them and for them 2. The want of Religion will indispose men for the condition of Subjects and render them loose and unstable in those duties of obedience and submission required to that state How can it be expected from that man who dares affront and despise God himself that he should have any hearty reverence for his Deputies and Vicegerents Those who are destitute of Religion and Conscience as they are not to be trusted in any ordinary private duty towards those with whom they converse much less can they be useful in any such extraordinary Action whereby the publick welfare is to be promoted where there are no seeds of Piety and Virtue there can be nothing of Honour or Magnanimity He that is subject only upon the account of Wrath and the power of the Sword which is over him will be no longer so when he hath an opportunity of escaping or resisting that Power Nor is there any possible way to secure men in their quiet subjection and obedience but by their being obliged for Conscience sake And therefore such kind of persons as by their open profaneness and contempt of Religion do endeavour to destroy Conscience from amongst men may justly be esteemed as the worst kind of Seditious Persons and most pernicious to Civil Government Whatever Disputes have been raised concerning the lawfulness of punishing men for their dissenting Consciences in matters of Religion yet never any man questioned the lawfulness of punishing men for their profaneness and contempt of all Religion Such men as renounce Conscience cannot pretend that they suffer for it And certainly this Vice doth upon many accounts deserve the greatest severity of Laws as being in its own nature destructive of the very Principles of Government and the Peace of all Human Societies Besides the Mischiefs consequent upon it from Divine Vengeance So that upon all these accounts there is just reason to infer the truth of this Proposition That Religion is totum hominis in this first sense as it refers to the Essence of Man considered either Separately or as a Member of Society 2. T is so likewise with respect to the Happiness and well-being of Man That is properly said to be the chief End or Happiness of a thing which doth raise its nature to the utmost perfection of which it is capable according to its rank and kind So the chief good belonging to a Vegetable or Plant is to grow up to a state of maturity to continue to its natural period and to propagate its Kind which is the utmost perfection that kind of Being is capable of And whereas Sensitive Creatures beside those things which are common to them with Plants have likewise such faculties whereby they are able to apprehend external objects and to receive pain or pleasure from them Therefore the Happiness proper to them must consist in the Perfection of these Faculties namely in sensible pleasures the enjoying of such things as may be grateful to their senses But now Mankind if we will allow it to be a distinct rank of Creatures superior to Brutes being endowed with such Faculties whereby 't is made capable of apprehending a Deity and of expecting a future state after this life It will hence follow That the proper happiness of man must consist in the perfecting of this Faculty namely in such a state as may reconcile him to the Divine Favour and afford him the best assurance of a blessed Immortality hereafter Which nothing else but Religion can so much as pretend to And that this is most agreeable to Natural Light may appear from the Testimonies of several of the Wisest Heathens Pythagoras Plato Epictetus c. who assert a Man's Happiness or chief End to consist in a likeness or resemblance to the Divine Nature in following of God endeavouring to imitate him whom we worship which are but several descriptions of Religion 'T is true indeed the nature of Man by reason of those other Capacities common to him with Plants and Brutes may stand in need of several other things to render his condition pleasant and comfortable in this World as Health Riches Reputation Safety c Now herein is the great advantage of Religion that besides the principal work which it doth for us in securing our future Estates in the other World It is likewise the most effectual means to promote our happiness in this World and that not only Morally upon account of that Reward which Virtuous Actions do entitle a man unto from a just and a wise Providence But Naturally also by reason of that Physical efficacy which the Duties of Religion have in procuring for us each of those things wherein our Temporal Happiness doth consist in promoting the welfare not only of particular persons but of publick Communities of Mankind in general and of the whole Universe Insomuch that if we could suppose our selves in a capacity of capitulating with God concerning the Terms upon which we would submit to his Government and to chuse the Laws we would be bound to observe It were not Possible for us to make any Proposals which upon all Accounts should be more advantageous to our own Interests than those very Conditions to which we are obliged by the Rules of Religion and Vertue And herein doth the reasonableness of Religion and the Beauty and Wisdom of Providence most eminently appear towards Mankind in governing us by such Laws as do most apparently tend to the perfecting of our Natures and in making that only to be our Duty which is our Interest 3. Religion is Totum hominis with respect to the chief Business and Duty of man that which he ought to be most intent upon and conversant about as to his Employment in this World That General calling to which every man of what rank or quality soever is to be engaged Men are distributed under other particular Callings according as their Education Abilities Friends and several Opportunities do dispose of them But the obligation of Religion being of universal concernment doth extend to all and every particular there being none exempted from it Hoc est omnis homo Every man is concerned in it And it is totum hominis likewise 'T is his calling the chief business about which he is to be employed I do not say that a man's thoughts are always to be taken up about the immediate Acts of Religion any more than a Traveller is always to have his mind actually fixed upon the thought of his Journey 's end This would be inconsistent with the infirmity of our natures and the necessity of our conditions in this World But yet as he that is upon a Journey doth so order all his Particular Motions as may be most conducible to his General End so should men habitually though they cannot actually in every affair have respect to their chief End so as to observe all the duties of Religion and never to allow themselves in any thing against the rules of it And he that hath this
who propose to themselves such Courses for the Promoting of their Honour as are most Destructive of it namely Prophaneness and Contempt of Religion Despising that which other Men stand in Awe of by which they think to get the Reputation of Wit and of Courage Of Wit by pretending to penetrate more deeply into the Nature of things and to understand them better than others do not to be so easily imposed upon as other Credulous People are Of Courage by their not being so easily scared at the Apprehension of Danger at a distance But the Plain Truth is such Persons do hereby prove themselves to be both Fools and Cowards Fools In mistaking their great Interests in making choice of such means as can never promote the End they Design There being no kind of Men that are exposed whatsoever they themselves may think of it to Publick Infamy and Hatred than those that seek for Credit by despising of Religion Fools in venturing their future Estates and their Souls upon such hazards as all mankind would cry-out-upon for the most palpable folly and madness if they should do the like towards their Temporal Estates or their Bodies Cowards In being more afraid of little dangers because they are present than of greater because they are suture and at a distance As that Souldier who doth more dread the present danger of Fighting when he is obliged to it than the future danger of suffering Martial Law for running away may justly be esteemed a notorious Coward so that man who is more afraid of a present inconvenience by incurring the prejudice and displeasure of his loose Companions to whom he would be acceptable than of a future mischief from the Judgment of God No man will esteem another to be truly Valiant because he is not afraid to do such vile unworthy things as will expose him to the displeasure and punishment of the Civil Magistrate much less should be so accounted for daring to do such things as will in the issue expose him to Divine Vengeance For men of no real worth to expect the esteem and affection of others as it is very unequal on their parts requiring Brick without Straw so neither is it lawful nor possible for others to allow it them not lawful because it is as well a man's duty to contemn a vile person as to honour them that fear the Lord. Not possible because men must necessarily judg according to the most prevailing Evidence nor can they esteem such an one to be worthy whom they know to be otherwise any more than they can believe that to be white and streight which they see is black and crooked Secondly If these things be so it will hence follow that men who have any sense of Honour should by these considerations be excited to a love of that which is the only means to it namely Religion and Virtue Those of â—â—avish sordid Spirits may be more easily perswaded by the consideration of Gain but no motive can be more powerful with noble and generous Minds than that of Honour That man takes very ill measures of things who doth not make it one of his principal cares to keep his Name unspotted it being no easy matter to recover a forfeited Reputation Such Profligate Wretches as are without any sense of Honour or Shame may justly be esteemed the Publick Pests and Mischiefs of Mankind and such as ought to be banished from amongst them as being the common enemies to Government and Societies Of all sorts of men there lies a peculiar Obligation upon them that are in Publick Places to preserve their Reputations clear and without blemish A private Person is not so much concern'd to look after Publick Fame as that man is who is ingag'd in Publick Employment He that can abundantly satisfy himself with the Conscience of well-doing while he is in a Private Station if once he be called to any such Employment where he must be useful to others by his Authority 'T is most fitting then that he should seek the Aid of Opinion and Publick Esteem because 't is this which Rules the World and stamps upon Things the Rates at which they are to pass There is nothing in this World that we can propose to our selves of greater benefit than the Love and Esteem of good Men I have shewed before that it is Power 't is Safety And besides all the Advantages which we have by it whilst we live 't is one of those things that will abide after us when we are gone out of this World and for that reason a special regard is to be had to it And the more Wise any Man is the more Care will he take to transmit a Grateful Memory of himself to future times And since he must be spoken of after his departure he will take Care that he be well spoken of that his Name may be as a precious Ointment leaving a Perfume behind it That men may rise up at the mention of it and call him blessed I shut up all with that affectionate Exhortation of the Eloquent Apostle Phil. 4. 8. Finally Brethren whatsoever things are Venerable whatsoever things are Lovely whatsoever things are of good Report If there be any Virtue if there be any Praise think of these things And the Peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your Hearts and minds through Jesus Christ. FINIS A SERMON Preached before the KING AT WHITE-HALL 1670. ECCLES 12. 13. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter Fear God and keep his Commandments for this is the whole duty of man THis Book is one of Solomon's Philosophical Discourses containing such principal Observations about Human Affairs as are apt tâ— offer themselves to the thoughts of every serious considerate man especially concerning those things which may more immediately either promote or hinder our Happiness This Text is the Conclusion which he infers upon the whole matter that which is the most natural result of all such Debates and Enquiries In the former part he had taken into consideration those several states of life to which men usually apply themselves for Happiness namely Learning and Wisdom Mirth and Pleasures Power and Greatness Riches and Possessions Each of which he doth by great variety of Arguments prove to be vanity and vexation and altogether insufficient to the End for which they are designed Then he takes notice of the several Accidents of life whether they concern our Endeavours or our Persons 1. For our Endeavours The most likely means are not always effectual for the attaining of their End The utmost that Human Councils and Prudence can provide for is to â—ake care when they are to contend in a Race that they be swifter than those who run against them or when they are to fight a Battel that they be stronger than those whom they are to encounter And yet the Race is not always to the swift nor the Battel to the strong neiâ—her yet Bread to the wise nor
of them for the best And again Psal. 104. 24. O Lord how manifold are thy works in wisdom hast thou made them all the earth is full of thy riches Which is as well true of the works of Providence as of the works of Creation But this Truth is more directly intimated by that Vision of Ezekiel in the Chapter of his Prophecy wherein he doth express how all Events in the world are wisely disposed of by the care and government of Providence The scope of that Vision was to confirm the faith of the Prophet in the certainty of those things which he was to foretel because God himself by whom he was inspired had such a special influence in the orderly managing of all inferiour Events Though matters might seem to run upon wheels as we say to follow their own courses without any special guidance to go at random yet these wheels have eyes in them v. 18. that is there is the eye of Providence which directs them in their revolutions And then besides these wheels are likewise governed by the four living creatures that is by the Angels of God who are fitted for all their services with four remarkable Endowments 1. With Wisdom and Prudence typified in that Vision by the face of a man 2. Courage and Resolution the face of a Lion 3. Sedulity and Diligence the face of an Ox. 4. Swiftness and Dispatch the face of an Eagle In all which the Prophet doth at large explain unto us with what deliberate care and fore-cast the Providence of God doth dispose of all these inferior Events This Truth may yet be further evidenced from the very Light of Nature and the Testimony of the Heathen Hence was it that the Ancients did set forth their gods with Harps in their hands to shew the harmony they observed in the government of the world And Midas was condemned to wear Asses ears because he preferred Pan's Pipe before Apollo's Lâ—te Humane Policy before Divine Providence Nay the Devil himself doth acknowledg the wisdom and seasonableness of Divine proceedings and therefore would fain have sheltred himself under this pretence Matth. 8. 29. Art thou come to torment us before our time Implying that it would not become the God of Order to do any thing untimely And doubtless that must needs be an evident and a great Truth which is confessed by the mouth of so great a Liar For the further confirmation of this let us a little consider some of those rugged passages of Providence which seem to be performed with the greatest negligence and deformity Look upon the History of Joseph He was you know one of the promised Seed concerning whom God had foretold a superiority and dominion over the rest of his Family Now that after this he should be exposed to the treachery of his malicious Brethren that besides his nearness to slaughter from their hands he should be sould into a far Countrey whence there was no hopes ever to hear on him again That there he should be so endangered by the rage of a lustful woman and suffer so tedious and unjust Imprisonment all this might seem to be an oversight and neglect of Providence as if it had forgotten the promotion which Joseph was designed to And yet do but reflect upon the latter part of the story and you shall find how all these misfortunes did mightily conduce not only to his advancement but all to the safety and preservation of that whole â—amily which was then the Visible Church So that if each of his Brethren had given him as much money as they sold him for it had not been so great a kindness as he received from their intended Cruelty It is an elegant gloss of St. Gregory upon this Story Divino judicio quod declinare conati sunt renitendo servierunt Ideo venditus est à fratribus Joseph ne adoraretur sed ideo est adoratus quia venditus It was so ordered by Providence that what they sought to decline they did promote even by their striving against it Joseph was therefore sold by his Brethren that he might not be worshiped and yet he was therefore worshiped because he was sold. Sic divinum consilium dum deviatur implâ—tur sic humana sapientia dum reluctatur comprehenditur Even so the Divine Councel is accomplished in being opposed so Humane Policy is defeated by the means of promoting it Thus also is it in the History of David He was you know designed to a Kingdom but how many straits was he put to before he attained it Being forced into the Wilderness like a wandring Out-law and followed there by a company of discontented persons who was as ready perhaps upon every trivial occasion to revolt from him as before from Saul But above all the rest his last distress was the one of the most desperate when he was spoiled at Ziglag not only of his goods but his Wives and Children too when his own Souldiers in their mutiny and discontent were ready to stone him there being then but little hopes to save his life much less to get a Kingdom And yet this distress also was in the event of it contrived to his advantage For having afterwards pursued the Amalekites he not only recovered his own but got such abundance of other spoils from them as served him for rich Presents whereby he might renew and confirm the friendship of his wellwishers in Israel that after the death of Saul which presently followed he might by their free votes be chose to succeed him 1 Sam 30. and chap. 31. You may observe likewise somewhat to this purpose in the story of Jonah when he was sent to Nineveh about so weighty a matter as the safety of that great and populous City and that too when their destruction was within ken but forty days off that he should now make delays and fly to Tarshish that upon such a strait he should run himself into hazards might seem to argue some carelessness and neglect in the Government of Providence And yet this error of his was so wisely managed in the event that it proved a great advantage to the main End of his business For 't is a probable opinion That these Mariners who cast Jonah into the Sea were a special occasion that his Preaching was so succesful afterwards the Ninevites being by them informed That this was that Prophet for whom they had lately suffered so violent a Tempest how the wind ceased and all was calm again when they had once cast him into the Sea from whence in was not possible he should be delivered but by a Miracle And therefore they concluded That this must needs be some man extraordinarily inspired from above and that his Preaching was not idle Threats but such as might justly fright them into that rigorous Fast which afterwards we read of both for Man and Beast It being the wisdom of Providence so to contrive it that this offence of Jonah should mightily