indeed to convince a man of that mistake that his form of godliness will supply the want of the real power of it But alas where Truth is professed without the mixture of any Doctrinal Errors of this kind there is still too much room left for this practical Error of holding the truth in unrighteousness For whilst some men are led into sin by Error do not others who are guilty of the same sins hope that they shall be overlooked for the sake of their opposition to those Errors and the professing and maintaining the contrary Truth 'T is true that our Church according to the truth of the Scriptures and the clearest reason that there is for any thing in the world holds forth a necessity of actual reformation in order to God's Pardon and eternal Life and we disclaim all manner of ways to supply the want of effectual repentance and a thorough change of heart and life from Sin to God But my Brethren let us lay one Particular seriously to heart under this General and that is this That our very Profession of this Truth in the natural and proper sense of it That without holiness no man shall see the Lord will not serve our turn without the practice of it our profession of the necessity of an holy life is not that holy life which is necessary And if the unavoidableness of professing some Religion and the desire we have to keep our Sins too works this way upon us as to make us trust in the purity of our Profession we are guilty of one Error as pernicious if we continue in it as if a thousand more were added to it I say if we continue in it for there is this advantage of a true and pure profession of Christianity that whosoever makes it to use the words of our Saviour in a sense something different he is not far from the Kingdom of God there is less to do to recover him to repentance no false Principle being in the way to hinder it he lies open to Exhortation and Persuasion and every serious Instruction and Admonition smites his very Conscience he feels the truth that is delivered to him there is that within him which confesseth it all and will not easily let him be quiet till it hath made him a new man But to proceed 3. In some Persons a dishonourable opinion of God may be the reason of expecting his Rewards without performing the Duties of Purity and Charity I fear there are those in the world who think that God hath appointed the confession of his Name with Prayer and Thansgivings and other holy Offices of Religion that by these things men might give him the satisfaction of hearing the greatness of his Perfections and the excellency of his Works applauded by his Creatures and therefore that these things being performed they have entitled themselves to his thanks and favour But this is in truth to have but a very low and mean opinion of the Divine Majesty and seems to suppose God to be altogether such an one as our selves who perhaps are so vain as to take great delight in our own praises and love to be flattered into a great opinion of our selves If we believe worthily of the Divine Nature we must say That because God is holy and good therefore he will have men to be so and that he expects to be glorified by us to be confessed and adored not that he needeth us or is taken with our commendations of him but because it is infinitely fit and reasonable and equitable that we should thus worship him and because this is a necessary means also of forming our minds and actions into the likeness of what God is and of what he does in the World We are mistaken if we think that our Saviour is beholden to us for keeping up the profession of his Name or that some great Interest of his is served when Religion gets ground upon the World because there will be more and more to speak his Praise and to celebrate his Goodness and his Greatness as if he were like some one of those great men who if they have Flatterers enough and can make others seem to honour them though there be no such matter are very well pleased The Religion of our Saviour was not sent into the world for the ostentation of his Power and Greatness and he plainly told us that he sought not his own honour It is indeed our indispensible duty to honour him before all the World with all expressions of gratitude and humble reverence and we are most inexcusable and wretched Creatures if we do it not But the end of his Religion was to turn us from our iniquities and to make us a peculiar people zealous of good works and so far as this Design takes so far he approves of us otherwise he hath plainly told us what we are to expect from him even that Sentence Depart from me ye that work iniquity I know you not 4. The conceit and expectation of some unpromised mercy of God must necessarily be one ingredient into the presumption oâ— those men that hold the truth in unrighteousness For the Threatnings of God's Word are so undeniably plain that a man of sense who believes the truth as it is in Jesus can have no ease under a guilty Conscience but upon a supposition that God will or may at least abate something of the rigour of his threatning and accept of less perhaps a Death-bed Repentance of less I say than he hath required This seems to be at the bottom of their Confidence of whom our Lord foretold that they should say Lord Lord have we not prophesied in thy name c. that is to say they had been instrumental to maintain and support his Doctrine in the World and expostulate now with him as if they always had some secret hope this would at last be accepted though there was no promise of it before-hand But to prevent this presumption Our Saviour hath said before-hand Then will I profess to them I never knew you Depart from me ye workers of iniquity which plain dealing was very necessary For though it is true that he that threatens punishment doth not delight in taking punishment but intends to prevent the fault yet when God threatens for this end and adds moreover Declaration upon the Threatning That he will not spare if the fault be not prevented 't is an affront to him to presume that he will spare for all that To conclude Let us seriously lay to heart these words of our Saviour which are an answer to the most concerning Question in the World who are they that shall be saved Not every one that saith Lord Lord but he that doth the will of our father which is in heaven He that can say I was by my natural temper and inclination thus and thus but the Religion of Jesus and the Worship of God according to the Gospel hath given me a new heart and a new nature and
according to the Gospel for their common Prayers and Worship for celebrating the Holy Communion and for doing all those things in which the outward profession of true Christianity stands that they laid down their lives and have been tormented many of them not accepting deliverance and therefore our Saviour who here says Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord shall enter c. hath also said Whosoever shall confess me before men him shall the son of man also confess before the angels of God But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God Luke 12.8 9. So that although confessing Christ be not of it self enough for salvation yet it is always necessary to it and sometimes it is of that force that one may conclude nothing else is wanting and that is when we confess with great hazard to our selves in this World But one reason why 't is sometimes so exceedingly praise-worthy and signifies all other necessary qualities is because it is always a duty for if it were in it self but indifferent and might be omitted without breach of our duty to God it were a foolish thing not to omit it when our own safety and welfare in this World required us to forbear In a word Confession with the mouth assembling our selves together for Prayer Baptism and the celebration of the Holy Communion and every other part of outward Religion in which the profession of Christianity stands are all of them required in the Scriptures which we are not to wonder at since it is evident that the Honour of God that Charity to men and the Interest and maintenance of Christianity do require it also 1. The Honour of God doth plainly require it for if it be fit and necessary that God should be honoured by us i. e. confessed praised and prayed unto who doth not see that all this ought to be done not only in private singly but in publick jointly unless one should think that we have Reason and Speech given to us for transacting common Affairs of the least moment and not of the greatest viz. those which concern our dependance upon God and our subjection to him Hence it is that David in the Psalms called his Tongue his glory because he did therewith praise and confess and glorify God amongst men And in the New Testament we are not only exhorted to glorify God with our Mind but with our Mouth too Nor can any thing be more plain at first fight than that without this it is impossible that God should be honoured as it is most fit he should be in the Societies of Mankind And 2. The outward profession of Religion is no less requisite to the good of the World to which we in charity are to contribute what we can For there is nothing more necessary for the common welfare of Mankind than a sense of God and Religion which although it has its foundation in our very Natures yet as many other natural Inclinations may be strangely weakned and in danger to be lost if it be not supported by use and exercise and what is there more necessary for the maintaining of a common sense of Religion than a common profession of it And therefore in a matter of so great moment as this is every man ought to be an Example to his Neighbour and all men should encourage and animate one another Nor can any one single person withdraw from the profession of Religion but in so doing he grows an enemy to Mankind and as much as in him lies he teaches others to be so too But then 3. Above all The interest and maintenance of Christianity requires a publick profession of it For Christianity doth not only consist in the belief of such and such Doctrines but in meeting together also for the Worship of God according to them which is the most comprehensive instance of outward profession for when our Lord instituted a Church and his Apostles did afterward gather men to it nothing could be more plain than that he made a profession of his Doctrine and the outward Service of God according to his Gospel a part of Christianity for without this it is impossible that Believers should be a Body or a Society as they are And therefore that man that lives without Christian Communion or which is all one without Christian Profession cannot rightly be called a Christian but hath rather renounced his Baptism by declaring in effect that although he was admitted by Baptism into the Body of Christ's Church yet now he will have nothing to do with it But if the secret belief of the Doctrine of Christ without any appearance of Profession of it were enough to make a man a Christian as I think it is not yet such a person would deserve very ill of Christianity to conceal his belief for it is by our profession of it that it must be upheld in the World and propagated amongst those that do not yet receive it and he that dissembles his Faith doth therefore his part and gives his consent that the True Religion should fail from among the Children of men And there is no doubt but that amongst other Reasons the Gospel requires that Believers should profess their Faith and be a visible Communion of Worshippers that so the Doctrine and worship of the Gospel might be upheld and maintained in the World The truth is there is that wickedness amongst men that so holy a Doctrine as that of our Saviour's will not be readily entertained and there is that folly and superstition every-where that so reasonable and excellent a Worship as that which the Gospel prescribes is not apt to take with most people and for this reason Error and Superstition are things that men will run into of themselves When therefore our Lord brought into the World the knowledge of Divine Truth and of the way how God would be worshipped and served he did therefore make his Disciples a Society of men professing the way of Truth and Purity that his Doctrine might spread in the World and keep all the ground it should gain by every man's making profession of the common Faith For which reason Origen thought that when Our Saviour said Vpon this rock will I build my Church he meant by the rock every Christian that should do as St. Peter had done i. e. who should make open confession of that Truth which St. Peter confessed because the Profession of every Christian did something to support the Interest of the Gospel in the World A great many more things might be said to this purpose to shew that what is meant here by saying unto Christ Lord Lord i. e. an outward profession of true Christianity is so far from being an indifferent thing that it is a most necessary duty standing upon plain Commands and plain Reasons nay so necessary that without it we cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven no though it should bring never so much trouble upon us in this World
well as they Do the just live by that Faith with which others perish How is that Faith imputed to them for righteousness which does but aggravate the condemnation of these Nay how is that justifying and saving Faith which the Devils have as well as we for they assent and therefore believe and tremble because they believe Let us therefore proceed to the second Consideration concerning the power and efficacy of Faith viz. To make men attain to that righteousness which God requires and accepts Now if upon a just examination of this matter it will appear that Faith if it be in men as it ought to be in them will make them obedient and holy and therefore that the wicked want Faith that is properly so called and have not that Faith which God in the Scripture requires then there will be no difficulty in conceiving why the Scripture so often and so remarkably says that we are justified by faith Here therefore I shall represent what those things are in which the force of Faith lies to govern our Hearts and Lives and then I may leave you to judge whether it would not produce the effect of holiness when they are all together and consequently that there is a defect of Faith in all ungodly men Now 2. The power and efficacy of Faith to make us holy lies in these three things 1. In the nature of the things themselves that are believed 2. In the manner of believing them 3. In the permanency of the belief it self or rather in the dwelling of our mind upon it I shall begin with considering what influence it hath by virtue of the things believed 1. The Truths we believe do represent good and evil to us they are not Points of Doctrine which we are never the better nor the worse whether they be true or not but they are of very near concernment to us and are therefore fit to work upon our desires and affections 2. What we believe does represent to us our greatest good on the one hand and what we have most reason to fear on the other If a good thing that is offered us may be disparaged by a greater good that stands in competition with it it doth not much inflame or move the Affections Now he that believeth aright apprehends the Joys of another Life to be so great that there is nothing in this to rival them this is that which made the Patriarchs to count themselves Pilgrims and Strangers upon earth they desired a better i. e. a heavenly countrey 3. We are persuaded that this Inheritance belongeth to us upon our care and faithfulness in doing the will of our heavenly Father If we had absolute assurance of the heavenly Country this Faith might well cause satisfaction in the benefit but if we are to abstain from fleshly lusts that war against the soul or we are sure to be excluded if we assent not only to the truth of the Promise but to the condition of the Promise then our Faith works by fear and hope and puts us upon fulfilling the condition but if men do not believe the condition it will be an harder matter to persuade them to obey because it will be so easy for them to persuade themselves that they need not 4. We are also persuaded that the condition viz. doing the will of our Heavenly Father is through the grace of God possible otherwise the belief of an Eternal Happiness in the Life to come would not stir us to labour for it This is one reason why the Devils tremble only though they believe because they cannot assent to the Promises as made to Them for they are not made to Them and if we should want the Faith of the possibility of Salvation all the rest of our Faith would make us miserable and desperate but not active and careful to work out our salvation In short if we believe the truth wherein the greatest good is promised and that 't is promised upon condition of obedience and that the condition is enforced by the threatning of the greatest punishments and that it may well be performed then in this Faith there is nothing wanting as to the matter of it to make us fruitful in holiness good works But if we do not believe all this but only some part of it our unfruitfulness may well be imputed to want of Faith but this I confess doth not go very far to satisfy the difficulty because many believe all needful truth and yet remain unholy Wherefore let us go to the second Point Viz. 2. The manner of believing Divine Truth for there is very much of the power of Faith to sanctify us in this very thing Let us for instance take the first Article of the Creed I believe in God or I believe that God is To believe this considerately and distinctly is to believe that there is an Infinite Being an Omnipresent Being and that he is holy just and good But now our believing that God is hath no power to make us circumspect in our actions and careful of our thoughts but by such distinct persuasions and considerations as these which are truly and properly Faith Nor will these distinct considerations have much power neither unless they be distinctly applied to our selves God is infinite in all Perfections and therefore I am to serve and worship him he is Omnipresent and therefore he is with me and sees me in all that I do and knows every one of my secrets and even every thought of my heart and therefore how shall I dare so much as to regard iniquity in my heart He is infinitely Wise and Good and therefore in this or in any other matter it would be extreme folly as well as sin to follow mine own will in opposition to his Now all this is Faith or believing true Doctrine and it is by such distinct apprehensions and applications as these that we must be enabled to overcome the World and to purify our hearts But if we believe in that manner as to rest in the general Doctrine and to go no farther I do not see how our Faith should be operative much more than if we had none at all and if the general belief of one Article is therefore fruitless because it is but general and not resolved into the awakening Considerations that are under it nor applied distinctly to our selves under such Considerations then also will the believing of the whole Creed in this fashion without particular persuasions and applications be fruitless also and it may be said of us that we understand neither what we say nor whereof we affirm and then what we say and affirm can have no great force upon us to make us subdue our Passions and mend our Lives But though this will go a great way to resolve the unholiness of men professing the Faith into want of Faith yet I think it doth not altogether satisfy that where Faith is as it should be there will be an holy mind and a
godly life because there are many men of clear and active thoughts and conversant in the study of Religion that do not live by Faith for as the Faith of such men cannot in reason be thought to be a confused and indeterminate persuasion so it is too plain by experience that some such do retain the Faith but make shipwrack of a good conscience And therefore let us consider the third thing wherein the power of Faith consists viz. 3. The permanence of it upon the mind or a constancy of frequent consideration upon what we believe That is to say let us suppose a man that doth not only believe all matters of Faith that are needful and apprehend them distinctly and particularly and with application to himself but likewise by very much consideration of these things hath made them present and habitual to himself and of such a man I say That he is under the whole power of Faith and he it is that overcomes the world For such a Believer has two advantages which cannot fail to make him a good man 1. His Persuasion or his Faith is present to his mind when he most needs it i.e. upon all occasions of temptation so that he will be ready in the strength of it to say with Joseph How shall I do this great wickedness and sin against God But now though one believes all the awakening Doctrines of Religion yet if he does not think of them nor lay them to heart when the Devil the World and the Flesh are busy with him t is all one with him at the time as if he had never heard of the Articles of Christian Faith and for the present he is as much without the Operation of Faith as if he had none at all It is with him as it is with a man in a swooning fit there is indeed life in him but it is without sense and motion and for the time he differs not from one that is dead or rather as there is a principle of sense and motion in the one without any act of either so is there indeed in the other a Principle of Faith but no Act of it and it is therefore as if it were not at all Distinct and particular application of what we believe will do much towards the restraining of a man's lusts and this is properly Faith but then that Faith which once was and now is not can do nothing at present which is the case of too many persons professing Christianity That their belief of Divine Truth is oftner absent than present because they do not think of those things which should govern them and assist them under Temptations but by chance or when they cannot help it their business is to put those things out of their minds and not to fix them there And this is the first advantage of one that is constant in his consideration of the Truths whereof he is convinced that they are present to him when he stands in need of their help and indeed never at any great distance from him The 2d Is this and that is the greatest of all That he hath a true and lively sense of these things as often as they return to his mind and he always believes them as he should do under a vigorous apprehension of his own great concernment in them To believe that there is a God and a Life to come and that the Son of God came to be our Saviour and will come to be our Judge that through the Infinite Mercy of God and through the Death and Passion of our Saviour we may obtain Forgiveness of Sins and Eternal Life to believe these things I say according to their nature and our concernment in them is to have a due sense of them and to be justly affected with them more than with all other interests whatsoever because these indeed are the greatest of all Now it is by a Constancy of Believing i. e. of Considering these things and making them present to us that we come to that Faith which consists in a right apprehension and a just sense of them Nor will any other means do without this and indeed all means of Grace are ineffectual without it and they are then effectual when they bring us to this degree of Faith The Prayers that we make are unprofitable if they do not help to fix our minds upon God and Divine Truth and by their frequent returns make a sense of Religion natural and familiar to us Our reading the Scriptures and hearing good Doctrine and Exhortation and our assembling for the worship of God is unprofitable to Godliness otherwise than by accustoming of us to think as we should do that is to be affected with the Doctrines of our most holy Faith Good education and good examples do no otherwise promote the work of God in our minds than by awakening our consideration of that Truth which is to renew us in the spirit of our minds Afflictions and Judgments the Fears and Apprehensions of Death the amazing Calls of God's Providence cannot of themselves work the reformation of an evil heart and life if they do it it is by beginning to bring men to that Consideration which they continue afterwards till they come to a Faith that answers the nature of the things they believe which consists in a just sense and apprehension of them but this is not to be gained but by a constant Consideration because they are spiritual things or future things after this life which are the main Objects of our Faith If a sick man believes that he shall gain his health by such a method or a poor man that he shall get an estate or a prisoner that he shall recover his liberty or any man that he shall come to his end in this world by such a course of means there is no need of much Consideration to persuade himself to try it because without any pains taken with himself he is naturally possest with a lively persuasion of his concernment in things of this nature But in Religion it is otherwise tho the interest be great nay the greatest of all yet it is not a sensible nor a present interest in comparison and so our Faith must be renewed day by day that we may be affected with it as reasonable creatures ought to be and by much thinking of it i. e. by many Acts of Faith arrive to such a sense of God and our interest in Religion as the nature of the thing deserves And this is that Faith which overcomes the world which purifies the heart and makes a man a new creature I deny not That wicked men believe and do contrary to a sense of their duty and of their obligations to God I acknowledge that they have so much Faith as makes them uneasie under their guilt somewhat loth to commit sin and ashamed and afraid when it is committed I grant that they have Faith truly so called but then they want Faith too that Faith which is properly
Worship viz. all kinds of virtue and moral Goodness such as Justice and Mercy Fidelity and Truth Meekness and Patience Sobriety and Temperance and 't is true of these things as well as of Worship that without faith they cannot be performed because they are all such things as God is pleased withal and 't is said in general That without Faith we cannot please him From hence 't is plain that we are thus to understand the phrase of pleasing God when the Apostle saith Without Faith we cannot please him viz. Without Faith it is impossible a man should be a worshipper of God and a practicer of Virtue More distinctly thus Without Faith a man cannot Love God or Fear him or Trust in him or Obey him or Honour him in his Thoughts Words or Deeds Nor can he be Righteous and Charitable Meek and Humble Sober and Temperate Or in a word That without Faith 't is impossible a man should be truly Religious in his life and actions If it be enquired 2. What the Apostle means by Faith without which 't is impossible to please God let us look to the following words again and we shall find the Faith the Apostle speaks of is 1. In general a persuasion of the truth of some proposition or an assent thereunto that it is true for he saith He that cometh to God must believe that he is To believe therefore to be persuaded that this proposition is true viz. that there is a God is an instance of the Faith whereof the Apostle speaks Likewise he that cometh unto God must believe that he is a rewarder of them that seek him To believe therefore or to be persuaded of this proposition That God is a rewarder of them that seek him is an instance of that Faith of which the Apostle speaks and consequently by Faith is here meant in general a persuasion concerning any Doctrine or Proposition that it is true 2. By consequence also as to the nature of those propositions which the Apostle saith we must believe if we will please God we find more particularly that the Faith without which we cannot please God is a persuasion of the truth of those propositions which are proper arguments and motives inducing a man to do those things whereby God is pleased for the Apostle saith He that cometh unto God must believe that he is And plain it is that to believe that there is a God is a reason why men should do those things which please him He says also that he that cometh unto God must believe that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him Alike plain it is that to believe God to be such a rewarder is a reason or motive inducing a man to do those things whereby God is pleased and consequently the Faith which the Apostle speaks of is a persuasion of the truth of those Propositions or Doctrines which are proper motives or inducements to the doing of those things whereby God is pleased But hence we must not conclude that there are no other Doctrines or Propositions besides those here mentioned that are proper motives to Religion because all that the Apostle intends as I noted before is to give some particular instances to shew the truth of the general proposition Although therefore there be other Doctrines which are motives to Godliness and Vertue yet if without the belief of these a man cannot be induced to do those things which please God that was sufficient for the Apostle's purpose to prove that without Faith it is impossible to please him And that there are other Doctrines of like use with these I shall shew in due place If it be enquired 3. Whether by Impossible the Author of this Epistle means properly something that is absolutely impossible or more largely something that is exceeding difficult or highly improbable as sometimes the word is used to that purpose I answer This is to be resolved by considering also the following propositions to be believed the former of which is of that nature that it is absolutely necessary to be believed in order to Worship and Virtue viz. That there is a God Without this belief it is utterly impossible it implies a contradiction that a man should be a Worshipper of God and a practicer of Virtue But the latter of these beliefs that God is a rewarder c. is not in the same degree necessary that the former is because it does not imply a contradiction That that man who does not believe that God is a rewarder of them that seek him should be a Worshipper of God because 't is barely possible he may Worship God upon a belief that there is a God and a bare hope that he is a rewarder c. But then if we consider the woful corruption and degeneracy of Mankind and the power of those Temptations we are under 't is so utterly improbable that without this belief men should set themselves to do those things which please God that according to the usual manner of speaking it may be ranked with things impossible So that I do thus understand the Apostle as to what he says concerning the impossibility of pleasing God without Faith That there are some Doctrines so necessary to be believed in order to the practice of Religion and Virtue that it is naturally impossible a man should be a Worshipper of God and a doer of Righteousness without the belief of them and of this sort he hath given us one instance viz. That there is a God That also there are some Doctrines so necessary to be believed in order to the practice of Religion that 't is morally impossible a man should be a Worshipper of God and a worker of righteousness without the belief of them And of this sort he hath also given us one instance viz. That God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him Thus I have by comparing one part of the Text with another given you as I am persuaded the true sence of the whole and that as I hope with great clearness of truth and plainness of words And according to this Explanation the words of the Text may be interpreted according to this Paraphrase Without the belief of some such Doctrines as are proper and suitable motives to the worship of God and the practice of Virtue wherewith God is pleased it is impossible any man should fear God and work Righteousness For some Doctrines there are so necessary in order to that end that 't is impossible to conceive how a man should find himself obliged thereto without the belief of those Doctrines Some Doctrines also there are so necessary to be believed in order thereunto that without the belief of them no man finds himself encouraged to the practice of Religion For instance the Worship of God is a part of Religion without which he will not be pleased with us but it is plain that no man can be a worshipper of God without believing that there is a God because if
of disobedience 1. The perfection of the Rule which requires a more exceeding Righteousness than either the Law of Moses or the Law of Nature And this is one reason why the Christian Baptism is the Sacrament of Regeneration whether to Jews or Gentiles Because they must become new men and as it were born again by living up to those Divine Principles and holy Rules which are peculiar to the Christian Doctrine by practising that piety and purity and charity in all their conversation which seems to be more than enough for the happiness of single persons or of Societies in this World but which is necessary for an everlasting happiness in the life to come And here are these causes of complaint 1. That there is a severe restraint laid upon our Natural Appetites and Inclinations which often carry us as violently to those Satisfactions which the Law of Christ forbids as to those which it allows There is in every man by nature the love either of pleasure or greatness or revenge c. and this Inclination for the most part stifned by custom so that he cannot be a Christian without self-denial and putting himself to pain And the duty of this kind may be so grievous that as Jesus himself hath described it it may be like cutting off a right hand and pulling out a right eye 2. His Law hath made no allowance for the prevailing Opinions and Customs of the World In common account to forgive one injury is to be exposed to another to refuse a Challenge is to be mark'd for a Coward to use plain dealing is the way to die a Beggar and to neglect several opportunities of gain or pleasure though for Conscience sake is to go for a Fool. But though it is a grievous thing to lie under contempt yet the Doctrine of Christ without consideration of this hard case has tied us up to contrary Rules and expresly required us not to be conformed to this world 3. We must guard our selves against innumerable temptations to the sins of Lust Covetousness Envy Ambition and the like inordinate Affections to which a Christian must by no means consent The very opportunities of doing ill are in some cases hard to be refused and moreover every sin hath its proper incentives which beset us in all places And these are so busy and importunate that some think it impossible to be religious without retiring from the conversation of the World But what rest can there be in perpetual circumspection and standing upon our guard And yet Jesus himself thought this necessary for us Watch and pray saith he that ye enter not into temptation 4. The Law of Christ prescribes to the Thoughts and Affections as well as to the overt Action He that does not defile his Neighbour's Bed may be an adulterer in his heart And he that hates his brother is a murtherer If it be hard to forbear the action what pains must be taken to conquer the Desire to make it an obedient Slave and not suffer it so much as to dispute And yet this is the case neither body nor mind neither deed nor thought is exempted from the obligation of this terrible Law but we must cleanse our selves from all filthiness both of flesh and spirit 5. It is not easy to suffer yet if need were we must take up the Cross and be always in mind prepared to endure reproach the loss of Goods yea and of life it self for righteousness sake And the Scripture speaking of this does acknowledge that no chastisement for the present is joyous but grievous So that in giving up our names to Christ we seem to commit our selves to a Sea of troubles instead of making to a Haven of rest He that will be my disciple saith Jesus let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me This is enough to shew the strictness of the Rule and the perfection of Virtue and Piety which the Gospel requires but that which makes all more grievous is the second cause of Complaint 2. The penalty of Disobedience For this is no less than exclusion from the Kingdom of Heaven and a more intolerable Sentence at the day of Judgment than those shall receive that never heard the Doctrine of Christ And the hour is coming in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth they that have done good unto the resurrection of life and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation And our Saviour hath plainly told us by what Rule the Good and the Evil shall be judged The words that I have spoken the same shall judge you at the last day And now that we have heard these things we may be exceedingly amazed as our Lord's first Disciples were when they heard the like and say Who then can be saved or at least where is the truth of his Promise For the condition of his Promise is so hard and the consequence so terrible if we fail of the condition that the extream danger and the great uncertainty seems to create a new trouble not well consistent with the promised rest He is indeed true and faithful that hath promised But whilst my Soul is troubled how can I believe that 't is at rest How therefore shall we bring these things together The truth is nothing has more exercised the wits of men than to find out expedients for this purpose And for my own part I have that experience of Human Frailty on the one side and that desire to be saved on the other that I never lend my ear more willingly than to him that shews me an easy way to Salvation And I am sure he attaques my Affections to so much advantage that I can have no prejudice against his way and nothing but evident want of truth could make me afraid to trust it Some have said That Christ himself hath fulfilled all righteousness in our stead and that upon our faith his righteousness is imputed to us for justification This I confess would cut the knot which we would fain unty for if this be true the Gospel does not only release me from punishment but from duty too But where has our Lord or his Apostles said any thing to this purpose Indeed he has promised to save me from God's angry Justice and that because he was a Sacrifice for Sin offered in my stead But I find that he has imposed upon me the keeping of his Commandments as a condition of that Salvation and therefore I conclude that he did not perform them in my stead too Nor can I conceive how the holiness of Christ should be made an argument in the Scripture to follow his Example if it may be improved into a good reason why we need not follow it So that the Merit of Christ will not save me the labour of becoming a new man and if that will not I am sure no other Merit can And these men not willing to trust their own Invention
them could be well spared but that they work together one for one good end another for another all jointly for his true happiness And if this be true with reference to single persons it must needs be so with respect to the Church or to any Body of Christians adhering to the true faith and obedience of the Gospel since the Providence of God is more watchful for a common than a particular Interest and since this truth was mentioned by the Apostle in behalf of Believers that felt the same troubles So that we are as to all Evils of this World to consider God not as arbitrarily disposing of our Concerns but rather as wisely chusing fit means for our happiness And this consideration will serve to repel all murmuring thoughts against his Providence and to dispose us not only to contentation but even to thankfulness under the Adversities of life and that because it seems they are so far from being ill meant by Providence towards us that they are chosen by God as proper means working for our good not only Adversities in general but those which happen in particular more than others would have done But then 2. There must be a concurrence of other causes to make them effectual for our good I cannot certainly tell whether that be meant by that phrase of working together for I do not know but the Apostle might mean no more in this place than that all things that happen to God's Servants shall work together that is one with another promote that which is best for them in the end But I am sure the thing is true that other causes must be present to work together with these and because the Apostle knew that they would be supposed therefore they are fit to be mentioned And 1. The Grace of God which is necessary to all good effects which his Providence designs to work in and for us that will not be wanting For if any thing that is grievous befals us by his Providence he will not deny us that inward assistance of his Holy Spirit towards a good use of it which is needful because the outward means of doing us good is not of our own chusing but his And this is one reasonable account of that saying of David In very faithfulness thou hast afflicted me For God hath promised to be good and gracious to him And this Promise was so made good by those Troubles that befel him and the supports he had under them and by that Grace of God which disposed him to make a good use of them that he could not but acknowledge the Truth and Fidelity of God upon this account as much as for all the Glories and Prosperities that ever fell to his share But then 2. Something is required of us to convert all Evils that do or may befal us into such advantages as may be made of them They indeed give us the opportunity and God give us the ability but then we must perform our duty They work as Occasions and Means God works as the Supream Director and Mover but it is our part to work as the immediate Instruments of our own good and that by more Consideration and more earnest Prayer and herein lies the tendency of Worldly Crosses to do us good that they do of themselves dispose a good man to those things more than ordinarily And it is in this sense that we are to understand the saying of the Wise-man Sorrow is better than laughter for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better That is to say 1. It is disposed to consider more seriously for it takes away all that levity and ariness of thought which in some degree does almost necessarily attend an unmixed prosperity and it does also suggest many profitable thoughts which seldom come to our minds at another time This very Divine Truth That all things work together c. is not so often thought of when we need not the support of it as when we do nor the Infinite Wisdom and Goodness of the Divine Providence nor the rich Promise of being raised up to everlasting Life There must be the consideration of such things to make all things work for our good otherwise this Text were set here in vain nor need we to have known the truth it holds forth to us if without laying it and other things of the same nature to heart they would work good for us by themselves 2. Fervent Prayers are requisite for the same end for otherwise the Apostle needed not have told us in the foregoing Verse Likewise also the Spirit helpeth our infirmities for we know not what to pray for as we ought but the Spirit it self maketh intercession for us with groans that cannot be uttered In which words as I have already intimated the Apostle encouraged his Christians to earnest Prayer assuring them That in their Circumstances the Holy Spirit of God would guide them to pray for things that were good for them though in all their Prayers for temporal things to submit their Desires intirely to the Will and good disposal of the Almighty who would accordingly answer them by doing what was best for them Now frequent and earnest Prayer does wonderfully dispose the mind of a good man to a strong dependance upon God and brings back great Consolations and Strength from him and confirms it in a stedfast and unmoveable resolution of keeping a good Conscience and looking for that Mercy of God unto Eternal Life It is by such Actions of our own that all things work together for good and all Evils of life do themselves work for it by disposing us to these things i.e. to Consideration and Devotion to consider the Soveraignty Wisdom and Goodness of God the Vanity of this World our infinite concerns in a better life more seriously and closely than we have done and to pray to God for all needful things more affectionately and heartily Now where such Dispositions as these are followed there all the good fruits of worldly Evils will grow plentifully which what they are comes next to be considered in the mean time we have gone thus far That there is nothing wanting in them as they are occasions and opportunities of doing good for our selves and that through the Grace of God and our own using them aright and cherishing those good inclinations and dispositions which they beget in our minds they will actually produce the good ends for which they are sent 3. Let us now consider what that good is for which it is said that all things shall work together what kind of good it is and what is the degree of it If we consider the kind it may be truly said in the first place that sometimes it is of the same kind with the evil and that God sends the temporal evil to bring about a temporal good Thus Joseph who was designed by Providence to be so great a Man in Egypt when it was to be the Granary of that part of
may be as ill to morrow and if he believes this it strikes him into a dulness and damps his spirits and spoils all his gaiety If he believes it not then 't is a plain case that he lives in the Fool 's Paradise and makes a shift to be merry by keeping himself in ignorance and taking care not to think Beloved if a man has nothing but this World to trust to he has great reason to be melancholy And 't is a very ill sign if we cannot endure to consider that it will fail us one time or other but had rather live on without presaging the least alteration in our Affairs till it happens unavoidably And thus many Persons dream out their days without so much as reflecting seriously upon the most common and yet most concerning them in the World viz. that they must die And therefore when they are almost drawing to the last gasp the Physician must in Charity give them still some hopes of life lest they should die with the fear of death a plain sign that they never counted upon their Mortality to any purpose but laid the whole weight of their welfare upon this life and the pleasures of it without considering how weak a foundation they built upon all along It becomes us as we are men and much more as we are Christians to take this life as it is and all the Pleasures and Enjoyments of it as they are and to affect them no farther And next to the consideration of that Eternal state in the life to come in comparison to which this is but a shadow there is no belief that makes a serious Contemplation of the uncertainty of all things here below more easy and quiet than that of this truth That all things shall work together for good to them that love God For surely that belief which supports any man under any evil when 't is present will not let him feel any disturbance at all from the possibility of it when 't is not present 4. Let me therefore in the last place conclude all with an earnest Exhortation to Piety and the keeping of God's Commandments and that upon the present motive that then the comfort of this Truth belongs to us that all things shall work together for our good If we were to study what to wish and might have it for the wishing I do not know what we had more reason to desire for the quieting of our minds and giving us the truest peace and tranquility than that all things should work together for our good and that we should know it and be well assured of it But nothing can be wanting to an absolute assurance of it but that we love God and keep his Commandments If it were left to our choice whether we would have an assured interest in this Promise and in that Grace and Providence of God which will make it good or whether we should from time to time have the disposal of our own Condition and be left to our particular Desires and be always masters of them we should be very fools to trust our selves in our own hands and to take our selves out of the hands of God even this very folly would shew how unfit we are to be our own Carvers and what foolish work should we make if we were wholly to dispose of our selves We should be sure to devise things to our own hurt and be always gratifying a present Appetite and serving a present turn till we had lost all rule and government of our Passions we should grow wanton and self-willed and nothing would be able to please us or make us happy but any thing almost to make us miserable And in whose hands are we most safe in our own who should undo our selves even with things that are not in themselves hurtful or in God's who will make things that are not good in themselves to work for our good Can we be better provided for than to be taken care of by Infinite Wisdom Goodness and Power He that made us knows our Nature better than we do our selves and he loves us more wisely than we love our selves and he can do infinitely more for us than we can do for our selves what have we therefore to do but with intire obedience and submission to put our selves under his guidance and protection and to beseech him that he would permit us to resign all our Affairs to the disposal of his Providence and that he would please to send us that which he sees is most expedient for us If my whole Fortune in the World depended upon an Affair too intricate for my skill and far beyond my power to manage surely nothing could be more welcome than the Assistance of such a Friend upon whose Fidelity I could rely with the greatest confidence and of whose Wisdom I could make no doubt if he would undertake it for me And if he directed me what to do in a plain and easy method and required me to leave the rest to himself and wholly to rely upon him for the event certainly I should at once follow his Directions and ease my mind of all farther Cares Such is the Case we are speaking of with this difference that to God only we are to pay absolute Obedience and in God only we can put an absolute Confidence Our great business is to be happy and this is a matter beyond our skill and power to effect for our selves But God hath undertaken it for us only he has given us a Rule a plain Rule whereby we are to walk which does not require cunning and subtilty but simplicity and honesty to follow it For the Rest he hath promised to bring it about and to dispose all things for the best in order to our good And therefore why should any doubt remain in our hearts why should we doubt to commend our selves to God by Prayers and Repentance and doing his Will And then why should we doubt whether it will go well with us at last If it were possible that any thing should be hid from God or that his Will should change if multitude of Cares could distract him or length of business tire him or any one passage of our lives escape him if his Power could be at a stand or his Goodness cease if he were not the same yesterday to day and for ever then indeed we might sometimes question whether those things that happen to us were for the best But because he is God and not Man we may believe that all his Providences over us are grounded upon Reasons of Wisdom and Goodness though we do not discern them in particular and that they will all contribute to the perfection of our Happiness though we do not see how at present Only we must love him and serve and obey him we must not alienate our selves from him by an evil Heart and wicked Actions but conform our Wills to his Will and our Conversations to his Laws It is nothing but want of this
irreligious to mix our talk with Oaths upon every occasion for hereby we make as cheap with God as by prostituting any other Sacred thing to a common and trivial use 2. It argues a man not to fear that horrid Crime of Perjury for if he were afraid of it how cautious and deliberate would he be e're he ventured to affirm any thing upon Oath He would consider whether it were exactly true whether it were certain or only probable whether he was not liable to mistake or misinformation in the case and many other things which are often necessary to come under consideration with that man that trembles at the thought of Perjury but the light is not more clear at mid-day than that common Swearers trouble themselves with none of these Thoughts what they say at a venture they boldly Swear what they rashly utter they as rashly add Oaths and Curses to their habit of Swearing makes them not one jot the more wary in their talk and the slipperiness of their Tongues not at all the more afraid of an Oath which is a plain Argument that they have little apprehension of Perjury and are not afraid to be Forsworn for I say did we ever find that those who are given to Swearing are more deliberate and slow to speak than other men Do they weigh their words with more exactness Do they refrain from loosness of talk and dissoluteness of Mirth and Jollity more than those who are content to speak upon their honest word No but on the contrary they are usually more free and prodigal of their discourse their words are guided with less consideration and judgment and their Tongues hang more loosly in their Heads than is observeable in other men nay it is well known that they are then most plentiful of their Oaths when they are least able to govern their talk with discretion i. e. when they are drunk either with Wine or Passion and what numerous Perjuries then in all likelihood are these men guilty of nay it is not improbable but some of them may be Forsworn every day they rise for though men may please themselves with thinking that they do but swear in jest yet the obligation of an Oath is not to be laughed away when men swear they will do this or that which it may be they intend not at all or that such a thing is true which they know is false they are nevertheless guilty of Perjury for not minding that they are so since a Sin ceaseth not to be what it is meerly by the stupidity of a man's Conscience but all that can be said in this case is That they are not apprehensive of the guilt nor afraid of the crime of Perjury which is that Immorality that I charge the common Swearer withal and this St. Austin was so sensible of that the reason which he assigns why our Saviour prohibited unnecessary Oaths was this ne perjuri simus lest we should be forsworn which every man is in apparent danger of who promiscuously adds Oaths to his Talk as I have already noted And doubtless he that refuseth to secure himself from Perjury that way which our Saviour hath prescribed declares plainly enough that he is not so careful against it as a due sense of the foulness of that Sin would make him That in the business of an Oath men are obliged to proceed with great care and deliberation is a thing so plain that I should be ashamed to go about the proving of it And I am consident if men would tye themselves to weigh the Truth of every thing they affirmed before they would venture to Swear to it they would spare a great many of their Oaths and if they found it were exactly true they would be immediately sensible that it deserved not so solemn a confirmation and be ashamed of the vanity of doing so great a thing to no purpose which is a consideration that I shall by and by more particularly offer In the mean time 3. Needless Swearing argues Immodesty and Pride and an arrogant spirit Few things are more unseemly in a man than to affirm every thing with confidence and to be peremptory in all his talk for this is to impose upon his Company and leave no room for any body to be of another mind and such Companions are shunned by all wise Persons as being void of that modesty and sobriety which make men sociable and conversible but what shall we say to those who are not only positive and dogmatical in their common discourse but assert every thing almost which they say upon Oath Certainly in this kind of Behaviour there is as much ill Manners towards men as there is rudeness towards God for what greater instance can be given of an imperious and a peremptory temper than to seal our talk with Oaths and leave no room for another to doubt of what we say under the pain of accusing us of Perjury A modest and wise man when he delivers his judgment in many things where possibly he might without fear of being accused of Arrogance be peremptory and conclusive yet chuseth to declare himself with that reservedness as may invite another man to shew all his reasons to the contrary without fear of displeasing him and this we all know is a great Ornament to any man's Conversation and of excellent use to maintain peace and good will and good correspondence in all Societies But light is not more contrary to darkness than the custom of Swearing is to this human and gentle temper wherefore it betrays immodesty and arrogance Lastly it proceeds also from great vanity and lightness of spirit which appears in these two plain instances of it The first is in making no difference between matters of serious importance and consideration and such as are frivolous and of little consequence in treating those with the same spirit and behaviour that are suitable only to these which is an undoubted argument of childishness and a frothy mind this is that which the Swearer is apparently chargeable with for otherwise how could he in the same light humour wherein he is delivering something to make the Company laugh presume to prophane so sacred a thing as an Oath is by accompanying a poor silly Jest with it Does the taking of an Oath require no more seriousness than is necessary to the telling of a Tale Or can it be fit to tye so grave a thing to a sentence which if it were written down would within an hour after perhaps appear hatefully ridiculous And yet nothing is more common with those that allow themselves in this Sin Secondly It is an Argument of vanity to take more pains for the confirming of what we say than the thing doth at all deserve It is plain that the greatest part of our Conversation with one another by discourse and correspondence doth not require any solemn confirmation of the truth of our words much less the Testimony of an Oath which being the greatest security we can
use left for his Reason that his Conscience is no longer in his own keeping and that he is now fit to herd with the Beasts that follow the foremost without discretion The Laws of Truth and Goodness are immutable and another man's violation of them gives me no dispensation to do so too I may not prostitute my Conscience to the Lusts of other men who are to be governed by the Laws of God as well as I if they call my resolution not to provoke my Maker an humour in this matter I were a Fool not to be tenacious of my own humour in this case there can be no reason why he that is in the right should go over to him that is wrong unless he that sets the evil example could change the nature of things and made evil not to be evil and sin and punishment to be other things than what they are Lastly The common way of excusing rash Oaths by pleading an habit implieth the greatest evil of this nature that can be for this is but to confess that a man is guilty of this sin in the highest degree an evil custom being the heighth of wickedness Thus both by shewing what those dispositions are which lead to common Swearing and by considering the excuses that are usually framed in the behalf of it I have discovered the Immorality thereof and that it cometh of evil I might here add the Authority of wise men who had no particular Revelation to guide themselves by and yet condemned this practice and disswaded all men from it for these Persons could discover the evil of it only by the light of Natural Reason which they could not have done if it had not been evil in its own nature Plato wrote smartly against Swearing upon light causes Hierocles tells us It is a dishonour to truth to confirm it lightly with an Oath Epictetus gives this advice Avoid Swearing altogether if thou canst if not as much as thou canst In a word The wise and sober Heathens were generally of this mind That an Oath was to be reserved for Cases of necessity and the practice of common Swearing was not in use amongst any but Stage-players and Slaves nor do we ordinarly meet with Oaths in any of their Writers excepting the Comedians and some of their dissolute Poets but the grave men and Philosophers took not the liberty themselves and dehorted others from it And this may serve to confirm us in the belief of its Immorality for what so many wise men agreed in condemning seems to be condemn'd as evil by reasons common to all men and possibly such as I have offered to your consideration so great a shame and ignominy it is to Christians to allow themselves in a Custom so easy avoidable that is condemned by the light of Nature however by the Authority of the Son of God whose Disciples we profess our selves to be Thus have I finished what I had to say upon this subject having been willing to say all that was any way proper to oppose a custom tending so manifestly to the dishonour of our Nation and the discredit of our Church and the scandal of Christian Society and finally to the ruin of Mens Souls for ever for without universal obedience to the Laws of Christ whereof this is one which I have been preaching to you we cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven for which reason if I had chosen any other command of our Lord and Saviour to discourse upon I had been as vehement in urging you to the obedience of that as I have been in pressing this Now the God of mercy grant that we may walk before him blameless and be holy in all manner of Conversation as becomes the followers of Jesus To Him with the Father and the Holy Spirit be ascribed all honour praise and glory now and for ever Amen The Tenth Sermon MATTH VII 21. Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven but he that doth the will of my father which is in heaven THE Point determined in these words is of the highest concernment to us in the world viz. Who of those that hope for Salvation by Christ shall not and who shall enter into the kingdom of heaven The former is described in that part of the Text Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord The latter in the close of it But he that doth the will of my Father which is in heaven Let us first consider the former part Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord which being compared with the Clause opposed to it is evidently to be thus interpreted Not any one that saith Lord Lord and does no more than say so but neglects the doing of God's Will not any such person shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven By calling Christ Lord is meant an open profession of Christianity and by calling him Lord Lord is meant a vehement profession of it such a Profession as is to be seen in all the ways of making known to the World what Religion we are of For instance When we do not only not renounce our Baptism and suffer our selves to be called Christians and call our selves so which is common to the most careless Professors of Christianity in the World but when also we do solemnly confess that Faith in the Assemblies of the Church into which we have been baptized and frequent the Table of Our Lord to shew forth his death and join in publick Prayers and are zealous for the purity of Christian Profession and contend against Error then we are those that call Christ Lord Lord i. e. who make a vehement profession that we are his Servants and Followers Now whereas our Saviour says Not every one that doth this shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven the plain meaning is That he doth not exclude this outward profession as unnecessary but that he makes it insufficient of it self in order to salvation 1. He doth by no means exclude it as unnecessary or as a Condition that may well enough be spared he said upon another occasion Ye call me Master and Lord and ye say well for so I am John 13.13 And St. Paul tells us That as with the heart man believeth unto righteousness so with the mouth confession is made to salvation Rom. 10.10 Nay it is so necessary if we will be saved to confess Christ and his Truth publickly in the World that no danger will excuse us from it For the doing of this if need be we must venture all that is dearest to us in this life nay and life it self It was on this account that our Saviour told his Disciples Whoever will come after me must take up his cross and follow me It is the confession of the true Faith added to holy living that hath made Martyrs of Saints since it was properly for confessing Christ with their mouths for contending in the behalf of Truth against Error for serving God in Religious Assemblies
and their Parts quicker than those of the sincere and godly and moreover that some wicked men have arrived to greater knowledge in Religion than thousands of Religious persons ever had To this Objection I answer 1. That supposing an equality of other means and abilities he that is sincere towards God hath many advantages above a wicked man in order to the gaining of that knowledge to which the wicked may possibly arrive 2. That there is some knowledge in Religion proper to the godly which the other continuing as he is can never gain Now if that which is possibly to both may be more easily and certainly attained by the good man supposed to be equal in other respects to the wicked if there be something also that cannot be attained by the wicked though in other respects never so superior to the good man then is not the Rule of our Saviour disparaged by the pretence now mentioned but we have still as great reason to take his method as there seemed to be at first Now there are these two things which I hope to make out by the following Discourse First of all That supposing the good and the bad to be equally endued with natural Abilities of understanding and equally to enjoy the external means of knowledge the former hath great Advantages above the latter for the gaining of that knowledge in Religion which is possible to both this will appear from these two general Arguments 1. That sincerity of heart with a religious life is in it self a fit means to attain knowledge and that the contrary disposition and course of life renders a man very unfit to discern divine Truth 2. That there are many great promises of knowledge and wisdom made to godly men and to none else but that of his Justice he hath threatned and by the same Justice doth often infatuate the understandings of the wicked 1. That a sincere intent towards God and doing his Will is a fit means of it self to attain knowledge For in the 1st place It takes in all that is good and profitable in any other way of coming to the knowledge of the Truth For is searching the Scripture a good means doing the will of God includes that for it is his will that we should search the Scriptures Is hearkning to our Sipritual Guides another way It is the will of God that we should know them that labour amongst us and are over us in the Lord and admonish us Is an impartial examination of those grounds upon which the several Parties in Christendom pretend to hold the truth It is the will of God that we should prove all things and hold fast that which is good that we should not believe every spirit but try the spirits whether they are of God Is it the use of our own reason and arguing from Principles of natural Religion This is plainly supposed in the command of trying their Doctrines who pretend to instruct us in Revelation Is it of any use to enquire into the sense of Ancient Churches if we are able to do it this is not hindred but furthered by doing the will of God which always supposeth a sincere desire to know the truth for this sincerity gives a prosperous influence to the labours of the diligent and learned whereas if the interest of ambition or covetousness does mix it self with the studies of men and infect them with a secret disloyalty to the truth it doth most commonly blast their endeavours through the corruptness of their end making them bend their wit not so much to know the truth as to serve their Cause This is the first consideration That whatever is good and profitable in any other way is included in this 2. The obedient and honest mind is peculiarly fitted for the evidence of Divine Truth which is enough to satisfy the prudent and considerate and those that are willing to learn but not to bear down the prejudices and passions of the untractable To this purpose we may consider That our Saviour accommodated his Instructions to the tempers of the humble and willing But when he met with the captious Pharisees he returned them Answers like their Questions designing rather to silence their Arrogance than to inform them and convince them of the truth for he perceived all that labour was lost upon men of their perverse minds which was abundantly sufficient to satisfie those there that were wise and modest and disinterested Thus after they had been cavilling at his Doctrine he asks them whose son Christ was to be they said David's if David then says he call him Lord how is he his son where he left them speechless without explaining the difficulty for he knew Reason would not serve them So when they asked him By what Authority he did those things which he did and this after they they had known his wonderful Works he did not vouchsafe to give them a direct Answer but replies to their Question with another The baptism of John was it from heaven or of men He knew they would say They could not tell Neither tell I you says he by what authority I do these things How evident and reasonable soever the institution of the Gospel is it was not delivered in such a way as should certainly prevail against the obstinacy of the wicked and enlighten the minds of them that love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil but in such a way as would satisfy all that love the truth and are resolved to follow it Hereby God hath made great distinction between the humble and honest on the one side and the proud and insincere on the other while the best knowledge is easy and ready to the former but in comparison hard to the latter 3. Due reverence and love of God's Word is it self apt to promote the understanding of it which is a great advantage which the good man hath above all others what a man admires and delights in engages his whole Soul and makes it all attention and in that posture the mind apprehends more readily and clearly On the other side no man makes a good proficiency in that which he studies with an alienated mind and indeed it is impossible he should since he doth not put his strength to the work and his Soul is hardly present with the business he is about What other reason can we give why men that are accurate at one sort of business are heavy and inapprehensive at others for the Soul in it self hath a capacity equally open to the embracing of all Reason that therefore which makes the difference must be their value of and delight in one subject and their aversion from the other It is no wonder then if David as he speaks of himself was wiser than all his enemies and understood more than the ancients and had more understanding than his teachers themselves For saith he I have kept thy precepts I love thy law it is my meditation all the day long and the
should commit such Crimes as these not only without regret and horrour but with a chearful Conscience and the expectation of heaven in reward of their actions Wherefore that I might not lose the use of my understanding in most plain and evident matters that I might not be weaker than a Child or an Idiot I would never engage my self with the Contentious and Factious I would not dare to trust my self with a Party and would not serve a Cause but acknowledge a mistake though it were my Friend and follow truth where-ever it led me For nothing is more evident in the experience of the world than this That when men are led aside by their worldly Interests when their Reputations are engaged and they are made fast to a Party their understandings are so disabled that in a short time they confidently put themselves upon defending things most unjustifiable and believing things that are most incredible and impossible Let us therefore allow St. Peter's direction to lay aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisy and envyings and evil speakings and that for the reason by him given viz. that we may desire the sincere milk of the Word that we may desire and aim at the knowledge of the Truth for where that Assembly of Sins is got together or indeed where any one of them is it is apt to extinguish that very love of Truth the very desire of knowing it To proceed Luxury also and Voluptuousness and an impure course of Life is a very great impediment to the knowledge of the truth sometimes by introducing such Diseases as shatter the understanding and dull the apprehension they that always swim in sensual delights meet with rough and tempestuous Seas sometimes that shake their Bodies and at length Reason lik a drowning Pilot drops off and is drowned in pleasures it often happens that the Epicure grows crazy before his time and when his airy Fancy is evaporated by the heats of Youth and his Wit is grown flat and unweildly he himself becomes contemptible to the younger Debauchees that reign in his stead Temperance and Regular living have a kind influence upon the Intellectual Abilities of men to nourish and preserve them and lengthen them and all the while to make them more fit for their proper imployment but much more are they requisite to qualify us for a good understanding of Divine Truth because it requires a serious consideration diligent attention which the Epicure is a stranger to because she is spiritual and the mind cannot converse with her while it meets with the fumes of sensuality because she is of a purifying nature and not more an Enemy to uncleanness than the Voluptuary is averse from her good reason therefore had St. James when he shewed how we should receive the Word with meekness to exhort us that we lay aside all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness In a word The bent of the will and affections have such a sway over the understanding that daily experience shews how the same things appears differently to men nay to the same men according to the temper they are in for instance if persons that have lived long friendly together chance to fall out immediately former actions and speeches are remembred and commented upon and an ill construction put upon them though till that time they were taken well enough and yet the things are the same and the understandings of men were as able before as now only there is dislike now instead of the kindness that was before no wonder then if a vicious inclination and a guilty Conscience to obstruct the entrance of truth and sound knowledge into the mind since they must needs create an aversation to it discourse to a greedy worlding of Immortality and laying up treasure in heaven and he can hardly understand what you say 't is as insipid talk to him as a Lecture of Philosophy to a Child that understands nothing but play but fall upon some discourse that tends to getting drop but the hint of a good Bargain he greedily embraces every word and is as apprehensive as heart can wish and guilty men are apt to fortify themselves against all that can be said to disswade them from their beloved sins and that is reason enough why sin doth more or less bar up the understanding against Divine Truth Men love darkeness rather than light because their deeds are evil Now the conclusion from all this is evident on the one side one habitual worldly Lust is enough to hinder the true apprehensive of heavenly things and then how can they who drink iniquity like water who labour to quench the Spirit be fit to receive Divine Truths and to understand the things of the Spirit of God On the other side a sincere intention towards God removes all those impediments which obstruct the force of truth and moreover gives several advantages of its own towards the attainment of sound knowledge therefore it is in it self a fit means for that end A scorner seeketh wisdom and findeth it not but knowledge is easy to him that understandeth 2. There are many great Promises of Knowledge both in the Old and New Testament peculiar to good men but God hath in Justice threatned and by the same Justice he doth often infatuate the understandings of the wicked Now if goodness doth of it self lead to knowledge if there be a supernatural blessing that goes along with the sincere man to prosper his endeavours after knowledge what greater advantages can we desire in order to this end than those which sincerity towards God intitles us too Thus the very Text hath the force of a Promise If any man will do his will he shall know we have our Saviour's word for it and to be sure he will make it good and it appears by other places that something more is here meant than that knowledge is naturally promoted by goodness in Psal 25.9 it is said The meek he will guide in judgment and immediately again The meek he will teach his way Now certainly here is something promised to the meek that is not common to others and the guidance and teaching which is promised denotes clearly a blessing on their understandings But now if this be promised to meekness we cannot doubt but God will more plentifully fulfil his Promise to those who add to meekness purity and temperance and to that an universal love and fear of God and charity towards man especially considering that this Promise is repeated again to such Persons ver 14. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him and he will shew them his Covenant where God's Covenant explains what is meant by his secret and by his way ver 9. That way of God in ver 10. is said to be mercy and truth the Covenant of Mercy revealed by Christ which was a secret in former Ages so that the good man he that sincerely loves truth and intends obedience is here promis'd a signal blessing on his
life and power of it in his heart for this reason it is that the Faith of good Christians who are not so well verst in subtle reasonings as in religious practice cannot be shaken by the objections of a Sophister because they have that inward sense of the power and excellency of Divine Truths which is above all other argument They know by experience that in the keeping of God's Commandments there is great reward and cannot therefore be entangled by any artificial objections against it but that I may not be mistaken I do not pretend that the pleasure which a man finds in believing any Doctrine is always an argument that the Doctrine is true There are some Doctrines in the World that tend to licentiousness that weaken the obligations to an holy life and therefore are sweet to the carnal man because they can put him in possession of great joy in himself before he has that good title to it which can only be founded upon repentance and holiness therefore it is neither false nor allowable always to argue from the experience a man hath of the sweetness and pleasure of his perswasions to the truth of them as many misguided Souls have done but for all that it is most certain that Religion consisting in the belief of truth and the practice of goodness a man shall understand the power of the one and the excellency of the other by experience better than he can by meer speculation for the nature of things that are to be done is never so fully understood as by doing them and the force of Truth is never so thoroughly felt as when it makes the Will and Affections as well as the Understanding submit to it now the best way to avoid arguing to our selves fallaciously from our own experience and being imposed upon by the joy and pleasure which those perswasions yield that tend to carnal security the best way I say to avoid this is to follow our Saviour's rule by laying the foundation even of experimental knowledge in doing the will of God and applying our selves with all sincerity to the keeping of his Commandments because then we shall never argue from experience but in favour of the truth i. e. of true Virtue and Holiness and of those Principles which lead to the practice of it And most certainly there is that comfort and satisfaction in believing Divine Truth there are those Joys in living according to it which can never be thoroughly understood but by the practice of Religion and Virtue which no man can have a just conception of till he hath tasted and seen how gracious God is Solomon says That the ways of wisdom are pleasantness and all her paths are peace but then we shall never thoroughly understand this till we walk in them in the keeping of God's Commandments there is great reward but how shall we find this reward but in keeping of them It may be described to us by others but as imperfectly as the Pencil doth Life and Motion the best descriptions will fall short of the subject and if we be alienated from the life of God we cannot fully conceive it Nay most commonly the delights of the righteous are things flat and insipid and the representation of them is nauseous and irksom to the carnal worldling and he is hardly in a better condition to understand it than one that is born Blind can apprehend that saying of Solomon Truly light is sweet and a pleasant thing it is to behold the Sun The sum of all is this That if sincerity towards God in doing his will is a great advantage towards the obtaining of that knowledge which is possible to the wicked man the knowledge of speculation if also that knowledge is gained by it which the insincere have nothing at all of if the righteous do not only better apprehend the weight of arguments but understand more by having their senses exercised to discern between good and evil then have we great reason to follow our Saviour's method If any man will do his will he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God Only let us remember that this knowledge is not to be gained this blessing is not to be procured to our selves either by my discourse or by your hearing what hath been said concerning our Saviour's words no nor by granting the truth and reasonableness of what hath been offered in illustration of them but only by putting our selves seriously upon the trial of this way by doing the will of God for what hath been said of Divine Truths in the general holds good of this in particular That the excellency of our Lord's method for the gaining of good knowledge in the things of God cannot be thoroughly judged till we have applied our selves to the use of it and I doubt not but those that have made trial do acknowledge the truth of what hath been said FINIS