not forbear the tasting of a little meat it may be but once to prevent thy brothers damnation Besides thou dost indiscreetly adminiâ—ter an occasion to confirm his foolish estimation of an Idol above the true God to whose Honour we are to refer the actions of our whole life and whose Gloâ—y can scarce by any thing be so advanced by us as by a prudent charity so much may serve for the explication of the Coherence of the Text The verse contains one of those two comprehensive principles which divide the substance of Religion between them and are of such important use to a good man in all his wayes that he can never neglect either of them but he must needs miscarry The first is Dependance upon God that is a constant clasping about Almighty Goodnesse which hath given us a Being but not without an absolute necessity of cleaving still to it without which we cannot support our selves as we perceive by that Impotency and feeblenesse which we often feel in our selves Alas we should sink down into nothing and so would the whole Creation were it not for that omnipotent life which penetrates through all things to comfort and sustein them Whosoever ceaseth this duty to God the first Cause of all things tears himself off from his root withers and becomes unprofitable to God and himself and growes as stupidly as the Trunks of senselesse Trees upon roots that afford them sap and juice though they know it not The second is a sincere ordination of our selves and our works to the honour of God which is a consequent of the former for it is as absurd morally not to live to God as it is impossible naturally to live of our selves This Latter is the exhortation of Saint Paul in the Text and I have the rather chosen it for the subject of this discourse because though it is by many much talked of yet few things are more mistaken and none more neglected In the explication of this great point I shall endevour to 1. State the true notion of Gods glory 2. Shew how we may glorify God in all we do 3. Demonstrate that we ought to do so 4. Give notice of some things by which God and Christian Religion have been much dishonoured First I will endevour to state a true Notion of the Divine Glory But being about to write of such a subject I may well begin with the words of an excellent Philosopher who going to describe Gods nature sayes thus {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} i. e. Now what manner of thing should I be whilst I speak of God what beauty of speech what light of apprehension revealing it self in clear expressions what harmony of well chosen words is needfull to describe to my self and others so great a matter This he might well say considring that by reason of the excellency of Gods Nature the darknesse of our minds and the poverty of speech it is difficult to think or speak any thing worthy of him Some by reason of the unworthinesse of their soules are apt extremely to debase the glory of God and it is possible so far to mistake that in stead of praising him we may blaspheme And it is an acknowledged truth that our Religion depends not upon a slight extramission of ill grounded expressions or shallow affections but upon a deep intramission of Gods reall excellencies That we might not mistake the Divine Glory he who only could hath told us what it is When a worthy man and one very familiar with God made this prayer to him I beseech thee shew me thy glory he received a grant of his prayer in these words I will make my goodnesse passe before thee which is called the Glory of God Verse 22. Thou shalt see my back parts for my face cannot be seen thou shalt see as much as can be shown or is fit for thee to see my Name shall be told thee by which I glory to be known In the next Chapter when the Divine Glory passed by this proclamation was made The Lord the Lord God Mercifull and Gracious long-suffering abundant in goodnesse and truth c. This was a glorious Name indeed and worthy of God Moses saw God appearing after this manner more then once for God shewed himself to him decked with the Glory of his goodnesse when he came forth in the Creation of all things and rejoyced to see every thing made good And God saw every thing that he had made and behold it was very good as if he had said God having in rich benignity made all things in a decent correspondency to his own goodnesse pleased himself as an artificer doth when his work answers the beautiful Idea's of his own mind The Psalmist hath express'd this in plain words After he had taken an exact view of God as he appeared decked with the Glory of his works for so he begins My God thou art great clothed with Honour and Majesty thou coverest thy self with light as with a Chrystal robe c. He addes ver. 31. The Glory of the Lord shall endure for ever the Lord shall rejoyce in his works From the forementioned Scriptures we perceive that Gods Glory is the Divine Goodnesse which shines forth in his works and those merciful condescensions by which he seeks to make his creatures partakers of his own blessednesse according to their capacities Whilst this goodnesse passeth before our eyes we see God as a bright Sun incircled with his own out-spread rayes of Light and Love being capable indeed of no other Glory but what accrues to him from the displaying of his own goodnesse no more than the Sun can be seen but by his own Beams He which can receive nothing if he will have Glory must give That which may be known of God shining in Nature taught the Philosophers the same truth Hierocles speaks very well to this purpose {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} c. i. e. There can be no reasonable cause given for the Creation of all things but the essential goodnesse of God for he is good by Nature and perfectly free from envie Other causes besides this may be assigned but they savour more of humane imperfections then correspond with Gods blessednesse and perfection So Simplicius {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} c. i. e. God having an omnipotent power and infinite good will made nothing evil but all things good as much as could be that is as much as every thing is capable of his goodnesse So that if we take notice of the world {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} the free efflux of the Divine goodnesse we may easily perceive the design of God in the Creation to have been like that of an excellent Limner who having filled a large Room with divers Tables some bigger some lesse beautifies them all according to their proportions with his skilful hand Here also we may receive an account of the difference
that is in the degrees of goodnesse and perfection among the Creatures The variety is a great piece of the beauty of this lovely frame There is one glory of the Sun another of the Moon another of the Starres A suit of Arras Hangings cannot be made without severall colours and those laid differently upon worsted silk silver and Gold formed into divers Images Musick would be a pitifull thing if there were but one note or tone without higher and lower sounds we should want the delectablenesse of Harmony which is more grateful as the notes of which it consists are not the same but tunably different Those things which seem but little in comparison of others have much as to their own capacity and are often more admirable then greater for in instances where it was not expected as he said {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} i.e. They show an Almighty skill in little In the highest things God ascends far above the reach of our eyes and in the lowest he stoops to the remotest proportions of possibility and his Glory shines through them all whilst he fills each measure of reception with due participations of goodnesse which is his own Image and his goodnesse is over all his works By this we see That God made the world for his glory out of meer grace willing to bestow happinesse upon others He was not oppressed with the fullnesse of his blessednesse but like a voluntary spring poures forth the waters of life upon the world I will rejoyce over them to do them good He is pleased wiâ—h being a Benefactor and is delighted when he makes others happy Hence God was most justly worshiped by the Church throughout all generations as the Benigne Father of the Creation Father being a known name of Love which he expressed in his uninterrupted care of all things in the respective ages of the world but especially in the fulnesse of time when to make up the sad ruines of the lapsed Creation he put the breaches of it under the hand of his beloved Sonne who came upon the stage as the expresse image of his person and the brightnesse of his glory which hath been mentioned for in him it shined most clearly He brought salvation in his Name Good will in his Nature His Errand which we call the Gospel what was it but the Love of the Father proclaimed by his beloved Son As we have it epitomized by the Evangelist Ioh. 3. 16. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life This word our Saviour verified with works of transcendent charity for he went up and down doing good expressing a great pity to the bodies but much more to the souls of men and after the service of his whole life which was an Exemplary performance of charity he made his death also a great proof of his love which being stronger then sin and death he offered himself upon the Crosse by a powerful spirit of benignity and became the Redeemer of miserable sinners so that the Angels Hymne was extremely pertinent when they sung Glory to God on High for the good will which was expressed below by the appearance of Christ Jesus whom not only Angels but wise and good men saw and acknowledged his glory to be as the glory of the only begotten Son of God full of Grace and Truth The fulness of true goodnesse was the glorious Image of the Father shining in the face of the Son When he went away just upon his return he said Father I have glorified thee and verse 26â— he tells us how I have declared thy Name what name but that which was proclaimed long before as the glory of God withall he leaves this title Love as his own remembrance by which he would be acknowledged in the world and the badge of his Disciples Hereby shall all men know you to be mine if you love one another One that well knew the truth of this Glory as a genuine follower of Christ his Lord adorns himself with it Having expressed all love and good will in endeavouring the salvation of the Gentiles he pleaseth himself in the good of others which he had furthered after this manner What is our Hope or Crown of rejoycing are not even you in the presence of our Lord Iesus Christ at his coming for you are our Glory and Ioy Divine Paul but never more then now Divine for the glory of God shined out of his mouth as Porphyrie said that Plotinus his soul did when he spake So much being premised concerning the right notion of Gods glory it remains to be spoken next how we may glorify God or do all things to his glory Divines use a distinction of glorification which is not improper to be mentioned in this place One is Perfectio objecti glorificati the perfection of the object glorified and to glorify in this sense is to produce some perfection in the object glorified and thus God doth glorifie his creatures The other is Perfectio subjecti glorificantis a perfection in the person who is said to give glory by which he is able to take a due notice of the excellencies which are in the glorified object but addes nothing to it and thus we are said to glorify God By which we see that the word glorify is of a quite different signification when it is applyed to God and to us For it is a true rule Talia sunt praedicata qualia permittuntur à subjectis What is said of God and us in the same words puts on a vast difference of sense when it is referred to his acts and ours What belongs to God I have discoursed already that small matter that we reach to I shall explain in a few particulars 1. We do honour to God if we preserve alwayes in our minds a right notion of his glory and thrust farre from us all low poor thoughts of God We cannot do a greater disparagement to the highest worth then to think meanly of it {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} as the Father said God may be represented to his disparagement by the unwise Therefore whensoever we think or speak of God we should be sure to use no {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} no poor groveling expressions or creeping imaginations which fall utterly below the worthinesse of so glorious a person Since he can receive no glory by addition of any thing to what he is let us not foolishly endeavour to take away from him by obscuring that which he hath revealed himself to glory in by attributing to him any Temper Disposition or Design that is unworthy of him Let us raise our thoughts of God as high as we can for by that which hath been said already it appeares how far all unworthinesse is removed from God He neither made the world at first or preserves it now for any self-interest what Iulian said of AEsculapius in his fortieth
for inward goodnesse true righteousnesse the Love of God Charity Humility and such like which are {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} everlastingly good of their own nature excellent {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} as our Saviour calls them the weightier matters of the Law upon which God looks with a regard sutable to their intrinsecall value and worth The externals were at the best but figures of heavenly things and shall God accept of the sign for the thing signified they are at the best but carnal and therefore poor rudiments as the Apostle calls them but when they are separated from inward goodnesse they are not only beggarly but false like wooden boxes with nothing in them If God made no more account of external significations when they were so many so pompous so costly shall we think that he will now accept those few which he hath left in his Church and hath revealed to us the necessity of a spiritual worship since the new Law hath required a perpetual Sabbath or rest from elvill works shall we reckon it godlinesse to be idle one day in a week shall we think our selves clean from sin which we affect and practise by being once baptized with water This made the Iewish oblations and rites so abominable to God they made account by the performance of externals to make a supply of inward disobedience and ungodliness When you fasted did you fast to me no but to themselves for by the bodily fast they thought to commute for the spiritual which was to relieve the oppressed to feed the hungry to cease from sin to mortify the old man When they thought by carnal circumcision to dispense with themselves for the inward which is the purifying of the soul from all foul affections God declared constantly to them by his Prophets that he would punish them in the same rank with the wicked Gentiles because they also that is the Jewes were uncircumcised in heart God is so far from accounting himself honoured with fair pretenses that he doth abominate them as the coverings of Hypocrites who being loath to be at the pains of true goodnesse think to put off God whom they pretend to worship with that which costs them nothing The forementioned Iew being hard put to it in this point confessed ingenuously {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} c. The precepts of your Gospel are so wonderfull great that l suppose no body is able to keep them No Hypocrite can because he hath not resigned his heart to God but to a truly good man they are easie so the Apostle and his Commandements are not grievous But he that doth not love God nor hath submitted his will to the divine government being conscious to himself of base defects would make them up in an easier way This is manifest in the Pharisees whom our Saviour hath branded for notorious Hypocrites they were more scrupulous then others concerning Gnats that they might more quietly swallow Camels That they might be thought not to omit what was indeed indispensable they made great conscience of the Ceremonial Matth. 12. 1 2 3. for the keeping a ceremony they would have an act of mercy omitted whilest our Saviour doth reprove their Hypocrisy he doth also convince them of ignorance for have you not read what David did when he was an hungred and they that were with him how he entred into the house of God and did eat the Shew-bread which was not lawful to be eaten but by the Priests If you had known what this meaneth I will have mercy and not sacrifice ye would not have condemned the guiltlesse At that time when those Rites were most in force God permitted his bread to be taken off from his Table to relieve the hungry alwayes preferring mercy and goodnesse before a ceremoniall observance and if you had understood what God would teach you by such his actions you would find your selves much reproved for your Hypocrisy So it is still the way of Hypocrites with pretenses of regard to God whom they have not seen to neglect known duties to their brethren whom they do see to stand in need of them But they are grossely mistaken for God is content that positive rites and institutions should give way to moral eternal duties but that outwards should be put in the room of inwards is most odious to him Doth any wise man prefer a show to the substance Therefore when these deceivers thought to impose upon God on this fashion in Malachy's time he bids them offer their corrupt sacrifice to the Governour See if you can delude any man of place and understanding and make him believe you have done him much honour by fair words though you think unworthily of him in your minds and are disaffected towards him in your hearts We do honour to God if we chuse instances that are fitly expressive of regard to him and then perform them in the best manner that we can Though when we have done all we are unprofitable servants that is we have not in the least inriched our heavenly Master yet if we chuse the fittest instances we can find to do honour to God and present the performances of our dutie with all integrity of soule though we do not then reach his height of glory yet he will accept us because he doth regard his creatures according to what they have Though we present nothing that is strictly worthy of him yet we are accepted because we have no better God is so gentle that he doth often accept lesse then the very best from Honest soules and if he would not take our best addresses in good part we could have no intercourse with him in worship I will name five instances by which we may do honour to God acceptably First If we carefully labour for such a knowledge of Gods Nature and will as may lay a sufficient foundation for those many acts of Religion by which we are to acknowledge him True Religion hath many excellent things in it which have no support in ignorant soules as for example The highest Love the most perfect Trust the greatest submission of our wills c. How shall a man perform these if he be ignorant of that Goodnesse which makes God most lovely that Truth which makes him faith-worthy that Authority and Righteousnesse which require our perfect obedience God hath made it one characteristical expression of irreligious persons They know not the Lord Ignorance is a note of wicked carelesnesse in men because they seek not the knowledge of so Noble a Benefactor and it carries along with it all Irreligion in other instances And therefore it was well said by the Philosopher the true worship of God is founded upon a right apprehension of him The Argument of our Saviour by which he disproved the Samaritan worship goes upon the same ground You worship that which you do not know Joh. 4. 22. It is no wayes likely that the sacrifice should be proper