damnation and that when the Apostles and Evangelists wrote the New Testament in which they laid the same stress upon Faith that Christ himself had done before them that they I say should mean something else by the word than what it signified according to common use and yet that they should not tell us so The Writers and first Preachers of the Gospel did indeed treat of new Subjects viz. of those new Revelations of God's Will that had been lately made but when they made use of words that had a known meaning they did not depart from the received signification of those words But by Faith or believing men always understood being persuaded of the truth of some Proposition And thus Faith is described in the Scripture where it is described most fully In St. John 11.25 says our Saviour He that believeth in me though he were dead yet shall he live but this is explained v. 27. I believe that thou art Christ the Son of God that should come into the world And again John 8.24 If ye believe not that I am he ye shall die in your sins Moreover that Faith by which the Church should stand wanted nothing surely that belongs to the nature of Faith and that is thus expressed We believe and are sure that thou art Christ the Son of the living God and this because not flesh and blood but God had revealed it Thus Abraham's Faith which was imputed to him for righteousness was his accounting that God was able to raise up Isaac even from the dead And all the holy men mentioned in Heb. 11. are said to have died in faith being persuaded of the promises As to those that think there is more in the nature of Faith than this comes to they either return to this in other words or add something that doth not belong to the nature of it those that say there must be a particular application of the Promises where there is true Faith say well but then application is nothing else but a persuasion of or an assent unto a single Proposition For instance I am persuaded that God sent his Son into the world to save mankind is a general persuasion Christ came for my Salvation which is the Application is a particular one Without holiness no man shall see the Lord therefore without holiness I shall not This last is but persuasion and there is that in the former therefore Faith in both Again if resting and relying upon Christ is said to be Faith the meaning must be either that I am assured Christ will save me and this is being persuaded of the truth of that saying or else that I rely upon his Person but a Person cannot be believed otherwise than by believing something of him or something that he has said Some there are that think the nature of Faith doth consist in a certain degree of Persuasion and the Romanists tell us there must be Infallibility in it But now there is a weak as well as a strong Faith and though a greater degree of Assent is more working and powerful yet the nature of Faith is in the least Lastly some good men are apt to think that the goodness of the Will and Affections nay and Holiness of Life belongs to the nature of true Faith but this cannot be because although Faith where it is in that degree that it ought to be there as I shall shew it will produce holiness of Heart and Life and therefore Faith is sometimes spoken of in the Scriptures as comprehending those good Affections and those good Works which it causes yet sometimes they are distinguished from one another and therefore they are not the same so that when all is done the whole nature of Christian Faith doth consist in this That it is a persuasion of the Truth of those Doctrines which Christ hath made known to us Now for the second Point 2. Concerning the power and efficacy of Faith we are to consider that there are these two things attributed to it our Justification and our Holiness or Obedience to the Gospel And here we will first consider 1. What Efficacy Faith has as to the Justification of him that believes and this I shall shew very briefly and plainly in these following particulars 1. Faith may be said to be justifying or saving in that it puts a man into a good way of being justified and thus believing that Jesus is the Christ may be said to be justifying Faith because it is the first step towards Justification and believing his Precepts with his Promises and Threatnings is in this sense a more Justifying Faith because it brings a man nearer to that state in which he shall be justified But 2. If we speak of Actual Justification and continuance in God's favour then not any nor all the proper acts of Faith taken together but separate from Repentance and Obedience are sufficient for where God hath made more conditions than one necessary there the performance of all but one will not suffice and therefore where forgiveness and salvation is promised to one single condition there the presence of all the rest is supposed He that giveth a cup of cold water to a disciple in the name of a disciple shall not lose his reward but shall cold water wash away the treachery of Judas or the injustice of Pilate He that confesseth that Jesus is the Christ hath eternal life but still to be carnally minded is death He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved Nevertheless it is true that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven and therefore where nothing less than Salvation is promised to Believing and Baptism all that which in reason should follow is meant though it be not expressed 3. If we speak of final and irreversible Justification this is neither to be obtained by Faith nor Obedience without perseverance in both God doth in this Life justify true Believers but not once for all till they have fought their good fight and finished their course As the Lord in the Parable forgave his Servant and yet called him to account for his Debt when he proved cruel to his Fellow for this shewed that his pardon was but conditional So likewise says our Saviour shall your heavenly Father do unto you Now I confess what hath been said in answer to the first and second Inquiries gives no sufficient account why we are said to be justified by Faith so frequently in the Scripture but rather seems to make it more unaccountable For if there be no more in the nature of Faith than assent to Truth this seems to be a very common attainment not deserving those great things that are spoken of Faith in the Scripture Can that be the Faith by which all good men have wrought righteousness which hath been held in unrighteousness by as many wicked And then as to the power of this Faith in order to Justification Can that be the faith of God's elect which the Reprobates have as
he lays down in the remaining part of the Text. 1. That this Righteousness proceeds from Faith The righteousness of God from faith to faith 2. That this principle of Righteousness was mentioned in the Old Testament As it is written the just shall live by faith And therefore we are first to enquire 1. What is the meaning of that Passage from faith to faith In what sense is the Righteousness which God requires said to be from faith to faith I answer that the meaning is this The Righteousness which pleaseth God is that which must begin from Faith which must still proceed from Faith and which at last must end in Faith For this is a saying like to that in Rom. 6.19 As ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity even so yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness For by serving iniquity unto iniquity is meant adding one sin to another and daily growing worse And by serving righteousness unto holiness is meant adding one degree of goodness to another and growing better And thus here the Righteousness which is from faith to faith is a Righteousness which first proceeds from Faith and is always built upon it afterwards and is at last perfected by it For that which the Apostle intimates by these words is That the Righteousness of a good Christian having Faith for the ground and reason of it does encrease as his Faith encreases and that the more he is rooted and strengthned in Faith the better he grows and he pleases God the more This seems to be the most natural interpretation of these words viz. That Faith is all along the Principle and Ground of that Righteousness which God expects and is pleased with But then 2. What relation hath that Passage out of the Old Testament to this matter As it is written the just shall live by faith I answer That the Apostle does hereby design to shew that though the Promises of the Gospel are incomparably more excellent than those that were made under the Law yet it was the belief of God's Promises then that held good men to the performance of their duty and intituled them to the favour of God The words are taken out of Habakk 2.4 God had promised the Jews that they should return from their Captivity in his appointed time v. 3. therefore says he though the vision tarry wait for it because it will surely come but the just shall live by his faith that is to say The sure belief of this Promise would support good men in the service of God under the Captivity in an Idolatrous Land and their Faith should be rewarded with a return into their own Country in God's appointed time In like manner Christians who have better promises viz. of an Heavenly Countrey do in this Faith work that Righteousness which the Gospel requires and for thus living by Faith in this World they shall live for ever in their Heavenly Countrey Faith was the foundation of the Jews observing their Law of outward Works and it was rewarded with such Blessings as that Law promised But the Gospel of Christ as we read in the foregoing Verse is the power of God unto salvation and therefore it is still true but in a much higher sense that the just shall live by faith because the Gospel requires an inward and spiritual Righteousness to which we are brought by the belief of promises of spiritual and eternal good things and because such Faith shall bring us to everlasting life Thus much for the Explication of the Text. And now my work shall be to enquire upon what ground it is that the Scriptures do attribute so much to Faith as they do and to shew that this is done without any disparagement at all to Godliness and Virtue And I have chosen this Argument to discourse upon that it may appear how unreasonably we of the Reformation are charged by our Adversaries as we often have been with Solifidianism as they call it that is with attributing all to Faith and leaving no necessity for Righteousness and good Works We do indeed with the Scriptures say That we are justified by faith and that the just do live by Faith but we do with the Scriptures also affirm Faith to be the principle of obedience and there is a righteousness from faith to faith without which we cannot please God nor be justified before him We do also renounce the merit of good Works and resolve the acceptance of them into the Grace and Mercy of God in not imputing our sins to us and when we have done all they are the gracious Promises of God and it is not the dignity of our own Righteousness that we rely upon but then we say it is the faith of these Promises that maketh us live to God by Repentance and good Works which are so necessary that we are dead without them Now from hence indeed it follows That where there is that faith which God requires holiness will follow For if we are justified by faith if he that believes shall be saved and yet without holiness no man shall see the Lord then they that believe are holy which if it be found true then we not to say the Scriptures are justified in attributing so much to Faith as we do that it is by Faith we please God that we live by Faith and that we are saved by Faith On the other hand it seems hard to understand how those great things should be spoken of Faith when there are many that do not hold faith and a good conscience but hold the truth in unrighteousness And since it follows more certainly That a man believes because he is holy than that he is holy because he believes it should rather have been said that a Believer shall live by his Righteousness than that the just shall live by faith and yet following the Scriptures we say that we live by faith and are justified by faith To clear this difficulty it will be requisite to consider well these two things 1. What the Nature of Faith is And 2. What power it has or what efficacy must necessarily be granted to it and when it hath that power and efficacy I shall not only aim at making the notions of these things clear but also profitable unto Godliness 1st then As to the Nature of Faith I do not see that the Scripture means any thing by Faith but a persuasion of the truth of something that is affirmed upon the Testimony of one that affirms it or upon some other reason besides sensible evidence or immediate knowledge And thus Divine Faith is a persuasion of the truth of those things which we have God's testimony for And that we are thus to understand these words Faith or believing in the Scriptures is very plain because otherwise the Scriptures must have altered the common sense and signification of words But can we think that when our Blessed Saviour required believing under the penalty of
indeed to convince a man of that mistake that his form of godliness will supply the want of the real power of it But alas where Truth is professed without the mixture of any Doctrinal Errors of this kind there is still too much room left for this practical Error of holding the truth in unrighteousness For whilst some men are led into sin by Error do not others who are guilty of the same sins hope that they shall be overlooked for the sake of their opposition to those Errors and the professing and maintaining the contrary Truth 'T is true that our Church according to the truth of the Scriptures and the clearest reason that there is for any thing in the world holds forth a necessity of actual reformation in order to God's Pardon and eternal Life and we disclaim all manner of ways to supply the want of effectual repentance and a thorough change of heart and life from Sin to God But my Brethren let us lay one Particular seriously to heart under this General and that is this That our very Profession of this Truth in the natural and proper sense of it That without holiness no man shall see the Lord will not serve our turn without the practice of it our profession of the necessity of an holy life is not that holy life which is necessary And if the unavoidableness of professing some Religion and the desire we have to keep our Sins too works this way upon us as to make us trust in the purity of our Profession we are guilty of one Error as pernicious if we continue in it as if a thousand more were added to it I say if we continue in it for there is this advantage of a true and pure profession of Christianity that whosoever makes it to use the words of our Saviour in a sense something different he is not far from the Kingdom of God there is less to do to recover him to repentance no false Principle being in the way to hinder it he lies open to Exhortation and Persuasion and every serious Instruction and Admonition smites his very Conscience he feels the truth that is delivered to him there is that within him which confesseth it all and will not easily let him be quiet till it hath made him a new man But to proceed 3. In some Persons a dishonourable opinion of God may be the reason of expecting his Rewards without performing the Duties of Purity and Charity I fear there are those in the world who think that God hath appointed the confession of his Name with Prayer and Thansgivings and other holy Offices of Religion that by these things men might give him the satisfaction of hearing the greatness of his Perfections and the excellency of his Works applauded by his Creatures and therefore that these things being performed they have entitled themselves to his thanks and favour But this is in truth to have but a very low and mean opinion of the Divine Majesty and seems to suppose God to be altogether such an one as our selves who perhaps are so vain as to take great delight in our own praises and love to be flattered into a great opinion of our selves If we believe worthily of the Divine Nature we must say That because God is holy and good therefore he will have men to be so and that he expects to be glorified by us to be confessed and adored not that he needeth us or is taken with our commendations of him but because it is infinitely fit and reasonable and equitable that we should thus worship him and because this is a necessary means also of forming our minds and actions into the likeness of what God is and of what he does in the World We are mistaken if we think that our Saviour is beholden to us for keeping up the profession of his Name or that some great Interest of his is served when Religion gets ground upon the World because there will be more and more to speak his Praise and to celebrate his Goodness and his Greatness as if he were like some one of those great men who if they have Flatterers enough and can make others seem to honour them though there be no such matter are very well pleased The Religion of our Saviour was not sent into the world for the ostentation of his Power and Greatness and he plainly told us that he sought not his own honour It is indeed our indispensible duty to honour him before all the World with all expressions of gratitude and humble reverence and we are most inexcusable and wretched Creatures if we do it not But the end of his Religion was to turn us from our iniquities and to make us a peculiar people zealous of good works and so far as this Design takes so far he approves of us otherwise he hath plainly told us what we are to expect from him even that Sentence Depart from me ye that work iniquity I know you not 4. The conceit and expectation of some unpromised mercy of God must necessarily be one ingredient into the presumption oâ— those men that hold the truth in unrighteousness For the Threatnings of God's Word are so undeniably plain that a man of sense who believes the truth as it is in Jesus can have no ease under a guilty Conscience but upon a supposition that God will or may at least abate something of the rigour of his threatning and accept of less perhaps a Death-bed Repentance of less I say than he hath required This seems to be at the bottom of their Confidence of whom our Lord foretold that they should say Lord Lord have we not prophesied in thy name c. that is to say they had been instrumental to maintain and support his Doctrine in the World and expostulate now with him as if they always had some secret hope this would at last be accepted though there was no promise of it before-hand But to prevent this presumption Our Saviour hath said before-hand Then will I profess to them I never knew you Depart from me ye workers of iniquity which plain dealing was very necessary For though it is true that he that threatens punishment doth not delight in taking punishment but intends to prevent the fault yet when God threatens for this end and adds moreover Declaration upon the Threatning That he will not spare if the fault be not prevented 't is an affront to him to presume that he will spare for all that To conclude Let us seriously lay to heart these words of our Saviour which are an answer to the most concerning Question in the World who are they that shall be saved Not every one that saith Lord Lord but he that doth the will of our father which is in heaven He that can say I was by my natural temper and inclination thus and thus but the Religion of Jesus and the Worship of God according to the Gospel hath given me a new heart and a new nature and
ELEVEN SERMONS Preached upon Several Occasions AND A PARAPHRASE and NOTES Upon the First Second Third Fourth Fifth Seventh and Eighth Chapters of St. JOHN WITH A Discourse of Church-Vnity AND Directions how in this Divided State of Christendom to keep within the Vnity of the Church By WILLIAM CLAGETT D. D. Late Preacher to the Honourable Society of Grays-Inn IMPRIMATUR April 25. 1693. Geo. Royse R. R. in Christo Patriac Dom. Dom. Johanni Archiep. Cantuar. a Sacris Domest The Second Edition London Printed for William Rogers at the Sun over-against St. Dunstan's-Church in Fleetstreet 1699. THE CONTENTS SERMON I. Romans 1.17 FOR herein is the Righteousness of God Revealed from Faith to Faith as it is written The Just shall live by Faith SERMON II. III. Heb. 11.6 But without Faith it is impossible to please him For he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a Rewarder of them that diligently seek him SERMON IV. Matth. 11.28 Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest SERMON V. VI. Rom. 8.28 We know that all things work together for good to them that love God SERMON VII Preached at Court Eccles 3.15 For that which hath been is now and that which is to be already hath been and God requireth that which is past SERMON VIII An Assize Sermon Matth. 5.38 39 40 41. Ye have heard that it hath been said An Eye for an Eye and a Tooth for a Tooth But I say unto you that ye resist not Evil but whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek turn to him the other also And if any Man will sue thee at the Law and take away thy Coat let him have thy Cloak also And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile go with him twain SERMON IX An Assize Sermon Matth. 5.34 35 36 37. But I say unto you swear not at all neither by Heaven for it is God's Throne Nor by the Earth for it is his Footstool neither by Jerusalem for it is the City of the great King Neither shalt thou swear by thy Head because thou canst not make one Hair white or black But let your Communication be Yea yea Nay nay for whatsoever is more than this cometh of evil SERMON X. Matth. 7.21 Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but he that doth the will of my Father which is Heaven SERMON XI John 7.17 If any man will do his Will he shall know of the Doctrine whether it be of God A Paraphrase and Notes upon the First Second Third Fourth Fifth Seventh and Eighth Chapters of St. John A Discourse of Church-Unity with Directions how in this Divided State of Christendom to keep within the Unity of the Church The PREFACE IF it may recommend a Book to declare the Author of the Discourses it contains the Reader may be assured that this is another Volume of Dr. Clagett's Works never extant before Some of the following Discourses he Preached at Court and at Assize-times and upon such like Publick Occasions which therefore cost him some pains more than ordinary in the Preparation as likewise did other Sermons in this Collection particularly that about the Nature of Faith His sudden Thoughts upon a Subject were so marvellous good that they seemed to flow from a Fountain of Reason and discovered a great Readiness of Judgment in him but they were very clear and full Discourses which he took any Time and a particular Care to compose The Occasion of his Writing the Paraphrase published in this Volume was this It was intended as I have been informed that a Commentary upon the whole Bible should be set forth by Divines of our Church For such a Work being too big for one or two was to be divided amongst a sufficient Select Number every one of them taking his Part to expound and Dr. Clagett made choice of the Gospel of St. John This was a brave and noble Design which I hope is not quite laid aside For seeing in our Age God hath raised up such Excellent Men in this Church as the Christian World hath scarce any where else so very Eminent and so Celebrated for their Admirable Composures their Writings and Sermons it is great pity methinks that a Church of England-Exposition of Scripture should be wanting all the while forasmuch as this would be altogether as beneficial to the World as any of the great Things our Worthies have done And were there ever abler Men and fitter for the Work of Interpreting Scripture since the time of that Inspiration by which the Scripture was given In the late Reign those Texts of Scripture were examined which the Romanists quote for their Cause and the shewing clearly that Popery hath no Foundation in Scripture did very good Service to the Truth But were a general Exposition of all the Sacred Books of Scripture put forth into the World by the same Men this would rescue perverted and abused Texts out of the hands of all Sectaries and Hereticks whatsoever I need not shew at large how vast would be the Advantage of such a Work to the Church of God both now and in Ages to come Dr. Clagett who exceedingly approved the Design was very forward to prepare his Part in the Work he published his Paraphrase upon the Sixth Chapter first by it self because he saw that was needful to be done at a time when the Papists to make Proselytes boasted much of some Passages in that Chapter as undeniably proving Transubstantiation but his intent was to go through all the rest of the Chapters of St. John and he had finished his Exposition if it had pleased God to continue his Life Here is also added a small Tract concerning Church-Vnity shewing how we are to maintain the Vnity of the Spirit in the midst of Divisions A Discourse that was very seasonable then when it was written and is so still These several Discourses of the Excellent Author I have sent into the World not doubting but they will be found to be of that Use and Benefit to all that read them which was my end in the Publication of them N. C. The First Sermon ROM I. 17. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith as it is written The just shall live by faith THESE words are a reason given of what the Apostle said in the former Verse I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ for therein is the righteousness of God revealed c. i. e. Because God hath revealed in the Gospel what that Righteousness is which he will accept from us in order to our Salvation The righteousness of God signifies that Righteousness which God requires and which he will accept from man And what this Righteousness is is revealed in the Gospel that is the Gospel plainly represents to us what manner of persons we must be in order to our Justification Now there are two things which
godly life because there are many men of clear and active thoughts and conversant in the study of Religion that do not live by Faith for as the Faith of such men cannot in reason be thought to be a confused and indeterminate persuasion so it is too plain by experience that some such do retain the Faith but make shipwrack of a good conscience And therefore let us consider the third thing wherein the power of Faith consists viz. 3. The permanence of it upon the mind or a constancy of frequent consideration upon what we believe That is to say let us suppose a man that doth not only believe all matters of Faith that are needful and apprehend them distinctly and particularly and with application to himself but likewise by very much consideration of these things hath made them present and habitual to himself and of such a man I say That he is under the whole power of Faith and he it is that overcomes the world For such a Believer has two advantages which cannot fail to make him a good man 1. His Persuasion or his Faith is present to his mind when he most needs it i.e. upon all occasions of temptation so that he will be ready in the strength of it to say with Joseph How shall I do this great wickedness and sin against God But now though one believes all the awakening Doctrines of Religion yet if he does not think of them nor lay them to heart when the Devil the World and the Flesh are busy with him t is all one with him at the time as if he had never heard of the Articles of Christian Faith and for the present he is as much without the Operation of Faith as if he had none at all It is with him as it is with a man in a swooning fit there is indeed life in him but it is without sense and motion and for the time he differs not from one that is dead or rather as there is a principle of sense and motion in the one without any act of either so is there indeed in the other a Principle of Faith but no Act of it and it is therefore as if it were not at all Distinct and particular application of what we believe will do much towards the restraining of a man's lusts and this is properly Faith but then that Faith which once was and now is not can do nothing at present which is the case of too many persons professing Christianity That their belief of Divine Truth is oftner absent than present because they do not think of those things which should govern them and assist them under Temptations but by chance or when they cannot help it their business is to put those things out of their minds and not to fix them there And this is the first advantage of one that is constant in his consideration of the Truths whereof he is convinced that they are present to him when he stands in need of their help and indeed never at any great distance from him The 2d Is this and that is the greatest of all That he hath a true and lively sense of these things as often as they return to his mind and he always believes them as he should do under a vigorous apprehension of his own great concernment in them To believe that there is a God and a Life to come and that the Son of God came to be our Saviour and will come to be our Judge that through the Infinite Mercy of God and through the Death and Passion of our Saviour we may obtain Forgiveness of Sins and Eternal Life to believe these things I say according to their nature and our concernment in them is to have a due sense of them and to be justly affected with them more than with all other interests whatsoever because these indeed are the greatest of all Now it is by a Constancy of Believing i. e. of Considering these things and making them present to us that we come to that Faith which consists in a right apprehension and a just sense of them Nor will any other means do without this and indeed all means of Grace are ineffectual without it and they are then effectual when they bring us to this degree of Faith The Prayers that we make are unprofitable if they do not help to fix our minds upon God and Divine Truth and by their frequent returns make a sense of Religion natural and familiar to us Our reading the Scriptures and hearing good Doctrine and Exhortation and our assembling for the worship of God is unprofitable to Godliness otherwise than by accustoming of us to think as we should do that is to be affected with the Doctrines of our most holy Faith Good education and good examples do no otherwise promote the work of God in our minds than by awakening our consideration of that Truth which is to renew us in the spirit of our minds Afflictions and Judgments the Fears and Apprehensions of Death the amazing Calls of God's Providence cannot of themselves work the reformation of an evil heart and life if they do it it is by beginning to bring men to that Consideration which they continue afterwards till they come to a Faith that answers the nature of the things they believe which consists in a just sense and apprehension of them but this is not to be gained but by a constant Consideration because they are spiritual things or future things after this life which are the main Objects of our Faith If a sick man believes that he shall gain his health by such a method or a poor man that he shall get an estate or a prisoner that he shall recover his liberty or any man that he shall come to his end in this world by such a course of means there is no need of much Consideration to persuade himself to try it because without any pains taken with himself he is naturally possest with a lively persuasion of his concernment in things of this nature But in Religion it is otherwise tho the interest be great nay the greatest of all yet it is not a sensible nor a present interest in comparison and so our Faith must be renewed day by day that we may be affected with it as reasonable creatures ought to be and by much thinking of it i. e. by many Acts of Faith arrive to such a sense of God and our interest in Religion as the nature of the thing deserves And this is that Faith which overcomes the world which purifies the heart and makes a man a new creature I deny not That wicked men believe and do contrary to a sense of their duty and of their obligations to God I acknowledge that they have so much Faith as makes them uneasie under their guilt somewhat loth to commit sin and ashamed and afraid when it is committed I grant that they have Faith truly so called but then they want Faith too that Faith which is properly
so called also and which the Scripture requires Either they want the Faith of assenting to some needful Truth which perhaps doth not often happen or they want the Faith of a distinct and particular persuasion and application to themselves which happens more often or they want the Faith of frequent assenting of a permanent persuasion fixt in their hearts by consideration which I doubt is the frequent defect But now the Scripture doth not barely require that we should once for all persuade our selves of the Truths of God's Word but moreover That the word of God should dwell richly in us and that we should be rooted and established in Faith that Christ should dwell in our hearts by Faith and the like which is plainly to require a fixed and lively sense of Divine Truths upon our souls caused by much conversation with them and thinking upon them Now this I say That every act of Meditation or Thought upon these things is a distinct Assent to them and is therefore truly and properly Faith Now because we are to interpret Scripture by Scripture therefore this Scripture That by Faith we are justified is to be interpreted by the aforesaid Exhortations and consequently by Justifying Faith we are to understand an habitual and permanent persuasion of the great Truths of Religion effected by a frequent and just consideration of them and such Faith will justify because it will sanctify it will procure the relative change of putting us into a state of Favour with God because it will procure the real or personal change of subduing our corrupt affections and making us obedient to God from the heart For suppose a man by constant consideration to have gained such a sense of Spiritual things as by assiduity men come to have in all matters they frequently think of and converse about how is it possible but he must be a good man in the rest of his life But men are but half persuaded that never think of these things but by chance or when they cannot help it So that this is the great point wherein we exercise liberty in matters of Religion viz. Whether we will consider or not i. e. Whether we will often persuade our selves of the great Truths of God and a World to come or but very rarely This is the main hinge upon which our state turns and here lies the principal power we have still under the Grace of God to help and reform our selves which seems to be suggested by the Scriptures insisting so much upon it That we are justified by Faith for this shews us where our strength lies Nay the just himself lives by his Faith and it is by Faith that he perseveres in Righteousness And where such Faith is as I have now described it will not fail to influence the mind and conversation For we are led by persuasion to evil as well as to good and when a man doth ill it cannot be that at the same time he should be persuaded to do well No wonder therefore that the Scripture concludes of all wicked men That they are not persuaded of the truth of those things which they profess to believe They profess says the Apostle to know God but in works they deny him Tit. 1.16 But works neither deny nor affirm any thing they only shew whether we our selves do one or the other If then all that are disobedient are in a true sense unbelievers then all who fully believe are holy By Faith Abraham when he was tried offered up Isaac but if the command to offer up his Son was the Trial of his Faith then had he not obeyed his belief had not been true Therefore also where the belief is true where it is a fixed and lively sense of God and Religion where it doth not come in as a sojourner but dwelleth richly in the Soul it will sanctify and cleanse it In short This permanent persuasion of the Truths of the Gospel being that without which we cannot bring forth fruit unto God in all good works he hath required of us and with which we shall it must necessarily be the faith by which the just do live Finally therefore my Brethren Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might put on the whole armour of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil stand having your loins girt about with truth and having on the breast plate of righteousness and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace But above all take the shield of faith whereby ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit which is the word of God By all which it appears That Christian Truth is our Armour against Sin and therefore let that humble man's Prayer be ours and our care answerable Lord we believe help thou our unbelief And may the God of Truth increase our faith in us that it may be fruitful in good works to the glory of his Name and our eternal Salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen The Second Sermon HEB. XI 6. But without faith it is impossible to please him for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him THE words are the most comprehensive that I can find in all the Bible for bringing all that is necessary to be said concerning the true nature the full extent and proper use of Faith under one Text which possibly you will acknowledge if you consider with me the very deep and yet clear sense of these excellent Words The first clause of them contains a general Proposition But without faith it is impossible to please God The second contains a proof of that Proposition for he that cometh to God must c. By comparing the Proposition proved with the proof thereof we shall come to understand every phrase and word of the Text. For if we enquire 1. What is here meant by pleasing God in the general Proposition let us see what answers thereunto in the following words and we shall find by pleasing God is meant the doing of those things whereby God is pleased for saith the Apostle He that cometh to God must believe that he is Now to come to God is an obvious phrase signifying to worship God Wherefore it being supposed as the Apostle's form of arguing makes it necessary that to worship God or to come to him is to please him it must needs follow that to please God signifies the doing of those things whereby God is pleased But hence we must not conclude that the worship of God properly so called is the only thing that is pleasing to God because the Apostle's intent in the proof of his general proposition is to give some particular instance of each part thereof as I shall shew all along in the Explication of these words There are other things which please God besides
do at last confess the plain truth of the Scriptures that without holiness no man shall see God And they say farther that 't is not only hard but impossible for a man left to that freedom which belongs to his Will to become regenerate But then what comfort does this persuasion leave Why they tell us that Regeneration and Holiness shall be wrought in our hearts by an Almighty operation of the Holy Spirit such as that whereby God will at last raise us from the dead Now I confess that nothing can be more easy than to become a good man this way because under the dispensation of irresistible Grace 't is impossible to be otherwise And I am not so vain as to refuse so great a blessing if it were in my power to refuse it But what if the Scripture hath no promise of such Grace Nay what if it had unless I knew how to obtain it or that I was one of a thousand and could not miss it What if I must be left to the common way of watching and praying and working out my Salvation And what if all this will be to as little purpose as if I had done nothing at all Is this the rest that Jesus hath promised we shall find to our Souls Let us therefore try another expedient what may be done by severe fasting and penance Will the punishing of my Body satisfy for the sin of my Soul This I think would almost do the business because 't is a greater pain to deny a craving Lust to stop a growing Passion and to resist a strong temptation to wicked Pleasure or unjust Gain or desired Revenge than to go through a reasonable course of outward mortification But can these things compensate for the omission of necessary duty or satisfy for the commission of known sin when under a more imperfect Law God refused harder things than these Shall I give my first-born for my transgression the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul No He hath shewed thee O man what is good and what doth the Lord c. Bodily Austerities no doubt are pleasing to God and profitable for our Souls when they are intended to express a just indignation at our selves for having sinned when to break the wicked custom they are imposed as penalties and revenges to be inflicted as soon as we have committed any wicked Action when they are added to the inward trouble of the mind to make us weary of sinning and us'd to starve and mortify the evil Appetite For such reasons as these 't is necessary to keep the body in subjection But if bodily exercise profiteth nothing unless it be profitable unto godliness and helpeth to make the Soul the better we are still driven back to that hard point which we would fain lose the sight of That without a new heart and a new life there is no hope of God's pardon I shall try but one refuge more which indeed gives a fair prospect of relief and that is what comfort may be had from the power of the keys wherewith Christ intrusted his Church when he said Whose sins ye remit they are remitted unto them and whose sins ye retain they are retained Now this assures me that when the Church received me by Baptism into her Communion she gave me a right to remission of sins and that if she deprives me of it by excommunication she can by absolution restore me to it And therefore I will never break the Peace of the Church by Schism nor lose it by contempt of her Censures But then I doubt the Church cannot forgive sins more effectually than God does who is thus represented to forgive in the Parable of the Lord that forgave his servant ten thousand talents He forgave him indeed and yet he required the Debt afterward upon his unmercifulness to his Fellow-servant which evidently shews that the Pardon was but conditional So likewise saith our Saviour shall your heavenly Father do unto you And the Church cannot do more than God does who himself requires Conditions and therefore has not given to man the power of dispensing absolute Pardons unless we can think that to ratify the word of a man he has obliged himself to disannul his own And because he has reserved to himself the final Judgment of all whose sins are either remitted or retained in this World by the Authority of the Church therefore the Kingdom of God that is the Church is compared to a Field where the tares and the wheat grow together the time not being yet come for an exact separation For these Reasons all are forced to confess that the peace of the Church does then only ensure the favour of God when the Key does not err But what if my Conscience tells me the Key doth err and that whilst I do not forfeit the Churches Peace by scandalous Crimes I do yet depart from God by hidden Iniquities Can the erring Key open to me the Gate of Everlasting Life I would fain believe that the bringing of these secret sins to light and purposing to offend no more would help at last and that a Death-bed Repentance could by the power of the Keys be made effectual to Salvation But O Blessed Jesus how can I believe that thy most holy Doctrine should be but a Rule whereby to confess sin and to purpose against it instead of a Rule obliging me to forsake it To conclude this matter If we leave that one path of Obedience we may try a thousand By-ways but the Truth which cannot be corrupted will send us back again to that plain truth of our Saviour If thou wilt enter into life keep the commandments which like the flaming Sword that turns every way keeps the way of the Tree of Life against all ungodly and unrighteous men If therefore that Rest which our Lord promiseth is not to be had out of the way of Obedience it remains that we must find it in that way if we find it at all Let us therefore try for better success here than we have yet had Let us see whether the exactness of Rules and the indispensableness of Obedience must needs make us uneasy under the Discipline of Christianity or rather if the Grace of the Gospel doth not mitigate all the severity of its Laws without making any of them void Now the first mitigation I shall consider is this 1. That the Gospel leaves room for repentance of known and wilful Sins committed after Baptism a most remarkable instance of which Grace we have in the Discipline of the Church as it stood in the Apostle's days For when the Incestuous Corinthian was brought to Repentance St. Paul commanded the Church to forgive and comfort him lest he should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow And surely as God forgives those open Scandals for which the Penitent was cut off from the Body of Christ so upon repentance he will forgive those secret Offences too which can make no forfeiture of Church-Communion If
and their Parts quicker than those of the sincere and godly and moreover that some wicked men have arrived to greater knowledge in Religion than thousands of Religious persons ever had To this Objection I answer 1. That supposing an equality of other means and abilities he that is sincere towards God hath many advantages above a wicked man in order to the gaining of that knowledge to which the wicked may possibly arrive 2. That there is some knowledge in Religion proper to the godly which the other continuing as he is can never gain Now if that which is possibly to both may be more easily and certainly attained by the good man supposed to be equal in other respects to the wicked if there be something also that cannot be attained by the wicked though in other respects never so superior to the good man then is not the Rule of our Saviour disparaged by the pretence now mentioned but we have still as great reason to take his method as there seemed to be at first Now there are these two things which I hope to make out by the following Discourse First of all That supposing the good and the bad to be equally endued with natural Abilities of understanding and equally to enjoy the external means of knowledge the former hath great Advantages above the latter for the gaining of that knowledge in Religion which is possible to both this will appear from these two general Arguments 1. That sincerity of heart with a religious life is in it self a fit means to attain knowledge and that the contrary disposition and course of life renders a man very unfit to discern divine Truth 2. That there are many great promises of knowledge and wisdom made to godly men and to none else but that of his Justice he hath threatned and by the same Justice doth often infatuate the understandings of the wicked 1. That a sincere intent towards God and doing his Will is a fit means of it self to attain knowledge For in the 1st place It takes in all that is good and profitable in any other way of coming to the knowledge of the Truth For is searching the Scripture a good means doing the will of God includes that for it is his will that we should search the Scriptures Is hearkning to our Sipritual Guides another way It is the will of God that we should know them that labour amongst us and are over us in the Lord and admonish us Is an impartial examination of those grounds upon which the several Parties in Christendom pretend to hold the truth It is the will of God that we should prove all things and hold fast that which is good that we should not believe every spirit but try the spirits whether they are of God Is it the use of our own reason and arguing from Principles of natural Religion This is plainly supposed in the command of trying their Doctrines who pretend to instruct us in Revelation Is it of any use to enquire into the sense of Ancient Churches if we are able to do it this is not hindred but furthered by doing the will of God which always supposeth a sincere desire to know the truth for this sincerity gives a prosperous influence to the labours of the diligent and learned whereas if the interest of ambition or covetousness does mix it self with the studies of men and infect them with a secret disloyalty to the truth it doth most commonly blast their endeavours through the corruptness of their end making them bend their wit not so much to know the truth as to serve their Cause This is the first consideration That whatever is good and profitable in any other way is included in this 2. The obedient and honest mind is peculiarly fitted for the evidence of Divine Truth which is enough to satisfy the prudent and considerate and those that are willing to learn but not to bear down the prejudices and passions of the untractable To this purpose we may consider That our Saviour accommodated his Instructions to the tempers of the humble and willing But when he met with the captious Pharisees he returned them Answers like their Questions designing rather to silence their Arrogance than to inform them and convince them of the truth for he perceived all that labour was lost upon men of their perverse minds which was abundantly sufficient to satisfie those there that were wise and modest and disinterested Thus after they had been cavilling at his Doctrine he asks them whose son Christ was to be they said David's if David then says he call him Lord how is he his son where he left them speechless without explaining the difficulty for he knew Reason would not serve them So when they asked him By what Authority he did those things which he did and this after they they had known his wonderful Works he did not vouchsafe to give them a direct Answer but replies to their Question with another The baptism of John was it from heaven or of men He knew they would say They could not tell Neither tell I you says he by what authority I do these things How evident and reasonable soever the institution of the Gospel is it was not delivered in such a way as should certainly prevail against the obstinacy of the wicked and enlighten the minds of them that love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil but in such a way as would satisfy all that love the truth and are resolved to follow it Hereby God hath made great distinction between the humble and honest on the one side and the proud and insincere on the other while the best knowledge is easy and ready to the former but in comparison hard to the latter 3. Due reverence and love of God's Word is it self apt to promote the understanding of it which is a great advantage which the good man hath above all others what a man admires and delights in engages his whole Soul and makes it all attention and in that posture the mind apprehends more readily and clearly On the other side no man makes a good proficiency in that which he studies with an alienated mind and indeed it is impossible he should since he doth not put his strength to the work and his Soul is hardly present with the business he is about What other reason can we give why men that are accurate at one sort of business are heavy and inapprehensive at others for the Soul in it self hath a capacity equally open to the embracing of all Reason that therefore which makes the difference must be their value of and delight in one subject and their aversion from the other It is no wonder then if David as he speaks of himself was wiser than all his enemies and understood more than the ancients and had more understanding than his teachers themselves For saith he I have kept thy precepts I love thy law it is my meditation all the day long and the
Tongue in his Head to use them as occasion serves which experience shows may be done without any natural Sagacity or Rules of Art 2. It is sometimes pretended by common Swearers though I think but rarely That men will not believe them without an Oath and what is this but to confess they have been so notoriously given to Lying that no body dares trust them upon their bear word for a man that is known to make conscience of speaking the Truth finds no difficulty of creating a belief of what he says amongst any of his Friends without making any appeal to God Besides the Oath of a common Swearer gives indeed but very little assurance of the truth of what he says if I know a man to be afraid of an Oath his Oath shall satisfy me beyond any other testimony that he can give and upon the Oath of such a man a Court of Judicature may proceed with confidence but what regard can reasonably be had to his Oath above his simple and bare word as we use to say who is known to swear upon all occasions if he does not lie 't is well but of this I have no peculiar assurance by his Oath because it is as ordinary with him to swear as to speak and therefore in Athens a Common Swearer's Oath was not allowed nor accepted of in their Courts and sometimes the testimony of a man of known Probity and Honour was admitted without it this last seems to be imitated by the wisdom of our Laws which suppose the Asseveration of a Peer to be equivalent to the Oath of another man and therefore for another man to Swear needlesly is to disparage the Reputation of his Fidelity but for a man of Honour to do so is to renounce his Priviledge and for any man to do thus is not only to bring the honesty of his Word but the truth of his Oath also into question 3. The most usual excuse framed for the extenuation of this Impiety is that of sudden Passion thus when some men are a little provoked or when they are surprized with some unexpected good Fortune or any unlook'd-for misadventure befals them either their Rage or their Joy bursts out presently into Oaths and they pretend they cannot help it for they have no other way to discharge their minds and give vent to their Passions but by Cursing and Swearing now is not this a plain confession that they have lost the government of themselves and have no rule over their own spirits So common it is for men while they are framing an excuse for one sin to betray themselves guilty of another what greater argument can lightly be given of an impotent mind than that every petty accident is able to bereave one of all consideration and make him cease to be his own man till the fit is over And the truth is though Passion be brought in to mitigate the business yet it is plain enough that any trifling occasion is able to set these men a swearing that make this excuse for themselves when provocation is alledged to mollify this Crime one would think it must arise from no less a cause than if he should find his house in flames or his friend attempting the honour of his bed but upon examination this same emotion and heat of spirit is pleaded for the begging of your pardon when a man swears upon the most trifling and inconsiderable occasions And what can excuse that childishness and impotency of mind to which these men have thus given themselves over But let never such extraordinary causes of joy or grief or anger happen it is an unmanly thing to set no bounds to these Passions and they are never less unbridled than when we make such undue expressions of them as Oaths and Curses are St. James gives us this Rule Above all things my brethren swear not neither by heaven neither by the earth nor by any other Oath James 5.12 But the particular Case wherein he thought this Rule was useful was that of Affliction for he had before exhorted them to whom he wrote to take the Prophets for an example of suffering affliction and of patience and particularly recommended to them the meekness and patience of Job for their imitation ver 10 11. But if they could not perfectly equal such great examples as those were yet at least he strictly enjoins them not to be transported so far into Anger and Impatience as to break forth into Oaths But above all things my brethren swear not but keep your selves within the bounds of modest and Christian Language and that they might see that he allowed them to have a sense of the good and evil of this World and was far from thinking it a Virtue to be stupid and dull and unconcerned about either the Comforts or the Calamities of human Life he directs them how they may convert the Passions which are thereby excited to an excellent and profitable use Is any man among you afflicted let him pray Is any merry let him sing Psalms ver 13 15. If any man be overtaken with worldly misery let him turn himself to more devout and earnest Prayer that God would either remove his burden or give him patience under it if he be surprized with some new blessing let him break forth into the Praises of God to whose Bounty and Goodness he stands obliged for it Thus to improve the excitations of joy and grief within us is a demonstration that our Passions have not overwhelmed our Reason and Understanding but left us the free use of our selves to do what becomes us as Men and Christians but in either case to lash out into Oaths is a plain token of an impotent mind that hath no rule over it self but is hurried away by intemperate Passions which is matter of so much shame to a reasonable Creature and much more to a Disciple of Christ that we should blush to confess so much evil against our selves as to make it the excuse of any other Sin 4. If Swearing be excused under the notion of a compliance with the custom of other men who are our Friends and Companions this pretence indeed carries a shew of civility and kind nature but for all that is the silliest that can readily be thought of and the making of it argues a mean and degenerate mind for although in things of an innocent and indifferent nature 't is commendable for men to remit of their own way and humour and to suit themselves to the customs and manners of those whom they converse with yet to be complaisant in all things without exception is the way to grow as profligate and vile as the Devil would wish any man to be for what wickedness could want Authority if this pretence were once admitted What is this but to proclaim that a man hath lost all sense of difference between good and evil And that he hath left off to judge all things according to their own nature that he hath no more
use left for his Reason that his Conscience is no longer in his own keeping and that he is now fit to herd with the Beasts that follow the foremost without discretion The Laws of Truth and Goodness are immutable and another man's violation of them gives me no dispensation to do so too I may not prostitute my Conscience to the Lusts of other men who are to be governed by the Laws of God as well as I if they call my resolution not to provoke my Maker an humour in this matter I were a Fool not to be tenacious of my own humour in this case there can be no reason why he that is in the right should go over to him that is wrong unless he that sets the evil example could change the nature of things and made evil not to be evil and sin and punishment to be other things than what they are Lastly The common way of excusing rash Oaths by pleading an habit implieth the greatest evil of this nature that can be for this is but to confess that a man is guilty of this sin in the highest degree an evil custom being the heighth of wickedness Thus both by shewing what those dispositions are which lead to common Swearing and by considering the excuses that are usually framed in the behalf of it I have discovered the Immorality thereof and that it cometh of evil I might here add the Authority of wise men who had no particular Revelation to guide themselves by and yet condemned this practice and disswaded all men from it for these Persons could discover the evil of it only by the light of Natural Reason which they could not have done if it had not been evil in its own nature Plato wrote smartly against Swearing upon light causes Hierocles tells us It is a dishonour to truth to confirm it lightly with an Oath Epictetus gives this advice Avoid Swearing altogether if thou canst if not as much as thou canst In a word The wise and sober Heathens were generally of this mind That an Oath was to be reserved for Cases of necessity and the practice of common Swearing was not in use amongst any but Stage-players and Slaves nor do we ordinarly meet with Oaths in any of their Writers excepting the Comedians and some of their dissolute Poets but the grave men and Philosophers took not the liberty themselves and dehorted others from it And this may serve to confirm us in the belief of its Immorality for what so many wise men agreed in condemning seems to be condemn'd as evil by reasons common to all men and possibly such as I have offered to your consideration so great a shame and ignominy it is to Christians to allow themselves in a Custom so easy avoidable that is condemned by the light of Nature however by the Authority of the Son of God whose Disciples we profess our selves to be Thus have I finished what I had to say upon this subject having been willing to say all that was any way proper to oppose a custom tending so manifestly to the dishonour of our Nation and the discredit of our Church and the scandal of Christian Society and finally to the ruin of Mens Souls for ever for without universal obedience to the Laws of Christ whereof this is one which I have been preaching to you we cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven for which reason if I had chosen any other command of our Lord and Saviour to discourse upon I had been as vehement in urging you to the obedience of that as I have been in pressing this Now the God of mercy grant that we may walk before him blameless and be holy in all manner of Conversation as becomes the followers of Jesus To Him with the Father and the Holy Spirit be ascribed all honour praise and glory now and for ever Amen The Tenth Sermon MATTH VII 21. Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven but he that doth the will of my father which is in heaven THE Point determined in these words is of the highest concernment to us in the world viz. Who of those that hope for Salvation by Christ shall not and who shall enter into the kingdom of heaven The former is described in that part of the Text Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord The latter in the close of it But he that doth the will of my Father which is in heaven Let us first consider the former part Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord which being compared with the Clause opposed to it is evidently to be thus interpreted Not any one that saith Lord Lord and does no more than say so but neglects the doing of God's Will not any such person shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven By calling Christ Lord is meant an open profession of Christianity and by calling him Lord Lord is meant a vehement profession of it such a Profession as is to be seen in all the ways of making known to the World what Religion we are of For instance When we do not only not renounce our Baptism and suffer our selves to be called Christians and call our selves so which is common to the most careless Professors of Christianity in the World but when also we do solemnly confess that Faith in the Assemblies of the Church into which we have been baptized and frequent the Table of Our Lord to shew forth his death and join in publick Prayers and are zealous for the purity of Christian Profession and contend against Error then we are those that call Christ Lord Lord i. e. who make a vehement profession that we are his Servants and Followers Now whereas our Saviour says Not every one that doth this shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven the plain meaning is That he doth not exclude this outward profession as unnecessary but that he makes it insufficient of it self in order to salvation 1. He doth by no means exclude it as unnecessary or as a Condition that may well enough be spared he said upon another occasion Ye call me Master and Lord and ye say well for so I am John 13.13 And St. Paul tells us That as with the heart man believeth unto righteousness so with the mouth confession is made to salvation Rom. 10.10 Nay it is so necessary if we will be saved to confess Christ and his Truth publickly in the World that no danger will excuse us from it For the doing of this if need be we must venture all that is dearest to us in this life nay and life it self It was on this account that our Saviour told his Disciples Whoever will come after me must take up his cross and follow me It is the confession of the true Faith added to holy living that hath made Martyrs of Saints since it was properly for confessing Christ with their mouths for contending in the behalf of Truth against Error for serving God in Religious Assemblies