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
according to the Gospel for their common Prayers and Worship for celebrating the Holy Communion and for doing all those things in which the outward profession of true Christianity stands that they laid down their lives and have been tormented many of them not accepting deliverance and therefore our Saviour who here says Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord shall enter c. hath also said Whosoever shall confess me before men him shall the son of man also confess before the angels of God But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God Luke 12.8 9. So that although confessing Christ be not of it self enough for salvation yet it is always necessary to it and sometimes it is of that force that one may conclude nothing else is wanting and that is when we confess with great hazard to our selves in this World But one reason why 't is sometimes so exceedingly praise-worthy and signifies all other necessary qualities is because it is always a duty for if it were in it self but indifferent and might be omitted without breach of our duty to God it were a foolish thing not to omit it when our own safety and welfare in this World required us to forbear In a word Confession with the mouth assembling our selves together for Prayer Baptism and the celebration of the Holy Communion and every other part of outward Religion in which the profession of Christianity stands are all of them required in the Scriptures which we are not to wonder at since it is evident that the Honour of God that Charity to men and the Interest and maintenance of Christianity do require it also 1. The Honour of God doth plainly require it for if it be fit and necessary that God should be honoured by us i. e. confessed praised and prayed unto who doth not see that all this ought to be done not only in private singly but in publick jointly unless one should think that we have Reason and Speech given to us for transacting common Affairs of the least moment and not of the greatest viz. those which concern our dependance upon God and our subjection to him Hence it is that David in the Psalms called his Tongue his glory because he did therewith praise and confess and glorify God amongst men And in the New Testament we are not only exhorted to glorify God with our Mind but with our Mouth too Nor can any thing be more plain at first fight than that without this it is impossible that God should be honoured as it is most fit he should be in the Societies of Mankind And 2. The outward profession of Religion is no less requisite to the good of the World to which we in charity are to contribute what we can For there is nothing more necessary for the common welfare of Mankind than a sense of God and Religion which although it has its foundation in our very Natures yet as many other natural Inclinations may be strangely weakned and in danger to be lost if it be not supported by use and exercise and what is there more necessary for the maintaining of a common sense of Religion than a common profession of it And therefore in a matter of so great moment as this is every man ought to be an Example to his Neighbour and all men should encourage and animate one another Nor can any one single person withdraw from the profession of Religion but in so doing he grows an enemy to Mankind and as much as in him lies he teaches others to be so too But then 3. Above all The interest and maintenance of Christianity requires a publick profession of it For Christianity doth not only consist in the belief of such and such Doctrines but in meeting together also for the Worship of God according to them which is the most comprehensive instance of outward profession for when our Lord instituted a Church and his Apostles did afterward gather men to it nothing could be more plain than that he made a profession of his Doctrine and the outward Service of God according to his Gospel a part of Christianity for without this it is impossible that Believers should be a Body or a Society as they are And therefore that man that lives without Christian Communion or which is all one without Christian Profession cannot rightly be called a Christian but hath rather renounced his Baptism by declaring in effect that although he was admitted by Baptism into the Body of Christ's Church yet now he will have nothing to do with it But if the secret belief of the Doctrine of Christ without any appearance of Profession of it were enough to make a man a Christian as I think it is not yet such a person would deserve very ill of Christianity to conceal his belief for it is by our profession of it that it must be upheld in the World and propagated amongst those that do not yet receive it and he that dissembles his Faith doth therefore his part and gives his consent that the True Religion should fail from among the Children of men And there is no doubt but that amongst other Reasons the Gospel requires that Believers should profess their Faith and be a visible Communion of Worshippers that so the Doctrine and worship of the Gospel might be upheld and maintained in the World The truth is there is that wickedness amongst men that so holy a Doctrine as that of our Saviour's will not be readily entertained and there is that folly and superstition every-where that so reasonable and excellent a Worship as that which the Gospel prescribes is not apt to take with most people and for this reason Error and Superstition are things that men will run into of themselves When therefore our Lord brought into the World the knowledge of Divine Truth and of the way how God would be worshipped and served he did therefore make his Disciples a Society of men professing the way of Truth and Purity that his Doctrine might spread in the World and keep all the ground it should gain by every man's making profession of the common Faith For which reason Origen thought that when Our Saviour said Vpon this rock will I build my Church he meant by the rock every Christian that should do as St. Peter had done i. e. who should make open confession of that Truth which St. Peter confessed because the Profession of every Christian did something to support the Interest of the Gospel in the World A great many more things might be said to this purpose to shew that what is meant here by saying unto Christ Lord Lord i. e. an outward profession of true Christianity is so far from being an indifferent thing that it is a most necessary duty standing upon plain Commands and plain Reasons nay so necessary that without it we cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven no though it should bring never so much trouble upon us in this World
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
well as they Do the just live by that Faith with which others perish How is that Faith imputed to them for righteousness which does but aggravate the condemnation of these Nay how is that justifying and saving Faith which the Devils have as well as we for they assent and therefore believe and tremble because they believe Let us therefore proceed to the second Consideration concerning the power and efficacy of Faith viz. To make men attain to that righteousness which God requires and accepts Now if upon a just examination of this matter it will appear that Faith if it be in men as it ought to be in them will make them obedient and holy and therefore that the wicked want Faith that is properly so called and have not that Faith which God in the Scripture requires then there will be no difficulty in conceiving why the Scripture so often and so remarkably says that we are justified by faith Here therefore I shall represent what those things are in which the force of Faith lies to govern our Hearts and Lives and then I may leave you to judge whether it would not produce the effect of holiness when they are all together and consequently that there is a defect of Faith in all ungodly men Now 2. The power and efficacy of Faith to make us holy lies in these three things 1. In the nature of the things themselves that are believed 2. In the manner of believing them 3. In the permanency of the belief it self or rather in the dwelling of our mind upon it I shall begin with considering what influence it hath by virtue of the things believed 1. The Truths we believe do represent good and evil to us they are not Points of Doctrine which we are never the better nor the worse whether they be true or not but they are of very near concernment to us and are therefore fit to work upon our desires and affections 2. What we believe does represent to us our greatest good on the one hand and what we have most reason to fear on the other If a good thing that is offered us may be disparaged by a greater good that stands in competition with it it doth not much inflame or move the Affections Now he that believeth aright apprehends the Joys of another Life to be so great that there is nothing in this to rival them this is that which made the Patriarchs to count themselves Pilgrims and Strangers upon earth they desired a better i. e. a heavenly countrey 3. We are persuaded that this Inheritance belongeth to us upon our care and faithfulness in doing the will of our heavenly Father If we had absolute assurance of the heavenly Country this Faith might well cause satisfaction in the benefit but if we are to abstain from fleshly lusts that war against the soul or we are sure to be excluded if we assent not only to the truth of the Promise but to the condition of the Promise then our Faith works by fear and hope and puts us upon fulfilling the condition but if men do not believe the condition it will be an harder matter to persuade them to obey because it will be so easy for them to persuade themselves that they need not 4. We are also persuaded that the condition viz. doing the will of our Heavenly Father is through the grace of God possible otherwise the belief of an Eternal Happiness in the Life to come would not stir us to labour for it This is one reason why the Devils tremble only though they believe because they cannot assent to the Promises as made to Them for they are not made to Them and if we should want the Faith of the possibility of Salvation all the rest of our Faith would make us miserable and desperate but not active and careful to work out our salvation In short if we believe the truth wherein the greatest good is promised and that 't is promised upon condition of obedience and that the condition is enforced by the threatning of the greatest punishments and that it may well be performed then in this Faith there is nothing wanting as to the matter of it to make us fruitful in holiness good works But if we do not believe all this but only some part of it our unfruitfulness may well be imputed to want of Faith but this I confess doth not go very far to satisfy the difficulty because many believe all needful truth and yet remain unholy Wherefore let us go to the second Point Viz. 2. The manner of believing Divine Truth for there is very much of the power of Faith to sanctify us in this very thing Let us for instance take the first Article of the Creed I believe in God or I believe that God is To believe this considerately and distinctly is to believe that there is an Infinite Being an Omnipresent Being and that he is holy just and good But now our believing that God is hath no power to make us circumspect in our actions and careful of our thoughts but by such distinct persuasions and considerations as these which are truly and properly Faith Nor will these distinct considerations have much power neither unless they be distinctly applied to our selves God is infinite in all Perfections and therefore I am to serve and worship him he is Omnipresent and therefore he is with me and sees me in all that I do and knows every one of my secrets and even every thought of my heart and therefore how shall I dare so much as to regard iniquity in my heart He is infinitely Wise and Good and therefore in this or in any other matter it would be extreme folly as well as sin to follow mine own will in opposition to his Now all this is Faith or believing true Doctrine and it is by such distinct apprehensions and applications as these that we must be enabled to overcome the World and to purify our hearts But if we believe in that manner as to rest in the general Doctrine and to go no farther I do not see how our Faith should be operative much more than if we had none at all and if the general belief of one Article is therefore fruitless because it is but general and not resolved into the awakening Considerations that are under it nor applied distinctly to our selves under such Considerations then also will the believing of the whole Creed in this fashion without particular persuasions and applications be fruitless also and it may be said of us that we understand neither what we say nor whereof we affirm and then what we say and affirm can have no great force upon us to make us subdue our Passions and mend our Lives But though this will go a great way to resolve the unholiness of men professing the Faith into want of Faith yet I think it doth not altogether satisfy that where Faith is as it should be there will be an holy mind and a
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
Worship viz. all kinds of virtue and moral Goodness such as Justice and Mercy Fidelity and Truth Meekness and Patience Sobriety and Temperance and 't is true of these things as well as of Worship that without faith they cannot be performed because they are all such things as God is pleased withal and 't is said in general That without Faith we cannot please him From hence 't is plain that we are thus to understand the phrase of pleasing God when the Apostle saith Without Faith we cannot please him viz. Without Faith it is impossible a man should be a worshipper of God and a practicer of Virtue More distinctly thus Without Faith a man cannot Love God or Fear him or Trust in him or Obey him or Honour him in his Thoughts Words or Deeds Nor can he be Righteous and Charitable Meek and Humble Sober and Temperate Or in a word That without Faith 't is impossible a man should be truly Religious in his life and actions If it be enquired 2. What the Apostle means by Faith without which 't is impossible to please God let us look to the following words again and we shall find the Faith the Apostle speaks of is 1. In general a persuasion of the truth of some proposition or an assent thereunto that it is true for he saith He that cometh to God must believe that he is To believe therefore to be persuaded that this proposition is true viz. that there is a God is an instance of the Faith whereof the Apostle speaks Likewise he that cometh unto God must believe that he is a rewarder of them that seek him To believe therefore or to be persuaded of this proposition That God is a rewarder of them that seek him is an instance of that Faith of which the Apostle speaks and consequently by Faith is here meant in general a persuasion concerning any Doctrine or Proposition that it is true 2. By consequence also as to the nature of those propositions which the Apostle saith we must believe if we will please God we find more particularly that the Faith without which we cannot please God is a persuasion of the truth of those propositions which are proper arguments and motives inducing a man to do those things whereby God is pleased for the Apostle saith He that cometh unto God must believe that he is And plain it is that to believe that there is a God is a reason why men should do those things which please him He says also that he that cometh unto God must believe that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him Alike plain it is that to believe God to be such a rewarder is a reason or motive inducing a man to do those things whereby God is pleased and consequently the Faith which the Apostle speaks of is a persuasion of the truth of those Propositions or Doctrines which are proper motives or inducements to the doing of those things whereby God is pleased But hence we must not conclude that there are no other Doctrines or Propositions besides those here mentioned that are proper motives to Religion because all that the Apostle intends as I noted before is to give some particular instances to shew the truth of the general proposition Although therefore there be other Doctrines which are motives to Godliness and Vertue yet if without the belief of these a man cannot be induced to do those things which please God that was sufficient for the Apostle's purpose to prove that without Faith it is impossible to please him And that there are other Doctrines of like use with these I shall shew in due place If it be enquired 3. Whether by Impossible the Author of this Epistle means properly something that is absolutely impossible or more largely something that is exceeding difficult or highly improbable as sometimes the word is used to that purpose I answer This is to be resolved by considering also the following propositions to be believed the former of which is of that nature that it is absolutely necessary to be believed in order to Worship and Virtue viz. That there is a God Without this belief it is utterly impossible it implies a contradiction that a man should be a Worshipper of God and a practicer of Virtue But the latter of these beliefs that God is a rewarder c. is not in the same degree necessary that the former is because it does not imply a contradiction That that man who does not believe that God is a rewarder of them that seek him should be a Worshipper of God because 't is barely possible he may Worship God upon a belief that there is a God and a bare hope that he is a rewarder c. But then if we consider the woful corruption and degeneracy of Mankind and the power of those Temptations we are under 't is so utterly improbable that without this belief men should set themselves to do those things which please God that according to the usual manner of speaking it may be ranked with things impossible So that I do thus understand the Apostle as to what he says concerning the impossibility of pleasing God without Faith That there are some Doctrines so necessary to be believed in order to the practice of Religion and Virtue that it is naturally impossible a man should be a Worshipper of God and a doer of Righteousness without the belief of them and of this sort he hath given us one instance viz. That there is a God That also there are some Doctrines so necessary to be believed in order to the practice of Religion that 't is morally impossible a man should be a Worshipper of God and a worker of righteousness without the belief of them And of this sort he hath also given us one instance viz. That God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him Thus I have by comparing one part of the Text with another given you as I am persuaded the true sence of the whole and that as I hope with great clearness of truth and plainness of words And according to this Explanation the words of the Text may be interpreted according to this Paraphrase Without the belief of some such Doctrines as are proper and suitable motives to the worship of God and the practice of Virtue wherewith God is pleased it is impossible any man should fear God and work Righteousness For some Doctrines there are so necessary in order to that end that 't is impossible to conceive how a man should find himself obliged thereto without the belief of those Doctrines Some Doctrines also there are so necessary to be believed in order thereunto that without the belief of them no man finds himself encouraged to the practice of Religion For instance the Worship of God is a part of Religion without which he will not be pleased with us but it is plain that no man can be a worshipper of God without believing that there is a God because if
can be thought necessary to be said for this purpose may be reduced to Four heads of Discourse whereof the 1. Shall be to inquire What those Doctrines be which are fundamental or necessary to the practice of Religion and Virtue 2. To demonstrate that the belief of those Doctrines is an adequate or sufficient foundation thereof or inducement thereto 3. To give an account of those other Doctrines in Christian Religion which are necessary to be believed and why they are necessary 4. To apply the whole Discourse by an exhortation To add unto Faith Virtue and that Life wherewith God is pleased 1. I am to show what those Doctrines be which are fundamental to the practice of Religion and Virtue Before I attempt the performance whereof it will be necessary for me to premise this Apology That I do not here intend a Catalogue of those Fundamentals which that Excellent man Mr. Chillingworth refused to give and which he demonstrated to the Romanists was a vain thing to require almost impossible to lay down and if it were never so easy yet very needless to show For that Notion of Fundamentals wherein he and his adversary used that word was different from that wherein I now use it Fundamental with them was any Doctrine which upon any account was necessary to be believed by every Christian These Doctrines I do not speak of at present as such but I intend in due place to give an account of them shewing what relation they have to those Doctrines I am about to lay before you But by Fundamentals I mean those Articles or Propositions which are necessary to be believed in order to a good Life and what these be every Minister that pretends to be skilled in the Gospel which is the power of God to salvation if his pretence be tolerably good may and ought to lay down For this attempt signifies no other thing than to shew what powerful obligations the Faith of Christians engageth them by to live soberly righteously and godly in this present world In laying down these Fundamental Doctrines I shall observe no other rule and method than what is offered here in the Text. You are to remember what I even now made plain to you That it was not the Apostle's purpose to instance in all Doctrines that were necessary to be believed as a Foundation of Religion and Virtue but only in some that were so necessary because that was sufficient to prove his general Proposition That without faith 't is impossible to please God As for those others which are of like necessity to be believed in order to that end I shall as I said lay them down in that distinct Method to which I am led by the Apostle's Words the great and deep Wisdom whereof the more I ponder the more I admire For here 't is very observable that the Apostle when he designs to prove That without Faith 't is impossible to please God he doth first instance in a proposition necessary to be believed for that end which is a Doctrine of Natural Religion viz. That there is a God He doth secondly instance in a Proposition necessary to be believed for that end which is a Doctrine of Revealed Religion viz. That God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him But in what sense 't is a Doctrine of Revealed Religion I must briefly explain to you to prevent mistakes That God will reward every rewardable Creature is to say no other thing but God is Just and this is known by the light of nature but in strictness no man is rewardable but he that is sinlesly righteous for he that offends is liable to punishment Now of all meer mortals there is no man that is sinlesly obedient Whether therefore God will reward us if we diligently seek him tho we are sinners this depends only upon the free will and pleasure of God and consequently cannot be known by us but through Revelation The belief therefore of this truth That God is a rewarder of such men as we are if we diligently seek him is the belief of a Doctrine that belongs to Revealed Religion It is further to be remembred by us that the Apostle doth instance in this Proposition of Natural Religion That there is a God in behalf of all other Principles of Natural Religion that are of like necessity to be believed with it Likewise that the Apostle doth instance in this Proposition of Revealed Religion That God is a Rewarder of them that seek him in behalf of all other Principles of Revealed Religion that are of like necessity to be believed with that It deserves also our notice That the Proposition of Natural Religion which the Apostle instances in is the first Principle and Foundation of Religion necessary to be believed first of all That also the Proposition of Revealed Religion which he instances in is the last Principle that makes up the Foundation of Faith as I shall shew in its place So that all the other Doctrines of Faith that are fundamental to Religion and Virtue lye between these two viz. The first Principle of Natural Religion That there is a God and the last Principle of Revealed Religion That he is a Rewarder My business is to shew What those Principles be which lye between the lowest and highest part of the Foundation and they are discoverable what they are by shewing what is of equal necessity to be believed with these Doctrines in order to the inducing of men to the practice of Religion and Virtue 1. I shall according to this rule shew what Doctrines of Natural Religion are fundamentally necessary to be believed in order to Worship and Virtue 2. According to the same rule what those Revealed Doctrines are which are of like necessity to be believed for the same end The Doctrines of Natural Religion are these 1. That there is a God which is here instanced in 2. That there is a Providence 3. That some things there be wherewith God is pleased and some wherewith he is offended Now concerning all these Principles I affirm That they are so absolutely necessary to be believed that not one of them can be spared 'T is the belief of all these things together from which resulteth the necessary obligation of men to worship God and work righteousness so that if the belief of any one of them ceaseth all sense of obligation to pious and virtuous practice must withal fail and perish Some there are which add unto this Foundation the belief of a life to come but unfitly upon these two accounts 1. Because the belief hereof is not in the same degree necessary to the practice of that which is pleasing to God as the belief of the forementioned things for if a man had but an uncertain hope of a future life but firmly believed the other truths it is barely possible that by the motive and inducement of such belief joined with such an hope he might be persuaded to do those things which he is
in our common and daily Conversation with Men and this will appear 1. By comparing the Prohibition with the Precept 2. With the particular instances whereunto the Prohibition extends 1. With the Precept But let your communication be yea yea nay nay i. e. let this be the manner of your ordinary discourse barely to affirm or deny or if need be sometimes with vehemence which perhaps is intimated by the repetition of yea and nay Now it is plain if this be the sense of the Precept that the Prohibition doth not extend to Cases which belong not to the common and ordinary Conversation of Men such as the deciding of Controversies for the security of the publick peace the assuring of sidelity to the Government and the ratifying of Leagues c. which are cases properly excepted from this Rule of an usual and ordinary communication with each other because they are no part thereof but I confess I do not lay the stress of the proof upon this Argument only but on this together with the second which is founded upon comparing the general Rule with the particular instances whereby the use of it is explained neither by Heaven for it's God's Throne c. Our Saviour's design in these words cannot be better understood than by considering what those corrupt Principles concerning the matter of Swearing were which had crept in among the Jews and first as their own Authors tell us it was generally held amongst them that they ought not to Swear by the Name of God in light and trivial Cases but they believed it was no Sin to Swear upon any occasion by a Creature that was a remarkable instance of God's Favour and Providence as by Heaven or by the Earth or by Hierusalem or by their Head which are the Instances here noted by our Saviour Secondly some of them and particularly the Pharisees taught that the Guilt of Perjury was not incurr'd when a falshood was attested by these kind of Oaths excepting only in the Cases of Swearing by the Gold of the Temple and the Gift upon the Altar by which Oaths they acknowledged themselves to be bound as we find Matth. 23. i. e. either to speak the Truth or to the Penalty of False-Swearing Hence I say that our Saviour's words Swear not at all neither by Heaven c. being spoken to Persons who well enough understood the Doctrines and Practises of their Countreymen in this matter could not reasonably be thought to have any other meaning than this That they ought not to Swear by the Creatures of God in any of those Cases wherein it is unlawful to Swear by the Almighty himself i. e. in their usual Communication with one another For it seems the Jews themselves were not arrived to that insolence which it is so dreadful to think that Christians now-a-days should not scruple of profaning the Name of the most high God by calling him at every turn to be Witness of their talk And therefore our Saviour found it needless to forbid them Swearing by his Name for they already believed that to be an impious thing but he tells them they must neither Swear by Heaven nor by any thing else as if he had said You have been allowed to liberty of Swearing as oft as you please provided you do not use the Name of God himself it is ordinary with you to Swear by Heaven and Earth and by the Temple and your Lives and Souls and that in those Cases wherein you rightly believe it would be a profane rudeness to invoke the Majesty of God directly But I say unto you Swear not at all you shall not henceforth take the liberty of using any kind of Oaths in those Cases wherein you are not to appeal to God himself but upon all these occasions whatever you assert or whatever you promise use the simplicity and plainness of some affirmation or denial And thus our Saviour restrained the licentiousness of those common Swearers that thought they might safely Swear by Heaven and use the like Oaths at any time and upon any occasion and withal corrected that abuse which the Doctrine of the Pharisees had brought into this Practice viz. That Men were not liable to the guilt of Perjury by such Oaths as these were which I shall more distinctly shew under the third Head The meaning then of our Saviours Prohibition is not this That it is unlawful at any time to Swear by the Name of God but that it is unlawful to Swear by any Creature in any Case wherein it would be so to appeal directly to the Knowledge and Justice of God himself 2. As to those Instances by which the general Rule is explained it is observeable 1. That Swearing by any of the Creatures is forbidden not only by Heaven and Earth which with the rest are particularly mentioned by our Saviour because these forms of Swearing were most in use amongst the Jews 2. We are to note that our Saviour calls it Swearing to use these forms of Speech in attesting what we say they are not so many words lost as we may be enclined to think but we bring upon our selves the obligation of an Oath by the using of them as shall presently appear If indeed any ways of speaking have obtained amongst us which look like Swearing but are not being altogether unapt to excite any Thought of Divine Justice I do not question but they are to be laid aside too because surely the Prohibition of Swearing at all excludes not only all real but all broken apish and insignificant Oaths but if it were not so one would think that a small measure of Sobriety and Wisdom should keep a man from debasing and vilifying the acknowledged forms of speaking that are peculiar to Oaths by applying them to such sensless sounds as make them to signify nothing 'T is a good Rule which a wise man hath given That all forms besides those wherein there is an immediate appeal to God are better avoided when there is need of Swearing and when there is no need we should not Swear at all neither by Heaven nor by any thing else Let us now consider 3. The Reasons why the Prohibition extends to these instances and the like not by Heaven for it's God's Throne and he that sweareth by Heaven sweareth by the Throne of God and him that sitteth thereon Matth. 23. Not by the Earth for it is his footstool it is a remarkable subject of his Providence and to Swear hereby is in effect all one as to appeal to God that upholds it by his Power Not by Jerusalem nor any holy place that hath a peculiar relation to God for the same reason nor by thy head for thou canst not make one hair white or black i. e. thou hast no power over thy life and art so unable to subsist independently upon God that thou canst not so much as alter the colour of thine Hair Now since thy Head thy Life and Safety depends upon the Divine Providence to Swear
though I was addicted to sensuality and uncleanness and to the Vices of my natural Constitution yet by the Grace of God and power of Faith I am what I am quite another man than I was by my corrupted Nature So much as there is of this in the World so much true Religion there is in it and no more and so many as there are who can thus approve themselves to God so many shall be saved and no more All other Reliefs will fail all other Foundations will ruin a man in the time of his distress they will deceive him at the hour of death or at the day of Judgement and therefore that men might not deceive themselves our Saviour concludes his Precepts and Cautions in this effectual manner Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doth them I will liken him to a wise man that built his house upon a rock And every one that heareth these sayings of mine and doth them not shall be likened to a foolish man who built his house on the sand and the rain descended and the flouds came and the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell and great was the fall of it But let not that happen to us which St. James saith He that is an hearer of the word and not a doer thereof is like to a man that beholdeth his natural face in a glass and for the time knoweth himself but then goeth away and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was Which Similitude is not so much intended to expose the nature of the folly in hearing and believing and in doing nothing as to assign the reason of it i. e. If ye would not be hearers only but doers of the word take care that the convictions of Truth and the impressions which it makes upon your minds when you hear it do not slide away just as the Image of a man's Countenance which the Glass hath made in his imagination vanishes away when he turns from the Glass and he does not so well know his own as any other man's face The Doctrine of our Saviour doth represent us to our selves and sheweth us our own Actions what they are and our Consciences witness thereto while we hear those plain and powerful words of his which are laid up in the Evangelists But if we straightway forget what we are and what we should be and take no care to make his word abide in us then as the same Apostle says we shall be hearers only but not doers of the word deceiving our own selves The Eleventh Sermon JOHN VII 17. If any man will do his will he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God AMongst the many Arguments in Scripture persuading to an upright Intention and honest Conversation this in the Text is fit to be propounded and considered as being not only weighty in it self as all the rest are but adapted to allure the curious temper of man and most proper for them who are most inquisitive after knowledge and likely to be effectual with the most prudent who aim at the best knowledge For 1. The knowledge spoken of in the Text is that of the Wisdom of God or his Revelations to Mankind by Jesus Christ and it is of infinite importance to us for it concerns the welfare of our immortal Souls and this should invite us to endeavour after it through the most difficult methods that could be propounded But 2. For our great encouragement the method laid down in the Text is easy to apprehend and obvious to all Capacities it is easy likewise to put in practice it requires nothing but a willing mind If any man will do the will of God if he will but walk according to his present light if he intends to learn that he may practice he shall know 3. The Promise is universal in respect of the Object being made to all If any man will do his will no man who is capable of being sincere and honest is excluded therefore every man is concerned in the Promise the Condition is not only possible to all but being performed the Promise is sure to all therefore this method will fail no man For 4. The promise is made by him who is the way the truth and the life he himself whose Doctrine it is that we would learn and best knows that method by which we may learn it hath given us this assurance That if we make Piety and Virtue our first design we shall know 5. The Promise is universal in respect of the matter of it he shall know of the doctrine i. e. of the whole Doctrine whatsoever is necessary or greatly profitable to the end of knowledge He shall not therefore only learn in general that the Doctrine of Christianity is of God but the particular Doctrines that are so so likewise he shall know the same things better than he did before this method will confirm us and give us the best assurance it will keep us from wandring and doubting afterwards and if we shall know the Truth and know the same more perfectly then the motive is proper to be used in all Ages of the Church and we have reason to think our selves concerned in it Lastly It is yet a greater encouragement to follow this method if we consider that no man can possibly miss of Happiness in that way which our Saviour here prescribes for the attainment of the best knowledge what reason have I to take that way of arriving to sound knowledge which hath not only so great a promise to secure me that I shall not miss of that end but which undoubtedly will secure a farther end and one much better and more desirable than that the love of God and the compleat happiness of Soul and Body for ever But now although a man could by other methods arrive to knowledge yet if in the mean time he neglected to do the Will of God he doth not at all provide for his Happiness for tho he had as clear an apprehension as an Angel though he received Revelations from the mouth of our Lord himself or by the Inspiration of the Holy Ghost though he had an Infallible Guide to determine all Controversies for him and to clear up the darkness of every doubt yet if all this while he hath a perverse and vicious Will and is carried aside by wandring and unruly Affections and leads a wicked life he is certainly in a way of error as damnable as Heresy but he that arrives at knowledge this way doth thereby also secure his Salvation and Eternal Happiness which certainly is a most powerful recommendation of our Saviour's way especially if you add this consideration that it hath the advantage of all other methods by which we can hope to gain a fight understanding in Religion I know it will be objected That Impious and Profane men have apprehensions as capable of judging what is true and what is false as Good men and oftentimes their Abilities are greater