Wrongs how great soever to be submitted to and put up in Silence by Christians by Vertue of the Command of forgiving Injuries 't would be to betray the Sheep to the Wolves to expose the Disciples of Christ to the Malice of all the wicked World which is not consistent with the Wisdom and Goodness of the great Shepherd of the Sheep Christ Jesus And St. Paul says expresly He that provideth not for his own House i. e. for the comfortable Subsistence of his Family has deny'd the Faith and is worse than an Infidel i. e. Acts contrary to the Obligations both of Nature and Religion But he will soon ruin instead of supporting his Family who suffers ill Men without Interruption to make what Havock they please of his Person Reputation or Estate But now as for smaller Injuries in any of these Respects such as make no great Alteration in our Circumstances and may be born without any great Inconvenience these are to be pass'd by and the Injury forgiven according to the Measures before described And 't is observable that the Instances our Saviour makes use of in this Matter are of the lesser Sort of Injuries such as a Blow on the Cheek the taking away of a Garment and the like and 't was for being rigorous about a few Pence that the King in the Parable was so wroth with his Servant And rather than a Christian should embroil himself in Law-Suits and run the Hazard of losing the Ornament of a meek and quiet Spirit for such small Matters he should suffer a Repetition of such Injuries And indeed as Religion is in all Respects the greatest Prudence so particularly in forbidding litigious Quarrels unless a Man's whole Interest or at least a great Part of it be at Stake for Law is now become a boundless Ocean and generally very rough and Stormy and swells Men's Passions to an exorbitant Height and shipwrecks their Charity as well as their Estates And as to those greater Injuries our Saviour mentions Mat. 5.44 of Men's being our Enemies profess'd and hating and cursing and despitefully using and persecuting us Neither he nor his Apostles there or any where else forbid Christians endeavouring in a legal Manner to secure and defend themselves and recover their own but only not to return Evil for Evil and to be so far from Purposes of Revenge or retaliating such Injuries as rather to love and bless and pray for and do good to upon Occasion those that deal so maliciously by them and to manage the Suit or Contention with them with Charity having no Rancour or Malice in their Hearts against the Person of their Adversary That is in short our holy Religion does oblige us in lesser Injuries intirely both to pass by the Offence and forgive the Offender according to the Measures before described but in greater Injuries of any Sort where Ruin or insupportable Damage will follow though it permits nay obliges to endeavour a legal Reparation and so not to forgive the Offence yet Christians must as intirely and according to the same Measures forgive the Offender as in the smallest Instances of Wrong And by this Means they will become the Children of their heavenly Father who though in infinite Mercy he forgave the World of Sinners and moreover bestowed on them richly all things to enjoy yet in the Person of his blessed Son their Representative he severely express'd his Displeasure against their Sins that they might be deter'd from persisting in them afresh to the Ruin of their immortal Souls Besides those Injuries that terminate upon a Man's self and his own Concerns there are others done to our Neighbour and the Publick which must not be pass'd by without animadverting upon them according to their Deserts As for Instance if a bloody Villain murders a Man's Friend or Neighbour or Relation and he knows who is the Murderer it may be he only in this Case whatever Inclination he may have to conceal it whether out of natural Compassion or Unwillingness to be the Occasion of the Man's Execution since nothing can recall the murder'd Person to Life and the Murderer may live to repent or the like Because he is a Member of Society and obliged as much as in him lies to promote its Safety and Happiness which by such Villains is much disturb'd and lessen'd and would be ruin'd should such Men pass unpunish'd 't is his Duty to endeavour by all lawful Means to bring so heinous an Offender to condign Punishment that so corrupt a Member being cut off from the Community the Health of the whole may be better secur'd And so in all Cases of the like Nature Always remembring that if any thing of private Revenge be intermix'd it pollutes the Action and makes the Man doubly guilty of Malice and Hypocrisy What has been hitherto said concerning the Limits of forgiving Injuries concerns Men only as private Persons As for Magistrates and Governours they being constituted by God to be a Terror to evil doers Rom. 13.3 4. to be Revengers to execute Wrath upon them and to praise and encourage those only that do well the Measure of their Forgiveness of publick Injuries is the publick Good so far as is consistent with their Obligations as Magistrates as is conducive to the common Weal according to the Judgment of Prudence and unprejudic'd Reason they may and do well to incline to Lenity and Compassion but a foolish and a mercenary Pity is a betraying their Trust a bearing the Sword in vain and such Magistrates instead of being Fathers of their Country are indeed the Perfidious Destroyers of it And thus much for the Nature of christian Forgiveness of Injuries in Imitation of the divine Pattern God has set us with its general Limits As for the great Obligation we have to copy after this admirable Pattern of our merciful heavenly Father it is twofold 1 With Respect to God 2 to our Selves First With Respect to God our Obligation to forgive one another as he has forgiven us is very great because 't is what he has declared will be highly pleasing to him as a Resemblance of that Perfection of his Nature which he seems most of all to take Delight in For so Exod. 33.19 when Moses desired to see his Glory he told him he would make all his Goodness pass before him and Chap. 34.6 The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed The Lord the Lord God merciful and gracious long-suffering abundant in Goodness and Truth keeping Mercy for Thousands forgiving Iniquity Transgression and Sin And accordingly St. John gives the Definition of him God is Love Now certainly those that have receiv'd such infinite Favours from this good God and have been forgiven so vast a Debt as we sinners have have the greatest Reason in the World to endeavour to the utmost of their Power to please this their greatest Benefactor in every thing And nothing being more pleasing to him than to see the Image and Reflection of his
Heedless Inadvertency 't is thus express'd v. 13. of this 13. ch Therefore speak I to them in Parables because they seeing see not and hearing they hear not neither do they understand That is because his Plainer and more Common Discourses were but little regarded by them and not consider'd and attended to as they should be but forgotten as soon as heard therefore the more to engage their Attention and induce them to look close into and dwell longer upon what he said he put his Discourses into a more Mystical and uncommon Dress that their desire of understanding his hidden Meaning might employ more of their Thoughts about it and put them upon making a further enquiry than otherwise they would do and by that means his Doctrine make a deeper Impression upon their Minds and Memories For Men are naturally desirous of finding out Mysteries and Hidden Meanings and more than ordinary Attentive to what is unusual and out of the common road of talking and will take Pains to discover what is under the Disguise of a Parable and be much more pleased and affected with the Discovery of such a hidden Treasure to which our Lord elsewhere resembles the Gospel than if the same thing had been offer'd them at an easier Rate And accordingly St. Luke after he had recorded several of our Saviour's Parables subjoyns that all the People were very Attentive to hear him and no Doubt but they were as Inquisitive to Understand what they had heard And indeed tho' this be a Mystical way of Instruction and hath something of Obscurity in it yet as it may be manag'd nothing can be more Familiar or more suitable to the Capacities of the Meanest Auditors For the vulgar sort are but little Receptive of Abstracted Notions and Nice and Lofty Speculations and that is most likely to take with them which is cloathed in a Dress they have been well acquainted with and Illustrated by some Material Representation For by this means a Truth which otherwise deliver'd they would either not Apprehend or not Consider and Attend to being express'd by way of Resemblance to what they have been much used to and understand very well is presently entertain'd and becomes Familiar and Easie to them and they can as well remember and attend to it as to other common Concerns of Life And accordingly we find our Lord's Parables taken either from some common and known Actions of Men such as of a Husband-man sowing Corn in his Field and the springing up of Weeds with the good Corn of a Fisher throwing his Net into the Sea of the looking for a lost Sheep and the Extravagancies and Repentance of a Prodigal Son and the like or from some common Accidents and Events that are taken notice of in the World such as of a Treasure found that was hid in a Field the Plentiful Product of a Man's Ground the Vnfruitfulness of a Tree the Reckoning of a Master with his Servants the Importunacy of a Poor Widow for Justice and such like Relations of this nature are easily Remembred and People are naturally apt to listen and attend to them and the meanest Capacity can understand and apprehend them and if well manag'd they make what is repesented by them appear very Lively and Affecting as if 't were Acted before our Eyes and by this means the Truths deliver'd under that Disguise insensibly Insinuate themselves and work upon the Mind even before a Man is aware of it or can set himself to make Resistance And as these Parables of our Lord were drawn from the most Familiar things they were so Apt likewise and so excellently Manag'd and there was so great Analogy between the things represented and the Representations of them that a little Thought and Reflection of even an ordinary Vnderstanding would discover what was hid under so thin a Veil And accordingly we find several of our Saviour's Parables taken presently by the Auditors in their true and naked meaning and no doubt but more were so than the Evangelists took notice of But least they should not be apprehended we find our Lord when in Private explaining them to his Disciples and giving them command to speak in the Light what he told them in Darkness Matt. 10.27 and by this means that Impression which the Parable made upon the Fancy and Imagination of the People at the first relation of it would afterwards either by Mens own Interpretation or the Apostles have its due effect upon their Understandings Wills and Affections Besides this General Vsefulness of Parables there is one thing they are more peculiarly proper for and that is Reproof which is a thing Men are most of all Impatient of and that must be manag'd with great Prudence and Nicety or it will do much more Harm than Good If it be too Plain and Open and Severe it often Hardens an Offender still more and if it be too Cool and Lifeless it loses its Force and makes no Impression In an Effectual Reproof then there must be sufficient Strength and Smartness and likewise so much Privacy and Secrecy in it as may not exasperate the Man too much from a Sence of the great Shame and Ignominy that attends the laying Open his Faults to the World Now Reproving by way of Parable does all this There may be Strength and Smartness enough in it if it be well chosen and applied and yet there is so much of a Disguise and Covering upon it as makes it very Private and not to grate so much upon that Tender Passion of Shame as a more publick and barefac'd Reproof would do 'T is as one handsomly expresses it like Lancing a Sore with the Lancet wrapt up in a Sponge when under Pretence and Shew of nothing but smooth and gentle Vsage the place is unexpectedly open'd and the Corruption let out which the Patient would not have suffer'd to be done if attempted Roughly and without that Stratagem And there is a notable Instance of this Parabolical way of Reproving mention'd 2 Sam. 12. Vpon David's Murder of Uriah that he might enjoy his Wife without Disturbance the Prophet Nathan was sent to Reprove him for it and denounce God's Great Displeasure against him And that he might do this the more effectually did not Flatly and Immediately tell him of his great Wickedness but frames a Parable of a Rich Man that had great Flocks and Herds of his own who yet to entertain his Guest took the Only little Ewe Lamb of a Poor Neighbour of his which he had bought and nourish'd up with great Tenderness and Pleasure and dress'd it for the Man that was come to him And David 's Anger the Story says was greatly kindled against the Man and he said unto Nathan as the Lord liveth the Man that hath done this thing shall surely die and shall restore the Lamb Four-fold because he did this thing and because he had no Pity When the Prophet saw that his Design had so far taken effect he immediately follows
Lamp and make the Way of the Just like a shining Light shining more and more unto the perfect Day and which when they fail spiritual Darkness will follow as in a Lamp gone out And if the Light that is in you be Darkness says our Lord how great is that Darkness But the Christian Vertues were very aptly represented by Oyl upon these further Accounts First Because Oyl was generally reckonen in the eastern Countries as a great Part of a Man's Riches and when they would express great Wealth they do it by magnifying the Plenty of Oyl Thus Job when he reflected in his Affliction upon his former opulent Condition the Rock or the stone Jar that was made use of to preserve Oyl in says he pour'd me out Rivers of Oyl Job 29.6 And the Prophet Micah when he represented the Impossibility of appeasing his offended God even by the most rich and costly Offering will the Lord be pleas'd says he with ten Thousand Rivers of Oyl Micah 6.7 and in Abundance of Places of Scripture the Increase of Oyl signifies the Increase of Riches And therefore to have a Soul plentifully stored with divine Graces and Vertues whereby we lay up a Treasure in Heaven and become rich towards God being the greatest and only true and durable Riches is very aptly represented by having Oyl in our Vessels and our Lamps Secondly Oyl was likewise among the Easterns a Symbol of the greatest Honours as is evident from the whole Story of the Bible where we read that at the solemn Consecration and Inauguration of Kings and Priests Oyl was always us'd and that among the Jews by the Appointment of God himself and is still in Use with us at the Coronation of our Kings And therefore very fit to represent those Christian Vertues which so highly enoble the Soul as to render it like to God holy as he is holy pure as he is pure perfect as he is perfect and whereby through the Merits of Christ we become Kings and Priests to God Rev. 1.6 and shall reign with him for ever Thirdly Oyl was an Emblem of Joy and Pleasure and much us'd therefore in Feasts and Entertainments as is evident not only from heathen Writers but from holy Scripture There we read of the Oyl of Joy and Gladness and our Lord in his Directions concerning fasting bids his Disciples not make a vain glorious Shew of it by an affected Sullenness and Down Look disfiguring their Faces as the Hypocrites did But thou when thou fastest says he anoint thy Head that thou appear not unto Men to fast i. e. make Semblance rather by this means as if thou wert going to a Feast And David when he recounts God's Goodness to him says amongst other things thou hast prepar'd a Table for me thou hast anointed my Head with Oyl and my Cup runneth over Psal 23.5 which signifies the Happiness of his Condition in general as well as his being advanc'd to the Throne of Israel Many other Places there are of this Nature but these are sufficient to shew how fitly those Christian Graces are express'd by Oyl which cause the greatest Joy and Satisfaction to a holy Soul and the Practice of which is full of Pleasure and unspeakable Delight Sincere Religion is the most chearing thing in the World and a good Conscience a continual Feast Indeed to rejoyce is only proper for a good Christian whose Mind is clear and undisturb'd and in constant Hope and Expectation of the Happiness of Heaven But he whose Mind is rack'd with a Sense of his deep Guilt and feels the Lashes of an enraged Conscience and is terrified with the unexpressible Fears of Damnation has little Reason to have Joy or Comfort in any thing Oyl therefore or the Emblem of Joy and Chearfulness is of nothing more aptly expressive than of the Graces of our holy Religion whose Ways alone are indeed Ways of Pleasantness and Joy By the Virgins all slumbering and sleeping while the Bridegroom tarry'd is signified the Inadvertency and Frailty of even the best of Men. Because this divine Bridegroom delayeth his Coming we are all of us too apt to lay aside the Thoughts of it to think but little upon Death and Judgment as things a great Way off and for which there will be Time enough to provide hereafter And for want of due Advertency to these rousing Subjects we are apt to grow heavy in our Religious Performances and suffer spiritual Drouziness to creep too much upon us This made holy David call upon God so often to quicken him in his Righteousness and St Paul to exhort his Corinthians to awake to Righteousness and thus to rouze the Ephesians awake thou that sleepest Eph. 5.14 And in this spiritual Slumber though the unavoidable Frailty of humane Nature will in Part be accepted as our Excuse by our merciful Saviour who knows and pities our Infirmities yet even the best of us indulge our selves too much and enter into the Number of the foolish Virgins and endanger the Extinction of our Lamp through the Decay of our Virtues and expose our selves to many Dangers and Temptations and frequent Falls For this Inadvertency to that great Truth that the End of all things is at hand is one great Reason why even the righteous fall seven times a Day whereas would we oftner set our Lord before us as coming to judge the quick and the dead and reflect that perhaps the next Hour our Soul may be required of us by him that gave it and so an End put for ever to our State of Probation and an irreversible Sentence soon after be pass'd upon us according to our Deservings we should not dare to be so often mov'd from our Duty but be careful and circumspect and always upon our Guard lest that Day surprize us unawares and while we drouze away our Opportunity our Lamps go out and the Bridegroom call before we are ready to enter with him into the Marriage Chamber and so the Door be shut It therefore highly concerns even the best of us not to sleep as do others but to watch and be sober having our Loins girded about and our Lights burning as our Lord expresses it and our selves like unto Men that wait for their Lord when he will return from the Wedding that when he cometh and knocketh we may open to him immediately Blessed are those Servants whom the Lord when he cometh shall find thus watching I verily I say unto you Luke 12.35 c. that he shall gird himself and make them sit down to Meat and after the Manner of Bridegrooms will come forth and serve them i. e. will impart to them the Joys and Felicities of his heavenly Kingdom And if he shall come in the second or third Watch that is in the Time most addicted to Vanity and Inadvertency as is Youth and Manhood Blessed in a more especial Manner are those Servants And what the Angel said to the Church of Sardis Rev. 3.2 is very
Riches or Abundance of Gold and Silver in which now-a-days we esteem Riches chiefly to consist they are really no better than Heaps of Earth of different Colours impress'd with different Stamps and made of different Sizes and to which Men have given a different Value and Esteem according to their different Colour Size and Impression and which in themselves are good for little but to be look'd on and which he that would live must part with when he has them in Exchange for other Things that are necessary for his Subsistence Now what can be more vile and base than for so Noble and Excellent a Creature as Man so far to degrade himself as to employ his greatest Love and Admiration and Desire upon a Piece of Earth which was originally made for him to tread upon and produce Things for his Food and Pleasure To make that his Master nay his God which was made to be his Servant For a Rational Soul to doat upon a sensless Clod to neglect the Contemplation of the Excellencies of his infinitely perfect Maker and admire one of the lowest of his Creatures to desire a Piece of Earth with the greatest Application and have no Value for the Immortal Glories of Heaven to place his Happiness in what is so very much inferiour to him and upon that which is indeed his Happiness to bestow no Thoughts what can be more vile and abject than this what more unbecoming the Dignity of the Rational Nature and of a Creature that has such glorious Hopes Where is the Reason of a Man that lays out all his Endeavours to acquire a Trifle and in the mean time disregards that which is his chief good and where is the Religion of a Christian that has been redeem'd not by Corruptible Things such as Silver and Gold but with the precious Blood of Christ as of a Lamb without Blemish and without Spot where is his Religion that notwithstanding this makes Silver and Gold the chief Object of his Affections and treads under foot the Son of God and counts the Blood of the Covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy or common Thing and does despight to the Spirit of Grace and loves and admires Mammon more than his Saviour What more vile and brutish than this what more stupidly ungrateful This is to come down to a Level with the Beasts that perish nay 't is to sink much lower for They act according to their Natural Instincts and choose as they are directed by their Great Creator and serve him obediently in that Rank of Being in which he has plac'd them But that Man much more that Christian that makes perishing Riches the main Object of his Desires and Endeavours acts directly contrary to the Reason that God has given him degenerates many degrees below the Dignity of his Nature disobeys the Orders of his Creator slights the Heavenly Counsel of his Saviour despises the Glories and Felicities of the Kingdom of Heaven and of a Man and a Christian makes himself a vile Muckworm delighted in nothing Noble and Excellent but groveling upon the Earth as if that were the Centre of his Happiness And what can more vilifie and degrade a Reasonable Soul made after the Image of God than such base Affections as these 'T is certainly a most vile Degeneracy and renders a Man the most contemptible Creature in the Universe both to God and Angels and all wise and good Men. And thus much may suffice to expose the Folly and Vileness of an immoderate Desire of Riches as in them placing the Happiness of Life I shall now shew The ill Consequences that attend it which besides that great Perplexity of Mind they cause mention'd before are chiefly these two 1 It mightily hinders a Man's Progress in Religion which is the one Thing necessary 2. It exposes a Man more than any thing to the Danger of Apostacy or falling from the Truth First An immoderate Love of Riches does mightily hinder a Man's Progress in Religion which is the one Thing necessary We may remember our Lord in his Interpretation of a Parable before discours'd of Matt. 13.22 says that the Cares of this World and the Deceitfulness of Riches like Thorns that spring up with Seed choke the Word of God and render it unfruitful and in another Parable of a great Supper made at the Marriage of a King's Son Matt. 22. Luk. 14.18 by which as was discours'd upon that Parable is represented the glad Tidings and Invitations of the Gospel he tells us That that which detain'd Men from it was likewise the Cares of the World and the Love of Riches they had Ground to look after and Oxen to prove and therefore they could not come to the Wedding Supper And accordingly says our Saviour in as express Words as can be Matt. 6.24 No man can serve two Masters ye cannot serve God and Mammon Now the Reason of this is twofold For first Nothing so much distracts a Man's Thoughts as an eager Desire and Pursuit of Wealth for Riches are so difficult to be acquir'd as has been said and so very slippery when gain'd that as to get them will exercise all a Man's Contrivance employ all his Thoughts and Attention and consume his whole Time so to keep them when once gotten will to a Man that knows the Hardship of getting them and how soon they are lost again engage him in constant Care and Solicitude to watch his Idol lest he be depriv'd of it and so his Mind becomes distracted with continual Apprehensions of Danger and at leisure for no other Thoughts than how to secure his Riches And this those that are acquainted with Men much wedded to the World may soon perceive by their careful anxious Looks and distrustful Timorous Discourse Now the immoderate Love of Riches thus engrossing a Man's Soul and the great Business of Religion or making Provision for Another World and laying up a Treasure of good Works in Heaven being a Thing that likewise requires Time and Diligence and a close Application of all our Faculties to the Performance of it and it being impossible for a Man to attend closely to two Things at once and the Love of this World and of the next being not only different but contrary the one to the other How can it be but that he that eagerly loves Riches and has his Soul prepossess'd with a strong Desire of them and all his Faculties before engag'd in their Pursuit must move very slowly in the Way of Religion if he moves at all nay indeed rather move backward than forward and the more he loves the World grow colder still in his Affections to God Another Reason of this is Because an Immoderate Love of Money is a kind of Fascination and Enchantment it casts a Mist before a Man's Understanding and makes him less sensible and apprehensive of the great Obligation to a Religious Life and so dulls and stupifies the Soul that it becomes very little moved with the Sermons of
Duty of a good Steward is thus represented in the 42d Verse of this 12th of Luke Who then is that faithful and wise Steward whom his Lord shall make Ruler over his Houshold to give them their portion of Meat in due season That is To give the Family their Portion in due Season is the Duty of a Faithful and Good Steward Now the Race of Mankind is God's great Family in the World and some of the Members of this his Family he has made Choice of as his Stewards and Purveyors to provide for the rest and has according entrusted them with such a share of his Revenue to some more to some less as in his infinite Wisdom he has thought most fit and order'd them to expend it to the Advantage of his Houshold that every one be provided for according to his Needs and that no Man be suffer'd as much as in them lies to be miserable and perish And this he requires should be done faithfully after a moderate Provision first made for themselves and Relatives as they shall answer it at that great Audit when every Man must give Account of his Stewardship The Rich Man then in the Gospel being as every other Rich Man is God's Steward to provide for such as were in Necessity and Want according to the Abundance God had given him 't is an easie Matter to answer the Question he propos'd to himself upon his great Increase What shall I do because I have no room where to lay my fruits Why act like a good Steward for thy great Master and let the Houses of the Poor be the Granaries for the Abundance of thine Increase Charity to the Necessitous is the best Way of bestowing Abundance and as many Ways as there are of expressing that Charity which are innumerable so many Ways are there of disposing of what is more than needful for our own comfortable Support To Feed the Hungry to give Drink to the Thirsty Harbour to distressed Strangers Cloaths to the Naked Visits of Comfort and Relief to the Sick and Freedom to Prisoners to be a Father to the Fatherless and a Husband to the Widow and the like this is to discharge a good Stewardship this is what every Rich Man ought to do with his Abundance And Blessed is that good Servant whom his Lord when he cometh shall find so doing Of a truth saith our Lord his Master will make him Ruler over all that he hath he will commit still more of his Reuenue to his Management bless him with greater Prosperity and Increase and at last he shall be received into the Joy of his Lord and Reign with Christ his Great Master in Glory for ever Whoever therefore has Abundance needs not much to perplex himself how he shall bestow it for the Poor are always with us and for the Relief of their Necessities not the Gratifying our own Luxurious Desires must God's Extraordinary Blessings be laid out Let us now in the Fourth Place consider the great Wisdom of not setting our Hearts upon nor eagerly pursuing Riches and disposing of them as Religion directs if it shall please God in an extraordinary Manner to bless us with them If Riches increase set not your Heart upon them is excellent Advice of the Royal Psalmist Psal 62.10 and very true is that of St. Paul to Timothy Ephes 1.6 10. that while some have coveted after Mony they have err'd from the Faith and pierc'd themselves through with divers Sorrows and that Godliness with Content is great Gain and therefore wise indeed is that Man that knows how to be content with his present Portion and by setting his Affections upon more noble Objects escapes the Snare of coveting after Wealth He is free from the most dangerous Passion the Love of Mony being the root of all Evil and is secure of Quiet and Satisfaction amidst all the Turns and Varieties of Fortune the great Uncertainties of a false and fickle World If Poverty should become his Lot he is prepar'd for 't he knows there is no Stability in this World 's Good and therefore values it accordingly and remembers that he has a much greater Treasure in a better Place of which none can deprive him and which he shall enjoy to Eternity and upon that fixes his Affections and longs for the Happy Time when he shall take Possession of it While he hath a plentiful Fortune he acts like a good Steward of his great Lord and enjoys the Comforts of it by letting those share with him that want a Supply and thanks God that he is so blessed as to give rather than receive and in every respect makes the best use he can of what he has to the Advancement of the Glory of his great Patron and the Good of his Brethren and then can step securely though Dangers and Misfortunes threaten if God thinks fit to divert them and continue to him what he has he knows he can do it if not he knows that all will end for the best at last and so chearfully resigns what God before had lent him he is satisfied that Happiness does not consist in Abundance and that a good Conscience is a continual Feast and therefore his main Endeavour is to preserve a good Conscience a Soul clear and unspotted and with that coarse Fare will relish well and a homely Garment sit easie upon him and such Necessaries as these he that feeds the Ravens and cloaths the Lillies will surely provide for him And he that is thus dispos'd must needs be in perpetual Tranquility and Peace and very wise consequently in taking that Course which helps him to those inestimable Blessings As for the Wisdom of disposing of abundance when God thinks fit to bless a Man with it according to the Direction of Religion in the Relief of the Poor and Needy there needs nothing more to recommend it to Christians than for them to read the latter Part of Mat. 25. where we are informed that the Expresses of Men's Charity shall at the great Day of Judgment be particularly enquir'd into and the Charitable rewarded infinitely with Glory and Happiness in Heaven and the Uncharitable doom'd as accursed Persons to depart from God the Fountain of Bliss into Everlasting Torments prepar'd for the Devil and his Angels And if so to direct our Steps in this World as to avoid the Miseries of Hell and arrive at the unspeakable Happy Kingdom of Heaven be the greatest Wisdom then is it the greatest Wisdom by a Charitable Disposal of Mens Abundance to the Poor to make Provision against that great Day of final Retribution when Charity shall be so particularly enquired into and so highly rewarded There remains nothing now to be done but to urge what has been said upon Mens Practice We have seen in this Discourse how great Folly 't is eagerly to desire and pursue Abundance of Wealth that 't is very uncertain whether ever such Desire shall be gratified or no and that there is no Satisfaction in
Dresser of it Christ Jesus who have such great Helps and Assistances to bring forth fruit unto Holiness and consequently such full Assurance of Hope Heb. 6.11 that the End will be Everlasting Life Let Them give Thanks from the Bottom of their Hearts whom the Lord hath thus Redeem'd and deliver'd from the Hand of the Infernal Enemy and be telling of his Salvation from Day to Day And let us of these Happy Islands in the first place magnifie him for this his Infinite Goodness for none have had a greater share of it than we none better Planted nor better Cultivated than the Members of this Church of England and which does much advance the Blessing none were in a more sad and deplorable Condition than the Inhabitants of these Islands before the Preaching of the Gospel And indeed what the Prophet Isaiah says of God's dealing with the Jewish Church which was then his Vineyard Isa 5.4 may be very truly said of his gracious Dealing with this our Church What could have been done more to his Vineyard that he hath not done in it He hath planted it in a very fruitful Hill and fenced it by his Providence from the Incursions of its Enemies and gather'd out the Stones thereof purg'd it from scandalous Heresies and Superstitions which are Stones of Stumbling and Rocks of Offence and built a Tower in the midst of it guarded it with the Civil Power making Kings its Nursing Fathers and Queens its Nursing Mothers and made a Wine-press in it furnish'd it with all Necessaries of Holy Instruction and the Service of an Excellent Ministry to inforce the great Truths of Religion and lay all the Beauties and Excellencies of it before the People And now what could have been done more for this Church than the Lord has already done for it And what an inestimable Happiness is it that we enjoy who were Born in this Church early Consecrated to God in Baptism and thereby planted in this Vineyard and sed with the sincere and unmix'd Milk of the Word plainly and without Reserve or the cunning Craftiness of Men that lye in wait to deceive We are invited to a Frequent and Entire Reception of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper that great Conveyance of the Divine Grace and Aid and have as many and as moving Exhortations to live up to our Holy Profession as are enjoy'd by any Part of the Christian World What an inestimable Happiness is this And what great Reason have we as to bless God for this his unspeakable Goodness to us so to bring forth the Fruits of Righteousness in great Abundance 'T is but Just and Right that we should do it and God expects it from All that are Planted in his Vineyard much more from such as have had extraordinary Care and Cultivation bestow'd upon them as we have had For so in the Second Place we find in this Parable that the Owner of the Vineyard came to the Fig-Tree he had planted in it expecting Fruit from it The Fruit that God expects from Christians that have enjoy'd the Means of Grace and spiritual Improvement is that which is call'd Fruit meet for Repentance and the Fruits of the Spirit Fruits meet for Repentance are the Advances to a New and Spiritual Life such as shall demonstrate a sincere Renovation and Change of Mind a Turning from a Course of Rebellion against God and Hatred of him to entire Obedience to him and hearty Love But he that to the Profession of Christianity adds Debauchery of Manners and instead of bringing forth the Fruits of the Spirit such as Love Joy Peace Long-Suffering Gentleness Goodness Faith Meekness Temperance and such like Drudges in the Works of the Flesh such as Adultery Fornication Uncleanness Lasciviousness Idolatry Witchcraft Hatred Variance Emulations Wrath Strife Seditions Heresies Envyings Murthers Drunkenness and such like such Men as these are as St. Jude expresses it Trees Jude 12. whose Fruit withereth without Fruit twice dead or dead a second Time after they were enliven'd by the Grace of Christ and planted in his Vineyard where they might have lived and flourish'd and brought forth much Fruit well pleasing unto God and by this their Barrenness are as 't were pluck'd up by the Roots and to whom is reserv'd the Blackness of Darkness for ever and whose End is to be burn'd When our Lord as he was returning from Bethany to Jerusalem saw a Fig-Tree at a Distance very promising and full of Leaves and went to it expecting to find Fruit upon it but finding nothing thereon but Leaves only curs'd it and said unto it let no Fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever he plainly enough told the World that the Profession of Christianity must always be attended with the Fruits of Piety that he expects to find it so and will severely punish where he finds it otherwise The Leaves of a Fig-Tree are broad and strong and hang thick and are of a lovely Colour and therefore very apt to represent the Profession of Christianity which makes the fairest Appearance of any Religion that was ever taught the World and the Title of a Christian does include all that can be suppos'd excellent and good in a Man But as the Fig-Tree besides flourishing Leaves bears a Delicious Fruit and has always upon it Fruit coming to Maturity so Christianity must not be all Shew and Profession but the Fruits of Holiness must appear as well as the Leaves of Fair Speeches and the outward Performance of some of the more Customary and Publick Duties of it and as is observ'd in the Fig-Tree there must always be some Fruit growing to Ripeness and Perfection God expects to find it so and where he is disappointed the Fate of the Barren Fig-Tree will be their Portion We are all of us too apt with our first Parents to cover our Spiritual Nakedness with Fig-leaves and by tacking together a few External Observances of Religion think to hide our Shame and pass for good Servants and Disciples of the Lord Jesus But this is too thin a covering to conceal our Vileness from his Eye to whom all things lie naked and open and who knows the very Secrets of the Heart He that is indeed a Follower of Christ and loves him in Sincerity must walk as he walk'd imitating his Example and treading in his Blessed Steps departing from all Iniquity denying himself and all his vile Lusts and Affections obeying chearfully the Holy Commands of his great Lord and giving all diligence to add to his Faith Virtue and to Virtue Knowledg and to Knowledg Temperance and to Temperance Patience and to Patience Godliness and to Godliness Brotherly Kindness and to Brotherly Kindness Charity 2 Per. 1.5 6 7 8. for if these things be in us and abound they make us that we shall be neither Barren nor Unfruitful in the Knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ And he only that has thus his Fruit unto Holiness shall in the End attain Everlasting Life
Ruin and the Wages of Sin this eternal Torment and Death we would be above all things careful to avoid this Place of everlasting Torments and make use of our Time and Opportunity while we have it in providing for a happy Eternity The End of every Man's Life is the Beginning of Eternity to him then Time shall be no more no more Space for Repentance and working out our Salvation and after the great Change that Death will make in our Condition no more Changes from thence forward for ever no intermediate Purgatory to cleanse our remaining Filthiness but as Death leaves a Soul so shall Judgment find it and an irreversible Sentence be pass'd upon it And this great Truth can never be too often call'd to Remembrance and there is so much of Terror in it to a wicked Liver that whoever thinks at all must needs be inclin'd by it to husband well this his only Opportunity of making himself for ever Happy and immediately endeavour to clear himself from that Guilt which if he dies in will make him for ever miserable and that without the least Alleviation The last thing this Parable informs us of is That every Man may be sufficiently assur'd of this great Truth that reads the Scriptures and powerfully enough inclin'd to avoid that future Misery and secure his eternal Happiness without any more extraordinary Ways of Conviction in this Matter or Perswasives to act accordingly And that those who are not satisfied with what has already been reveal'd of future Rewards and Punishments in all Probability will never be satisfied though one should come from the Dead to assure them of it This is express'd in the Parable by the Rich Man's desiring after he was sadly assur'd by Abraham that there was no Remedy for himself that he would send Lazarus to his Father's House for I have five Brethren says he that he may testifie unto them lest they also come into this Place of Torment To this Abraham answers They have Moses and the Prophets let them hear them But this would not satisfie the miserable Rich Man and he said nay Father Abraham but if one went to them from the Dead they will repent To this Abraham gives this final Answer If they hear not Moses and the Prophets neither will they be perswaded though one arose from the Dead As if he had said There is all the Assurance given to Men by the Holy Writings of the Truth of these things that any reasonable Man can desire and the same Obstinate and Atheistick Infidelity and Debauchery of Manners that makes Men disbelieve what the Scriptures affirm of another Life would make them still disbelieve it though one arose from the Dead to assure them of it And if this was true before the Gospel when these things were but darkly reveal'd in comparison of what they are now and the Jews might then be sufficiently assur'd of them by attending to the Writings of Moses and the Prophets it is a much more confirm'd Truth to us Christians the Scriptures of the New Testament assuring us of it in the most plain and express Terms that can be According to what the Apostle says 2 Tim. 1.8 that our Lord has brought Life and Immortality to light by the Gospel And yet some are so unreasonable as when we discourse about Judgment to come and the Rewards and Punishments of another Life not to tremble at it as Foelix did but with perverse Infidelity question the Truth of the thing and ask us how we can be sure it is and shall be so and whether we have been told it by one that came from the other World and has experienc'd what we say to be true And that nothing less than such a Proof shall ever make them believe it And when they are urg'd with the Testimony of Moses and the Prophets and of the Son of God himself they have the Confidence to laugh at this as an Invention of Church-Men and no better than a Religious Cheat. They are not ignorant they say that the Writings which we affirm were divinely inspir'd do very plainly and expresly assert That there shall be a Judgment to come and that every Man shall be rais'd from the Dead and plac'd before the Almighty Judge and consign'd to eternal Happiness or Misery according to what they have done in this Life whether it be good or evil But they deny the Truth of those Writings and consequently the Reality of what they assert of this Nature Our Business therefore must be to prove the Truth and Divine Authority of those Holy Scriptures and then 't will follow that he that still disbelieves the Doctrine of future Rewards and Punishments and is not inclin'd to live accordingly will neither be convinc'd nor perswaded in this Instance though one rose from the Dead The Opposition Anti-scripturists make against the Holy Writings is in short this Either they will deny that those Books were written by the Men whose Names they bear or if they are forc'd to grant that they will deny the Truth of the Matters of fact which they set down and endeavour to pick out Inconsistencies and Contradictions in their Relation and if beaten from that Post they 'll deny that the Writers were Men divinely inspired and affirm that the Doctrine they wrote was meerly the Product of their own Brains and what strange Occurrences they record of their Master Jesus as of his Resurrection from the Dead as an Argument that there shall be another Life after this is ended and all Men then arise likewise and be call'd to give account of their Works that this and the like strange Passages they record of Jesus supposing them to be true were not done by a Divine Power but by Art Magick and the Power of the Devil And this could it be made good would be a shrewd Blow indeed and all reveal'd Religion soon sink into Ruine But in short for to inlarge here would far exceed the Bounds of a single Sermon a Christian's Defence of the Truth and divine Authority of the Holy Writings may be this First Though some have deny'd that the Books of the Old and New Testament were written by the Men whose Names they bear yet no Man ever yet could prove it nay on the contrary they have been receiv'd as Genuine for many Hundreds of Years and by Men of very different Religions and Perswasions and that were bitter Enemies to the Religion there taught and the Professors of it and would have been extreamly glad to have prov'd the Whole a Forgery if they could But since they did not when 't was so much for their Interest to have don 't 't is plain they could not and since they are to this Day approv'd by all Sorts of Religions as genuine 't is as much as can be said in the Case and as much as can be said for any other Book in the World And we must either throw aside all Books as spurious or believe this which we
dare to play the Hypocrite in his Devotion and have other little sinister By-Ends such as the Praise of Men that his Vanity may be tickled by being esteem'd more Righteous and Heavenly-minded than his Neighbours and that under the Covert of more Religion than ordinary he may the more securely bring to pass some wicked under-hand Design That there have been such sort of Devotionists as these is evident from what we find recorded of the Pharisees Men to all Appearance extraordinary Religious Fasting and Praying frequently and long and very Exemplary in other Instances of Piety when after all our Lord who knew their Hearts has told us they did it to be seen and to have Praise of Men and under Pretence of long Prayers to insinuate into Wealthy Widows Esteem that at length they might have an Opportunity to devour their Houses How many of this sort there is now-a-days God and their own Consciences know best but this is certain that wherever the Guilt lies 't is a great Abomination to him who is Truth it self and infinitely hates a Lye especially in Matters of Religion where his Honour is so nearly concern'd Wherefore let those who find themselves prick'd by what is now said take care that their Religion be more pure and sincere for the Future lest our Lord's Woes to the Pharisees fall upon their Heads and they be doom'd to the Portion of Hypocrites where is Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth Thirdly The Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sometimes signifies Just and Upright without Fraud and Cheating Arts and Oppression and he that would be heard when he prays must cleanse his Hands from these must do as he would be done to and provide things honest in the Sight of all Men and despise the Gain of Oppression as Isaiah phrases it Chap. 33. Vers 15. For God is Just as well as Holy and hates the sly Windings of Deceit and Fraud He is about our Path and spieth out all our Ways and will be a swift Witness against those that oppress instead of turning a gracious Ear to their Petitions 1 Thes 4.6 Wherefore let no Man go beyond or defraud his Brother in any Matter for God is the Avenger of all such but take care that his Hands be not defil'd with unjust Gain lest it make them uncapable of receiving a Blessing Thus much for the first Requisite to our praying effectually the lifting up Holy Hands A second is That this be done without Wrath that there be a Freedom from Strife and Revenge and a Readiness to Reconciliation and Forgiveness For as for a hot angry Disposition nothing more unfits a Man for Devotion than that it makes the Mind continually in a Storm breaks the Order and Connexion of Thoughts puts the whole Soul into a Hurry and makes it like a Troubled Sea that cannot rest And therefore no wonder if it cast up Mire and Dirt Desires impure and displeasing to God rather than the sweet smelling Savour of an acceptable Sacrifice As our Religion in general so Prayer in particular is a reasonable Service and requires as great Freedom of Thought and recollected Presence of Mind as any thing whatever The Object of Prayer is a Being of infinite Sanctity and transcendent Majesty and this should move us to approach him with the most awful and sedate Temper of Mind and that which is pray'd for is or ought to be of the greatest Value and which it most of all concerns us to have bestow'd upon us and therefore it concerns us to have our Reason and Thoughts at Command lest our Petition should be rejected for our ill Management of it Now nothing more discomposes the Mind and deprives it of the Use of Reason than the Passion of Anger It puts the Spirits into such a violent and unnatural Motion as makes all the Powers of the Soul for a Time unserviceable Things are apprehended in strange Confusion and Disorder and remembred with much Imperfection and foolish and ridiculous Choices are made by the Will and all the Affections consequently out of Course Just as is the Condition of Mad Men only the Fit is sooner over And is this a fitting Temper of Mind to approach the Throne of the great God in and prefer Petitions for the greatest Blessings Let a Man after he has been brawling with his Neighbours consider if he were to go immediately to beg a Boon of his Prince whether he should not then do it with great Disadvantage how apt he should then be to commit Indecencies and to omit Matters of chief Concern in his Request and the like and then let him say what he thinks of addressing to the great King of Heaven in such an ill Disguise of Soul And whether he does not believe that he might speed much better if his Mind were calmer and more it self Now the Returns of Prayer being so frequent and angry Mens Brawlings and Quarellings so frequent it must needs often be that such Men unless they omit praying which is still worse must pray to God with Minds greatly discompos'd and and unfit for the Performance of so Holy a Duty at least with any Success As for a Revengeful Temper of Mind that is a thing so contrary to him whose Definition is Love and who has so freely forgiven us so infinite a Debt that no Desires breath'd from such a Soul but must needs stink in his Nostrils and be utterly rejected by him His Divine Son the only Mediator between him and us who presents the Prayers of the Faithful and intercedes for their Acceptance will be so far from appearing in an implacable revengeful Man's Behalf that he has declar'd in a Parable before discours'd of Mat. 18.23 he will deal with such with the utmost Severity God will accept nothing at our Hands without Charity and a Gift though brought to the Altar must not be offer'd there till he that is at Variance with his Brother be reconcil'd to him he must leave his Gift before the Altar and go his Way and first be reconcil'd to his Brother and then come and offer his Gift Mat. 5.23 24. A third Requisite to our praying successfully is that our Prayers be without doubting or as 't is express'd Heb. 22. In full Assurance of Faith According to what our Lord said upon Occasion of the Barren Fig-Tree's being dry'd up from the Roots at his Word which when St. Peter and the rest of the Disciples wondred at Mark 11 2◠Jesus answer'd and said unto them have Faith in God for verily I say unto you whosoever shall say unto this Mountain be thou remov'd and cast into the Sea shall not doubt in his Heart but believe that those things he saith shall come to pass he shall have whatsoever he saith Therefore I say unto you what things soever ye desire when ye pray believe that ye receive them and ye shall have them And elsewhere Mark 9.23 All things are possible to him that believeth To which agrees
that of St. James If any Man lack Wisdom let him ask of God but let him ask in Faith nothing wavering for such a Man shall not receive any thing of the Lord James 1. 5 6. The meaning of all which I suppose to be this That as the Apostles upon their firm Belief of the Truth of our Lord's Promise of enabling them to work Miracles for the Advancement of the Christian Religion and of his Power to do accordingly should when they pray'd for his Help be enabl'd to do as they desired so all other Believers if their Prayers are accompanied with a strong Belief of his Veracity in promising to hear the Prayers of the Faithful of his Ability to relieve and help them and of his infinite Goodness and Willingness to grant them their Desires if it be expedient for them they shall certainly speed well and receive a Blessing at the Hand of God The very Petitions they offer up if for their Good shall be granted them and if not for their Good God in his infinite Wisdom will bestow something else upon them that shall be more for their Advantage And they may depend upon it they shall not be sent away empty But he that wavereth and is of doubtful Mind in these Particulars and prays with great Diffidency and distrust of prevailing as his Prayers must needs be very cool and without that Life and Fervour and Importunacy which we shall see presently is likewise necessary to our Success so his Mind must be in strange Agitation and toss'd between the Waves of two contrary and very perplexing Passions Hope and Fear and the latter having manifestly the Advantage with such a Man for if his Hope were stronger than his Fear he would be more fix'd and steady than he is 't is a Thousand to one but at length after intollerable Disquietudes and Anxiety of Mind he will split upon Despair or down-right Atheism So true is that of St. James Chap. 1. Vers 6 8. He that wavereth is like a Wave of the Sea driven about and tossed a double minded Man is unstable in all his Ways and so necessary is it that we should firmly believe and be actually perswaded when we pray that our Petitions if for our Good shall be granted us by our Heavenly Father There is yet one thing more requir'd if we would succeed in our Devotions and which is of very great Avail in this Matter and that is a Holy Earnestness and Importunity And 't is a thing so much to be observ'd that our Lord deliver'd two Parables cited at the Beginning of this Discourse to this very Purpose That Men ought always to pray and not to faint In both there is a Delay and Denial for a Time but at length the Importunate prevail Now though the Reason why our Saviour directs to this Importunity cannot be the same with that mention'd in the Parables God's Quietness and Happiness being not to be disturb'd nor he teas'd and weari'd into Compliance as those in the Parables were yet there may be several other Reasons given for it 'T is a Manifestation of our earnest Desire of prevailing and that we indeed highly value what we thus importunately beg for 't is a means to make us prize a Blessing the more which we so hardly come by and to be the more thankful for it when we receive it and the more careful not to lose or forfeit it 'T is a Tryal of our Patience an Exercise of our Faith and Hope and Dependence upon God it teacheth Humility and Self-Denial and Amendment of our Faults lest our Continuance in them render us unworthy of God's Favour it makes Devotion burn bright and vigorously and is of great Advantage to all the Purposes of Religion For these and such like Reasons it is that our good God who giveth to all Men freely and upbraideth not has made Importunity a Condition in order to the obtaining our Requests and indeed the Blessings God encourages us to ask and bestows upon us are so great that the utmost Earnestness and most importunate Addresses and the longest Attendance will be abundantly repaid with a Grant at last Having thus done what I at first propos'd to do upon the Parable of the importunate Widow and prov'd that Prayer is not only the Privilege but the Duty of every Christian and shewn how far the Obligation to this Duty does extend and what those Requisites are which are necessary to the effectual Performance of this Duty viz Purity of Life and Manners Sincerity of Intention Just and Upright Dealing with one another express'd by St. Paul by lifting up Holy Hands and likewise a quiet peaceable Temper of Mind not given to Strife and Wrath but apt to be reconcil'd and to forgive together with a full Assurance of Faith in the Veracity and Power and Goodness of God accompanied with a Holy Earnestness and Importunity It remains only that we all of us be exhorted diligently and heartily according to the Measures before describ'd to put in Practice this so beneficial a Duty There is no Place no Time but we have need of God's Favour and Protection and we may always and in every Place beseech it of him and he has promis'd to hear and accept us whenever we address to him as we ought 'T is Prayer that sanctifies Prosperity and makes light the Burthens of Adversity and brings a Blessing upon our Business and Callings and is the greatest Cordial upon the Bed of Sickness wherefore Let us pray every where lifting up Holy Hands without Wrath and doubting and by an Importunity not to be denied do a pleasing Violence to Heaven For every one that thus asketh Matth. 11.10 c. receiveth If a Son shall ask any of us that is a Father Bread or a Fish or an Egg will we give him a Stone or a Serpent or a Scorpion If we then being evil know how to give good Gifts to our Children how much more shall our Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit and all other needful Blessings to them that ask him The PRAYER MOst Gracious God who not only permittest but dost encourage nay command us to make our Requests known unto thee and hast promised by thy Blessed Son that whatever we ask in his Name if it be expedient for us we shall receive assist me with thy Grace so to advert to the All-sufficiency and Almighty Goodness of thy Divine Nature and the miserable Indigency of my own that I may have a due Value for this inestimable Favour and be so much my own Friend as often to bend my Knees before the Throne of thy Grace and lay my Supplications before thee I humbly confess O Lord and deplore my hitherto great and stupid Backwardness in this Heavenly and most beneficial Duty and earnestly beseech thee that for the time to come thou would'st prepare my Soul by the Inspirations of thy Blessed Spirit that it may become a House of Prayer and a fit Habitation for