he is 1 Joh 3.2 and St. Paul by seeing him face to face and knowing him even as we are known 1 Cor. 13.12 And since the Misery of the Wicked in Hell consists in an eternal Banishment from his Divine Presence for so the Sentence runs that shall be pass'd upon them at the Day of Judgment Depart from me ye Cursed c. Upon these Accounts it seems to them most agreeable to Truth that All the Just being admitted to the Beatifick Vision of God should be equally Happy and All the Wicked being for ever exil'd to him should be equally Miserable But this Argument in my Apprehension is so far from destroying the Doctrine of the Degrees of Happiness and Misery in Heaven and Hell that I think 't is rather the best Supporter of it For since 't is very true that the Happiness of Heaven consists in the Beatifick Vision of God and the Misery of Hell in an eternal Banishment from him and since 't is as true that some good Men in this Life approach nearer to him and see more of his Excellencies and bear a greater Resemblance to him than others and so become capable of a more intimate Vision of him in Heaven and some bad Men on the contrary wander to a greater distance from him here and become more unlike him by their great Impieties than other Sinners do and so become more incapable of that pure and holy Vision than others that are less wicked Since this is so methinks it should be most agreeable to Truth that those that were the Holiest Men here should be the Happiest Saints in Heaven as bearing a nearer Resemblance to the Divine Nature and consequently capable of a more close and intimate Vision of him and that those who by their great Impiety beyond other Men were most estranged from God here should be banish'd farthest from him in the Regions of Despair and Darkness as being the most hateful to him because the most unlike nay contrary to him and the most uncapable of seeing and enjoying him and consequently feel the most exquisite Pangs of Horror and Despair the hottest Boilings of Rage and Impatience and most bitter Remorse of Soul for bringing this most miserable Condition upon themselves when once they might with much Ease and Pleasure have avoided it and been for ever happy in the Vision and Enjoyment of God Indeed as to plain Proof from Scripture of the Degrees of Misery in Hell I must confess I cannot recollect any and would by no means strain God's Word beyond its due Extent but as to Degrees of Glory and Happiness in Heaven I think there are several Places of Scripture that plainly enough establish that Doctrine of which I shall mention but one and that because 't is part of a Parable exactly the same in the concealed sense of it with that I am now discoursing upon only something differently related by S. Luke 'T is in the 19th Chapter the 15th and 4 following Verses where we find when the King came to take Account of his Servants Improvement of what he left in their Hands to trade with in his Absence he exactly proportion'd every Man's Recompense to the Increase he made of what was committed to his Charge to him that had gain'd Ten Pounds with the Pound his Lord left with him was given Authority over as many Cities and so to him that had gain'd Five proportionably Authority over Five Which I think can mean no less than this that where there is different Degrees of Mens Improvement of Grace in this World there shall be as different Degrees awarded of Glory and Happiness in Heaven and there being great Difference between the Degrees of Christians Improvement here there will be as great Difference in the Degrees of their Happiness hereafter And though every Saint in Heaven shall have as clear and intimate Vision and Enjoyment of God as he is capable of and partake in an agreeable Measure of the Happiness that will flow from such Vision and Enjoyment and be as Happy as 't is possible for him to be yet the Capacity of every Saint will not be equal Some Souls will be more enlarg'd than others and able to receive more Rays of the Divine Glory and so though every of those Vessels of Honor shall be full yet all will not hold alike and one Star there will differ from another Star in Glory 'T is true indeed that the Mind of every good Man shall then be clarified and refined purg'd from the Dross and Soil contracted during its Residence in the Flesh and rendred more agile and expedite in the Exercise of its several Faculties and its Knowledge and Love of God vastly improved But that Souls of less Improvement here shall immediately upon their Departure from the Body receive extraordinary new Additions to equalize them to those of higher Attainments is hard to imagine and would mightily discourage the generous Endeavours of Heroick Piety and Exemplary Religion But when every Man shall in that glorious Kingdom above be rewarded according to the Degrees of his Piety and a great Love to God and zealous Prosecution of the Interest of Religion and an eminent Sanctity shall be crown'd with a more than ordinary Glory and Felicity in Heaven 't will mightily encourage a holy Soul to forget with St. Paul the things that are behind and press on to what is still before always aiming at still greater Degrees of Perfection till Mortality shall be swallow'd up of Life The Improvement of this Speculation to Practice is this That since the Degrees of Glory and Happiness in Heaven shall be answerable to the Degrees of Mens Holiness and Improvement of their Talents upon Earth we would run with Diligence the Race that is set before us and gird up the Loins of our Mind and set our selves to the Performance of every thing that is well-pleasing in the sight of God with Cheerfulness and not pretend Difficulty when the Reward is so exceeding great and shall be proportion'd to the Degrees of our Vertue For can we be too happy Can we be too like God Can our Crown be too glorious and resplendent Away then with that mean-spirited Religion which thus lessens and confines our Happiness let us unfold our Hands and pluck them out of our Bosoms and encourage our selves in a vigorous Pursuit of an excellent Piety forasmuch as we know that our Labour shall not be in vain in the Lord. Fifthly In the next Place I am to shew that 't is abominably false and impious with the Unprofitable Servant in the Parable to charge God with being unreasonably rigid and severe in taking so strict an Account of Mens Improvement of his Divine Grace and Assistances and expecting to find a good Use made of what he committed to their Trust That God is often charg'd with such unreasonable Severity by Men that care not to perform their Duty is too true to be question'd and such as love to indulge their vile
Practical Discourses UPON THE PARABLES OF OUR Blessed Saviour WITH Prayers annex'd to each Discourse By FRANCIS BRAGGE Vicar of Hitchin in Hertfordshire Vtile est Libros Plures à Pluribus fieri diverso stilo non diversâ Fide etiam de Quaestionibus Iisdem ut ad Plurimos ad alios sic ad alios autem sic Res ipsa Perveniat Augustin de Trinitate Lib. 1. Cap. 3. IMPRIMATUR Sept. 27. 1693. Guil. Lancaster R. P. D. Henrico Ep. Lond. a Sacris Domest LONDON Printed for S. Manship at the Ship near the Royal-Exchange in Cornhil 1694. To the Right Reverend Father in God Thomas Lord Bishop of Lincoln My Lord I Humbly beg your Lordships Favourable Acceptance of this Address which is design'd as a Publick Expression of the Great Veneration I have for your Lordship and of the Grateful Sense I retain of the Favour and Incouragement you have hitherto been Pleased to shew me since your Happy Accession to this See I do not cannot think this a Present worthy of your Lordship but being induc'd to publish these Discourses in hopes that the Novelty of the Dress they appear in may incline some to look upon them who seldom take notice of things of this nature when in the usual Garb I could not but Dedicate them to your Lordship as my Diocesan and as an Account in part how I discharge my Duty in my Cure under your Lordships Inspection and Government If I shall be so Happy as to do any Service to God and Religion by this Publication I am sure your Lordship will not disapprove of it and I shall have what I aim at I therefore beg your Lordships Blessing and your Prayers that these my well-meant Endeavours however otherwise Deficient may be Successful to that Great End And with all due Deference to your Lordships Eminent Worth as well as Station I am and shall make it my Care to Approve my self My LORD Your Lordships Dutiful and Humble Servant Fr. Bragge THE PREFACE THE Parables of our Saviour being full of Excellent Instruction and in a Familiar way teaching the Greatest and most Necessary Truths I thought it would be a very useful Vndertaking to Discourse Practically upon them And by explaining them and enforcing the Sense couch'd under them to make them serviceable to the Great Ends for which they were design'd The engaging Men in a Hearty Love and Obedience to our Great Master Jesus and in an Industrious Provision for the Happiness of the other World But before I proceed to consider the Parables themselves I think 't will be convenient to give a Brief Account why our Saviour so often spake in that Mystical Manner to his Hearers And 't is a Question which his own Disciples ask'd him after he had deliver'd his first Parable of a Sower they came unto him and said Why speakest thou unto them in Parables Matt. 13.10 To this our Lord gives a double Answer in the 11th and following Verses thus I speak to the People in Parables because it is given to you that are true Believers and my Faithful Disciples to know the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven or of the Gospel but to them that is as they are described in the 15th Verse whose Heart is waxed Gross or Obdurate and Obstinate and their Ears dull of Hearing and who have closed or willfully shut their Eyes against the Light and Truth that I manifest to the World lest at any time they should see with their Eyes and Hear with their Ears and Understand with their Heart and should be Converted and I should Heal them To such as these as very Vnworthy of the Favour it is not given to have the Mysteries of Religion plainly reveal'd to them but only Mystically and Covertly by way of Parable That is 't was by way of Punishment for their Infidelity and Hardness of Heart and Despising and Rejecting His former Plainer Discourses on the Mount and in other Places and their Averseness to believe in him notwithstanding the Miracles he did and Blasphemous Attributing his casting out a Devil from one possessed who was Blind and Dumb to the Power of Beelzebub the Prince of the Devils 'T was by way of Punishment for this strange Obduracy of theirs that he took upon him that more Obscure way of Instructing them than he before had used and which new Practice of his was a tacit Intimation of his Displeasure against them and did threaten a Total Concealment of those Glad Tidings from them which he came to bring unto the World if they persisted in their Obstinacy and Disbelief And this is manifest from the whole of what St. Matthew records of our Lord's Discourses before this 13th Chapter which we find to be very Plain and expressed in the usual manner till the Pharisees with Hellish Malice would disparage the Great Miracle he wrought upon the possessed Man by ascribing it to Art-Magick and the Power of the Devil And from that Time after Confounding that Objection and sharply reproving their Perverseness and great Obstinacy he very frequently express'd himself by way of Parable in his publick Discourses and afterwards in private explained all to his Disciples and he gives this reason for his so doing verse 12. For whosoever hath to him shall be given and he shall have more Abundance but whosoever hath not from him shall be taken away even that he hath That is He that upon my former Plain and Open Instructions hath Believed and Obeyed me shall have still more and more as Plain Manifestations made to him of the Mysteries of the Gospel But he that hath made no Good Vse of what was then so clearly made known to him but continu'd still Faithless and Obstinate shall for the Future be Depriv'd of that full Light and Sun-shine of the Gospel and be afforded only some Obscurer Glimmerings of it and behold it as through a Veil A Punishment this had they understood it very Great and which was enough to cure them of their Stubbornness and make them more ready to embrace that Heavenly Discipline before it was too Late For that Eclipse of that Glorious Light was a certain fore-runner of that Eternal Night which was to follow unless they speedily Repented and Believ'd And this should be an Admonition to us likewise to Fear und Tremble and walk with the greatest Circumspection lest we Fall after the same Example of Unbelief and Disobedience lest we so long Reject that Light which is come into the World and prefer Darkness before it as to become utterly unworthy of it and it be quite hid from our Eyes and outer Darkness at last become our Portion This is one Reason our Lord gives of his speaking to the People in Parables it was by way of Punishment and as an Expression of his Displeasure at their hardned Infidelity There is another and that a very Merciful one as respecting a sort of People not Maliciously Faulty as those before-mention'd but chiefly to blame for
his Blow takes Advantage of the Kings Displeasure and makes the Application home Thou art the Man And this Mystical Reproof struck David so deep that without making any Excuses he presently confesses his Guilt that he had sinned against the Lord when 't is very likely a Rougher and more Downright Reprimand would have exasperated the King into Rage and Impatience at his being so expos'd by the Prophet rather than have melted him into so humble and pungent a Remorse as this This Course then our Lord took not without great Wisdom and by Parables apt and well chosen and very expressive of his Meaning reproved the Obstinacy Hypocrisie and other Vices of the Jews who were Men Stubborn and Refractory and Impatient of too open a Rebuke Especially the Pharisees whose Pride and Haughtiness and great Repute with the People made them not able to endure any thing of Reproof tho wrap'd up in the Disguise of a Parable much less when publick and open and in plainer Terms Tho' as to the Pharisees when this milder way would not do he more plainly and sharply rebuk'd and expos'd their Great Wickedness and Vile Hypocrisie These are the Reasons why our Lord spake so much in Parables and t was a Course which many of the Greatest and Wisest Men had taken before him The Prophets in the Old Testament and several of the Heathens express'd their Instructions and Reproofs in such a Mystical manner and by way of Fable or feigned Relation of some Action or Occurrence that bore Resemblance to what they would Inculcate as is very evident to such as Converse with their Writings Which Course had it not been very Effectual to the Ends for which it was design'd it would not have been so much in Reputation as it was and if it was so effectual then why may it not be so still if not to frame new Parables yet to explicate and inforce the Old Especially those which our Lord with admirable Wisdom and Judgment made use of to reprove Vice by and encourage a Sincere and Persevering Piety The Truths that are couch'd under these Parabolical Expressions are of the greatest Importance and such as it nearly concerns us to attend to and Practice accordingly and the manner of expressing them is such as illustrates with great Advantage and very movingly recommends them and that in such a Familiar way as fits them to all Capacities tho' never so Indifferent and may be of great use to work upon the meaner sort who I fear are too little apprehensive of what is deliver'd in more Abstracted Terms I have therefore Practically consider'd the most and most useful of our Saviour's Parables passing by those only that wholly relate to the Jews and that Infant State of the Gospel and can't without Violence be made Serviceable to the Improvement of Religion amongst Christians especially now at this Distance from the Times wherein they were spoken But of this sort there are but Three or Four and the rest that are not Particularly Discoursed of are Co-incident and of the same Sense with those that are And I hope this may not be an UnprofitableVndertaking thro' his Blessing who Alone can give the Increase to Advance whose Honour in promoting the Good of Souls they are made Publick I desire only that two things may be further observ'd The one is That these Discourses are on Purpose design'd to be Purely Practical as I have stil'd them in the Title Page and as every Intelligent Reader will discern when he finds me wave many Fair Opportunities of Controversie that lie in my way and my Reason for so doing I think is very sufficient viz. Because 't is too Observable that the great Defect of Christians now-a-days is in their Practice which yet is the One thing Necessary The other is that According to the excellent Advice of * More Nevochim in the Preface Maimonides the Reader expect not Rationem Explicationem omnium verborum rerum in Parabola Contentarum ad Rem Significatum c. a Minute and Particular Application of every Word and Thing in a Parable to the Sense that is couch'd under it but be contented with a more General Explication of the Sum and Scope of it For otherwise either the main Intention of the Parable will be quite lost or at least the Mind will be tir'd in hunting after an Explication of what cannot be explain'd and nothing be the Result of such Fruitless Study but that Empty Vexatious Disappointment which all those Experience who make it their endeavour to find out or rather force from the Words of an Author that which the Author himself never so much as dream'd of All therefore that a Man should propose to himself in the Explication of the greatest part of any Parable is to find out what is the main Drift and Design of it and what it is which the Author of it would Instruct Men in by that Allegorical Scheme of Speech But tho' this be Excellent Advice and I have endeavour'd to observe it in the following Discourses yet where it could be done without unnatural Straining and Violence I have been very Particular in my Explication And indeed most of our Saviour's Parables are so aptly express'd in the Parts as well as in the Whole that they not only will Bear but Require a Minute Application of the Allegory to that which is represented by it and which receives a great Advantage from it as may be observ'd in the Perusal of what is now offer'd to the Reader 's View The INDEX Par. I. OF the Sower Matt. 13.3 c. Page 1 Par. II. Of the Tares Matt. 13.24 p. 35 Par. III. Of the Pearl of great Price Matt. 1345. p. 82 Par. IV. Of a Merciful King and his Vnmerciful Servant Matt. 18.23 p. 122 Par. V. Of a King that made a Marriage for his Son Matt. 22.2 p. 164 Par. VI. Of the Ten Virgins Matt. 25.1 p. 204 Par. VII Of the Good Samaritan Luke 10.30 p. 232 Par. VIII Of the Talents Matt. 25.14 p. 270 Par. IX Of the Covetous Rich Fool. Luke 12.16 p. 304 Par. X. Of the Barren Fig-tree Luke 13.6 p. 338 Par. XI Of the Prodigal Son Luke 15.11 p. 365 Par. XII Of the Rich Man and Lazarus Luk. 16.19 p. 395 Par. XIII Of the Importunate Widow Luke 18.1 p. 424 Par. XIV Of the Pharisee and the Publican Luk. 18.9 p 456 The most Considerable Errata occasion'd by the Author's distance from the Press the Reader is desir'd thus to correct with a Pen before he peruses the Book viz. PAge 14. Line 1. dele in p 15. l. 6. r. these p. 16. l. 24. r. tells p. 24. l. 28. dele it p. 25. l. 14. dele and. p. 26. l. 29. r. cometh oft p. 29. l. 23. r. showers from p. 30. l. ult r. Track p. 39. l. ult dele in the Ear. p. 60. l. 6. r. our p. 74. l. penult r. Tares that p. 78. l. 23. r. pass'd p. 83. l. 5. r. Fine
unavoidable endless and unconceivable Misery was certainly infinite Compassion wonderfully great and beyond Comparison Fifthly The Consequence of God's forgiving Sinners is infinitely happier than that of the Forgiveness of the poor Debtor in the Parable He after his Lord 's loosing and forgiving him was out of Fear indeed of that sad Misfortune which otherwise must have faln upon him he enjoy'd his Liberty and that of his Wife and Children and continu'd still in Possession of what he had 'till he forfeited all again by his Cruelty to his Fellow-Servant which was no mean Comfort but then this was all We read of no new Favours conferr'd upon him or that he was entrusted with any more of his Lord's Revenue or the like But now the compassionate God has to Forgiveness of Sinners added innumerable and inestimable Faziours dignifi'd them with the Title of his Sons communicated to them fresh Assistances of his blessed Spirit to help and guide them in the Way to Happiness and promised them Crowns of eternal Glory and everlasting Inheritances in Heaven and an intimate Vision and Enjoyment of himself who is the Center of Felicity provided they continue sincerely obedient to him for the Time to come There is no Happiness which a rational Creature is capable of but God in his infinite Mercy freely and bountifully confers upon Man-kind now that his Compassions have reconciled them to him 1 Tim. 6.17 and in the Words of St. Paul He gives us richly all things to enjoy And for God not only to forgive obstinate Rebels against his divine Government to pass by their vile Ingratitude to him their greatest Benefactor and base Abuse of his Blessings to his Dishonour but to confer upon 'em Favours of the greatest Value to receive 'em into his own Bosom and make 'em Coheirs with his eternal Son and advance 'em to his heavenly Kingdom This is such an admirable Expression of the divine Goodness and Love of Mankind as could never proceed from any other but him who is Goodness it self In the last Place that which exalts the Compassion of God to the highest Degree and makes it indeed miraculous is the amazing Course he took thus to shew Mercy in the Pardon of Sinners and yet satisfie his Justice too The King in the Parable was at Liberty to dispose of his own as he pleased and he might have forgiven without further Regard to any thing of Justice in that Case a greater Debt if it had been owing to him But in the Case of God's forgiving Sinners it was otherwise God had before solemnly declar'd to our first Parents and very often afterwards that the Soul that sinned it should die and his Justice was concern'd to see that Sentence executed and in the Nature of the thing likewise 't was perfectly just that the Violaters of God's holy and good Commands ungrateful Rebels against their Creator and greatest Benefactor should receive a due Recompence for their Wickedness Now Justice is as essential to God as Mercy and though his infinite Goodness mov'd him to have Compassion upon Sinners yet his Justice pleaded for their Punishment Mercy would remit the Debt but Justice required Satisfaction A Difficulty this which mortal Wit could never solve But God who is infinitely wise as well as good and just that the Work of his Hands might not perish nor his Image and Likeness be for ever miserable and that his Justice likewise might be fully satisfyed contriv'd a wondrous Way for the Redemption of Sinners by freely forgiving 'em their vast Debt and yet making full Satisfaction to his Justice for the Sins of the whole World And that was by the Incarnation of his blessed Son and substituting him in our stead to suffer as the Representative of Mankind the Punishment due to their Iniquities and by his spotless Blood to make an universal Attonement and through the Merit of that his precious Sacrifice for what 's above the Merit of the Blood of the Son of God To purchase for them Pardon and Forgiveness the Love and Favour of God in this World and the eternal Enjoyment of him in the next And by this means as the Apostle expresses it Rom. 3.26 to declare his Righteousnes that he might be just and the Justifyer likewise of him that beleiveth in Jesus Thus Mercy and Truth are miraculously met together and Righteousness and Peace have kiss'd each other And for ever blessed be that infinitely wise and just Compassion which in so wondrous a Manner contriv'd the Forgiveness of our vast Debt and the Satisfaction of the divine Justice too What Love can be greater than this that God should send his eternal Son into the World to be the Propitiation for Sinners And that while we were Enemies Christ should dye for us and bear our Sins in his own Body on the Tree that through his Stripes we might be healed Wonderful art thou O Lord in thy Doings towards the Children of Men and thy Mercy is over all thy Works And O that our Hearts might be warm'd with the same divine Flame and we might love much to whom so much hath been forgiven And thus much for the first thing to be considered in this Parable namely the glorious Example of Forgiveness that God has set us in his dealing thus mercifully with us miserable Sinners who lay under a vast Debt to the divine Justice and had nothing to pay and how infinitely this Compassion of God to Sinners exceeds the greatest and most generous Expression of Forgiveness that can be shewn by one Man to another 'T is greater than the King 's forgiving Ten Thousand Talents to his poor Servant in the Parable because he entreated him and had nothing to pay I proceed now to the second General to be consider'd in this Parable which is God's great Displeasure against those that will not imitate this his compassionate Example in forgiving such as have been injurious to them but like that wicked Servant to whom the King had been so gracious rigidly requiring full Satisfaction for little Trifles and Punctilios As he no sooner out of the Presence of his compassionate Lord but took his Fellow-Servant by the Throat who ow'd him an Hundred Pence and though intreated to have Patience as earnestly as he had but just before intreated his offended Lord yet without the least Pity threw him into Prison till he should pay the Debt The Consequence of such a revengeful Temper will be like that of this cruel Servant who was not only severely rebuked for his Wickedness but had the Pardon his Lord gave him recalled and was deliver'd over to the Tormentors till he should pay the uttermost Farthing So likewise shall my heavenly Father do unto you says our Lord if ye from your Hearts forgive not every one his Brother their Trespasses And under this General there are likewise as was said Three Particulars to be considered First What it is to forgive one another as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven us
Wrongs how great soever to be submitted to and put up in Silence by Christians by Vertue of the Command of forgiving Injuries 't would be to betray the Sheep to the Wolves to expose the Disciples of Christ to the Malice of all the wicked World which is not consistent with the Wisdom and Goodness of the great Shepherd of the Sheep Christ Jesus And St. Paul says expresly He that provideth not for his own House i. e. for the comfortable Subsistence of his Family has deny'd the Faith and is worse than an Infidel i. e. Acts contrary to the Obligations both of Nature and Religion But he will soon ruin instead of supporting his Family who suffers ill Men without Interruption to make what Havock they please of his Person Reputation or Estate But now as for smaller Injuries in any of these Respects such as make no great Alteration in our Circumstances and may be born without any great Inconvenience these are to be pass'd by and the Injury forgiven according to the Measures before described And 't is observable that the Instances our Saviour makes use of in this Matter are of the lesser Sort of Injuries such as a Blow on the Cheek the taking away of a Garment and the like and 't was for being rigorous about a few Pence that the King in the Parable was so wroth with his Servant And rather than a Christian should embroil himself in Law-Suits and run the Hazard of losing the Ornament of a meek and quiet Spirit for such small Matters he should suffer a Repetition of such Injuries And indeed as Religion is in all Respects the greatest Prudence so particularly in forbidding litigious Quarrels unless a Man's whole Interest or at least a great Part of it be at Stake for Law is now become a boundless Ocean and generally very rough and Stormy and swells Men's Passions to an exorbitant Height and shipwrecks their Charity as well as their Estates And as to those greater Injuries our Saviour mentions Mat. 5.44 of Men's being our Enemies profess'd and hating and cursing and despitefully using and persecuting us Neither he nor his Apostles there or any where else forbid Christians endeavouring in a legal Manner to secure and defend themselves and recover their own but only not to return Evil for Evil and to be so far from Purposes of Revenge or retaliating such Injuries as rather to love and bless and pray for and do good to upon Occasion those that deal so maliciously by them and to manage the Suit or Contention with them with Charity having no Rancour or Malice in their Hearts against the Person of their Adversary That is in short our holy Religion does oblige us in lesser Injuries intirely both to pass by the Offence and forgive the Offender according to the Measures before described but in greater Injuries of any Sort where Ruin or insupportable Damage will follow though it permits nay obliges to endeavour a legal Reparation and so not to forgive the Offence yet Christians must as intirely and according to the same Measures forgive the Offender as in the smallest Instances of Wrong And by this Means they will become the Children of their heavenly Father who though in infinite Mercy he forgave the World of Sinners and moreover bestowed on them richly all things to enjoy yet in the Person of his blessed Son their Representative he severely express'd his Displeasure against their Sins that they might be deter'd from persisting in them afresh to the Ruin of their immortal Souls Besides those Injuries that terminate upon a Man's self and his own Concerns there are others done to our Neighbour and the Publick which must not be pass'd by without animadverting upon them according to their Deserts As for Instance if a bloody Villain murders a Man's Friend or Neighbour or Relation and he knows who is the Murderer it may be he only in this Case whatever Inclination he may have to conceal it whether out of natural Compassion or Unwillingness to be the Occasion of the Man's Execution since nothing can recall the murder'd Person to Life and the Murderer may live to repent or the like Because he is a Member of Society and obliged as much as in him lies to promote its Safety and Happiness which by such Villains is much disturb'd and lessen'd and would be ruin'd should such Men pass unpunish'd 't is his Duty to endeavour by all lawful Means to bring so heinous an Offender to condign Punishment that so corrupt a Member being cut off from the Community the Health of the whole may be better secur'd And so in all Cases of the like Nature Always remembring that if any thing of private Revenge be intermix'd it pollutes the Action and makes the Man doubly guilty of Malice and Hypocrisy What has been hitherto said concerning the Limits of forgiving Injuries concerns Men only as private Persons As for Magistrates and Governours they being constituted by God to be a Terror to evil doers Rom. 13.3 4. to be Revengers to execute Wrath upon them and to praise and encourage those only that do well the Measure of their Forgiveness of publick Injuries is the publick Good so far as is consistent with their Obligations as Magistrates as is conducive to the common Weal according to the Judgment of Prudence and unprejudic'd Reason they may and do well to incline to Lenity and Compassion but a foolish and a mercenary Pity is a betraying their Trust a bearing the Sword in vain and such Magistrates instead of being Fathers of their Country are indeed the Perfidious Destroyers of it And thus much for the Nature of christian Forgiveness of Injuries in Imitation of the divine Pattern God has set us with its general Limits As for the great Obligation we have to copy after this admirable Pattern of our merciful heavenly Father it is twofold 1 With Respect to God 2 to our Selves First With Respect to God our Obligation to forgive one another as he has forgiven us is very great because 't is what he has declared will be highly pleasing to him as a Resemblance of that Perfection of his Nature which he seems most of all to take Delight in For so Exod. 33.19 when Moses desired to see his Glory he told him he would make all his Goodness pass before him and Chap. 34.6 The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed The Lord the Lord God merciful and gracious long-suffering abundant in Goodness and Truth keeping Mercy for Thousands forgiving Iniquity Transgression and Sin And accordingly St. John gives the Definition of him God is Love Now certainly those that have receiv'd such infinite Favours from this good God and have been forgiven so vast a Debt as we sinners have have the greatest Reason in the World to endeavour to the utmost of their Power to please this their greatest Benefactor in every thing And nothing being more pleasing to him than to see the Image and Reflection of his
Lamp and make the Way of the Just like a shining Light shining more and more unto the perfect Day and which when they fail spiritual Darkness will follow as in a Lamp gone out And if the Light that is in you be Darkness says our Lord how great is that Darkness But the Christian Vertues were very aptly represented by Oyl upon these further Accounts First Because Oyl was generally reckonen in the eastern Countries as a great Part of a Man's Riches and when they would express great Wealth they do it by magnifying the Plenty of Oyl Thus Job when he reflected in his Affliction upon his former opulent Condition the Rock or the stone Jar that was made use of to preserve Oyl in says he pour'd me out Rivers of Oyl Job 29.6 And the Prophet Micah when he represented the Impossibility of appeasing his offended God even by the most rich and costly Offering will the Lord be pleas'd says he with ten Thousand Rivers of Oyl Micah 6.7 and in Abundance of Places of Scripture the Increase of Oyl signifies the Increase of Riches And therefore to have a Soul plentifully stored with divine Graces and Vertues whereby we lay up a Treasure in Heaven and become rich towards God being the greatest and only true and durable Riches is very aptly represented by having Oyl in our Vessels and our Lamps Secondly Oyl was likewise among the Easterns a Symbol of the greatest Honours as is evident from the whole Story of the Bible where we read that at the solemn Consecration and Inauguration of Kings and Priests Oyl was always us'd and that among the Jews by the Appointment of God himself and is still in Use with us at the Coronation of our Kings And therefore very fit to represent those Christian Vertues which so highly enoble the Soul as to render it like to God holy as he is holy pure as he is pure perfect as he is perfect and whereby through the Merits of Christ we become Kings and Priests to God Rev. 1.6 and shall reign with him for ever Thirdly Oyl was an Emblem of Joy and Pleasure and much us'd therefore in Feasts and Entertainments as is evident not only from heathen Writers but from holy Scripture There we read of the Oyl of Joy and Gladness and our Lord in his Directions concerning fasting bids his Disciples not make a vain glorious Shew of it by an affected Sullenness and Down Look disfiguring their Faces as the Hypocrites did But thou when thou fastest says he anoint thy Head that thou appear not unto Men to fast i. e. make Semblance rather by this means as if thou wert going to a Feast And David when he recounts God's Goodness to him says amongst other things thou hast prepar'd a Table for me thou hast anointed my Head with Oyl and my Cup runneth over Psal 23.5 which signifies the Happiness of his Condition in general as well as his being advanc'd to the Throne of Israel Many other Places there are of this Nature but these are sufficient to shew how fitly those Christian Graces are express'd by Oyl which cause the greatest Joy and Satisfaction to a holy Soul and the Practice of which is full of Pleasure and unspeakable Delight Sincere Religion is the most chearing thing in the World and a good Conscience a continual Feast Indeed to rejoyce is only proper for a good Christian whose Mind is clear and undisturb'd and in constant Hope and Expectation of the Happiness of Heaven But he whose Mind is rack'd with a Sense of his deep Guilt and feels the Lashes of an enraged Conscience and is terrified with the unexpressible Fears of Damnation has little Reason to have Joy or Comfort in any thing Oyl therefore or the Emblem of Joy and Chearfulness is of nothing more aptly expressive than of the Graces of our holy Religion whose Ways alone are indeed Ways of Pleasantness and Joy By the Virgins all slumbering and sleeping while the Bridegroom tarry'd is signified the Inadvertency and Frailty of even the best of Men. Because this divine Bridegroom delayeth his Coming we are all of us too apt to lay aside the Thoughts of it to think but little upon Death and Judgment as things a great Way off and for which there will be Time enough to provide hereafter And for want of due Advertency to these rousing Subjects we are apt to grow heavy in our Religious Performances and suffer spiritual Drouziness to creep too much upon us This made holy David call upon God so often to quicken him in his Righteousness and St Paul to exhort his Corinthians to awake to Righteousness and thus to rouze the Ephesians awake thou that sleepest Eph. 5.14 And in this spiritual Slumber though the unavoidable Frailty of humane Nature will in Part be accepted as our Excuse by our merciful Saviour who knows and pities our Infirmities yet even the best of us indulge our selves too much and enter into the Number of the foolish Virgins and endanger the Extinction of our Lamp through the Decay of our Virtues and expose our selves to many Dangers and Temptations and frequent Falls For this Inadvertency to that great Truth that the End of all things is at hand is one great Reason why even the righteous fall seven times a Day whereas would we oftner set our Lord before us as coming to judge the quick and the dead and reflect that perhaps the next Hour our Soul may be required of us by him that gave it and so an End put for ever to our State of Probation and an irreversible Sentence soon after be pass'd upon us according to our Deservings we should not dare to be so often mov'd from our Duty but be careful and circumspect and always upon our Guard lest that Day surprize us unawares and while we drouze away our Opportunity our Lamps go out and the Bridegroom call before we are ready to enter with him into the Marriage Chamber and so the Door be shut It therefore highly concerns even the best of us not to sleep as do others but to watch and be sober having our Loins girded about and our Lights burning as our Lord expresses it and our selves like unto Men that wait for their Lord when he will return from the Wedding that when he cometh and knocketh we may open to him immediately Blessed are those Servants whom the Lord when he cometh shall find thus watching I verily I say unto you Luke 12.35 c. that he shall gird himself and make them sit down to Meat and after the Manner of Bridegrooms will come forth and serve them i. e. will impart to them the Joys and Felicities of his heavenly Kingdom And if he shall come in the second or third Watch that is in the Time most addicted to Vanity and Inadvertency as is Youth and Manhood Blessed in a more especial Manner are those Servants And what the Angel said to the Church of Sardis Rev. 3.2 is very
the Gospel What else should be the Reason of that strange Unconcernedness in the Worldly-minded though press'd never so home with the Necessity of minding Religion more and the World less of endeavouring before all Things to be rich towards God and to give of their Abundance to the Relief of the Poor and not to trust in uncertain Riches and the like They give us the Hearing perhaps and that 's All and go on still in their own Course as earnestly as ever and if they offer any thing in their Defence 't is so strangely weak that a Man can't but admire at it Sometimes we shall hear them say they don't know what Streights they may be reduc'd to yet before they dye and therefore they think it but Prudence to provide for the worst forgetting all the while that our Lord expresly forbids all such anxious Solicitude for the Morrow and commands an humble Trust in the Providence of God who never forsakes those that are moderately industrious and depend upon him for a Blessing and never reflecting upon the miserable Streight they will be in at the Day of Judgment if destitute of good Works and not able to give a sincere Account of their Stewardship Sometimes these Men will quote Scripture and tell us the Apostle says He that provides not for his own House is worse than an Infidel forgetting in the mean time the Words of the same Apostle in another Place that the Love of Money is the root of all Evil and those of our Saviour immediately before this Parable Take heed beware of Covetousness for a mans Life consisteth not in the Abundance of the Things which he possesseth And in Matt. 6.32 Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness and all these Things shall be added unto you for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things 1 Cor. 6.10 Eph. 5.5 and that the Covetous are in the number of those that shall never see the Kingdom of Heaven Of all Vices that we reprove and warn Men against Covetousness and Worldly-mindedness we find to be most stubborn and irreclaimable and 't is very seldom indeed that we can stop a Man that is in a hot pursuit of Wealth so strangely bewitching is this Love of Money and more than ordinary destructive of a true Sense of Religion in the Soul And accordingly says our Lord How hard is it for a rich man one that makes a God of Riches and confides and trusts in them to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven 't is easier for a Camel to pass through the Eye of a Needle 'T is next door to an Impossibility and nothing but the Almighty Power of God changing his Heart can make him capable of that Happiness And St. Paul agreeably Not many rich not many mighty are call'd and the God of this World hath blinded the Eyes of those that believe not And the Pythagoreans by the meer Light of Nature were sensible of this and taught their Scholars a Separation from the Affairs of the World if they would Philosophize well and find out pure Truth and the Secrets of Wisdom Wherefore we see it highly concerns us to take no such Thought for the Morrow but endeavour to lay up a Treasure in Heaven because Where our Treasure is there will our Hearts be also Another very sad Consequence of an Immoderate Love of Riches is that it exposes a Man more than any Thing besides to Apostacy or falling from the Truth St. Paul 1 Tim. 6.9 says They that will be rich fall into Temptation and a Snare and more expresly in the next Verse The Love of Money is the root of all Evil which while some have coveted after they have erred from the Faith and the Event has often prov'd this true and the Hopes of gaining and the Fear of losing Riches has prevail'd with Thousands to turn Apostates to the Truth For the sake of a little Money 't was that Judas betray'd his Master and Saviour and to tempt with Money is a way of proceedure so very successful an Engine so almost irresistable that 't is made use of by all sorts that would gain Proselites to a Party and the great Tempter with much Confidence after his other Stratagems fail'd him made Offer of Riches to our Lord Himself as his best Reserve when he would perswade him to Fall down and Worship him And so unreasonable a Love have Worldly-minded Men for Wealth as to be and do any Thing at the Frowns or Promises of him who has Power to give or take away Riches This has been the Experience of all former Ages and too much of our own too and will still be so till Men grow so wise as to know how to be content with Food and Raiment and believe our Lord's Words that a mans Life consisteth not in the Abundance of the Things which he possesseth and that Godliness with Contentment is the greatest gain And therefore as much as it concerns Men to be constant in the Profession of the Truth of God that is as much as their Salvation is worth so much it concerns them to take heed and beware of Covetousness For 't is very true in more Senses than one that it is Idolatry Colos 3.5 Having thus shewn the great Folly and Vileness of an Immoderate Desire of Riches and of expecting the Happiness even of this Life from Abundance of Wealth and mention'd two very ill Consequences of this Covetousness I proceed now to the Third Thing I intended to do which is to Answer the Rich Fool 's Question that he proposed to himself upon the great Increase he had What shall I do because I have no room where to lay my fruits And shew how many good Ways there are of Disposing of Abundance Of all the Ways of bestowing what was more than his Barns would hold by which I suppose is express'd his having more than was needful to his own comfortable Subsistance Covetousness would let this Rich Man think of none but of Building New Barns wherein to lay up his Abundance and then to take his Ease and eat and drink and be merry He looked no farther than Himself and the more God's Blessings increas'd upon him the more he purpos'd to live in Luxury and Excess and Epicurize away that which God gave him to a quite different and much better Purpose Quod superat non est melius quo insumere possis Cur eget indignis quisquam te divite quare Templa Ruunt Antiqua Deum cur improbe chara Non aliquid Patriae tanto emetiris Acervo Horat. Serm. Lib. II. Sat. 2. For every Man whom God has blessed with Abundance is God's Steward of that Abundance and must bestow it according to the Will of his great Lord for so St. Peter in his first Epistle chap. 4. ver 10. As every man has receiv'd the Gift even so minister one to another as good Stewards of the manifold Grace of God Now the
Duty of a good Steward is thus represented in the 42d Verse of this 12th of Luke Who then is that faithful and wise Steward whom his Lord shall make Ruler over his Houshold to give them their portion of Meat in due season That is To give the Family their Portion in due Season is the Duty of a Faithful and Good Steward Now the Race of Mankind is God's great Family in the World and some of the Members of this his Family he has made Choice of as his Stewards and Purveyors to provide for the rest and has according entrusted them with such a share of his Revenue to some more to some less as in his infinite Wisdom he has thought most fit and order'd them to expend it to the Advantage of his Houshold that every one be provided for according to his Needs and that no Man be suffer'd as much as in them lies to be miserable and perish And this he requires should be done faithfully after a moderate Provision first made for themselves and Relatives as they shall answer it at that great Audit when every Man must give Account of his Stewardship The Rich Man then in the Gospel being as every other Rich Man is God's Steward to provide for such as were in Necessity and Want according to the Abundance God had given him 't is an easie Matter to answer the Question he propos'd to himself upon his great Increase What shall I do because I have no room where to lay my fruits Why act like a good Steward for thy great Master and let the Houses of the Poor be the Granaries for the Abundance of thine Increase Charity to the Necessitous is the best Way of bestowing Abundance and as many Ways as there are of expressing that Charity which are innumerable so many Ways are there of disposing of what is more than needful for our own comfortable Support To Feed the Hungry to give Drink to the Thirsty Harbour to distressed Strangers Cloaths to the Naked Visits of Comfort and Relief to the Sick and Freedom to Prisoners to be a Father to the Fatherless and a Husband to the Widow and the like this is to discharge a good Stewardship this is what every Rich Man ought to do with his Abundance And Blessed is that good Servant whom his Lord when he cometh shall find so doing Of a truth saith our Lord his Master will make him Ruler over all that he hath he will commit still more of his Reuenue to his Management bless him with greater Prosperity and Increase and at last he shall be received into the Joy of his Lord and Reign with Christ his Great Master in Glory for ever Whoever therefore has Abundance needs not much to perplex himself how he shall bestow it for the Poor are always with us and for the Relief of their Necessities not the Gratifying our own Luxurious Desires must God's Extraordinary Blessings be laid out Let us now in the Fourth Place consider the great Wisdom of not setting our Hearts upon nor eagerly pursuing Riches and disposing of them as Religion directs if it shall please God in an extraordinary Manner to bless us with them If Riches increase set not your Heart upon them is excellent Advice of the Royal Psalmist Psal 62.10 and very true is that of St. Paul to Timothy Ephes 1.6 10. that while some have coveted after Mony they have err'd from the Faith and pierc'd themselves through with divers Sorrows and that Godliness with Content is great Gain and therefore wise indeed is that Man that knows how to be content with his present Portion and by setting his Affections upon more noble Objects escapes the Snare of coveting after Wealth He is free from the most dangerous Passion the Love of Mony being the root of all Evil and is secure of Quiet and Satisfaction amidst all the Turns and Varieties of Fortune the great Uncertainties of a false and fickle World If Poverty should become his Lot he is prepar'd for 't he knows there is no Stability in this World 's Good and therefore values it accordingly and remembers that he has a much greater Treasure in a better Place of which none can deprive him and which he shall enjoy to Eternity and upon that fixes his Affections and longs for the Happy Time when he shall take Possession of it While he hath a plentiful Fortune he acts like a good Steward of his great Lord and enjoys the Comforts of it by letting those share with him that want a Supply and thanks God that he is so blessed as to give rather than receive and in every respect makes the best use he can of what he has to the Advancement of the Glory of his great Patron and the Good of his Brethren and then can step securely though Dangers and Misfortunes threaten if God thinks fit to divert them and continue to him what he has he knows he can do it if not he knows that all will end for the best at last and so chearfully resigns what God before had lent him he is satisfied that Happiness does not consist in Abundance and that a good Conscience is a continual Feast and therefore his main Endeavour is to preserve a good Conscience a Soul clear and unspotted and with that coarse Fare will relish well and a homely Garment sit easie upon him and such Necessaries as these he that feeds the Ravens and cloaths the Lillies will surely provide for him And he that is thus dispos'd must needs be in perpetual Tranquility and Peace and very wise consequently in taking that Course which helps him to those inestimable Blessings As for the Wisdom of disposing of abundance when God thinks fit to bless a Man with it according to the Direction of Religion in the Relief of the Poor and Needy there needs nothing more to recommend it to Christians than for them to read the latter Part of Mat. 25. where we are informed that the Expresses of Men's Charity shall at the great Day of Judgment be particularly enquir'd into and the Charitable rewarded infinitely with Glory and Happiness in Heaven and the Uncharitable doom'd as accursed Persons to depart from God the Fountain of Bliss into Everlasting Torments prepar'd for the Devil and his Angels And if so to direct our Steps in this World as to avoid the Miseries of Hell and arrive at the unspeakable Happy Kingdom of Heaven be the greatest Wisdom then is it the greatest Wisdom by a Charitable Disposal of Mens Abundance to the Poor to make Provision against that great Day of final Retribution when Charity shall be so particularly enquired into and so highly rewarded There remains nothing now to be done but to urge what has been said upon Mens Practice We have seen in this Discourse how great Folly 't is eagerly to desire and pursue Abundance of Wealth that 't is very uncertain whether ever such Desire shall be gratified or no and that there is no Satisfaction in
Thou hast done all O blessed God that can be done to secure the Happiness of Rational and Free Agents I therefore beg with all the Earnestness of an awaken'd Soul that thy Goodness Long-suffering and Forbearance may soften my Spirit and lead me to Repentance and melt me into Shame and Tears of Penitential Sorrow for having so long abused the tender Kindness of so good a God O let not thy Lenity ever extinguish the Dread of thy Vengeance which though slow is sure and may I seriously consider that if this thy Mercy is not effectual to my Reformation 't will but add weight to the Eternal Ruine I deserve May these Considerations most gracious God never depart from my Mind till Fruit be added to my Leaves and I experience the Power of True Godliness which Thing if thou wilt grant me then will I praise thee without ceasing and magnifie thy Goodness for ever and ever Amen Amen PARABLE XI Of the Prodigal Son Luke xv 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24. And Jesus said a certain Man had two Sons And the younger of them said to his Father Father give me the portion of Goods that falleth to me And he divided unto them his Living And not many days after the younger Son gather'd all together and took his Journey into a far Country and there wasted his Substance in riotous living And when he had spent all there arose a mighty Famine in that Land and he began to be in want And he went and joyned himself to a Citizen of that Country and he sent him into his Fields to feed Swine And he would fain have filled his Belly with the Husks that the Swine did eat and no man gave unto him And when he came to himself he said How many hired Servants of my Fathers have Bread enough and to spare and I perish with Hunger I will arise and go to my Father and will say unto him Father I have sinned against Heaven and before thee And am no more worthy to be called thy Son make me as one of thy hired Servants And he arose and came to his Father But when he was yet a great way off his Father saw him and had Compassion and ran and fell on his Neck and kissed him And the Son said unto him Father I have sinned against Heaven and in thy sight and am no more worthy to be called thy Son But the Father said to his Servants bring forth the best Robe and put it on him and put a Ring on his Hand and Shooes on his Feet And bring hither the fatted Calf and kill it and let us eat and be merry For this my Son was dead and is alive again he was lost and is found THIS whole Chapter from the Third Verse to the End is intended to represent the great Tenderness and Compassion of God towards Sinners his great Desire that they should Repent and turn from their wicked Courses and how highly pleasing to him it is when they sincerely do so And this is express'd in Three Parables The First of a Man's seeking diligently a Sheep that he had lost and leaving the rest of his Flock till he had found it and then rejoycing greatly and telling his Neighbours the good News and inviting them to partake of his Joy The Second is of a Woman's having lost a Piece of Silver and seeking very carefully till she had found it and then in like manner rejoycing with her Friends for her good Success And the Third Parable is that of the Prodigal Son And because they are All to the same purpose 't will be sufficient to discourse of One of them only and the Last being the most full and comprehensive I shall consider That The Occasion of Our Lord 's speaking these Parables was The Scribes and Pharisees finding fault with him for Instructing and Conversing with Publicans and Sinners for they look'd upon it as very scandalous and a kind of Pollution to have any Familiarity with those worst of Men as they thought them and murmur'd against our Saviour saying This Man receiveth Sinners and eateth with them ver 2. To this Objection of theirs against him he answers in the Parables before mention'd and shews how unreasonably uncharitable they were to think much of his Teaching and Conversing with those who because the vilest of Men had therefore the most Need of his holy Instructions and excellent Example that they might be Reform'd and Reclaim'd from their wicked Practices For as he said elsewhere the Whole have no need of a Physician but those that are Sick and therefore he came to Seek and to Save those that were lost and Not to call the Righteous but Sinners to Repentance Nay more he tells them in the 7th and 10th Verses of this Chapter that There shall be more Joy in Heaven in the Presence of the Angels of God over One Sinner that Repenteth than over Ninety and Nine Just Persons that need no Repentance or such a total Change of Mind as is in a Sinner that breaks off his vile Courses by Repentance And farther to explain and enforce this great and most comfortable Truth and represent it more lively to their Apprehensions he spake the Parable of the Prodigal Son and therein very naturally and movingly expresses these Four Things First The great Extravagancy of Wicked Men when they give themselves up to the Conduct of their own Wills and Affections and are weary of the Government of God their Heavenly Father Secondly The sad Condition such Men quickly reduce themselves to by that their Extravagancy and loose self-will'd Course of Life or in other Words the miserable Consequences of Debauchery and Riot Thirdly The sharp Remorse of Conscience that attends such Courses the Shame and Sorrow for them and the Resolutions of an awaken'd Sinner to return again to his Obedience to God And Fourthly The great Tenderness and Compassion of the Father of Spirits to such as Repent in earnest and keep their Resolutions His Readiness to receive them again to his Favour and great Joy for their Return Because they were dead but are alive again were lost but are found Which last Particular is the Reason of the greater Joy that is in Heaven over one Sinner that Repenteth than over Ninety and Nine Just persons that need no Repentance and is a very satisfactory Account of our Lord 's so often Conversing with and Instructing Publicans and Sinners For they had the most need of that great Physician of Souls and consequently their Salvation would cause the greatest Joy in Heaven and therefore our Compassionate Saviour so industriously endeavour'd their Conversion And had the Pharisees had any of that Goodness in them they so much pretended to they would have rejoyced at our Lord's Charity and admir'd and lov'd him for it rather than have murmur'd at it as they did and used it as an Objection against him The first Thing express'd in this Parable is the great Extravagancy
Ruin and the Wages of Sin this eternal Torment and Death we would be above all things careful to avoid this Place of everlasting Torments and make use of our Time and Opportunity while we have it in providing for a happy Eternity The End of every Man's Life is the Beginning of Eternity to him then Time shall be no more no more Space for Repentance and working out our Salvation and after the great Change that Death will make in our Condition no more Changes from thence forward for ever no intermediate Purgatory to cleanse our remaining Filthiness but as Death leaves a Soul so shall Judgment find it and an irreversible Sentence be pass'd upon it And this great Truth can never be too often call'd to Remembrance and there is so much of Terror in it to a wicked Liver that whoever thinks at all must needs be inclin'd by it to husband well this his only Opportunity of making himself for ever Happy and immediately endeavour to clear himself from that Guilt which if he dies in will make him for ever miserable and that without the least Alleviation The last thing this Parable informs us of is That every Man may be sufficiently assur'd of this great Truth that reads the Scriptures and powerfully enough inclin'd to avoid that future Misery and secure his eternal Happiness without any more extraordinary Ways of Conviction in this Matter or Perswasives to act accordingly And that those who are not satisfied with what has already been reveal'd of future Rewards and Punishments in all Probability will never be satisfied though one should come from the Dead to assure them of it This is express'd in the Parable by the Rich Man's desiring after he was sadly assur'd by Abraham that there was no Remedy for himself that he would send Lazarus to his Father's House for I have five Brethren says he that he may testifie unto them lest they also come into this Place of Torment To this Abraham answers They have Moses and the Prophets let them hear them But this would not satisfie the miserable Rich Man and he said nay Father Abraham but if one went to them from the Dead they will repent To this Abraham gives this final Answer If they hear not Moses and the Prophets neither will they be perswaded though one arose from the Dead As if he had said There is all the Assurance given to Men by the Holy Writings of the Truth of these things that any reasonable Man can desire and the same Obstinate and Atheistick Infidelity and Debauchery of Manners that makes Men disbelieve what the Scriptures affirm of another Life would make them still disbelieve it though one arose from the Dead to assure them of it And if this was true before the Gospel when these things were but darkly reveal'd in comparison of what they are now and the Jews might then be sufficiently assur'd of them by attending to the Writings of Moses and the Prophets it is a much more confirm'd Truth to us Christians the Scriptures of the New Testament assuring us of it in the most plain and express Terms that can be According to what the Apostle says 2 Tim. 1.8 that our Lord has brought Life and Immortality to light by the Gospel And yet some are so unreasonable as when we discourse about Judgment to come and the Rewards and Punishments of another Life not to tremble at it as Foelix did but with perverse Infidelity question the Truth of the thing and ask us how we can be sure it is and shall be so and whether we have been told it by one that came from the other World and has experienc'd what we say to be true And that nothing less than such a Proof shall ever make them believe it And when they are urg'd with the Testimony of Moses and the Prophets and of the Son of God himself they have the Confidence to laugh at this as an Invention of Church-Men and no better than a Religious Cheat. They are not ignorant they say that the Writings which we affirm were divinely inspir'd do very plainly and expresly assert That there shall be a Judgment to come and that every Man shall be rais'd from the Dead and plac'd before the Almighty Judge and consign'd to eternal Happiness or Misery according to what they have done in this Life whether it be good or evil But they deny the Truth of those Writings and consequently the Reality of what they assert of this Nature Our Business therefore must be to prove the Truth and Divine Authority of those Holy Scriptures and then 't will follow that he that still disbelieves the Doctrine of future Rewards and Punishments and is not inclin'd to live accordingly will neither be convinc'd nor perswaded in this Instance though one rose from the Dead The Opposition Anti-scripturists make against the Holy Writings is in short this Either they will deny that those Books were written by the Men whose Names they bear or if they are forc'd to grant that they will deny the Truth of the Matters of fact which they set down and endeavour to pick out Inconsistencies and Contradictions in their Relation and if beaten from that Post they 'll deny that the Writers were Men divinely inspired and affirm that the Doctrine they wrote was meerly the Product of their own Brains and what strange Occurrences they record of their Master Jesus as of his Resurrection from the Dead as an Argument that there shall be another Life after this is ended and all Men then arise likewise and be call'd to give account of their Works that this and the like strange Passages they record of Jesus supposing them to be true were not done by a Divine Power but by Art Magick and the Power of the Devil And this could it be made good would be a shrewd Blow indeed and all reveal'd Religion soon sink into Ruine But in short for to inlarge here would far exceed the Bounds of a single Sermon a Christian's Defence of the Truth and divine Authority of the Holy Writings may be this First Though some have deny'd that the Books of the Old and New Testament were written by the Men whose Names they bear yet no Man ever yet could prove it nay on the contrary they have been receiv'd as Genuine for many Hundreds of Years and by Men of very different Religions and Perswasions and that were bitter Enemies to the Religion there taught and the Professors of it and would have been extreamly glad to have prov'd the Whole a Forgery if they could But since they did not when 't was so much for their Interest to have don 't 't is plain they could not and since they are to this Day approv'd by all Sorts of Religions as genuine 't is as much as can be said in the Case and as much as can be said for any other Book in the World And we must either throw aside all Books as spurious or believe this which we
about Spiritual Humility because it has been taught by some that pretend to the most extraordinary Religion that we ought to entertain none but vile and abject Thoughts of our selves to be conscious of nothing that is good in us but to call our selves the vilest of Sinners and the worst of Men according to St. Paul's Example who calls himself the chief of Sinners 1 Tim. 1.15 But since it cannot be true for a sincerely pious sober and chaste Man for Instance to call himself the most prophane the most intemperate and debauch'd Wretch living for he must needs be sensible that is not so therefore a more discreet Way of Humiliation and Confession of our Faults should be introduc'd in its Room for nothing that is untrue can be pleasing and acceptable unto God And as no Man ought to think of himself more highly than he ought to think so neither should he untruly vilifie and miscall himself but think and speak soberly according as God has given to him the Measure of Faith 'T is the same St. Paul's Advice Rom. 12.3 whose Example is urg'd for so extremely debasing a Man's self in his own Esteem and therefore when he said of himself That he was the chief of Sinners it must look back to his former Wickedness in persecuting the Church of Christ and could not be true as to his present Condition when he spoke it for he was then a chosen Vessel and not inferior to any of the Apostles And whatever good Man will use that Expression after him its Signification must be restrain'd either with Reference to past Wickednesses or some particular Vice which too easily besets him and cannot be true in its largest Sense of any sincerely good Man And 't is a strange kind of Humiliation that is made up of the Confession of Faults which a Man never knew himself to be guilty of which yet is much in Vogue with some sort of People but does indeed look too Stage-like to be thought real by any discerning Man Poverty of Spirit therefore does not consist in a Man's making himself worse than he is and truly there is no neâ—â— he should do so every Man living having enough of real Vileness to humble him before God and in overlooking every thing that is commendable in him and the Pharisee in the Parable might very innocently have thank'd God that he was not as other Men Fornicators Unjust Adulterers or even as a Publican had there not been something much worse than this mix'd with his Thanksgiving And it was this He was proud of his living more circumspectly than other Men he arrogated much of the Praise to himself and despis'd one who by reason his Profession he thought was a more loose and careless Liver and never reflected upon his Failures and Imperfections but was wholly taken up with admiring himself and vaunting of his Vertue and did not return as he ought to have done all the Glory to God So that 't is not all thinking well of ones Conversation and Virtuous Living that is Spiritual Pride but only when we think better of it than we should do and forget our Sins and Imperfections or arrogantly ascribe the Praise to our selves not remembring who made us to differ and neglecting to return the Glory to him and are so exalted in our own Conceits as to despise and contemn others because their Religion is not with Shew and Ostentation Spiritual Humility then as 't is oppos'd to this Spiritual Pride consists in two things First In not overvaluing our spiritual Excellencies nor our selves by reason of them but returning all the Praise and Glory to God who is the Author of every good and perfect Gift 'T is to remember that he made us to differ and that we have nothing not so much as a good Thought but what we receive from him in whose Divine Aid is all our Sufficiency 'T is to reflect upon the Imperfections and Defects of even our best Actions and how much Need there is of God's Mercy and favourable Judgment after we have done all that we can in his Service 'T is to remember likewise that with such great Assistances from above as we have receiv'd we might have been much better than we are and have practis'd more Graces of Christianity and that in higher Degrees of Perfection And when there arises any inward Complacency in our Breasts from a Vertuous Action or we meet with any commendation from others 't is then immediately to give God the Glory and transfer all the Praise to him and suffer no vain Tumours to remain upon our Minds nor look down with Scorn upon others that have less Esteem and Reputation in the World But rather to humble our selves before God at the Thoughts of the Pollutions that are still upon our Souls and reflect how great a Debt of Gratitude lies upon us to our great Benefactor who has given us unworthy as we are such great Measures of his Grace and resolve to make him a due return of a daily increasing Praise and Obedience and Love Secondly Spiritual Humility consists in a due Apprehension of the Vileness of our Sins and the great Aggravations of them and as we must not overvalue our Vertues nor our selves by Reason of them so neither should we undervalue our Vices i. e. endeavour to palliate and excuse them and give them more favourable Names than they deserve such as unavoidable Frailties pitiable Infirmities the Effects of Surprize and the like Nor think our selves to be less abominable in the Sight of God for our Commission of them than indeed we are There is no Manliving how good soever but is still a Sinner and not only Imperfections and Frailties may be laid to his Charge but God knows too often Sins of a deeper Dye as David and Peter we know fell into the very worst of Wickednesses though the one otherwise a Man after God's own Heart and the other an Apostle of our Lord and Holy Martyr for his Truth Now Spiritual Humility will give a Man a due Sense of his Spiritual Vileness and represen this Sin whatever it be as indeed the greatest Evil a Violation of the highest Authority and of a most Holy and Just and Good Law and the very heighth of Ingratitude too as being a Resisting the Will of our greatest Friend and Benefactor And 't will shew him the Aggravations of his Guilt as being contracted against sufficient Light and Knowledge and when he had sufficient Aid likewise from Abve to enable him to resist the Temptations to it if he would These and the like Considerations which a Man truly humble in Spirit will call to mind will humble him still more and render him as vile in his own Eyes as he thinks he is in God's and make him prostrate himself before the Throne of the Divine Majesty with Shame and Sorrow and Confusion of Face confessing his Guilt condemning himself for it and humbly imploring Forgiveness of his offended God and