another but Truth is always consistent with it self and needs nothing to help it out it is always near at hand and sits upon our Lips and is ready to drop out before we are aware whereas a Lye is troublesome and sets a Mans invention upon the Rack and one trick needs a great many more to make it good It is like building upon a false Foundation which continually stands in need of props to shoar it up and proves at last more chargable than to have raised a substantial Building at first upon a true and solid Foundation for Sincerity is firm and substantial and there is nothing hollow and unsound in it and because it is plain and open fears no discovery of which the Crafty Man is always in danger and when he thinks he walks in the dark all his pretences are so transparent that he that runs may read them he is the last Man that finds himself to be found out and whilst he takes it for granted that he makes Fools of others he renders himself ridiculous Add to all this that Sincerity is the most compendious Wisdom and an excellent instrument for the speedy dispatch of Business it creates confidence in those we have to deal with saves the labour of many enquiries and brings things to an issue in few words It is like travelling in a plain beaten Road which commonly brings a Man sooner to his Journeys end than By-ways in which Men often lose themselves In a word whatsoever convenience may be thought to be in falshood and dissimulation it is soon over but the inconvenience of it is perpetual because it brings a Man under an everlasting jealousie and suspicion so that he is not believed when he speaks truth nor trusted when perhaps he means honestly When a Man hath once forfeited the reputation of his Integrity he is set fast and nothing will then serve his turn neither Truth nor Falshood And I have often thought that God hath in great Wisdom hid from Men of false and dishonest minds the wonderful advantages of Truth and Integrity to the prosperity even of our worldly Affairs these Men are so blinded by their Covetousness and Ambition that they cannot look beyond a present advantage nor forbear to seize upon it tho by ways never so indirect They cannot see so far as to the remote Consequences of a steady Integrity and the vast benefit and advantages which it will bring a Man at last Were but this sort of Men wise and clear-sighted enough to discern this they would be honest out of very Knavery not out of any love to Honesty and Vertue but with a crafty design to promote and advance more effectually their own Interests and therefore the Justice of the Divine Providence hath hid this truest point of Wisdom from their Eyes that bad men might not be upon equal Terms with the Just and Upright and serve their own wicked Designs by honest and lawful means Indeed if a man were only to deal in the world for a day and should never have occasion to converse more with Mankind never more need their good opinion or good Word it were then no great matter speaking as to the concernments of this world if a man spent his Reputation all at once and ventured it at one throw but if he be to continue in the world and would have the advantage of Conversation whilst he is in it let him make use of Truth and Sincerity in all his Words and Actions for nothing but this will last and hold out to the end all other Arts will fail but Truth and Integrity will carry a man through and bear him out to the last 'T is the Observation of Solomon Prov. 12. 19. The lip of Truth is established for ever but a lying Tongue is but for a moment And the wiser any man is the more clearly will he discern how serviceable Sincerity is to all the great ends and purposes of humane life and that man hath made a good progress and profited much in the School of Wisdom who valueth Truth and Sincerity according to their worth Every man will readily grant them to be great Vertues and Arguments of a generous mind but that there is so much of true Wisdom in them and that they really serve to profit our interest in this World seems a great Paradox to the generality of Men and yet I doubt not but it is undoubtedly true and generally found to be so in the experience of Mankind Lastly Consider that it is not worth our while to dissemble considering the shortness and especially the uncertainty of our Lives To what purpose should we be so cunning when our abode in this world is so short and uncertain Why should any man by dissembling his Judgment or acting contrary to it incur at once the displeasure of God and the discontent of his own mind Especially if we consider that all our Dissimulation shall one day be made manifest and published on the open Theatre of the World before God Angels and Men to our everlasting Shame and Confusion all Disguise and Vizards shall then be pluckt off and every man shall appear in his true Colours For then the Secrets of Men shall be judged and God will bring every Work into Judgment and every secret thing whether it be Good or whether it be Evil. Nothing is now covered which shall not then be revealed nor hid which shall not then be known Let us then be now what we would 〈◊〉 glad to be found in that day when all pretences shall be examined and the closest Hypocrisie of Men shall be laid open and dasht out of Countenance when the Secrets of all Hearts shall be disclosed and all the hidden Works of Darkness shall be revealed and all our Thoughts Words and Actions shall be brought to a strict and severe Tryal and be censured by that impartial and infallible Judgment of God which is according to Truth In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ To whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost be Glory now and for ever Amen A SERMON Preached at WHITE-HALL MDCLXXXVI Before the Princess ANN. HEB. XI 17 18 19. By Faith Abraham when he was Tryed offered up Isaac And he that had received the Promises offered up his only begotton Son Of whom it was said That in Isaac shall thy Seed be called Accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the Dead From whence also he received him in a Figure THE design of this Epistle to the Hebrews is to recommend to them the Christian Religion to which they were but newly Converted and to encourage them to Constancy in the profession of it notwithstanding the Sufferings which attended it He sets before them in this Chapter several examples in the Old Testament of those who tho they were under a much more imperfect dispensation yet by a stedfast belief in God and his promises had performed such wonderful acts of
after the reality of Religion always remembring that a sincere Piety doth not consist in shew but substance not in appearance but in effect that the Spirit of true Religion is still and calm charitable and peaceable making as little shew and stir as is possible that a truly and sincerely good Man does not affect vain Ostentation and an unseasonable discovery of his good Qualities but endeavours rather really to be than to seem Religious and of the two rather seeks to conceal his Piety than to set it out with pomp gives his Alms privately prays to God in secret and makes no appearance of Religion but in such fruits and effects as cannot be hid in the quiet and silent vertues of Humility and Meekness and Patience of Peace and Charity in governing his Passions and taking heed not to offend with his Tongue by slander and calumny by envious detraction or rash censure or by any word or action that may be to the hurt and prejudice of his Neighbour But on the contrary it is a very ill sign if a Man affect to make a great noise and bustle about Religion if he blow a Trumpet before his good Works and by extraordinary shews of Devotion summon the Eyes of Men to behold him and do as it were call aloud to them to take notice of his Piety and to come to see his zeal for the Lord of Hosts It is not impossible but such a Man with all his vanity and ostentation may have some real goodness in him but he is as the Hypocrites are and does as like one as is possible and by the mighty shew that he makes to wise and considerate Men greatly brings in question the sincerity of his Religion And with the sincerity of our Piety towards God let us joyn the simplicity and integrity of Manners in our Conversation with Men let us strictly charge our selves to use truth and plainness in all our words and doings let our Tongue be ever the true Interpreter of our Mind and our Expressions the lively Image of our Thoughts and Affections and our outward actions exactly agreeable to our inward purposes and intentions Amongst too many other Instances of the great corruption and degeneracy of the Age wherein we live the great and general want of sincerity in Conversation is none of the least the World is grown so full of Dissimulation and Complement that Mens words are hardly any signification of their thoughts and if any Man measure his words by his heart and speak as he thinks and do not express more kindness to every man than men usually have for any man he can hardly escape the censure of rudeness and want of breeding The old English plainness and sincerity that generous integrity of Nature and honesty of Disposition which always argues true greatness of mind and is usually accompanied with undaunted courage and resolution is in a great measure lost amongst us there hath been a long endeavour to transform us into foreign Manners and Fashions and to bring us to a servile imitation of none of the best of our Neighbours in some of the worst of their Qualities The Dialect of Conversation is now adays so swell'd with Vanity and Complement and so surfeited as I may say of expressions of kindness and respect that if a man that lived an Age or two ago should return into the World again he would really want a Dictionary to help him to understand his own Language and to know the true intrinsick value of the phrase in fashion and would hardly at first believe at what a low rate the highest strains and expressions of kindness imaginable do commonly pass in currant payment and when he should come to understand it it would be a great while before he could bring himself with a good Countenance and a good Conscience to converse with Men upon equal terms and in their own way And in truth it is hard to say whether it should more provoke our contempt or our pity to hear what solemn expressions of respect and kindness will pass between men almost upon no occasion how great honour and esteem they will declare for one whom perhaps they never heard of or saw before and how entirely they are all on the sudden devoted to his service and interest for no reason how infinitely and eternally obliged to him for no benefit and how extremely they will be concerned for him yea and afflicted too for no cause I know it is said in justification of this hollow kind of Conversation that there is no harm no real deceit in Complement but the matter is well enough so long as we understand one another Et verba valent ut Nummi Words are like Money and when the currant value of them is generally understood no Man is cheated by them this is something if such words were any thing but being brought into the Account they are meer Cyphers However it is still a just matter of complaint that sincerity and plainness are out of fashion and that our Language is running into a Lye that Men have almost quite perverted the use of Speech and made words to signifie nothing that the greatest part of the Conversation of Mankind and of their intercourse with one another is little else but driving a Trade of Dissimulation insomuch that it would make a Man heartily sick and weary of the World to see the little sincerity that is in use and practice among Men and tempt him to break out into that melancholy Complaint and Wish of the Prophet Jer. 9. O that I had in the Wilderness a lodging-place of way-faring men that I might leave my people and go from them for they are all Adulterers and an assembly of treacherous Men and they bend their tongue like their bow for lies but have no courage for the truth upon earth Take ye heed every one of his Neighbour and trust ye not in any Brother for every Brother will utterly supplant and every Neighbour will walk with slanders Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit one speaketh peaceably to his Neighbour but in his heart he lieth in wait Shall not I visit for these things saith the Lord and shall not my Soul be avenged of such a Nation as this Such were the Manners of the people of Israel at that time which were both the forerunner and the cause of those terrible Calamities which befell them afterwards and this Character agrees but too well to the present Age which is so wretchedly void of Truth and Sincerity for which reason there is the greater need to recommend this Virtue to us which seems to be fled from us that truth and righteousness may return and glory may dwell in our land and God may shew his mercy upon us and grant us his Salvation and Righteousness and Peace may kiss each other To this end give me leave to offer these following Considerations First That Sincerity is the highest commendation and the very best Character that
can be given of any man it is the solid foundation of all Virtue the Heart and Soul of all Piety and Goodness it is in Scripture called perfection and frequently joyned with it and throughout the Bible there is the greatest stress and weight laid upon it it is spoken of as the sum and comprehension of all Religion Only fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and truth says Joshua to the people of Israel Jos. 24. 14. God takes great pleasure in it so David assures us 1 Chron. 29. 17. I know my God that thou tryest the Heart and hast pleasure in uprightness And again Thou lovest truth in the inward parts To this disposition of mind the promises of divine favour and blessing are particularly made Psal. 15. 1 2. Lord who shall dwell in thy Tabernacle who shall dwell in thy holy Hill He that walketh uprightly and worketh righteousness and speaketh the truth from his Heart Psal. 32. 2. Blessed is the Man unto whom the Lord imputeth no sin and in whose Spirit there is no guil And 't is observable that this Character of our Saviour here given of Nathaniel is the only full and perfect commendation that we read was ever given by him of any particular person He commends some particular acts of Piety and Virtue in others as St. Peter's confession of him the Faith of the Centurion and of the Woman that was healed by touching the Hem of his Garment the Charity of the Woman that cast her two Mites into the Treasury and the Bounty of that other devout Woman who poured upon him a Box of precious Oyntment But here he gives the particular Character of a good Man when he says of Nathaniel that he was an Israelite indeed in whom was no Guil And the Apostle mentions this quality as the chief ingredient into the Character of the best Man that ever was our blessed Saviour who did no Sin neither was Guil found in his mouth Secondly The rarity of this Virtue is a farther commendation of it A sincerely pious and good Man without any guil or disguise is not a sight to be seen every day Our Saviour in the Text speaks of it as a thing very extraordinary and of special remark and observation and breaks out into some kind of wonder upon the occasion as if to see a Man of perfect integrity and simplicity were an occurrence very rare and unusual and such as calls for our more especial attention and regard Behold saith he an Israelite indeed in whom there is no Guil. Thirdly The want of Sincerity will quite spoil the virtue and acceptance of all our Piety and Obedience and certainly deprive us of the reward of it All that we doe in the service of God all our external obedience to his Laws if not animated by Sincerity is like a Sacrifice without a Heart which is an abomination to the Lord. Fourthly Hypocrisy and Insincerity is a very vain and foolish thing it is designed to cheat others but is in truth a deceiving of our selves No Man would flatter or dissemble did he believe he were seen and discover'd an open Knave is a great Fool who destroys at once both his design and his Reputation and this is the case of every Hypocrite all the disagreement which is between his Tongue and his Thoughts his Actions and his Heart is open to that Eye from which nothing can be hid for the ways of Man are before the Eyes of the Lord and he seeth all his goings there is no darkness nor shadow of Death where the workers of Iniquity may hide themselves Fifthly Truth and Reality have all the advantages of appearance and many more if the shew of any thing be good for any thing I am sure Sincerity is better for why does any man dissemble or seem to be that which he is not but because he thinks it good to have such a quality as he pretends to for to counterfeit and dissemble is to put on the appearance of some real excellency Now the best way in the world for a man to seem to be any thing is really to be what he would seem to be Besides that it is many times as troublesome to make good the pretence of a good quality as to have it and if a man have it not it is ten to one but he is discovered to want it and then all his pains and labour to seem to have it is lost There is something unnatural in Painting which a skilful Eye will easily discern from native Beauty and Complexion It is hard to personate and act a part long for where truth is not at the bottom nature will always be endeavourring to return and will peep out and betray herself one time or other therefore if any man think it convenient to seem Good let him be so indeed and then his Goodness will appear to every body's satisfaction for Truth is convincing and carries it 's own light and evidence along with it and will not only commend us to every Man's Conscience but which is much more to God who searcheth and seeth our Hearts so that upon all accounts Sincerity is true Wisdom Particularly as to the affairs of this World Integrity hath many advantages over all the fine and artificial ways of Dissimulation and Deceit it is much the plainer and easier much the safer and more secure way of dealing in the world it hath less of trouble and difficulty of entanglement and perplexity of danger and hazard in it it is the shortest and nearest way to our end carrying us thither in a straight line and will hold out and last longest The Arts of Deceit and Cunning do continually grow weaker and less effectual and serviceable to them that use them whereas Integrity gains strength by use and the more and longer any Man practiseth it the greater service it does him by confirming his Reputation and encouraging those with whom he hath to do to repose the greater Trust and Confidence in him which is an unspeakable advantage in the business and affairs of life But a Dissembler must always be upon his guard and watch himself carefully that he doth not contradict his own pretence for he acts an unnatural part and therefore must put a continual force and restraint upon himself Truth alwayes lies uppermost and if a Man do not carefully attend he will be apt to bolt it out Whereas he that acts sincerely hath the easiest task in the world because he follows Nature and so is put to no trouble and care about his words and actions he needs not invent any pretences before-hand nor make excuses afterwards for any thing he hath said or done But Insincerity is very troublesome to manage a Man hath so many things to attend to so many ends to bring together as make his life a very perplext and intricate thing Oportet mendacem esse memorem A lyar had need have a good memory lest he contradict at one time what he said at
to give satisfaction to himself in so intricate and perplext a case The constancy of Abraham's Faith was not an obstinate and stubborn Persuasion but the result of the wisest reasoning and soberest consideration So the Text says that he counted the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he Reasoned with himself that God was able to raise him up from the Dead so that he debated the matter with himself and gave himself satisfaction concerning the Objections and Difficulties in the case and being fully satisfied that it was a Divine Command he resolved to obey it As for the Objections I have mentioned 1. The horrid appearance of the thing that a Father should Slay his Innocent Son Why should Abraham scruple the doing this at the Command of God who being the Author of Life hath power over it and may resume what he hath given and take away the Life of any of his Creatures when he will and make whom he pleaseth instruments in the execution of his Command It was indeed a hard case considering natural affection and therefore God did not permit it to be executed But the question of God's Right over the lives of Men and of his authority to command any Man to be the instrument of his pleasure in such a case admits of no dispute And the God hath planted strong affections in Parents towards their Children yet he hath written no Law in any Man's heart to the prejudice of his own Soverign Right This is a case alwaies excepted and this takes away the objection of Injustice 2. As to the scandal of it that could be no great objection in those times when the absolute power of Parents over their Children was in it's full force and they might put them to Death without being accountable for it So that then it was no such startling matter to hear of a Father putting his Child to Death nay in much later times we find that in the most ancient Laws of the Romans I mean those of the 12 Tables Children are absolutely put in the power of their Parents to whom is given jus vitae necis a power of Life and Death over them and likewise to sell them for Slaves And tho amongst the Jews this paternal power was limited by the Law of Moses and the judgment of Life and Death was taken out of the Fathers hands except in case of Contumacy and Rebellion and even in that case the Process was to be before the Elders of the City yet it is certain that in elder times the paternal power was more absolute and unaccountable which takes off much from the horror and scandal of the thing as it appears now to us who have no such power And therefore we do not find in the History that this Objection did much stick with Abraham It being then no unusual thing for a Father to put his Child to Death upon a just account And the Command of God who hath absolute Dominion over the Lives of his Creatures is certainly a just reason and no Man can reasonably scruple the doing of that upon the Command of God which he might have done by his own Authority without being accountable for the Action to any but God only 3. As to the Objection from the horrible consequence of the thing Commanded that the Slaying of Isaac seemed to overthrow the Promise which God had made before to Abraham That in Isaac his Seed should be called This seems to him to be the great difficulty and here he makes use of Reason to reconcile the seeming Contradiction of this Command of God to his former Promise So the Text tells us that he offered up his only begotten Son of whom it was said that in Isaac shall thy Seed be called Reasoning that God was able to raise him up from the Dead So that tho' Isaac were put to Death yet he saw how the Promise of God might still be made good by his being raised from the Dead and living afterwards to have a numerous Posterity There had then indeed been no Instance or Example of any such thing in the World as the Resurrection of one from the Dead which makes Abraham's Faith the more wonderful but he confirmed himself in this Belief by an Example as near the case as might be He Reasoned that God was able to raise him from the Dead from whence also he had received him in a Figure This I know is by Interpreters generally understood of Isaac's being delivered from the Jaws of Death when he was laid upon the Altar and ready to be Slain But the Text seems not to speak of what happend after but of something that had passed before By which Abraham confirmed himself in this peruasion that if he were Slain God would raise him up again And so the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ought to be rendred in the past time from whence also he had received him in a Figure So that this Expression plainly refers to the miraculous Birth of Isaac when his Parents were past the Age of having Children which was little less than a Resurrection from the Dead And so the Scripture speaks of it Rom. 4. 17. Abraham believed God who quickeneth the Dead and calleth the things which are not as if they were and not being weak in Faith he considered not his own Body which was Dead and a little before the Text speaking of the miraculous Birth of Isaac and therefore sprang there of one and him as good as dead as many as the Stars of Heaven From whence as the Apostle tells us Abraham Reasoned thus That God who gave him Isaac at first in so miraculous a manner was able by another miracle to restore him to life again after he was Dead and to make him the Father of many Nations He Reasoned that God was able to raise him up from the Dead from whence also he had received him in a Figure Thus you see the reasonableness of Abraham's Faith he pitched upon the main difficulty in the Case and he answered it as well as was possible And in his reasoning about this matter he gives the utmost weight to every thing that might tend to vindicate the Truth and faithfulness of God's Promise and to make the Revelations of God consistent with one another and this tho' he had a great Interest and a very tender concernment of his own to have biassed him For he might have argued with great appearance and probability the other way But as every Pious and Good Man should do he reasoned on God's side and favoured that part Rather than disobey a Command of God or believe that his promise should be frustrate he will believe any thing that is credible and possible how improbable soever Thus far Faith will go but no farther From the believing of plain Contradictions and Impossibilities it alwayes desires to be excused Thus much for explication of the Words which I hope hath not been altogether unprofitable because it tends to clear a point which
hath something of difficulty and obscurity in it and to vindicate the Holy Scripture and the Divine Revelation therein contained from one of the most specious Objections of Infidelity But I had a farther design in this Text And that is to make some Observations and Inferences from it that may be of use to us As First That Humane Nature is capable of clear and full satisfaction concerning a Divine Revelation for if Abraham had not been fully and past all doubt assured that this was a Command from God he would certainly have spared his Son And nothing is more reasonable than to believe that those to whom God is pleased to make immediate Revelations of his Will are some way or other assured that they are Divine otherwise they would be in vain and to no purpose But how Men are assured concerning Divine Revelations made to them is not so easy to make out to others Only these two things we are sure of 1. That God can work in the Mind of Man a firm persuasion of the Truth of what he Reveals and that such a Revelation is from him This no Man can doubt of that considers the great power and influence which God who made us and perfectly knows our Frame must needs have upon our Minds and Understandings 2. That God never offers any thing to any Man's belief that plainly contradicts the Natural and Essential Notions of his Mind Because this would be for God to destroy his own Workmanship and to impose that upon the understanding of Man which whilst it remains what it is it cannot possibly admit For instance We cannot imagin that God should Reveal to any Man any thing that plainly contradicts the Essential Perfections of the Divine Nature for such a Revelation can no more be supposed to be from God than a Revelation from God that there is no God which is a downright Contradiction Now to apply this to the Revelation which God made to Abraham concerning the Sacrificing of his Son This was made to him by an audible Voice and he was fully satisfied by the Evidence which it carried along with it that it was from God For this was not the first of many Revelations that had been made to him so that he knew the manner of them and had found by manifold experience that he was not deceived and upon this experience was grown to a great Confidence in the Truth and Goodness of God And it is very probable the first time God appeared to Abraham because it was a new thing that to make way for the credit of future Revelations God did shew himself to him in so glorious a manner as was abundantly to his Conviction And this St. Stephen does seem to intimate Acts 7. 2. The God of glory appeared to our Father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia Now by this glorious Appearance of God to him at first he was so prepared for the Entertainment of after Revelations that he was not staggered even at this concerning the Sacrificing of his Son being both by the manner of it and the assurance that accompanied it fully satisfied that it was from God Secondly I observe from hence the great and necessary use of Reason in matters of Faith For we see here that Abraham's Reason was a mighty strengthning and help to his Faith Here were two Revelations made to Abraham which seemed to clash with one another and if Abraham's Reason could not have reconciled the Repugnancy of them he could not possibly have believed them both to be from God because this natural Notion or Principle that God cannot contradict himself every Man does first and more firmly believe than any Revelation whatsoever Now Abraham's Reason relieved him in this strait so the Text expresly tells us that he reasoned with himself that God was able to raise him from the Dead And this being admitted the Command of God concerning the Slaying of Isaac was very well consistent with his former Promise That in Isaac his Seed should be called I know there hath a very rude clamour been raised by some persons but of more Zeal I think than Judgment against the use of Reason in matters of Faith but how very unreasonable this is will appear to any one that will but have patience to consider these following particulars 1. The nature of Divine Revelation That it doth not endow Men with new Faculties but propoundeth new Objects to the Faculties which they had before Reason is the Faculty whereby Revelation is to be discerned for when God reveals any thing to us he reveals it to our Understanding and by that we are to judge of it Therefore St. John cautions us 1 Jo. 4. 1. Not to believe every spirit but to try the spirits whether they are of God because many false prophets are gone out into the world That is there are many that falsly pretend to Inspiration but how can these pretenders be tryed and discerned from those that are truly inspired but by using our Reason in comparing the evidence for the one and the other 2. This will farther appear if we consider the nature of Faith Faith as we are now speaking of it is an assent of the Mind to something as revealed by God Now all assent must be grounded upon evidence that is no Man can believe any thing unless he have or thinks he hath some reason to do so For to be confident of a thing without reason is not Faith but a presumptuous persuasion and obstinacy of mind 3. This will yet be more evident if we consider the method that must of necessity be used to convince any Man of the truth of Religion Suppose we had to deal with one that is a Stranger and Enemy to Christianity What means are proper to be used to gain him over to it The most natural method surely were this to acquaint him with the Holy Scriptures which are the Rule of our Faith and Practice He would ask us why we believe that Book The proper answer would be because it is the Word of God this he could not but acknowledge to be a very good reason if it were true But then he would ask Why we believed it to be the Word of God rather than Mâ—homet ' s Alchoran which pretends no less to be of divine Inspiration If any Man now should answer that he could give no reason why he believed it to be the word of God only he believed it to be so and so every man else ought to do without enquiring after any further reason because reason is to be laid a side in matters of Faith would not the Man presently reply that he had just as much reason as this comes to to believe the Alchoran or any thing else that is none at all But certainly the better way would be to satisfie this Man's reason by proper arguments that the Scriptures are a divine Revelation and that no other Book in the world can with equal reason pretend to be so and if
this be a good way then we do and must call in the assistance of reason for the proof of our Religion 4. Let it be considered farther that the highest commendations that are given in Scripture to any ones Faith are given upon account of the reasonableness of it Abraham's Faith is famous and made a pattern to all generations because he reasoned himself into it notwithstanding the objections to the contrary and he did not blindly break through these objections and wink hard at them but he look'd them in the face and gave himself reasonable satisfaction concerning them The Centurian's Faith is commended by our Saviour Math. 8. 11. Because when his Servant was sick he did not desire him to come to his house but to speak the word only and his Servant should be healed For he reasoned thus I am a man under authority having Souldiers under me and I say to this man go and he goeth and to another come and he cometh and to my Servant do this and he doth it Now if he that was himself under authority could thus command those that were under him much more could he that had a divine Power and Commission do what he pleased by his word And our Saviour is so far from reprehending him for reasoning himself into this belief that he admires his Faith so much the more for the reasonableness of it v. 10. When Jesus heard this he marvelled and said to them that followed him verily I say unto you I have not found so great Faith no not in Israel Inlike manner our Saviour commends the Woman of Canaan's Faith because she enforc't it so reasonably Matthew 15. 22. She sued to him to help her Daughter but he answered her not a word and when his Disciples could not prevail with him to mind her yet still the prest him saying Lord help me and when he repulsed her with this severe answer It is not meet to take the Childrens bread and cast it to dogs she made this quick and modest reply truth Lord yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their Masters Table She acknowledgeth her own unworthiness but yet believes his goodness to be such that he will not utterly reject those who humbly seek to him upon which he gives her this testimony O woman great is thy faith The Apostles were divinely inspired and yet the Bereans are commended because they enquired and satisfied themselves in the reasons of their belief before they assented to the doctrine which was delivered to them even by Teachers that certainly were Infallible 5. None are reproved in Scripture for their unbelief but where sufficient reason and evidence was offered to them The Israelites are generally blamed for their Infidelity but then it was after such mighty wonders had been wrought for their Conviction The Jews in our Saviours time are not condemned simply for their unbelief but for not believing when there was such clear evidence offered to them So our Saviour himself says If I had not done amongst them the works which no other man did they had not had sin Thomas indeed is blamed for the perverseness of his unbelief because he would believe nothing but what he himself saw Lastly To shew this yet more plainly let us consider the great inconvenience and absurdity of declining the use of Reason in matters of Religion There can be no greater prejudice to Religion than to decline this tryal To say we have no Reason for our Religion is to say it is unreasonable Indeed it is Reason enough for any Article of our Faith that God hath revealed it because this is one of the strongest and most cogent reasons for the belief of any thing But when we say God hath revealed any thing we must be ready to prove it or else we say nothing If we turn off Reason here we level the best Religion in the World with the wildest and most absurd Enthusiams And it does not alter the case much to give Reason ill names to call it blind and carnal Reason Our best reason is but very short and imperfect But since it is no better we must make use of it as it is and make the best of it Before I pass from this Argument I cannot but observe that both the extremes of those who differ from our Church are generally great Declamers against the use of Reason in matters of Faith If they find their account in it 't is well for our parts we apprehend no manner of inconvenience in having Reason on our side nor need we to desire a better evidence that any Man is in the wrong than to hear him declare against Reason and thereby to acknowledge that reason is against him Men may vilifie Reason as much as they please and tho being reviled she reviles not again yet in a more still and gentle way she commonly hath her full revenge upon all those that rail at her I have often wonder'd that people can with patience endure to hear their Teachers and Guides talk against Reason and not only so but they pay them the greater submission and veneration for it One would think this but an odd way to gain authority over the minds of Men but some skilful and designing men have found by experience that it is a very good way to recommend them to the ignorant as Nurses use to endear themselves to Children by perpetual noise and nonsense III. I observe that God obligeth no Man to believe plain and evident Contradictions as matters of Faith Abraham could not reasonably have believed this second revelation to have been from God if he had not found some way to reconcile it with the first For tho a Man were never so much disposed to submit his Reason to divine Revelation yet it is not possible for any Man to believe God against God himself Some Men seem to think that they oblige God mightily by believing plain contradictions But the matter is quite otherwise He that made Man a reasonable Creature cannot take it kindly from any Man to debase his workmanship by making himself unreasonable And therefore as no service or obedience so no Faith is acceptable unto God but what is reasonable if it be not so it may be confidence or presumption but it is not Faith for he that can believe plain contradictions may believe any thing how absurd soever because nothing can be more absurd than the belief of a plain contradiction and he that can believe any thing believes nothing upon good grounds because to him Truth and Falsehood are all one 4. I observe that the great cause of the defect of Mens obedience is the weakness of their Faith Did we believe the commands of God in the Gospel and his promises and threatnings as firmly as Abraham believed God in this case what should we not be ready to do or suffer in obedience to him If our Faith were but as strong and vigorous as his was the effects of it would be as
Foundation of the Confession of Faith will proceed and what Testimonies and Proofs she chiefly intends to make use of for the Confirmation of Doctrines and Reformation of Manners in the Church And no doubt all Men do see very plainly to what purpose this Foundation is laid of so large a Rule of Faith And this being admitted how easie is it for them to confirm and prove whatever Doctrines and Practices they have a mind to establish But if this be a new and another Foundation than That which the Great Author and Founder of our Religion hath laid and built his Church upon viz. the Foundation of the Prophets and Apostles it is no matter what they build upon it And if they go about to prove any thing by the new parts of this Rule by the Apocryphal Books which they have added to the ancient Canon of the Scriptures brought down to us by the general Tradition of the Christian Church and by their pretended unwritten Traditions we do with Reason reject this kind of Proof and desire them first to prove their Rule before they pretend to prove any thing by it For we protest against this Rule as never declared and owned by the Christian Church nor proceeded upon by the ancient Fathers of the Church nor by any Council whatsoever before the Council of Trent In vain then doth the Church of Rome vaunt it self of the Antiquity of their Faith and Religion when the very Foundation and Rule of it is but of Yesterday a new thing never before known or heard of in the Christian World Whereas the Foundation and Rule of Our Religion is the Word of God contained in the Holy Scriptures to which Christians in all Ages have appealed as the only Rule of Faith and Life I proceed now to the 3. Thing I proposed viz. that we are to hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering against all the Temptations and Terrours of the World And this seems more especially and principally to be here intended by the Apostle in this Exhortation I shall first speak of the Temptations of the World And they are chiefly these Two the Temptation of Fashion and Example And of worldly Interest and Advantage 1. Of Fashion and Example This in Truth and Reality is no strong Argument and yet in Experience and Effect it is often found to be very powerful It is frequently seen that this hath many times too great an Influence upon weak and foolish Minds Men are apt to be carried down with the Stream and to follow a Multitude in that which is evil But more especially Men are prone to be swayed by great Examples and to bend themselves to such an Obsequiousness to their Superiours and Betters that in compliance with them they are ready not only to change their Affection to Persons and Things as They do but even their Judgment also and that in the greatest and weightest Matters even in Matters of Religion and the great concernments of another World But this surely is an Argument of a poor and mean Spirit and of a weak Understanding which leans upon the Judgment of another and is in truth the lowest degree of Servility that a reasonable Creature can stoop to and even beneath That of a Slave who in the midst of his Chains and Fetters doth still retain the Freedom of his Mind and Judgment But I need not to urge this upon considerate Persons who know better how to value their Duty and Obligation to God than to be tempted to do any thing contrary thereto meerly in compliance with Fashion and Example There are some Things in Religion so very plain that a wise and good Man would stand alone in the Belief and Practice of them and not be moved in the least by the contrary Example of the whole World It was a brave Resolution of Joshua though all Men should forsake the God of Israel and run aside to other Gods yet he would not do it Joshua 24. 15. If it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord chuse you this day whom you will serve But as for me and my House we will serve the Lord. It was well resolv'd of Peter if he had not been too confident of his own Strength when he said to our Saviour Though all Men forsake thee yet will not I. 2. Another sort of Temptation and which is commonly more Powerful than Example is worldly Interest and Advantage This is a mighty Bait to a great Part of Mankind and apt to work very strongly upon the Necessities of some and upon the Covetousness and Ambition of others Some Men are tempted by Necessity which many times makes them do ugly and reproachful Things and like Esau for a Morsel of Meat to sell their Birth-right and Blessing Covetousness tempts others to be of that Religion which gives them the prospect of the greatest Earthly Advantage either for the increasing or securing of their Estates When they find that they cannot serve God and Mammon they will forsake the one and cleave to the other This was one of the great Temptations to many in the Primitive Times and a frequent Cause of Apostacy from the Faith an eager Desire of Riches and too great a Value for them as St. Paul observes 1 Tim. 6. 9 10. But they that will be Rich fall into Temptation and a Snare and into many foolish and hurtful Lusts which drown Men in Destruction and Perdition For the Love of Money is the Root of all Evil which while some have coveted after they have erred or been seduced from the Faith and pierced themselves through with many Sorrows This was the Temptation which drew off Demas from his Religion as St. Paul tells us 2 Tim. 4. 10. Demas hath forsaken me having loved this present World Ambition is likewise a great Temptation to proud and aspiring Minds and makes many Men false to their Religion when they find it a hinderance to their Preferment and they are easily perswaded that That is the best Religion which is attended with the greatest worldly Advantages and will raise them to the highest Dignity The Devil understood very well the Force of this Temptation when he set upon our Saviour and therefore reserv'd it for the last Assault He shewed him all the Kingdoms of the Earth and the Glory of them and said to him All this will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me And when he saw this would not prevail he gave him over in despair and left him But though this be a very dazling Temptation yet there are Considerations of that Weight to be set over-against it from the Nature of Religion and the infinite Concernment of it to our immortal Souls as is sufficient to quench this fiery Dart of the Devil and to put all the Temptations of this World out of Countenance and to render all the Riches and Glory of it in comparison of the Eternal Happiness and Misery of the other World but as the very
small Dust upon the Balance What Temptation of this World can stand against that Argument of our Saviour if it be seriously weighed and considered What is a Man profited if he gain the whole World and lose his own Soul or what shall a Man give in exchange for his Soul If we would consider Things impartially and weigh them in a just and equal Balance the Things which concern our Bodies and this present Life are of no Consideration in comparison of the great and vast Concernments of our immortal Souls and the happy or miserable Condition of our Bodies and Souls to all Eternity And Religion is a Matter of this vast Concernment and therefore not to be bargained away and parted with by us for the greatest Things this World can offer There is no greater Sign of a sordid Spirit than to put a high Value upon Things of little Worth and no greater Mark of Folly than to make an unequal Bargain to part with Things of greatest Price for a slender and trifling Consideration As if a Man of great Fortune and Estate should sell the Inheritance of it for a Picture which when he hath it will not perhaps yield so much as will maintain him for one Year The Folly is so much the greater in Things of infinitely greater Value as for a Man to quit God and Religion to sell the Truth and his Soul and to part with his Everlasting Inheritance for a convenient Service for a good Customer and some present Advantage in his Trade and Profession or indeed for any Condition which the foolish Language of this World cal's a high Place or a great Preferment The Things which these Men part with upon these cheap Terms God and his Truth and Religion are to those who understand themselves and the just Value of their Immortal Souls Things of inestimable Worth and not to be parted with by a considerate Man for any Price that this World can bid And those who are to be bought out of their Religion upon such low Terms and so easily parted from it 't is much to be feared that they have little or no Religion to hold fast 2. As we are to hold fast the Profession of our Faith without wavering against the Temptations and Allurements of this World so likewise against the Terrors of it Fear is a Passion of great force and if Men be not very resolute and constant will be apt to stagger them and to move them from their stedfastness And therefore when the Case of Suffering and Persecution for the Truth happens we had need to hold fast the Profession of our Faith Our Saviour in the Parable of the Sower tells us that there were many that heard the Word and with joy received it but when Persecution and Tribulation arose because of the Word presently they were offended And though blessed be God this be not now our Case yet there was a Time when it was the general Case of Christians in the first beginning of Christianity and for several Ages after though with some Intermission and Intervals of Ease It was then a general Rule and the common Expectation of Christians That through many Tribulations they must enter into the Kingdom of God and that if any Man will live Godly in Christ Jesus he must suffer Persecution And in several Ages since those Primitive Times the sincere Professors of Religion have in divers places been exposed to most grievous Sufferings and Persecutions for the Truth And even at this day in several Places the faithful Servants of God are exercised with the sharpest and sorest Tryals that perhaps were ever heard of in any Age and for the sake of God and the constant Profession of his true Religion are tormented and killed all the day long and are accounted as Sheep for the slaughter It is Their hard Lot to be called to these cruel and bitter Sufferings and Our happy Opportunity to be call'd upon for their Relief Those of them I mean that have escaped that terrible Storm and Tempest and have taken Refuge and Sanctuary here among us and out of His Majesty's great Humanity and Goodness are by his Publick Letters recommended to the Charity of the whole Nation by the Name of Distressed Protestants Let us consider how much easier Our Lot and Our Duty is than Theirs as much as it is easier to compassionate the Sufferings and to relieve the Distresses of Others than to be such Sufferers and in such Distress Our Selves Let us make Their Case our Own and then we our selves will be the best Judges how it is fit for us to demean our selves towards them and to what degree we ought to extend our Charity and Compassion to them Let us put on their Case and Circumstances and suppose that We were the Sufferers and had fled to Them for Refuge the same Pity and Commiseration the same tender Regard and Consideration of our sad Case the same liberal and effectual Relief that we should desire and expect and be glad to have shewn and afforded to our selves let us give to them and then I am sure they will want no fitting Comfort and Support from us We enjoy blessed be the Goodness of God to us great Peace and Plenty and Freedom from Evil and Suffering And surely one of the best Means to have these Blessings continued to us and our Tranquility prolonged is to consider and relieve those who want the Blessings which we enjoy and the readiest way to provoke God to deprive us of these Blessings is to shut up the Bowels of our Compassion from our Distressed Brethren God can easily change the Scene and make our Sufferings if not in the same kind yet in one kind or other equal to theirs and then we shall remember the Afflictions of Joseph and say as his Brethren did when they fell into Trouble We are verily guilty concerning our Brother in that we saw the anguish of his Soul when he besought us and we would not hear therefore is this Distress come upon us God alone knows what Storms the Devil may yet raise in the World before the End of it And therefore it concerns all Christians in all Times and Places who have taken upon them the Profession of Christ's Religion to consider well before-hand and to calculate the Dangers and Sufferings it may expose them to and to arm our selves with Resolution and Patience against the fiercest Assaults of Temptation considering the Shortness of all Temporal Afflictions and Sufferings in comparison of the Eternal and Glorious Reward of them and the Lightness of them too in comparison of the endless and intolerable Torments of another World to which every Man exposeth himself who forsakes God and renounceth his Truth and wounds his Conscience to avoid Temporal Sufferings And though Fear in many Cases especially if it be of Death and extream Suffering be a great Excuse for several Actions because it may Cadere in constantem virum happen to a resolute Man Yet in
giving heed to seducing Spirits and Doctrines of Devils So that the particular kind of Idolatry into which some part of the Christian Church should apostatize is here pointed at That they should worship Souls departed or the Spirits of dead Men which was part of the Heathen Idolatry into which the People of Israel did frequently relapse So that the Spirit of God doth here foretel such an Apostasie in some part of the Christian Church as the People of Israel were guilty of in falling into the Heathen Idolatry They shall be Worshipers of the Dead as the Israelites also were And this is the great and dangerous Seduction which the Christians are so much cautioned against in the New Testament and charged to hold fast the profession of the Faith against the cunning Arts and Insinuations of seducing Spirits not but as I said before that we are always to have an Ear open to Reason and to be ready to hearken and to yield to That whenever it is fairly proposed But to be over-reached and rooked out of one's Religion by little Sophistical Arts and Tricks is Childish and silly After we are upon due Trial and Examination of the Grounds of our Religion settled and established in it we ought not to suffer our selves to be removed from it by the groundless Pretences of Confident People to Infallibility and to be practised upon by Cunning Men who lie at catch to make Proselytes to their Party This is to be like Children tossed to and fro and carried about with every Wind of Doctrine And we ought to be the more careful of our selves because there never was any time wherein seducing Spirits were more bold and busie to pervert Men from the Truth Against These we should hold fast our Religion as a Man would do his Money in a Crowd It passeth in the World for a great Mark of Folly when a Man and his Money are soon parted But it is a sign of much greater Folly for a Man easily to quit his Religion especially to be caught by some such gross Methods as the Seducers I am speaking of commonly use and which lie so very open to Suspicion such as ill-designing Men are wont to practise upon a young Heir when they have insinuated themselves into his Company to make a Prey of him They charge him to tell no body in what Company he hath been not to ask the Counsel and Advice of his Friends concerning what they have been persuading him to because they for their own Interest will be sure to disswade him from it Just thus do these Seducers practise upon weak People They charge them not to acquaint their Minister with whom they have been nor what Discourse they have had about Religion nor what Books have been put into their Hands because then all their kind Design and Intention towards them will be defeated But above all they must be sure to read no Books on the other side because they are no competent Judges of Points of Faith and this reading on both sides will rather confound than clear their Understandings They tell them that they have stated the matter truly and would not for all the World deceive them and they may easily perceive by their earnest Application to them that nothing but Charity and a passionate desire of the Salvation of their Souls makes them take all these Pains with them But this is so gross a way of proceeding that any Man of common understanding must needs discern by this kind Treatment that these Men can have no honest Design upon them To come then to a more particular Consideration of the Arts and Methods which they use I mean particularly those of the Church of Rome in making Proselytes to their Religion As 1. In allowing them to be very competent and sufficient Judges for themselves in the Choice of their Church and Religion that is which is the True Church and Religion in which alone Salvation is to be had and yet telling them at the same time that they are utterly incapable of judging of particular Doctrines and Points of Faith and Practice but for these they must rely upon the Judgment of an Infallible Church when they are in it otherwise they will certainly run into damnable Errors and Mistakes about these things And they must of necessity allow them to be sufficient Judges for themselves in the Choice of their Religion as will be evident by considering in what Method they proceed with their intended Proselyte They propose to him to change his Church and his Religion because he is in the wrong and they will shew him a better and such a one as is the only True one and in which alone Salvation is to be had To perswade him hereto they offer him some Reasons and Arguments or give him Books to read containing Arguments to move him to make this Change to satisfie him of the Reasonableness and to convince him of the Necessity of it Now by this way of proceeding and they can take no other they do whether they will or no make the Person whom they are endeavouring to convert a Judge for himself which Church and Religion is best that which they would have him embrace and come over to or that which they would perswade him to forsake For to what end else do they offer him Reasons and Arguments to perswade him to leave our Church and to come over to theirs but that he may consider the Force and Weight of them and having considered them may judge whether they be of force sufficient to over-rule him to make this Change So that as unwilling as they are to make particular Persons judge for themselves about Points of Faith and about the Sense of Scripture confirming those Points because this is to leave every Man to his own private Spirit and Fancy and giddy Brain yet they are compelled by Necessity and against their own Principles to allow a Man in this case of chusing his Religion to be a Judge of the Reasons and Arguments which they offer to induce him thereto So that whether they will or no they must permit him to be a Judge for himself for this once but not to make a Practice of it or to pretend this Priviledge ever after For in acknowledgment of this great Favour of being permitted to judge for himself this once which they do unwillingly grant him and upon meer Necessity he is for ever after to resign up his Judgment to the Church And tho this Liberty be allowed pro hâc vice and properly to serve a turn i. e. in order to the changing of his Religion yet he is to understand that he is no fit and competent Judge of particular Points of Faith these he must all learn from the True Church when he is in it and take them upon her Authority and in so doing he shall do very prudently because She is infallible and cannot be deceived but He may But is there any Sense in all this that
Profession of our Faith without wavering is not meant that those who are capable of examining the Grounds and Reasons of their Religion should blindly hold it fast against the best Reasons that can be offered because upon these terms every Man must continue in the Religion in which he happens to be fixt by Education or an ill choice be his Religion true or false without Examining and looking into it whether it be right or wrong for till a Man examines every Man thinks his Religion right That which the Apostle here exhorts Christians to hold fast is the Ancient Faith of which all Christians make a solemn profession in their Baptism as plainly appears from the context And this Profession of our Faith we are to hold in the following instances which I shall but briefly mention without enlarging upon them 1. We are to hold fast the Profession of our Faith against the Confidence of Men without Scripture or Reason to support that Confidence 2. And much more against the Confidence of Men contrary to plain Scripture and Reason and to the common Sense of Mankind 3. Against all the Temptations and Terrors of the World against the Temptations of Fashion and Example and of Worldly Interest and Advantage and against all Terrors and Sufferings of Persecution 4. Against all vain promises of being put into a safer condition and groundless hopes of getting to Heaven upon easier terms than the Gospel hath proposed in some other Church and Religion Lastly We are to hold fast the Profession of our Faith without wavering against all the cunning Arts and Insinuations of busie and disputing Men whose design it is to unhinge Men from their Religion and to make Proselytes to their Party and Faction But without entring into these particulars I shall in order to Establishment in the Reformed Religion which we profess in opposition to the Errors and Corruptions of the Church of Rome apply my self at this time to make a short comparison betwixt the Religion which we profess and that of the Church of Rome That we may discern on which side the advantage of Truth lies and in making this comparison I shall insist upon Three things which will bring the matter to an issue and are I think sufficient to determine every sober and considerate Man which of these he ought in Reason and with regard to the safety of his Soul to embrace And they are these I. That we govern our Belief and Practice in matters of Religion by the true ancient Rule of Christianity the Word of God contained in the Holy Scriptures But the Church of Rome for the maintenance of their Errors and Corruptions have been forced to devise a new Rule never owned by the Primitive Church nor by the Ancient Fathers and Councils of it II. That the Doctrines and Practices in difference betwixt us and the Church of Rome are either contrary to this Rule or destitute of the Warrant and Authority of it and are plain Additions to the ancient Christianity and Corruptions of it III. That our Religion hath many clear Advantages of that of the Church of Rome not only very considerable in themselves but very obvious and discernable to an ordinary capacity upon the first proposal of them I shall be as brief in these as I can I. That we govern our belief and Practice in matters of Religion by the true ancient Rule of Christianity the Word of God contain'd in the Holy Scriptures But the Church of Rome for the maintaining of their Errors and Corruptions have been forced to devise a new Rule never owned by the Primitive Church nor by the Ancient Councils and Fathers of it That is they have joined with the Word of God contained in the Holy Scriptures the unwritten Traditions of their Church concerning several points of their Faith and Practice which they acknowledge cannot be proved from Scripture and these they call the unwritten Word of God and the Council of Trent hath decreed them to be of equal Authority with the Holy Scriptures and that they do receive and venerate them with the same pious Affection and Reverence and all this contrary to the express declaration and unanimous consent of all the Ancient Councils and Fathers of the Christian Church as I have already shewn and this never declar'd to be a point of Faith till it was decreed not much above a Hundred Years ago in the Council of Trent and this surely if any thing is a Matter of great consequence to presume to alter the Ancient Rule of Christian Doctrine and Practice and to enlarge it and add to it at their pleasure But the Church of Rome having made so great a change in the Doctrine and Practice of Christianity it became consequently necessary to make a change of the Rule And therefore with great Reason did the Council of Trent take this into consideration in the first place and put it in the front of their Decrees because it was to be the foundation and main proof of the following Definitions of Faith and Decrees of Practice for which without this new Rule there had been no colour II. The Doctrines and Practices in difference betwixt us and the Church of Rome are either contrary to the true Rule or destitute of the Warrant and Authority of it and plain Additions to the Ancient Christianity and Corruptions of it the Truth of this will best appear by instancing in some of the principal Doctrines and Practices in difference betwixt us As for their two great Fundamental Doctrines of the Supremacy of the Bishop of Rome over all the Christians in the world and the Infallibility of their Church there is not one word in Scripture concerning these Priviledges nay it is little less than a demonstration that they have no such Priviledges that St. Paul in a long Epistle to the Church of Rome takes no notice of them That the Church of Rome either then was or was to be soon after the Mother and Mistress of all Churches which is now grown to be an Article of Faith in the Church of Rome and yet it is hardly to be imagined that he could have omitted to take notice of such remarkable Priviledges of their Bishops and Church above any in the world had he known they had belonged to them So that in all probability he was ignorant of those mighty Prerogatives of the Church of Rome otherwise it cannot be but that he would have written with more deference and submission to this Seat of Infallibility and Center of Unity he would certainly have paid a greater Respect to this Mother and Mistress of all Churches where the Head of the Church and Vicar of Christ either was already seated or by the appointment of Christ was designed for ever to fix his Throne and establish his Residence but there is not one word or the least intimation of any such thing throughout this whole Epistle nor in any other part of the New Testament Besides that both these pretended
them by Faith for our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory whilst we look not at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen And he resumes the same Argument again at the beginning of this Chapter for we know that if our Earthly House of this Tabernacle were dissolved we have a Building of God a House not made with Hands eternal in the Heavens that is we are firmly perswaded that when we die we shall but exchange these Earthly and Perishing Bodies these Houses of Clay for a Heavenly Mansion which will never decay nor come to ruine from whence he concludes Verse 6. Therefore we are always confident 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 therefore what ever happens to us we are always of good courage and see no reason to be afraid of Death knowing that whilst we are at home in the Body we are absent from the Lord that is since our continuance in the Body is to our disadvantage and while we live we are absent from our Happiness and when we die we shall then enter upon the Possession of it That which gives us this confidence and good courage is our Faith for tho' we be not actually possest of this Happiness which we speak of yet we have a firm perswasion of the reality of it which is enough to support our Spirits and keep up our Courage under all afflictions and adversities whatsoever Verse 7. for we walk by Faith not by Sight These words come in by way of Parenthesis in which the Apostle declares in general what is the swaying and governing Principle of a Christian life not only in case of persecution and affliction but under all events and in every condition of Humane life and that is Faith in opposition to Sight and present Enjoyment we walk by Faith and not by Sight We walk by Faith what ever Principle sways and governs a Mans life and actions he is said to walk and live by it And as here a Christian is said to walk by Faith so elsewhere the just is said to live by Faith Faith is the Principle which animates all his resolutions and actions And not by Sight The word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies the thing it self in present view and possession in opposition to a firm perswasion of things future and invisible Sight is the thing in Hand and Faith the thing only in Hope and Expectation Sight is a clear view and apprehension of things present and near to us Faith an obscure discovery and apprehension of things at a distance So the Apostle tells us 2 Cor. 13. 12. Now we see through a Glass darkly this is Faith but then face to face this is present sight as one Man sees another face to face and thus likewise the same Apostle distinguisheth betwixt Hope and Sight Rom. 8. 24. 25. Hope that is seen is not Hope for what a Man sees why doth he yet Hope for it but if we Hope for that which we see not then do we with patience wait for it Sight is possession and enjoyment Faith is the firm perswasion and expectation of a thing and this the Apostle tells us was the governing principle of a Christian's life for we walk by Faith and not by Sight from which words I shall observe these Three things I. That Faith is the Governing Principle and that which bears the great sway in the Life and Actions of a Christian we walk by Faith that is we Order and Govern our Lives in the Power and Virtue of this Principle II. Faith is a degree of assent inferiour to that of Sense This is sufficient-intimated in the opposition betwixt Faith and Sight He had said before that whilst we are at home in the Body we are absent from the Lord and gives this as a Reason and Proof of our absence from the Lord for we walk by Faith and not by Sight that is whilst we are in the Body we do not see and enjoy but believe and expect if we were present with the Lord then Faith would cease and be turned into Sight but tho' we have not that assurance of another world which we shall have when we come to see and enjoy these things yet we are firmly perswaded of them III. Notwithstanding Faith be an inferiour degree of Assurance yet 't is a Principle of sufficient power to govern our Lives we walk by Faith it is such an Assurance as hath an influence upon our Lives I. That Faith is the Governing Principle and that which bears the great sway in the Life and Actions of a Christian We walk by Faith that is we Order and Govern our Lives in the Power and Virtue of this Principle A Christian's Life consists in obedience to the will of God that is in a readiness to do what he commands and in a willingness to suffer what he calls us to and the great Arguments and Incouragements hereto are such things as are the Objects of Faith and not of Sense such things as are absent and future and not present and in possession for Instance the Belief of an invisible God of a secret Power and Providence that Orders and Governs all things that can bless or blast us and all our Designs and Undertakings according as we demean our selves towards him and endeavour to approve our selves to him the Perswasion of a secret aid and influence always ready at hand to keep us from Evil and to strengthen and assist us to that which is good more especially the firm Belief and expectation of the Happiness of Heaven and the glorious Rewards of another world which tho' they be now at a distance and invisible to us yet being grounded upon the Promise of God that cannot lie shall certainly be made good And this Faith this firm Perswasion of absent and invisible things the Apostle to the Hebrews tells us was the great Principle of the Piety and Virtue of good Men from the beginning of the World This he calls Ch. 11. verse 1. the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or the confident expectation of things hoped for and the proof or evidence of things not seen viz. a firm perswasion of the Being and Providence of God and of the Truth and Faithfulness of his Promises Such was the Faith of Abel he believed that there was a God and that he was a rewarder of those that faithfully serve him Such was the Faith of Noah who being warned of God of things at a great distance and not seen as yet notwithstanding believed the Divine Prediction concerning the Flood and prepared an Ark Such also was the Faith of Abraham concerning a numerous Posterity by Isaac and the Inheritance of the Land of Canaan and such likewise was the Faith of Moses he did as firmly believe the invisible God and the recompence of reward as if he had beheld them with his eyes And of this Recompence of Reward we Christians have
Virtues doth in its own Nature tend both to the Welfare of Particular Persons and to the Peace and Prosperity of Mankind But that which ought to weigh very much with us is That we have abundantly more Assurance of the Recompence of another World than we have of many things in this World which yet have a greater Influence upon our Actions and govern the Lives of the most prudent and considerate Men. Men generally hazard their Lives and Estates upon Terms of greater Uncertainty than the Assurance which we have of another World Men venture to take Physick upon probable Grounds of the Integrity and Skill of their Physician and yet the want of either of these may hazard their Lives and Men take Physick upon greater Odds for it certainly causeth Pain and Sickness and doth but uncertainly procure and recover Health the Patient is sure to be made sick but not certain to be made well and yet the Danger of being worse if not of dying on the one Hand and the Hope of Success and Recovery on the other make this Hazard and Trouble reasonable Men venture their whole Estates to Places which they never saw and that there are such Places they have only the concurrent Testimony and Agreement of Men nay perhaps have only spoken with them that have spoken with those that have been there No Merchant ever insisted upon the Evidence of a Miracle to be wrought to satisfie him that there were such Places as the East and West-Indies before he would venture to Trade thither And yet this Assurance God hath been pleased to give the World of a state beyond the Grave and of a blessed Immortality in another Life Now what can be the Reason that so slender Evidence so small a degree of Assurance will serve to encourage Men to seek after the things of this World with great Care and Industry and yet a great deal more will not suffice to put them effectually upon looking after the great Concernments of another World which are infinitely more considerable No other Reason of this can be given but that Men are partial in their Affections towards these things It is plain they have not the same Love for God and Religion which they have for this World and the Advantages of it and therefore it is that a less degree of Assurance will engage them to seek after the one than the other and yet the Reason is much stronger on the other side For the greater the Benefit and Good is which is offered to us we should be the more eager to seek after it and should be content to venture upon less Probability Upon excessive Odds a Man would venture upon very small Hopes for a mighty Advantage a Man would be content to run a great Hazard of his Labour and Pains upon little Assurance Where a Man's Life is concern'd every Suspicion of Danger will make a Man careful to avoid it And will nothing affright Men from Hell unless God carry them thither and shew them the place of Torments and the Flames of that Fire which shall never be quenched I do not speak this as if these things had not abundant Evidence I have shewn that they have but to convince Men how unreasonable and cruelly partial they are about the Concernments of their Souls and their Eternal Happiness 2. Supposing these things to be real and certain they are of infinite Concernment to us For what can concern us more than that Eternal and Unchangeable State in which we must be fixt and abide for ever If so vast a Concern will not move us and have no Influence upon the Government of our Lives and Actions we do not deserve the Name of Reasonable Creatures What Consideration can be set before Men who are not touched with the Sense of so great an Interest as that of our Happy or Miserable Being to all Eternity Can we be so solicitous and careful about the Concernment of a few Days and is it nothing to us what becomes of us for ever Are we so tenderly concerned to avoid Poverty and Disgrace Persecution and Suffering in this World and shall we not much more flee from the wrath which is to come and endeavour to escape the damnation of Hell Are the slight and transitory Enjoyments of this World worth so much Thought and Care And is an Eternal Inheritance in the Heavens not worth the looking after As there is no Proportion betwixt the things which are Temporal and the things which are Eternal so we ought in all Reason to be infinitely more concerned for the One than for the Other The proper Inference from all this Discourse is That we would endeavour to strengthen in our selves this great Principle of a Christian Life the Belief of another World by representing to our selves all those Arguments and Considerations which may confirm us in this Perswasion The more reasonable our Faith is and the surer grounds it is built upon the more firm it will abide when it comes to the tryal against all the impressions of temptations and assaults of Persecution If our Faith of another World be only a strong imagination of these things so soon as tribulation ariseth it will wither because it hath no root in it self Upon this account the Apostle so often exhorts Christians to endeavour to be establisht in the Truth to be rooted and grounded in the Faith that when Persecution comes they may continue stedfast and unmovable The firmness of our Belief will have a great influence upon our Lives if we be stedfast and unmovable in our perswasion of these things we shall be abundant in the work of the Lord. The Apostle joins these together 1 Cor. 15. 58. Wherefore my beloved Brethren be ye stedfast and unmovable always abounding in the work of the Lord forasmuch as ye know your labour shall not be in vain in the Lord. Stedfast and unmovable in what In the belief of a blessed Resurrection which the more firmly any Man believes the more active and industrious will he be in the Work and Service of God And that our Faith may have a constant and powerful influence upon our Lives we should frequently revolve in our Minds the thoughts of another World and of that vast Eternity which we shall shortly launch into The great disadvantage of the Arguments fetcht from another world is this That these things are at a distance from us and not sensible to us and therefore we are not apt to be so affected with them Present and sensible things weigh down all other Considerations And therefore to balance this disadvantage we should often have these Thoughts in our Minds and inculcate upon our selves the certainty of these things and the infinite concernment of them we should reason thus with our selves if these things be true and will certainly be why should they not be to me as if they were actually present Why should not I always live as if Heaven were open to my view and I saw
you and would pervert the Gospel of Christ but tho we or an Angel from Heaven preach any other Gospel to you than that which we have preached let him be accursed And those who were seduced by these Teachers he chargeth them with having in some sort quitted the Gospel of Christ and embraced another Gospel V. 6. I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the Grace of Christ unto another Gospel So that they who thus pervert and corrupt the Christian Doctrine or Worship are plainly guilty of a partial Apostasie from Christianity and they who quit the purity of the Christian Doctrine and Worship and go over to the Communion of those who have thus perverted Christianity are in a most dangerous state and in the Judgment of St. Paul are in some sort removed unto another Gospel I shall now proceed in the III. Place to consider the Heinousness of this Sin And it will appear to be very Heinous if we consider what an affront it is to God and how great a contempt of him when God hath revealed his will to Mankind and sent no less Person than his own Son out of his own Bosom to do it and hath given such Testimonies to him from Heaven by signs and wonders and divers miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost when he hath transmitted down to us so Faithful a Record of this Revelation and of the Miracles wrought to confirm it in the Books of the Holy Scriptures and when we our selves have so often declared our firm belief of this Revelation yet after all this to fall from it and deny it or any part of it or to embrace Doctrines and Practices plainly contrary to it This certainly cannot be done without the greatest affront and contempt of the Testimonies of God himself for it is in effect and by interpretation to declare that either we do not believe what God says or that we do not fear what he can do So St. John tells us 1 Ep. 5. 10. He that believeth not God hath made him a Lyar because he believeth not the record which God hath given of his Son And all along in this Epistle to the Hebrews the Apostle sets himself to aggravate this Sin calling it an Evil Heart of unbelief to depart from the living God Ch. 3 12. And he frequently calls it so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and by way of eminency as being of all Sins the greatest and most heinous Ch. 10. 26. If we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the Truth That the Apostle here speaks of the Sin of Apostasie is plain from the whole scope of his discourse for having exhorted them before v. 23. to hold fast the Profession of their Faith without wavering not forsaking the assembling of themselves together he immediately adds for if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the Truth that is if we fall off from Christianity after we have embraced it And Ch. 12 1. let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily besets us that is the great Sin of Apostasie from Religion to which they were then so strongly tempted by that fierce Persecution which attended it and therefore he adds let us run with patience the race which is set before us that is let us arm our selves with patience against the Sufferings we are like to meet with in our Christian course To oppose the Truth and resist the clear Evidence of it is a great Sin and Men are justly condemned for it John 3. 19. This is the condemnation that light is come into the World and men loved darkness rather than light But to desert the Truth after we have been convinced of it to fall off from the Profession of it after we have embraced it is a much greater Sin Opposition to the Truth may proceed in a great measure from ignorance and prejudice which is a great extenuation and therefore St. Paul tells us that after all his violent Persecution of Christianity he found Mercy because he did it ignorantly and in unbelief To revolt from the Truth after we have made profession of it after we have known the way of righteousness to turn from the holy commandment this is the great aggravation The Apostle makes wilfulness an usual ingredient into the Sin of Apostasie if we sin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the Truth And as this Sin is one of the greatest affronts to God so it is the highest and most effectual disparagement of Religion for it is not so much considered what the Enemies of Religion speak against it because they speak evil of the things which they know not and of which they have had no Tryal and Experience but he that falls off from Religion after he hath made profession of it declares to the World that he hath tryed it and dislikes it and pretends to leave it because he hath not found that Truth and Goodness in it which he expected and upon long experience of it sees reason to prefer another Religion before it So that nothing can be more despiteful to Religion than this and more likely to bring it into contempt and therefore the Apostle v. 29. of this Chapter calls it a trampling under foot the Son of God and making the Blood of the Covenant a profane thing and offering despite to the Spirit of Grace for we cannot put a greater Scorn upon the Son of God who revealed this Doctrine to the World nor upon his Blood which was shed to confirm and seal the Truth of it and upon the Holy Ghost who came down in miraculous Gifts to give Testimony to it than notwithstanding all this to renounce this Doctrine and to forsake this Religion But we shall yet farther see the heinousness of this Sin in the terrible Punishment it exposeth Men to which was the IV. And Last thing I proposed to consider And this is represented to us in a most terrible manner not only in this Epistle but in other Places of Scripture This Sin is placed in the highest rank of pardonable Sins and next to the Sin against the Holy Ghost which our Saviour declares to be absolutely unpardonable And indeed the Scripture speaks very doubtfully of the pardonableness of this Sin as being near akin to that against the Holy Ghost being said to be an Offering despite to the Spirit of Grace In the 6th Chapter of this Epistle V. 4 5 6. the Apostle speaks in a very severe manner concerning the state of those who had apostatized from Christianity after the solemn Profession of it in Baptism it is impossible for those who were once enlightned that is baptized and have tasted of the Heavenly Gift that is Regeneration and were made Partakers of the Holy Ghost and have tasted the good Word of God and the Powers of the World to come that is have been instructed in the Christan Religion and endowed with the miraculous Powers of the Gospel-Age
to turn them into jest and raillery this is not only a Renouncing of Christianity the Religion which God hath revealed but even of the Religion which is born with us and the Principles and Notions which God hath planted in every Man's Mind this is an Impiety of the First Magnitude and not to be mentioned without grief and horror and this it is to be feared hath had a great hand in those great Calamities which our eyes have seen and I pray God it do not draw down still more and greater Judgments upon this Nation But I hope there are none here that need to be cautioned against this horrible impiety and highest degree of Apostasie from the living God that which People are much more in danger of is Apostasie from the Purity of the Christian Doctrine and Worship so happily recovered by a regular Reformation and establisht amongst us by all the Authority that Laws both Ecclesiastical and Civil can give it and which in Truth is no other than the Ancient and Primitive Christianity I say a defection from this to those gross Errors and Superstitions which the Reformation had paired off and freed us from I do not say that this is a total Apostasie from Christianity but it is a partial Apostasie and Defection and a very dangerous one and that those who after they have received the knowledge of the truth fall off from it into those Errors and Corruptions are highely guilty before God and their condition certainly worse and more dangerous than of those who where brought up in those Errors and Superstitions and never knew better for there are terrible threatnings in Scripture against those who fall away from the Truth which they once embraced and were convinced of If we sin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth c. and if any man draw back my soul shall have no pleasure in him God considers every Man's Advantages and Opportunities of Knowledge and their Disadvantages likewise and makes all reasonable Allowances for them and for Men to continue in the Errors they have been always brought up in or which comes much to one in Errors which they were led into by Principles early infused into them before they were in any measure competent Judges of those matters I say for such Persons to continue in these Errors and to oppose and reject the contrary Truths against which by their Education they have received so strong and violent a Prejudice this may be in a great degree excusable and find Pardon with God upon a general Repentance for all Sins both known and unknown and cannot be reasonably charged with the Guilt of this great Sin of Apostasie But not to abide in the Truth after we have entertain'd and profess'd it having sufficient Means and Advantages of knowing it hath no Excuse I would not be rash in condemning Particular Persons of any Society or Communion of Christians provided they be sincerely devout and just and sober to the best of their Knowledge I had much rather leave them to God whose mercies are great than to pass an uncharitable Censure upon them as to their Eternal State and Condition But the Case is far otherwise where the Oportunities of Knowledge are afforded to Men and men love darkness rather than light for they who have the Means and Advantages of knowing their Master's will are answerable to God as if they had known it because if they had not been grosly negligent and wanting to themselves they might have known it And this I fear is the Case of the generality of those who have been bred up to years of Consideration and Choice in the Reformed Religion and forsake it because they do it without sufficient Reason and there are invincible Objections against it They do it without sufficient Reason because every one amongst us knows or may know upon very little Enquiry that we hold all the Articles of the Faith which are contained in the Ancient Creeds of the Christian Church and into which all Christians are baptized that we inculcate upon Men the Necessity of a Good Life and of sincere Repentance and perfect Contrition for our Sins such as is follow'd with real Reformation and Amendment of our Lives and that without this no Man can be saved by any Device whatsoever Now what Reason can any Man have to question whether he may be saved in that Faith which saved the first Christians and by believing the Twelve Articles of the Apostles Creed tho he cannot swallow the Twelve Articles which are added to it in the Creed of Pope Pius IV. every one of which besides many and great Corruptions and Superstitions in Worship are so many and invincible Objections against the Communion of the Roman Church as I could particularly shew if it had not been already done in so many learned Treatises upon this Argument What is there then that should move any reasonable Man to forsake the Communion of our Church and to quit the Reformed Religion There are Three things chiefly with which they endeavour to amuse and affright weaker Minds 1. A great Noise of Infallibility which they tell us is so excellent a means to determine and put an end to all Differences To which I shall at present only object this Prejudice That there are not wider and hotter Differences among us about any thing whatsoever than are amongst them about this admirable means of ending all Differences as where this Infallibility is feated that Men may know how to have recourse to it for the ending of Differences 2. They endeavour to fright Men with the danger of Schism But every Man knows that the Guilt of Schism lies at their Door who impose sinful Articles of Communion and not upon them who for fear of sinning against God cannot submit to those Articles which we have done and are still ready to make good to be the Case betwixt us and the Church of Rome But 3. The terrible Engine of all is their positive and confident damning of all that live and die out of the Communion of their Church This I have fully spoken to upon another Occasion and therefore shall only say at present that every Man ought to have better Thoughts of God than to believe that he who delighteh not in the death of sinners and would have all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth will confirm the Sentence of such uncharitable Men as take upon them to condemn Men for those things for which our Saviour in his Gospel condemns no Man And of all things in the World one would think that the Uncharitableness of any Church should be an Argument to no Man to run into its Communion I shall conclude with the Apostle's Exhortation ver 23. of this Chapter Let us hold fast the profession of our Faith without wavering and provoke one another to charity and good works and so much the more because the Day approacheth in which God will judge the faith
this Blessed State of Good Men in another World so hath he likewise assur'd us that greater Degrees of this Happiness shall be the Portion of Those who suffer for Him and his Truth Mat. 5. 10 11 12. Blessed are they which are persecuted for Righteousness sake for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and speak all manner of evil against you falsly for my Names sake Rejoyce and be exceeding glad for great is your Reward in Heaven And nothing surely can be more Reasonable than to part with things of Small Value for things infinitely Greater and more Considerable to forego the Transient Pleasures and Enjoyments and the Imperfect Felicities of this World for the Solid and Perfect and Perpetual Happiness of a Better Life and to exchange a Short and Miserable Life for Eternal Life and Blessedness in a word to be content to be driven Home to be banisht out of this World into our own Native Country and to be violently thrust out of this Vale of Tears into those Regions of Bliss where are Joys unspeakable and full of Glory This Consideration St. Paul tells us supported the Primitive Christians under their sharpest and heaviest Sufferings 2 Cor. 4. 16. For this cause says he we faint not because our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory whilst we look not at the things which are seen but the things which are not seen for the things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal So that our Sufferings bear no more Proportion to the Reward of them than Finite does to Infinite than Temporal to Eternal between which there is no Proportion All that now remains is to draw some useful Inferences from what hath been Discoursed concerning this great and difficult Duty of Self-denial for the sake of Christ and his Religion and they shall be these following 1. To acknowledg the great Goodness of God to us that all these Laws and Commands even the Hardest and Severest of them are so reasonable God as he is our Maker and gave us our Beings hath an Entire and Soveraign Right over us and by virtue of that Right might have imposed very Hard things upon us and this without the giving Account to us of any of his matters and without propounding any Reward to us so vastly disproportionable to our Obedience to him But in giving Laws to us he hath not made use of this Right The most Severe and Rigorous Commands of the Gospel are such that we shall be infinitely Gainers by our Obedience to them If we deny our selves any thing in this World for Christ and his Religion we shall in the next be considered for it to the Utmost not only far beyond what it can Deserve but beyond what we can Conceive or Imagine For this perishing Life and the transitory Trifles and Enjoyments of it we shall receive a Kingdom which cannot be shaken an uncorruptible Crown which fadeth not away Eternal in the Heavens For these are Faithful Sayings and we shall Infallibly find them true That if we suffer with Christ we shall also reign with him if we be persecuted for righteousness sake great shall be our reward in Heaven if we part with our Temporal Life we shall be made Partakers of Eternal Life He that is firmly persuaded of the Happiness of the next World and believes the Glory which shall then be revealed hath no Reason to be so much offended at the Sufferings of this Present time so long as he knows and believes that these Light afflictions which are but for a Moment will work for him a for more Exceeding and Eternal Weight of Glory 2. Seeing this is required of every Christian to be always in a Preparation and Disposition of Mind to deny our selves and to take up our Cross if we do in good earnest resolve to be Christians we ought to fit down and consider well with our selves what our Religion will cost us and whether we be content to come up to the Price of it If we value any thing in this World above Christ and his Truth we are not worthy of him If it come to this that we must either renounce Him and his Religion or quit our temporal Interests if we be not ready to forego these nay and to part even with Life it self rather than to forsake Him and his Truth we are not worthy of him These are the Terms of our Christianity and therefore we are required in Baptism solemnly to renounce the World And our Saviour from this very Consideration infers That all who take upon them the Profession of his Religion should consider seriously beforehand and count the cost of it Luke 14. 28. Which of you says he intending to build a Tower sitteth not down first and counteth the cost whether he have sufficient to finish it Or what King going to war with another King doth not sit down and consult whether with 10000 he be able to meet him that cometh against him with 20000. So likewise whosoever he be that forsaketh not all he hath cannot be my Disciple You see the Terms upon which we are Christians we must always be prepared in the Resolution of our Minds to deny our selves and take up our Cross tho we are not Actually put upon this Tryal 3. What hath been said is matter of great Comfort and Encouragement to all those who deny themselves and suffer upon so good an Account of whom God knows there are too great a Number at this Day in several parts of the World Some under actual Sufferings such as cannot but move Compassion and Horror in all that hear of them Others who are fled hither and into other Countries for Refuge and Shelter from one of the sharpest Persecutions that perhaps ever was if all the Circumstances of it be duly considered But not to enlarge upon so unpleasant a Theam they who suffer for the Truth and Righteousness sake have all the Comfort and Encouragement that the best Example and the greatest and most glorious Promises of God can give They have the best Example in their view Jesus the Author and Finisher of their Faith who endured the Cross and despised the Shame So that how great and terrible soever their Sufferings be they do but tread in the Steps of the Son of God and of the best and holiest Man that ever was and He who is their great Example in Suffering will likewise be their Support and their exceeding great Reward So that tho Suffering for Christ be accounted great Self-denyal and he is graciously pleased so to accept it because in denying things Present and Sensible for things Future and Invisible we do not only declare our Affection to him but our great Faith and Confidence in him by shewing that we rely upon his Word and venture all upon the Security which he offers us in
among whom we should shame as Lights The same Argument St. Peter useth 1 Pet. 2. 11 12. I beseech you as Pilgrims and Strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts having your Conversation honest among the Gentiles that is Considering that you are among Strangers and Enemies and therefore ought to be very careful to bring no Scandal upon your Holy Profession among those who will be ready to take all advantages against you Particularly we who pretend to the same Heavenly Country must be kind to one another and whilst we live among Strangers have no Quarrels amongst our Selves In a Strange Country it useth to be a Mighty Endearment of Men to one another that they are of the same Country and Fellow Citizens and this alone is commonly sufficient to unite their Affections and to link their Interests together But how little of this is to be seen among Christians how shamefully do they Quarrel among themselves in the midst of Enemies and Strangers as if they had no Relation to one another and never expected to meet at last in the same Country and there to live together for ever III. Let us be as Patient and Chearful as we can under all the Troubles and Afflictions which we meet with in this Life They who are in Strange Countries must expect to encounter many Injuries and Affronts and to be put to great Difficulties and Hardships Those which are lighter and more tolerable we must bear with Chearfulness Upon a Journey Men use to put on all the Pleasantness they can and to make Sport of all the Inconveniences of the Ways and Weather and little cross Accidents that befall them And thus if we had but the Art and Wisdom to do it many of the lesser Inconveniences of Humane Life might well enough be play'd off and made matter rather of Mirth and Diversion than of Melancholy and serious Trouble But there are some Evils and Calamities of Humane Life that are too heavy and serious to be Jested withal and require the greatest Consideration and a very great degree of Patience to Support us under them and enable us to bear them Decently as the Loss of Friends and dearest Relations as the Loss of an Only Son grown up to be well fixt and settled in a Virtuous Course and promising all the Comfort to his Parents that they themselves can wish These certainly are some of the Greatest Evils of this World and hardest to be born For Men may pretend what they will to Philosophy and Contempt of the World and of the Perishing Comforts and Enjoyments of it to the Extirpation of their Passions and an Insensibility of these things which the weaker and undisciplin'd part of Mankind keep such a Wailing and Lamentation about but when all is done Nature hath framed us as we are and hath planted in our Nature strong Inclinations and Affections to our Friends and Relations and these Affections are as naturally moved upon such Occasions and pluck every String of our Hearts as violently as extream Hunger and Thirst do gnaw upon our Stomachs And therefore it is foolish for any Man to pretend to love things mightily and to rejoyce greatly in the Enjoyment of them and yet to be so easily contented to lose them and to be parted from them This is to separate things which Nature hath strongly linked together Whatever we mightily love does thereby in some sort become part of our Selves and it cannot hand loose to us to be separated and divorced from us without Trouble no more than a Limb that is vitally and by strong Ligaments united to the Body can be dropt off when we please or rent from the Body without Pain And whoever pretends to have a mighty Affection for any thing and yet at the same time does pretend that he can contentedly and without any great Sense or Signification of Pain bear the Loss of it does not talk like a Philosopher but like an Hypocrite and under a grave Pretence of being a Wise is in truth an Ill-natured Man For most certainly in proportion to our Love of any thing will be our Trouble and Grief for the Loss of it So that under these great and heavier Strokes we had need both of Faith and Patience And indeed nothing but the firm Belief of a better Country that is an Heavenly another Life after this and a blessed Immortality in another World is sufficient to support a Man in the few and evil Days of his Pilgrimage and to sustain his Spirit under the great Evils and Calamities of this Life But This fully answers all That the Afflictions and Sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the Glory which shall be revealed in us Nay that if we bear these Afflictions patiently and with a due Submission to the Will of God especially our Sufferings for his Truth and Cause it will certainly increase our Happiness in the other World and work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory IV. The Consideration of our Present Condition and of our Future Hopes should set us above the Fondness of Life and the slavish Fears of Death For our Minds will never be raised to their true pitch and hight till we have in some good measure conquered these two Passions and made them subject to our Reason As for this present Life and the Enjoyments of it What is it that we see in them that should make us so strangely to dote upon them Quae lucis miseris tam dira cupido This World at the best is but a very Indifferent place and he is the wisest Man that bears himself towards it with the most Indifferent Mind and Affection that is always willing to leave it and yet patient to stay in it as long as God pleaseth And as for Death tho' the Dread of it be natural yet why should the Terrors of it be so very surprising and amazing to us after we have consider'd that to a good and pious Soul it is no other but the Gate of Heaven and an Entrance into Eternal Life We are apt to wonder to see a Man undaunted at the approach of Death and to be not only contented but chearful at the Thoughts of his Departure out of this World this Sink of Sin and Vale of Misery and Sorrow Whereas if all things be duly considered it is a greater Wonder that Men are so patient to Live and that they are not glad of any fair Excuse and Opportunity of getting out of this strange Country and retiring Home and of ridding themselves of the Troubles and Inconveniences of Life For considering the numerous Troubles and Calamities we are liable to in a long Pilgrimage there are really but Three Considerations that I can readily think of that can make this World and our present Condition in it in any good measure tolerable to a wise Man viz. That God governs the World That we are not always to stay in it That there is a Happiness designed