiritual being that is incorporeal and invisible And therefore bare external acts of obedience carry no proportion or suitableness to his nature and excellencies That service which is acceptable unto God must have in some measure an answerableness unto the nature and perfections of the God that is served It must be a walking worthy of the Lord Col. 1.10 Now this can never be absolved by meer outward devotion For God is a spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth Jo. 4.24 We are the circumcision who worship God in the spirit Phil. 3.3 That 's the third instance as to the matter of religion 4. Most persons limit their religion to a freedom and abstinence from grosser acts of pollution and heinous enormities But they make nothing to swallow down lesser impieties that make no such noise in the ears of the world Provided they be not drunkards and swearers and guilty of such other acts of debauchery they think some lighter offences are inconsiderable What if they take liberty now and then to talk vainly and frothily and wantonly What if they defraud and go beyond their brethren if it be but in a small matter wherein they receive no great damage or detriment Surely think they we need not be so exact and precise as to these things But my brethren do not you write after their copy stand you in awe of the least of Gods commandments Whatsoever is the object of divine displeasure and indignation let it be the object of your hatred and detestation Take the prayer of David for your pattern Psal 119.133 Order my steps in thy word and let not any iniquity have dominion over me These are the persons whom the Lord hath blessed Who are undefiled in the way that walk in the law of the Lord These also do no iniquity they walk in his wayes Psal 119.1 3. Isa 56.1 2. Besides what I have mentioned in this case in the doctrinal part of this subject let me give you farther these three particulars 1. Lesser sins if they are maintained and allowed and harboured in the heart if they are customarily practised in the life they become upon that account exceeding heinous The greatest sums are made up of unites the vastest mountains are made up of small dust and gravel that will crumble between the fingers Smaller iniquities continued in will bring upon the soul a load of guilt of weight enough to sink it into the pit of destruction Is the matter little wherein thou sinnest and so thy transgressions small as thou imaginest Yet the custom
as we And have not they as good knowledg of the mind of God as we have If it were so bad to tipple and lye in the alehouse now and then do you think so many judicious men would practise it If it were a sinful thing to game and revel and the like would not others leave it If such a worship were corrupt can you imagine that so many knowing men would not abhorre it shall we think our selves to be wiser then the most These are the reasonings of mens spirits whereby they strive to defend their crooked wayes As Eliphas speaks to Job cap. 15.7 8 9. Art thou the first man that was born Or wast thou made before the hills Hast thou heard the secret of God and dost thou restrain wisdom to thy self What knowest thou that we know not what understandest thou which is not in us So are sinners apt to argue the case when they are reproved for any indirect practise Do you think your self wiser than the most They make no scruple at such things and have they not as much knowledg as we Shall we be so arrogant as to restrain wisdom to our selves Surely it is not to be condemned or otherwise so many would not approve of it and follow it For mind it Sirs as a most certain rule that as the custom and the commoness of the practise of sin doth usually take away the sense and conscience of sin in them that commit it so it many times takes away the opinion of sin in them that observe it Surely think they if there were any harm in it people would not so readily and universally close with it It was the very argument they brought against our Lord Jesus Christ and the religion of his followers because it was generally opposed Act. 28.22 As concerning this sect we know it is every where spoken against Now for the deadning of this influence I shall intreat you to observe and lay to heart these three things 1. That this is double wickedness in the sight of God and so may justly expose us to a greater measure of his indignation for a person not only to live in the practise of sin but to defend and justifie those practises For a man first to break the law of God and then to plead against the law and as much as in him lieth to enervate and invalidate the obligatory power of it This is one of the greatest contempts that can be offered against the Lord of glory And it is far from the temper of a true believer A child of God may fall through temptation into sin but he will not plead the cause of sin He will stand up in defence of the word of God against himself and take confusion of face unto himself But when a wicked man doth indeavour to maintain his wickedness that is an high affront unto the Sovereign Lord and Law-giver It is in effect to set his mouth against the heavens as it is expressed Psal 73.8 9. I remember an heathen Philosopher being asked his opinion what they deserved who committed murder or adultery in their drunkeness and then excused it because they were in drink His answer was that such should be twice punished first for the fact committed and again for their drunkenness So may I say of sinners of this sort God may justly execute upon them the fierceness of his anger and make them tast the sorest of his displeasure He may destroy them with a double destruction first for the evils which they commit and again for the justifying of those evils You have a particular woe denounced on this account Isa 5.20 Wo unto them that say concerning evil it is good and of good it is evil that put darkness for light and light for darkness that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter 2. For a person thus to plead in defence of his sin it is to put himself at the greatest distance from repentance and conversion and consequentially from the pardoning grace and favour of God annexed thereunto The reason is apparent because conviction is the first step that leads to conversion It is impossible a sinner should be humbled for or turned from his ungodliness till he be convinced of it As long as he stands up in justification of his corruptions he will never loath and abhor himself for them And therefore when the Lord cometh in a way of saving mercy to a soul and takes him into a covenant with himself he doth take them off from pleading in their own justification any further that they may lye down in their shame Ezek. 16.62 63. And I will establish my covenant with thee and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. That thou mayest remember and be confounded and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame when I am pacified towards thee for all that thou hast done saith the Lord God Mark it before time their mouthes were opened and they had something to speak in their own behalf all the world almost went on in such a way and why might not we as well as others and the like But when the spirit works effectually and bringeth them into the bond of the covenant you shall not hear a word more of these corrupt reasonings Now they see their vileness and that they have nothing farther to plead but they lay their hands upon their mouth 3. The rectitude or irregularity of any course or action is not to be measured and judged from the carriage of the greatest number of men but by the word of the living God It is the scripture which is the standard both for the trying of doctrines whether they are sound or corrupt and for the weighing of actions whether they are sinful or warrantable * Non eo animentur quia multi sunt sed hoc ipso mag is reprimantur quia non pauci sunt Nihil ad extenuationem delicti numerus impudens valere consuevit Cypr. Epist 26. Indeed the practises of the generality are so far from justifying any proceedings whatsoever that we have cause to suspect them on that very account Because it is such an ordinary thing for them to combine together in the service of the devil Jer. 5.11 12. For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me saith the Lord. They have belied the Lord and said it is not he neither shall evil come upon us neither shall we see sword nor famine Jer. 6.13 From the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsly Mark it it was not here and there a single person but the whole body of the people collectively and unanimously were corrupted men of all ranks and conditions So that for the trying of the particulars of your conversation you must not pass sentence according to the general practise but have recourse to the Law and the testimony Psal
compliance with the multitude in their wickedness Shalt thou be thereby freed from persecutions without But what if God send trouble and horrour upon the conscience within That will be an heavier and a more insupportable burden than all external calamities whatsoever It is not the favour and friendship of all the men in the world that can minister support and comfort against the clamours of an evil conscience when it is throughly a wakened by the spirit of God Prov. 18.14 The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity but a wounded spirit who can bear 3. When God doth suffer his people to fall into persecutions for their righteousness sake He doth not leave them alone but hath promised himself to be graciously present with them He will minister strength to inable them to bear their burdens and will dart comfort into their souls that shall sweeten the most bitter cup of tribulation He will restrain the rage and fury of their oppressours that they shall not lay upon them more than is conducible unto their spiritual good For although God doth sometimes let his children fall into the hands of the ungodly yet he never delivereth them over to the will of the ungodly At length he will make a way for them to escape and cause all their sufferings to work together for their good and give them an ample recompence that shall make a plentiful amends for whatever cost they have been at in his service Isa 43.1 2. When thou passest through the waters I will be with thee and thorow the rivers they shall not overflow thee when thou walkest thorow the fire thou shalt not be burnt neither shall the flame kindle upon thee For I am the Lord thy God the holy one of Israel thy Saviour And are the consolations of God small unto you Is it a light thing to be under the promise of his special presence and providence Wo be to sinners when trouble comes from the hand of God and there is no ministration of support from the gracious assistance of God What will they then do in the day of tribulation But the Lord will not leave his own people comfortless but will come himself and minister unto them This made the Apostle Paul that he could rejoyce in his sufferings 2 Cor. 12.10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities in reproaches in necessities in persecutions in distresses for Christs sake for when I am weak then am I strong i. e. when I am at the lowest ebb of outward enjoyments then is the Lord pleased to communicate the greatest spiritual vigour and consolation unto my heart When my body is at the lowest and my outward man at the weakest then is my soul filled with special refreshments from above God doth make up the oppressions of my outward man by imparting grace unto and lifting up the light of his countenance upon my inward man so that I have no cause to complain This shall suffice to be spoken unto the sixth way how this temptation worketh 7. And lastly There is a secret inclination in mens spirits to follow the example of a multitude in sin Because it is a pleasant thing to walk with company and in competition therewith the wayes of holiness and the fear of the Lord seem to be sad melancholly and tedious wayes It is a kind of irksome and unpleasant thing for a man to go alone in any course but to walk with company is delightsome and suitable to a mans heart and spirit Now therefore to avoid the loneliness of the service of God people are ready to comply with the multitude of the ungodly As the Israelites argued the case with Samuel in respect of a King 1 Sam. 8.5 20. We will be like all the nations and that our King may judge us So are sinners apt to plead themselves into wickedness We cannot endure to be solitary and in a path by our selves but let us doe as others doe You have a particular caution from S. Paul to take heed of this reasoning 1 Thes 5.6 Therefore let us not sleep as do others but let us watch and beasober intimating that there is a great proness in mens spirits to do as others do and to travel in that road where they may have much company with them Now to shew you the folly and weakness of this kind of argumentation I will only subjoyn these two considerations 1. That a sound believer that liveth by faith in Christ and in the exercise of repentance and purifieth himself as Christ is pure hath the infinitely blessed God for the man of his counsel and to bear him fellowship in his way And is not he Sirs the best companion in the world that can give you the best help and succour upon every occasion and bring the greatest and most heart-warming joy and gladness into the soul As the glory of God is a believers ultimate end at which he aimeth and as the spirit of God is his principal guide by whom he is conducted and as the word of the Lord is the high-way wherein he travels So the Lord of hosts himself is his constant companion 'T is said of Enoch He walked with God three hundred years Gen. 5.22 And Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations and Noah walked with God Gen. 6.9 And my brethren can that be a tedious and melancholy way where the God of consolations is ever at hand he that dwelleth in the souls of his children that he may revive their spirits The truth is most mens hearts are carnal and sensual and they cannot tast the sweetness of communion with God or else they would not complain for want of society and fellowship The Apostle speaks of it as the highest priviledg under the sun and that in a way of gloriation and boasting 1 Jo. 1.3 4. That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you that ye also may have fellowship with us and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ And these things write we unto you that your joy may be ful q. d. Here is the well-spring of joy here is a sovereign antidote against sadness and disconsolatness of spirit this will cause you to abound in joy above the joy of harvest above what will arise from the increase of corn and wine and oyle if you will have your vessels filled come unto these waters secure your interest in this blessed fellowship 2. If you would have the society of men your fellow creatures to go along with you Why the wisest course to be taken for the attainment of that is not to comply with the wicked but to labour what in you lieth to turn them from their wickedness So that be much in prayer for them that God would open their eyes and shew them the way of truth that he would sanctifie their hearts and turn them unto the truth Set a good example before them that they may be won over by the loveliness of your
be the pen-men thereof that we might have a certain rule from which we must not recede For as the Apostle argueth in the case of justification If righteousness came by the moral Law then there was no need of the death of Christ the same will hold good in case of the rule of life If the traditions of our fathers were a sufficient guide then there was no need of the Scriptures And therefore you shall find that the Lord gave forth his statutes and testimonies as to supply the deficiency of the light of nature so to call men off from cleaving to the corruptions of their fathers Psal 78.5 6 7 8. For he established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a Law in Israel which he commanded our fathers that they should make them known to their children That the generation to come might know them even the children which should be born who should arise and declare them to their children That they might set their hope in God and not forget the works of God but keep his commandments And might not be as their Fathers a stubborn and rebellious generation 3. Whereas people are apt to plead for the Religion of their forefathers and to be in love with it because of its antiquity that being the old way to which therefore they will adhaere You must observe That it is not every old way without limitation or exception that is to be approved but the old way of holiness and the fear of the Lord which ought to be regulated by the word of the Lord and which becometh vain and sinful when it is taught according to the traditions of men Jer. 6.16 Thus saith the Lord stand ye in the wayes and ask for the old paths where is the good way and walk therein and ye shall find rest for your souls Mark Sirs It is not every old way that will bring spiritual peace and lead you to everlasting rest but the good old way For most damnable corruptions may plead prescription of time and in some sort their antiquity There is the old way of sin and wickedness which leads directly to the chambers of death Job 22.15 16 17. Host thou not marked the old way which wicked men have trodden which were cut down out of time whose foundation was overflown with a flood Which said unto God Depart from us and what can the Almighty do for them There is the old way of ignorance and atheism and error and superstition and profaneness There is the old way of Popery with its palpable blindness blood-thirstiness and idolatry And indeed Sirs if you will hold to this principle To be of the Religion of your forefathers you must return to the vomit of Popery with all its abominations you must wallow in the mire of all their filthiness and blasphemies or else you must become Heathens and Infidels For as Joshua speaketh unto the Israelites Jos 24.2 Your father 's dwelt on the other side of the flood of old time even Terah the father of Abraham and the father of Nachor and they served other gods The like may I say to you in this case Your fathers of old time were Idolaters they were drencht in the polluted waters of Popish darkness Idolatry and Superstition within the compass of two hundred years they worshipped God in a language they understood not they gave heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of Daemons they gave adoration to Saints and Angels nay they worshipped bread and wine and dumb pictures and images Or if you will go some hundreds of years higher into old times then your fathers were downright Heathens without the knowledge of Christ or of God in Christ that worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator Which then is the good old way that we may walk therein Why It is the Scripture-way the high-way of holiness which God delivered unto his people in the writings of Moses and the Prophets those ancient records of the Church which are of greater antiquity than any profane Heathen writings whatsoever For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the holy Ghost 2 Pet. 1.21 The good old way is the way of the Saints in the primitive ages of the Church wherein they travailed towards the kingdom of heaven the way of Abel and Enoch and Noah and Abraham and other the servants of the most-High And therefore when Peter calls them to the old times it was to the times of Abraham the father of the faithful 1 Pet. 3.5 For after this manner in the old time the holy women also who trusted in God adorned themselves being in subjection unto their own husbands Even as Sarah obeyed Abraham The good old way Sirs is the way of righteousness innocence and integrity obedience to the Law of the Lord and subjection to his will which can plead its antiquity beyond that of sin which is but a novel invention of the devil in comparison and proceedeth from the vain imagination of mans heart Eccl. 7.29 God made man upright but they have sought out many inventions 4. Are you resolved to be of the Religion of your fathers and to walk in their wayes whatever they have been Why Remember this was the very weapon with which the unbelieving Jews fought against the Gospel It was the very argument which they pressed against Christ and his disciples and the way to heaven which he preached So that if you had lived in the dayes of Christ you would have persecuted him as the Jews did and would have opposed the Apostles and sought to have rooted up the doctrines of life and salvation How was Paul principled when he was a persecutor Why he was zealous against any thing that opposed the traditions of his fathers And that blind zeal made him mad against the Church Gal. 1.14 Phil. 3.6 Act. 26.11 What had they to object against Stephen for which he was stoned Why the principal article of his charge was this that he had preached against their customs Act. 6.14 5. This doth mightily enhance and aggravate the sinfulness of a sin and tends to ripen the sinners for destruction when iniquity doth descend from one generation to another and persons continue to walk in those evil courses wherein their fathers have walked For we should take warning from them not to commit the like abominations Their evil actions should be our admonitions to keep free from the pollutions wherewith they were defiled As hereditary diseases which come in a blood and by descent from parents to their children are the most dangerous diseases so hereditary sins and transgressions are the most destructive Mark how Nehemiah pleads against Sabbath-breaking on this account Neh. 13.17 18. What evil thing is this that ye do and profane the Sabbath day Did not your fathers thus and did not our God bring all this evil upon us and upon this City yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by
the present many parts of my solemn worship are limited and confined unto certain places but the time is at hand when my glory shall be revealed unto all people and then the distinction of places shall be done away 3. The worship of God in the pure primitive times was performed by the people of God according to their conveniency without being tied or restrained to certain determinate places See the example of Christ in the first place sometimes he preacheth in the house where the people were congregated Again at another time by the sea-side and out of a ship And sometimes in the Synagogues And when his audience was so great that a particular building could not probably contain them you shall find him preaching upon a mountain Mat. 5.1 2. Mar. 2.13 Mar. 4.1 2. See the practise of believers in scripture times after the ascension of Christ Then mostly they met in private houses * In hac consuescitis parte crimen nobis maximum impietatis affigere quod neque aedes sacras venerationes ad officia construamus Templa extruimus nulla Arnob. contra Gentes Because that was most convenient to avoid the fury of the adversaries who persecuted them for their meetings This is so plain and obvious that he seems little to consult his readers patience that shall spend much time or paper in the proof of it Acts 2.46 Acts 12.12 Acts 20.7 8. From hence as I conceive you have that common expression in some of Pauls Epistles the Church that is in such a ones house i. e. The Church that was wont there to assemble and meet together to partake of the ordinances of the gospel 1 Cor. 16.19 Col. 4.15 Why else should the Apostle speaking of Priscilla and Aquila greet the Church in their house and presently after changing his expression salute Aristobulus houshold and the houshold of Narcissus which were in the Lord Rom. 16.5 10 11. Well then the Church of Christ met in any place according to their convenience And in this respect those publike buildings which are commonly called Churches are ordinarily to be preferred before other places where there is freedom for the purity of the worship of God as being best fitted and ordered for convenience But if the room of a private dwelling be large enough for the company that attend upon the service of God and fitly disposed for orderliness and decency in their attendance thereupon there is as great an excellency therein and the duties there performed are as acceptable as in any other place whatsoever For it passeth the reach of my understanding to conceive how that crossings and holy water and such superstitious devices with the rest of the pageantry * See Rhem. Annot. in 2 Tim. 4. sect 12 13. Bellarm. lib. 3. cap. 7. de Sanctis used amongst the Papists in the consecration of Churches where there are no footsteps in scripture for direction in such a practise should any thing avail to the putting a standing excellency in those places 4. Lastly let it be observed that whereas ignorant people are wont to have an high reverence and esteem for such a place and to think the worship of God is more acceptable therein because as they speak it is the Church and the house of God this very thing is one sign and taken of their ignorance For the building or structure is called the Church only figuratively and metonymically because the Church is accustomed there to assemble together As we call one place in Westminster-hall the Court of Chancery and another partition the Court of common pleas because there those courts are wont to sit for deciding of controversies Else it is the congregation of the faithful that is the Church of Christ The living members of Christ the servants of God are his house and temple And wherever they are wont to meet together though in an upper chamber that 's the Church metonymically as well as any other building which we usualy so call Act. 12.5 Prayer was made without ceasing of the Church unto God for him and v. 1. Herod the King stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the Church 1 Cor. 14.12 Seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the Church Eph. 5.25 Husbands love your wives as Christ also loved the Church and gave himself for it So that look what is the object of the persecution of the wicked by whom are prayers and supplications sent up unto the throne of grace Who are edified unto salvation by the ordinances of the gospel for whom Christ died and shed his precious bloud they are the Church of Jesus Christ and the place no otherwise than as there they congregate Know ye not that ye are the temple of God and that the spirit of God dwelleth in you 1 Cor. 3.16 For the temple of God is holy which temple ye are v. 17. Christ was faithful as a son over his own house whose house are we if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoycing of the hope firm unto the end Heb. 3.6 The persecutors and the profane who vilifie the Saints and set against them are the persons that are guilty of despising the Church and of bearing no respect or reverence unto the Church So much for the second point wherein it concerns us to be cautious that we be not led by the multitude namely as to the matter of Religion wherein it is placed 3. See to it that you be not carried down the stream with the multitude in respect of the method and order wherein religion is prosecuted The most people pursue the interest of religion and the fear of the Lord in a secondary way in a subserviency to the promoting of some carnal and worldly interest Men profess godliness that they may be well esteemed amongst the godly that they may gain the favour or friendship of this or the other holy man from whom they expect to reap advantage that they may get the better credit among such with whom they have to deal and so drive on their worldly designs with greater likelihood of success or the like At least they have some earthly and carnal interest which they pursue in coordination and conjunction with the service of God They think they may serve God and the world together that they may be true Christians and yet mammonists also But my beloved be not ye conformed to the multitude Serve the Lord in singleness and godly simplicity of Spirit Let all other concernments stoop to the matters of the kingdom of heaven Serve the Lord only and undividedly and dedicate your selves and all that you have wholly and entirely to the masters use Let godliness have the preheminence and superiority in all your affairs and undertakings Mat. 6.33 Seek ye first the kingdom of God and the righteousness thereof and all these earthly things shall be added unto you How should the kingdom of God and the righteousness thereof be sought after in the first place Why
performed by the united companies of the people of God on that day of rest 7 The Psalmist urgeth to the practise of those duties from the consideration mainly of Gods work of Creation v. 4 5 6 7. Which is the reason given for the institution of a Sabbath To the commemoration whereof the Lords day fitly serveth as being a seventh day as well as to the celebration of the work of Redemption being the Resurrection day the first day of the week 8 The Apostle presseth the Hebrews to the observation of this rest from two special arguments which may seem clearly to relate to the work of the Sabbath 1. Because it would be a special means to prevent Apostasy Heb. 4.11 Lest any man fall And what duty is likely to be more effectual to that end than a conscientious sanctification of the Lords day 2. From the mighty influence and efficacy of the word of God upon mens hearts v. 12. q. d. Be very diligent and heedful to keep this day of rest and to wait upon God in his ordinances and to give attendance upon his word for it is not in vain so to do His word will cleanse your hearts and consciences from dead works for it is quick and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword I might add 3. From the consideration of the omniscience and heart seurching power of God with whom our business lieth in all religious exercises especially See v. 13. But I must forbear Pardon this larg digression or out-leap which yet will not be unuseful if it may but serve to provoke some others of greater abilâ—ties to make a more diligent search into the Scope and drift of this Scripture I will study brevity in that which doth remain 3. To preserve you from infection by the example of the multitude as to the neglect of the Sabbath Be often meditating upon the manifold advantages that will arise from a conscientious sanctification thereof and the blessings entailed thereupon This is the way to attain the most intimate acquaintance with God and to get tasts of the sweetness of the way of holiness There are many persons who complain of a strict course of religion as a tedious and burdensom way Behold what a weariness it is unto their spirits and they never found that sweetness and that spiritual joy and refreshment which believers are wont to speak of Probably the reason may be for want of diligence and faithfulness in sanctification of the Sabbath for thereunto is the promise of divine consolations annexed Finally it hath assurance of the mercies of this life and of that which is to come Be much in studying that pregnant text Isa 58.13 14. If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath from doing thy pleasure on my holy day and call the Sabbath a delight the holy of the Lord honourable and shalt honour him not doing thine own wayes nor finding thine own pleasure nor speaking thine own words Then shalt thou delight thy self in the Lord and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it This is the second thing to be noted as to the time of religion 3. The generality of people will cry unto God and seem tobe much displeased with their sins only in the time of sickness and adversity when the hand of God is upon them and his rod upon their backs But in the dayes of their health and prosperity they forget the Lord and perhaps entertain not so much as a serious thought of him from one end of the day to the other This the Prophet notes as a common evil Isa 26.10 Let favour be shewed to the wicked yet will he not learn righteousness in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly and will not behold the majesty of the Lord. But let him be reduced into straits and exigencies and bound with fetrers of affliction on the bed of sorrowes then he will at least seemingly lament and mourn and be earnest in seeking unto God For so it followeth v. 16. Lord in trouble have they visited thee they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them This was the temper of the Israelites of old and the multitude take the like course Psal 78.34 35 36 37. When he slew them then they sought him and they returned and inquired early after God And they remembred that God was their rock and the high God their Redeemer Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth and lied unto him with their tongues For their heart was not right with him neither were they stedfast in his covenant My brethren you must not herein follow the track of the multitude Labour as to improve afflictions so to spiritualize all your comforts and to serve the Lord with the best of your strength and abilities Do not put him off with your sick-bed devotions and some flittering promises of obedience when you are in distress but manifest the sincerity of your hearts by dedicating your most prosperous dayes and enjoyments unto his glory That is the sure way to lay up in store a good foundation of support and comfort against the day of trouble Else what cause will there be to suspect that your affliction-eries are but the howling of hypocrites Hos 7.14 How can you with such confidence address your selves to the Lord for succour in the day of tribulation and adversity if you forget him in the time of your prosperity and peace May not you justly fear least he should laugh at your calamity and mock when your fear cometh least he should refuse to answer any of your requests in mercy least he should put you off to the world which you served and to the lusts which you satisfied to fetch your comfort from thence when you are surrounded with sorrows And they would be sure to prove very miserable comforters Instead of asswaging your grief they would increase your anguish and bring further horrour and perplexity into your spirits So he threatned thaâ— sinful people Jer. 2.27 28. They say unto a stock thou art my father and to a stone thou hast brought me forth for they have turned their back unto me and not the face But in the time of their trouble they will say arise and save us But where are thy Gods which thou hast made thee Let them arise if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble q. d. You would have none of me for your master when the Sun of prosperity shone upon your tabernacles and now you are reduced into straits and extremities I will have nothing to do with you except it be in a way of wrath and judgment My brethren if you be guilty of the like impiety how justly may you fear the same dreadful dismission Often read and study that awakening scripture Deut. 28.45 46 47 48. Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee and shall pursue thee
block to the weak Though in no case I must betray my christian liberty yet in many cases I am bound to forbear the use of my liberty rather than make my brother offend 1 Cor. 8.9 10 11.12.13 Keep your selves pure and untainted not only from fouler blots in matters apparently evil but from the stain of any thing that is of evil report hating even the garment spotted with the flesh Jude 23. Finally brethren whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest whatsoever things are just whatsoever things are pure whatsoever things are lovely whatsoever things are of good report if there be any vertue and if there be any praise think on these things Phil. 4.8 8. Lastly the multitude are commonly like the corrupt teachers of old time amongst the Jewes they think they must love and deal kindly with their friends and relations but they cannot but hate and malign such as are their enemies They will deal justly and fairly with those who deal justly and regularly with them but if any do them an injury be sure they will be revenged on him They will give railing for railing and rapine for rapine and injury for injury And this they conceive is a matter justifiable when they do but pay men in their own coine and give them no worse than they brought Mat. 5.38 43. But Sirs if you will act as Christians do not follow the multitude Love your enemies bless them that curse you do good to them that hate you and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven For he maketh his Sun to rise upon the evil and on the good and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust For if ye love them which love you what reward have ye Do not even the publicans the same And if ye salute your brethren only what do you more than others 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 what extraordinary matter is it what excellent thing do ye wherein do you go beyond the multitude do not even the publicans so Mat. 5.44 45 46 47. Say not I will do so to him as he hath done to me I will render to the man according to this work Prov. 24.29 But you will be apt to reply why should I not right my self upon him from whom I have suffered wrong why should I put up an affront at his hands If I do mine adversary a kindness he will not thank me for it Mark therefore what the Lord hath spoken by way of incouragement unto this duty Prov. 25.21 22. If thine enemy be hungry give him bread to eat and if he be thirsty give him water to drink For thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head and the Lord shall reward thee q. d. Possibly thy Christian carriage may overcome his rugged disposition thy kindness may melt him into love and cause him of an enemy to become thy sure friend However thou shalt in no wise lose thy reward for the Lord hath undertaken it who is a sure pay-master Thus I have dispatched the first thing I designed under the use of Exhortation by way of exemplification or instance wherein we ought to be cauious not to follow the multitude SECT VIII 2. GIve me leave to add some few things by way of direction what course we must take to prevent seduction by the example of the multitude Dir. 1. If you would not be led into sin by the example of the multitude be diligent in studying the word of God and get a clear insight into the will of God therein revealed This will be of great use not only as a Chart or compass whereby to steer your course when the wind and tide of their practise would carry you aside into evil But will furnish you also with arguments on all occasions to oppose their sollicitations Rom. 12.2 Be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye may prove what is that good that acceptable and perfect will of God Mark it if ye will not be forced down the current of the world you must be well verst and instructed in the mind of God that you may have the scripture in a readiness wherewithall to answer their temptations Dir. 2. To preserve you from compliance with the multitude in sin labour to be strongly fenced against the importunity of sinners You must get a kind of stifness and stoutness of spirit that will not be easiâ—y bent or bowed one way or other by the humours of men As you ought to be pliable and yielding to the commandments of God gentle easy to be intreated to the doing of good so you must be strong to resist all incitations to evil Some are of that ductile and facile disposition that they are easily impressive of any form and quickly turned aside into crooked wayes Such a one was King Joash after his uncles decease First the Princes of Judah fell away to idolatry and they came and made obeisance to the King and he presently yielded his consent 2 Chron. 24.17 18. And it is a matter of easie observation how that many are utterly ruined by this soft * Hic murus aboneus esto Nil conscire sibi nulla pallescere culpâ Hor. and ductile temper which men falsly call a good nature S. Paul was a man of another frame of spirit when he was bound in the spirit for Jerusalem his companions beseeched him and his friends wept over him but he would not be perswaded Act. 21.13 14. Such a kind of holy obstinacy must you get into your souls if you will stand fast in the way of righteousness For be sure your friends will reason with you and your acquaintance will importune you to joyn in their confederacy So that you must be fixt as a rock in the sea that remains unmoveable though all the waves and billowes tosse and dash themselves against it Remember if sinners are importunate to induce you to sin the God of heaven is importunate to keep you in the path of holiness and whose importunacy should mostly prevail upon you judg ye Doth not wisdom cry and understanding lift up her voice She standeth in the top of high places by the way in the places of the paths She crieth at the gates at the entry of the City at the coming in of the doors Unto you O men I call and my voice is to the sons of men O ye simple understand wisdom and ye fools be ye of an understanding heart Prov. 9.1 2 3 4 5. Dir. 3. In order to keep you from infection by the practise of the multitude Be sure to get your natures sanctified Earnestly pray to the Lord for the grace of regeneration Do not content your selves with any common endowments but get the spirit of conversion that other spirit which the world cannot receive For if your qualifications be no other than the world hath your conversations will be alike
also What made Caleb remain upright with Jehovah when the other Spies turned aside unto vanity and lying Because he was a man of another spirit Num. 14.24 But my servant Caleb because he had another spirit with him and followed me fully If you will follow the Lord fully when the whole world wondereth after the beast as the apostacy of the latter times is expressed Rev. 13.3 you must be otherwise spirited than the world is Common graces and indowments will never be productive of a singular conversation Dir. 4. If you will not be led aside into sin by the multitudes's practise Take heed of entertaining their principles but indeavour to erect and to set up principles of holiness in the stead of them For Mark it my brethren as your minds are affected with right or corrupt notions touching the matters of religion so will your conversations be regularly or corruptly ordered If your judgments be distempered with rotten principles they will certainly transmit answerable defilement into your lives Therefore you shall find that it is one of the special works of God in the day of conversion to eradicate and pluck up these false pinciples out of mens spirits as being the strong holds of the devil whereby he keeps possession of their hearts and some of the principal engines where by he hurrieth them on to works of darkness 2 Cor. 10.4 5. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth it self against the knowledg of God and bringeth into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ So that you must beg instantly of God that he would please to throw down these towring thoughts and make your hearts sound in his statutes as is the prayer of David Ps 119.80 It would be an endless task to pass over all the rotten principles that are in the hearts of the multitude I will only mention the principal and for methods sake reduce them to seven heads 1. The first principle of the multitude concerns the nature of God and it is this That God is not so severe and exact in the observing mens wayes and actions as some precise ministers would bear them in hand he is Surely think they the Lord doth not make any such great matter whether we be holy or not he doth not so much stand upon strictness and circumspection in our carriage nor will he be so rigorous as to require it of us Only these puritan preachers tell us stories of that nature and they must say something to fill up the time Thus they reason themselves into wickedness and the wicked one strikes in to promote these reasonings Psal 10.11 He hath said in his heart God hath for gotten it he hideth his face he will never see it Again v. 13. Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God He hath said in his-heart thou wilt not require it Ezek. 8.12 Then said â—e unto me Son of man hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark every man in the chambers of his imagery For they say the Lord seeth us not the Lord hath forsaken the earth Mark it they went on in sin and idolatry being acted by the influence of this cursed principle Now therefore this principle must be demolished and thrown down For men will never venture through the oppositions and reproaches of the multitude that they may be accepted of God unless they be fully convinced that God mindeth their wayes and that holiness is pleasing in his sight Gen. 17.1 Walk before me and be thus perfect Job 31.4 Doth not he see my wayes and count all my steps Prov. 5.20 21. Why wilt thou my Son he ravished with a strang woman and embrace the bosom of a stranger For the wayes of man are before the eyes of the Lord and he pondereth all his goings In the room and place of this first rotten principle let these scripture principles be erected 1. That the conscience of a man is Gods deputy and substitute set up in the soul to this purpose that it may judg the sinner for his wickedness and bind him over to appear before the judgment seat of Christ Rom. 2.15 16. Jo. 8.9 Let me therefore ask thee this one question Doth not thy conscience sometimes smite thee for thy profaness and hypocrisy Doth not that give thee many a secret gripe at thy heart and lye as a worm gnawing within thy entrals Doâ—h it not step in now and then in the times of thy jovialty and merriment and spoil all thy sport and warn thee of coming before a greater judg Why O vain man doth conscience observe which God hath planted in thy breast and doth not God observe more exactly by whom it was planted For if our heart condemn us God is greater than our heart and knoweth all things 1 Jo. 3.20 Understand O ye brutish among the people and ye fools when will ye be wise He that planted the ear shall not he hear He that formed the eye this internal reflective eye of the soul shall not he see He that chastizeth the heathen shall not he correct He that teacheth man knowledg shall not he know The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man that they are vanity Psal 94.8 9 10 11. 2. Settle this principle also in the place of the other that all the dispensations of God towards the children of men have a direct and natural tendency to lead them to repentance and to quicken them to walk in wayes of holiness To this end he gave his word to instruct them and his spirit to strive with them and hath appointed his ordinances to be attended upon by them Upon this account he doth wait in the exercise of his long suffering towards some and sends his ministers to treat with them in his name To this end he executeth sore judgments upon others and maketh them to tast the bitterness of sin in the fruits of it This is the proper end of all exhortations and counsels of all comminations on the one hand and promises on the other hand of all mercies and afflictions and providences of every sort And can you be so sottish as to imagine that the infinitely wise God would be at such cost and pains to drive men out of their sins and to draw them to godliness and yet not regard whether they are holy or not You will not impute such folly to a considerate sober man that he would be at a vast expence in order to accomplish a design and then not care whether it be accomplished or no And darest thou to charg this folly upon God whose wisdom is incomprehensible and of whose understanding there is no searching out Consider O man what expence the Lord hath been at upon thy soul Sometimes he hath watered thee with his blessings from heaven and again exercised thee under sharp corrections Now he hath indulged thee the use of spiritual