he lays down in the remaining part of the Text. 1. That this Righteousness proceeds from Faith The righteousness of God from faith to faith 2. That this principle of Righteousness was mentioned in the Old Testament As it is written the just shall live by faith And therefore we are first to enquire 1. What is the meaning of that Passage from faith to faith In what sense is the Righteousness which God requires said to be from faith to faith I answer that the meaning is this The Righteousness which pleaseth God is that which must begin from Faith which must still proceed from Faith and which at last must end in Faith For this is a saying like to that in Rom. 6.19 As ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity even so yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness For by serving iniquity unto iniquity is meant adding one sin to another and daily growing worse And by serving righteousness unto holiness is meant adding one degree of goodness to another and growing better And thus here the Righteousness which is from faith to faith is a Righteousness which first proceeds from Faith and is always built upon it afterwards and is at last perfected by it For that which the Apostle intimates by these words is That the Righteousness of a good Christian having Faith for the ground and reason of it does encrease as his Faith encreases and that the more he is rooted and strengthned in Faith the better he grows and he pleases God the more This seems to be the most natural interpretation of these words viz. That Faith is all along the Principle and Ground of that Righteousness which God expects and is pleased with But then 2. What relation hath that Passage out of the Old Testament to this matter As it is written the just shall live by faith I answer That the Apostle does hereby design to shew that though the Promises of the Gospel are incomparably more excellent than those that were made under the Law yet it was the belief of God's Promises then that held good men to the performance of their duty and intituled them to the favour of God The words are taken out of Habakk 2.4 God had promised the Jews that they should return from their Captivity in his appointed time v. 3. therefore says he though the vision tarry wait for it because it will surely come but the just shall live by his faith that is to say The sure belief of this Promise would support good men in the service of God under the Captivity in an Idolatrous Land and their Faith should be rewarded with a return into their own Country in God's appointed time In like manner Christians who have better promises viz. of an Heavenly Countrey do in this Faith work that Righteousness which the Gospel requires and for thus living by Faith in this World they shall live for ever in their Heavenly Countrey Faith was the foundation of the Jews observing their Law of outward Works and it was rewarded with such Blessings as that Law promised But the Gospel of Christ as we read in the foregoing Verse is the power of God unto salvation and therefore it is still true but in a much higher sense that the just shall live by faith because the Gospel requires an inward and spiritual Righteousness to which we are brought by the belief of promises of spiritual and eternal good things and because such Faith shall bring us to everlasting life Thus much for the Explication of the Text. And now my work shall be to enquire upon what ground it is that the Scriptures do attribute so much to Faith as they do and to shew that this is done without any disparagement at all to Godliness and Virtue And I have chosen this Argument to discourse upon that it may appear how unreasonably we of the Reformation are charged by our Adversaries as we often have been with Solifidianism as they call it that is with attributing all to Faith and leaving no necessity for Righteousness and good Works We do indeed with the Scriptures say That we are justified by faith and that the just do live by Faith but we do with the Scriptures also affirm Faith to be the principle of obedience and there is a righteousness from faith to faith without which we cannot please God nor be justified before him We do also renounce the merit of good Works and resolve the acceptance of them into the Grace and Mercy of God in not imputing our sins to us and when we have done all they are the gracious Promises of God and it is not the dignity of our own Righteousness that we rely upon but then we say it is the faith of these Promises that maketh us live to God by Repentance and good Works which are so necessary that we are dead without them Now from hence indeed it follows That where there is that faith which God requires holiness will follow For if we are justified by faith if he that believes shall be saved and yet without holiness no man shall see the Lord then they that believe are holy which if it be found true then we not to say the Scriptures are justified in attributing so much to Faith as we do that it is by Faith we please God that we live by Faith and that we are saved by Faith On the other hand it seems hard to understand how those great things should be spoken of Faith when there are many that do not hold faith and a good conscience but hold the truth in unrighteousness And since it follows more certainly That a man believes because he is holy than that he is holy because he believes it should rather have been said that a Believer shall live by his Righteousness than that the just shall live by faith and yet following the Scriptures we say that we live by faith and are justified by faith To clear this difficulty it will be requisite to consider well these two things 1. What the Nature of Faith is And 2. What power it has or what efficacy must necessarily be granted to it and when it hath that power and efficacy I shall not only aim at making the notions of these things clear but also profitable unto Godliness 1st then As to the Nature of Faith I do not see that the Scripture means any thing by Faith but a persuasion of the truth of something that is affirmed upon the Testimony of one that affirms it or upon some other reason besides sensible evidence or immediate knowledge And thus Divine Faith is a persuasion of the truth of those things which we have God's testimony for And that we are thus to understand these words Faith or believing in the Scriptures is very plain because otherwise the Scriptures must have altered the common sense and signification of words But can we think that when our Blessed Saviour required believing under the penalty of
so called also and which the Scripture requires Either they want the Faith of assenting to some needful Truth which perhaps doth not often happen or they want the Faith of a distinct and particular persuasion and application to themselves which happens more often or they want the Faith of frequent assenting of a permanent persuasion fixt in their hearts by consideration which I doubt is the frequent defect But now the Scripture doth not barely require that we should once for all persuade our selves of the Truths of God's Word but moreover That the word of God should dwell richly in us and that we should be rooted and established in Faith that Christ should dwell in our hearts by Faith and the like which is plainly to require a fixed and lively sense of Divine Truths upon our souls caused by much conversation with them and thinking upon them Now this I say That every act of Meditation or Thought upon these things is a distinct Assent to them and is therefore truly and properly Faith Now because we are to interpret Scripture by Scripture therefore this Scripture That by Faith we are justified is to be interpreted by the aforesaid Exhortations and consequently by Justifying Faith we are to understand an habitual and permanent persuasion of the great Truths of Religion effected by a frequent and just consideration of them and such Faith will justify because it will sanctify it will procure the relative change of putting us into a state of Favour with God because it will procure the real or personal change of subduing our corrupt affections and making us obedient to God from the heart For suppose a man by constant consideration to have gained such a sense of Spiritual things as by assiduity men come to have in all matters they frequently think of and converse about how is it possible but he must be a good man in the rest of his life But men are but half persuaded that never think of these things but by chance or when they cannot help it So that this is the great point wherein we exercise liberty in matters of Religion viz. Whether we will consider or not i. e. Whether we will often persuade our selves of the great Truths of God and a World to come or but very rarely This is the main hinge upon which our state turns and here lies the principal power we have still under the Grace of God to help and reform our selves which seems to be suggested by the Scriptures insisting so much upon it That we are justified by Faith for this shews us where our strength lies Nay the just himself lives by his Faith and it is by Faith that he perseveres in Righteousness And where such Faith is as I have now described it will not fail to influence the mind and conversation For we are led by persuasion to evil as well as to good and when a man doth ill it cannot be that at the same time he should be persuaded to do well No wonder therefore that the Scripture concludes of all wicked men That they are not persuaded of the truth of those things which they profess to believe They profess says the Apostle to know God but in works they deny him Tit. 1.16 But works neither deny nor affirm any thing they only shew whether we our selves do one or the other If then all that are disobedient are in a true sense unbelievers then all who fully believe are holy By Faith Abraham when he was tried offered up Isaac but if the command to offer up his Son was the Trial of his Faith then had he not obeyed his belief had not been true Therefore also where the belief is true where it is a fixed and lively sense of God and Religion where it doth not come in as a sojourner but dwelleth richly in the Soul it will sanctify and cleanse it In short This permanent persuasion of the Truths of the Gospel being that without which we cannot bring forth fruit unto God in all good works he hath required of us and with which we shall it must necessarily be the faith by which the just do live Finally therefore my Brethren Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might put on the whole armour of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil stand having your loins girt about with truth and having on the breast plate of righteousness and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace But above all take the shield of faith whereby ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit which is the word of God By all which it appears That Christian Truth is our Armour against Sin and therefore let that humble man's Prayer be ours and our care answerable Lord we believe help thou our unbelief And may the God of Truth increase our faith in us that it may be fruitful in good works to the glory of his Name and our eternal Salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen The Second Sermon HEB. XI 6. But without faith it is impossible to please him for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him THE words are the most comprehensive that I can find in all the Bible for bringing all that is necessary to be said concerning the true nature the full extent and proper use of Faith under one Text which possibly you will acknowledge if you consider with me the very deep and yet clear sense of these excellent Words The first clause of them contains a general Proposition But without faith it is impossible to please God The second contains a proof of that Proposition for he that cometh to God must c. By comparing the Proposition proved with the proof thereof we shall come to understand every phrase and word of the Text. For if we enquire 1. What is here meant by pleasing God in the general Proposition let us see what answers thereunto in the following words and we shall find by pleasing God is meant the doing of those things whereby God is pleased for saith the Apostle He that cometh to God must believe that he is Now to come to God is an obvious phrase signifying to worship God Wherefore it being supposed as the Apostle's form of arguing makes it necessary that to worship God or to come to him is to please him it must needs follow that to please God signifies the doing of those things whereby God is pleased But hence we must not conclude that the worship of God properly so called is the only thing that is pleasing to God because the Apostle's intent in the proof of his general proposition is to give some particular instance of each part thereof as I shall shew all along in the Explication of these words There are other things which please God besides
damnation and that when the Apostles and Evangelists wrote the New Testament in which they laid the same stress upon Faith that Christ himself had done before them that they I say should mean something else by the word than what it signified according to common use and yet that they should not tell us so The Writers and first Preachers of the Gospel did indeed treat of new Subjects viz. of those new Revelations of God's Will that had been lately made but when they made use of words that had a known meaning they did not depart from the received signification of those words But by Faith or believing men always understood being persuaded of the truth of some Proposition And thus Faith is described in the Scripture where it is described most fully In St. John 11.25 says our Saviour He that believeth in me though he were dead yet shall he live but this is explained v. 27. I believe that thou art Christ the Son of God that should come into the world And again John 8.24 If ye believe not that I am he ye shall die in your sins Moreover that Faith by which the Church should stand wanted nothing surely that belongs to the nature of Faith and that is thus expressed We believe and are sure that thou art Christ the Son of the living God and this because not flesh and blood but God had revealed it Thus Abraham's Faith which was imputed to him for righteousness was his accounting that God was able to raise up Isaac even from the dead And all the holy men mentioned in Heb. 11. are said to have died in faith being persuaded of the promises As to those that think there is more in the nature of Faith than this comes to they either return to this in other words or add something that doth not belong to the nature of it those that say there must be a particular application of the Promises where there is true Faith say well but then application is nothing else but a persuasion of or an assent unto a single Proposition For instance I am persuaded that God sent his Son into the world to save mankind is a general persuasion Christ came for my Salvation which is the Application is a particular one Without holiness no man shall see the Lord therefore without holiness I shall not This last is but persuasion and there is that in the former therefore Faith in both Again if resting and relying upon Christ is said to be Faith the meaning must be either that I am assured Christ will save me and this is being persuaded of the truth of that saying or else that I rely upon his Person but a Person cannot be believed otherwise than by believing something of him or something that he has said Some there are that think the nature of Faith doth consist in a certain degree of Persuasion and the Romanists tell us there must be Infallibility in it But now there is a weak as well as a strong Faith and though a greater degree of Assent is more working and powerful yet the nature of Faith is in the least Lastly some good men are apt to think that the goodness of the Will and Affections nay and Holiness of Life belongs to the nature of true Faith but this cannot be because although Faith where it is in that degree that it ought to be there as I shall shew it will produce holiness of Heart and Life and therefore Faith is sometimes spoken of in the Scriptures as comprehending those good Affections and those good Works which it causes yet sometimes they are distinguished from one another and therefore they are not the same so that when all is done the whole nature of Christian Faith doth consist in this That it is a persuasion of the Truth of those Doctrines which Christ hath made known to us Now for the second Point 2. Concerning the power and efficacy of Faith we are to consider that there are these two things attributed to it our Justification and our Holiness or Obedience to the Gospel And here we will first consider 1. What Efficacy Faith has as to the Justification of him that believes and this I shall shew very briefly and plainly in these following particulars 1. Faith may be said to be justifying or saving in that it puts a man into a good way of being justified and thus believing that Jesus is the Christ may be said to be justifying Faith because it is the first step towards Justification and believing his Precepts with his Promises and Threatnings is in this sense a more Justifying Faith because it brings a man nearer to that state in which he shall be justified But 2. If we speak of Actual Justification and continuance in God's favour then not any nor all the proper acts of Faith taken together but separate from Repentance and Obedience are sufficient for where God hath made more conditions than one necessary there the performance of all but one will not suffice and therefore where forgiveness and salvation is promised to one single condition there the presence of all the rest is supposed He that giveth a cup of cold water to a disciple in the name of a disciple shall not lose his reward but shall cold water wash away the treachery of Judas or the injustice of Pilate He that confesseth that Jesus is the Christ hath eternal life but still to be carnally minded is death He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved Nevertheless it is true that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven and therefore where nothing less than Salvation is promised to Believing and Baptism all that which in reason should follow is meant though it be not expressed 3. If we speak of final and irreversible Justification this is neither to be obtained by Faith nor Obedience without perseverance in both God doth in this Life justify true Believers but not once for all till they have fought their good fight and finished their course As the Lord in the Parable forgave his Servant and yet called him to account for his Debt when he proved cruel to his Fellow for this shewed that his pardon was but conditional So likewise says our Saviour shall your heavenly Father do unto you Now I confess what hath been said in answer to the first and second Inquiries gives no sufficient account why we are said to be justified by Faith so frequently in the Scripture but rather seems to make it more unaccountable For if there be no more in the nature of Faith than assent to Truth this seems to be a very common attainment not deserving those great things that are spoken of Faith in the Scripture Can that be the Faith by which all good men have wrought righteousness which hath been held in unrighteousness by as many wicked And then as to the power of this Faith in order to Justification Can that be the faith of God's elect which the Reprobates have as
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
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
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
demonstrate the Being of their Maker If it be possible which for ought I know it is to deface the Testimonies of a Deity which are written within us it is not yet possible to blot out those Testimonies of his Being which are left without us Most plain it is that we find our selves in a World contrived into admirable beauty and order and furnished with that marvellous variety of things excellent and ufeful that the whole scheme and fabrick of Nature to the dullest Observer appears to be an effect of great Wisdom and Councel i. e. of an understanding Being Nothing is more plain than that this World could not make it self Nothing is more plain than that a Cause it must have if of any great Effect it be reasonable to require the Cause or at least to affirm that it hath one Whatever the Cause of this World is it could not make it self for that is a perfect Contradiction By inevitable consequence therefore it follows That something there is which is so perfect it needed no cause to produce it i. e. that there is an Infinite Everlasting Being which is God the Maker of all things But to pursue this Argument in a more obvious but equally convincing manner We ordinarily distinguish between the Works of Art and the Works of Nature By the Works of Art we mean those Effects that are produced by the skill of Man by the Works of Nature those Effects which are constantly preserved and performed to our hands Now that those which we call the Works of Nature are the Effects of a Divine Skill as we confess the Works of Art are of Human Skill is demonstrable beyond all reasonable Contradiction If I see a Statue curiously carved a Picture elegantly described or a Monument with an Ingenious Inscription engraven upon it I must so necessarily conclude that the Statuary the Painter and the Graver hath been there that if I should either affirm that these things came by chance or were eternally what they are I should be in danger of being sent to Bedlam But this I will offer at any time to demonstrate That the meanest the most minute the most contemptible Works of Nature have really more beauty and uniformity more variety and to say nothing else more wonder in them than the most exquisite and rich Inventions the most magnificent and ingenious Contrivances of Human Art Bring me the vilest and poorest Insect that flies above the ground or crawls upon it bring me the simplest Flower the most common Plant that is scattered abroad in the Fields I will shew beyond contradiction that the beauty the proportion the parts the growth and the motions of these the most contemptible Works of Nature do infinitely transcend all the Performances of the richest Humane Fancy That the nearer we look into the Works of Art the more unpolished and rude they appear to be as he that would please himself with gazing on a Picture must view it at a distance but if he come too near the ruggedness of the Paint makes it look like an ugly thing and so it is more or less in all the Contrivances of Human Art But as all Philosophers know the more minutely we search into the Works of Nature even those that are most contemptible to see to and which vulgar eyes pass by without observing if they be the Snow that falls on the ground the Wings of the smallest Fly or the meanest Animal that creeps upon the Earth the more advantageously and minutely they are seen the more uniformity smoothness beauty of colour and figure and variety of parts discover themselves in them which plainly shews how much the Works of Nature transcend those of Art Now shall I who confess here is more of Councel Wisdom and Power seen in these most ordinary Works of Nature than in the best effects of Human Skill shall I be ashamed not to confess the Art of Man in these and yet doubt whether those be the Products of a greater Artist What shall I then say of the Earth that bears me and nourishes me of the Air that is extended for me to breath in of the Clouds that drop their fatness upon me of the Heavens that cherish me of the Sun that divideth the Day and Night and gives light and heat to the World and of all the Ornaments of Heaven and Earth and what of my self who am endued with a Body of wonderful contrivance and with those greater privileges of Reason Will and Understanding Are all these things too without an Artist that made them thus No madness is comparable to the but doubting that they are He that does so must either want his Senses or his Soul He must either deny that these things are what he sees them Effects of great Wisdom and Understanding or he must affirm That such Effects there may be without a Cause proportionable to them he must either say that something made it self or that there was no need that these things should be made i.e. he must affirm that which is impossible may be otherwise and hold Contradictions to be true Well then might the Apostle say The invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen being known by the things which he hath made even his eternal power and Godhead So that when I consider the mighty evidence of those Arguments for the Existence of a Deity which are drawn from the Works of Nature I cannot see wherein they differ from Demonstrations though some there be who are not pleased to call them so and I do not question but he that can be an obstinate Atheist against them would also if it were for for his interest deny that three and three is six or contradict the plainest Proposition in Mathematicks Upon the whole matter when I consider the Works of God I would rather chuse if there were any choice in these matters to believe all the Tales of the Roman Legends as my Lord Bacon observes and I add tho Transubstantiation were cast into the Scale than believe that this great Body is without a Mind that inform'd it And thus at last I have said something more than I intended upon the first Doctrine of Natural Religion That there is a God proving it to be true by natural Reason as indeed 't is only to be proved For we cannot prove it by Revelation to a Gainsayer since to attempt that way is to beg what we should prove viz. That there is a God whose Revelation this is This therefore is the first Principle of Religion without the belief whereof there can be no obligation conceived to Faith and Worship and the practice of Vertue I proceed to show what the next are in which I shall be very brief because the truth of those is very evidently consequent from the demonstration of this 2. It is fundamentally necessary to Religion and Virtue That we believe there is a Providence i. e. that God is the Governor of that World which
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
wisdom If the inward man be renewed day by day we are well recompenced though the outward man decays faster 2. God does sometimes send evil to prevent our falling into sin and then we cannot be so sensible what we gain by it because we were not aware of that danger we were running into if God had not applied a timely prevention who consults our safety not always by staying till a sudden remedy is needful but by keeping off an approaching mischief which he forsees whilst we have no apprehension of it And certainly those things work for our good which keep us from backsliding and growing worse Upon these two accounts the benefit is as real though not so sensible as the sharpness of the means and so we may rest without the trouble of any objection upon the truth of God's word That upon our prayer and submission no ill ever has or shall befal us in this World without redounding to a greater good I have thus spoken concerning the universality of the expression all things concerning the manner whereby good is produced by them and what is the kind and degree of that good for which they work together I proceed 4. To consider the qualification requir'd for the receiving of the benefit They shall work together for good to them that love God i. e. to all righteous and godly persons who are said in the very next words to be called according to purpose that is who answer their call to Christianity by a stedfast purpose of Heart to live according to it and if need be to dye for it Now when 't is said that all things shall work together for the good of such the meaning is not that no evil shall work for the good of any other For the Chastisements of this Life may bring a wicked man to repentance but it is more certain abundantly that they work for good to the righteous inasmuch as they desire to be made more conformable to the Image of God they do already value the riches of the mind above outward advantages they are already disposed to receive all good instruction and upon all vicissitudes to turn themselves to God by Prayers and Thanksgivings they have already lived by Faith and are therefore prepared to seek Consolations from his Word more diligently when any pressing need requires to them it is less hard to obey in suffering having been already accustomed to do the Will of God they have had experience of his goodness and do love him above all things and therefore are always disposed to take every thing in good part from him believing in his Wisdom and Goodness Finally they have a Title to the special Grace and Favour of God already and therefore cannot fail of more abundant supplies upon all needful occasions Upon all these accounts which it is sufficient but just to mention it is evident that a sincere Lover of God hath so many advantages towards making the best use of all accidents of Life that we may be assured they will work together for his good Which brings me to the last Point and that not of the least consideration viz. 5. That we know they will thus work for this is the Comfort which brings all the rest home to us that we are well assured thus it will be If when the evil were present the remedy were absent it were no remedy to us and it would be absent from us if we were ignorant of it As for the evils of this Life in general we know it is a vain thing to expect a total exemption from them it was therefore necessary for the relief of our minds to know likewise that they shall work for good to us As for those in particular which we are naturally most afraid of we know not certainly whether they will all befall us or not but under this uncertainty we are again relieved by knowing that if they do they shall turn to our benefit But how do we know it We know it many ways 1. From the goodness of God who does not delight in the grief of any of his Creatures much less of those that love him He would not therefore send affliction were it not to be converted into a means of greater good The troubles and pains of this Life are in themselves evil and therefore all that they can be good for is to be a means of some good or other for they can never become good in themselves and for their own sakes and therefore God would not inflict them if they were not good in their consequences 2. We know it farther because we are sure our Lord Jesus has made a compleat satisfaction to the Justice of God for the Sins of those that are truly penitent so compleat that upon the account of satisfying God's Justice they are neither liable to Temporal nor Eternal Punishments But yet God sometimes punishes good men in this World he often visits them with affliction since therefore his Justice is already satisfied it must be resolved into his Wise Mercy and Kindness towards them that he visits them with his Rod and suffers them not to go without some Chastisements 3. We know it because good men are so disposed that it is almost natural for them to reap great advantages by all the Changes and Chances of this Life it is no more than what the state of their minds and the course of their Actions has promised all along as we observed before But 4 Above all we know it because God hath said it he hath said it and therefore to be sure he will do all that is requisite on his part to make it good he hath said it in this very place and in innumerable places of holy Scripture as many as contain promises of his Presence will and Favour to his people in all conditions of Life Now to sum up all Seeing all evils of this World none excepted shall work for our good seeing they do of themselves contribute towards it by offering to us very considerable opportunities of benefitting our selves seeing the good for which they work is greater than the pain we endure and that the greater the evils are the good will therefore be greater seeing a good man is so disposed as to use those opportunities for his own advantage which they yield seeing he is farther enabled by the Spirit of God so to do finally since we know all this and are as certain of it as the goodness of God as the meritorious Death and Passion of our Saviour as the reasonableness of the thing and as the promise of God can make us then it is plain that in this Divine saying there is nothing wanting to encourage and comfort all those that truly love God and do his Will or to persuade all others to do so too which I proposed to shew at first And now Brethren what remains but that knowing these things we be so happy and so wise as to do accordingly and therefore that we be throughly
in our common and daily Conversation with Men and this will appear 1. By comparing the Prohibition with the Precept 2. With the particular instances whereunto the Prohibition extends 1. With the Precept But let your communication be yea yea nay nay i. e. let this be the manner of your ordinary discourse barely to affirm or deny or if need be sometimes with vehemence which perhaps is intimated by the repetition of yea and nay Now it is plain if this be the sense of the Precept that the Prohibition doth not extend to Cases which belong not to the common and ordinary Conversation of Men such as the deciding of Controversies for the security of the publick peace the assuring of sidelity to the Government and the ratifying of Leagues c. which are cases properly excepted from this Rule of an usual and ordinary communication with each other because they are no part thereof but I confess I do not lay the stress of the proof upon this Argument only but on this together with the second which is founded upon comparing the general Rule with the particular instances whereby the use of it is explained neither by Heaven for it's God's Throne c. Our Saviour's design in these words cannot be better understood than by considering what those corrupt Principles concerning the matter of Swearing were which had crept in among the Jews and first as their own Authors tell us it was generally held amongst them that they ought not to Swear by the Name of God in light and trivial Cases but they believed it was no Sin to Swear upon any occasion by a Creature that was a remarkable instance of God's Favour and Providence as by Heaven or by the Earth or by Hierusalem or by their Head which are the Instances here noted by our Saviour Secondly some of them and particularly the Pharisees taught that the Guilt of Perjury was not incurr'd when a falshood was attested by these kind of Oaths excepting only in the Cases of Swearing by the Gold of the Temple and the Gift upon the Altar by which Oaths they acknowledged themselves to be bound as we find Matth. 23. i. e. either to speak the Truth or to the Penalty of False-Swearing Hence I say that our Saviour's words Swear not at all neither by Heaven c. being spoken to Persons who well enough understood the Doctrines and Practises of their Countreymen in this matter could not reasonably be thought to have any other meaning than this That they ought not to Swear by the Creatures of God in any of those Cases wherein it is unlawful to Swear by the Almighty himself i. e. in their usual Communication with one another For it seems the Jews themselves were not arrived to that insolence which it is so dreadful to think that Christians now-a-days should not scruple of profaning the Name of the most high God by calling him at every turn to be Witness of their talk And therefore our Saviour found it needless to forbid them Swearing by his Name for they already believed that to be an impious thing but he tells them they must neither Swear by Heaven nor by any thing else as if he had said You have been allowed to liberty of Swearing as oft as you please provided you do not use the Name of God himself it is ordinary with you to Swear by Heaven and Earth and by the Temple and your Lives and Souls and that in those Cases wherein you rightly believe it would be a profane rudeness to invoke the Majesty of God directly But I say unto you Swear not at all you shall not henceforth take the liberty of using any kind of Oaths in those Cases wherein you are not to appeal to God himself but upon all these occasions whatever you assert or whatever you promise use the simplicity and plainness of some affirmation or denial And thus our Saviour restrained the licentiousness of those common Swearers that thought they might safely Swear by Heaven and use the like Oaths at any time and upon any occasion and withal corrected that abuse which the Doctrine of the Pharisees had brought into this Practice viz. That Men were not liable to the guilt of Perjury by such Oaths as these were which I shall more distinctly shew under the third Head The meaning then of our Saviours Prohibition is not this That it is unlawful at any time to Swear by the Name of God but that it is unlawful to Swear by any Creature in any Case wherein it would be so to appeal directly to the Knowledge and Justice of God himself 2. As to those Instances by which the general Rule is explained it is observeable 1. That Swearing by any of the Creatures is forbidden not only by Heaven and Earth which with the rest are particularly mentioned by our Saviour because these forms of Swearing were most in use amongst the Jews 2. We are to note that our Saviour calls it Swearing to use these forms of Speech in attesting what we say they are not so many words lost as we may be enclined to think but we bring upon our selves the obligation of an Oath by the using of them as shall presently appear If indeed any ways of speaking have obtained amongst us which look like Swearing but are not being altogether unapt to excite any Thought of Divine Justice I do not question but they are to be laid aside too because surely the Prohibition of Swearing at all excludes not only all real but all broken apish and insignificant Oaths but if it were not so one would think that a small measure of Sobriety and Wisdom should keep a man from debasing and vilifying the acknowledged forms of speaking that are peculiar to Oaths by applying them to such sensless sounds as make them to signify nothing 'T is a good Rule which a wise man hath given That all forms besides those wherein there is an immediate appeal to God are better avoided when there is need of Swearing and when there is no need we should not Swear at all neither by Heaven nor by any thing else Let us now consider 3. The Reasons why the Prohibition extends to these instances and the like not by Heaven for it's God's Throne and he that sweareth by Heaven sweareth by the Throne of God and him that sitteth thereon Matth. 23. Not by the Earth for it is his footstool it is a remarkable subject of his Providence and to Swear hereby is in effect all one as to appeal to God that upholds it by his Power Not by Jerusalem nor any holy place that hath a peculiar relation to God for the same reason nor by thy head for thou canst not make one hair white or black i. e. thou hast no power over thy life and art so unable to subsist independently upon God that thou canst not so much as alter the colour of thine Hair Now since thy Head thy Life and Safety depends upon the Divine Providence to Swear
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
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
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
endeavors to know the Covenant of God revealed in the Gospel whether enjoining the Duty he expects from us or promising those benefits and rewards in this or the other life which we may expect from him this very Promise we have again repeated Prov. 3.32 His secret is with the righteous it had been enough if God had passed his but once but since he hath so often repeated it we cannot doubt but that good men shall be blessed with a better apprehension of the things of the Gospel than others In John 8. the like Promises are made and the like Conditions upon which they are made are annexed ver 12. He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life shall know all things requisite to Life Eternal ver 32. Ye shall know the truth but 't is upon this condition ver 33. that ye continue in my word and John 14.21 I will love and manifest my self to every one that loveth me and keepeth my Commandments Upon the account of these and the like Promises as well as upon other grounds we may say with the Psalmist Psal 111. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom it is the best most auspicious entrance upon it and they that do thereafter have a good understanding having good security that they cannot fail of it To conclude this particular From all these Promises we may be most assured that every man following the rule of Christ shall not fail of so much knowledge as will secure his Eternal Life and even that is a mighty encouragement to observe this Rule If any of us were sure that some Angel attended us constantly observing all our actions insinuating good counsels and exciting good thoughts when our Passions grow wild and we are on the brink of sin it would infuse a great regard of all we did into us and we should reckon our selves happy men Certainly it is more happy to be under the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God what can be more desirable than to have him who is Wisdom it self opening our ears and sealing Instruction to us blessing our searches into holy things and accompanying our meditations with a ready and prosperous apprehension And this is that we are sure of whilst we are in the way of doing God's will because we are sure he is not slack in his Promises But this advantage will appear so much the greater if we consider that God doth sometimes deliver up wicked men to darkness of understanding and hath threatned that he will do so That he has done so St. Paul shews plainly Rom. 1. by the example of the Gentiles because they detained the truth in unrighteousness ver 19. and did not glorify God with that knowledge which he had given them they first became vain in their imaginations and their foolish heart was darkned ver 21. So they fell to Idolatry ver 22. and then we find that he gave them up to vile affections and a reprobate i. e. an undiscerning mind which knew no difference between good and evil and that God will deal so with us if we deny him by our works 't is but reasonable to expect tho' he had not said it but he hath given us sufficient warning in the threatning to the Church of Ephesus Rev. 2. Repent and do thy first works or else I will come unto thee quickly and remove thy candlestick out of its place their Candlestick is removed and now they are in Turkish darkness and so the burden of Ephesus is fulfilled But why I beseech you should that admonition be so often repeated in the second and third Chapters He that hath ears to hear let him hear what the Spirit saith to the seven Churches but to let us know that the threatnings there denounced belong to the Churches of Europe as well as of Asia and to England as well as to Ephesus And seeing every one has ears to hear and therefore ought to hear therefore every particular man is as liable to the same severity as whole Churches and therefore as by the sins of a Nation God may be provoked to deliver it up to darkness and delusion and to believe lies so for the sins of particular persons he may give them over to a Lying spirit and suffer Seducers to prevail upon them so that they shall not see the plainest truths in Religion nor discern the most gross and monstrous Errors Because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved for this cause God shall send them strong delusions that they should believe a lie that they might all be damned who believed not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness 2 Thes 2.11 It is not therefore unreasonable to conclude that the contempt of all holy things that reigns amongst many wicked men is from the Judgment of God giving them up to a reprobate mind their habitual Vices have violated their natural Instincts and raised out the sense of good and evil and moreover the vengeance of God's wrath is upon them giving them over to their own vileness permitting them to run on in wickedness without the checks and restraints of his good Spirit and to defy the goodness of God and to laugh at Counsels and Admonitions and to make haste to their own perdition thereby fulfilling that Prophecy of Daniel referring to the Times of the Gospel The wicked shall do wickedly and none of the wiched shall understand Dan. 12.10 Of what hath been said the sum is this If godliness be in it self a fit means to promote the knowledge of truth if it hath moreover a sure word of promise which the unrighteous have not That the righteous shall be assisted in the search of truth and if on the other hand ungodly men are under so many natural impediments that obstruct the knowledge of the truth and moreover lye under such severe threatnings of blindness it must needs follow that supposing the Good and the Bad to be equally endued with natural Abilities of understanding and equally enjoying the external means of knowledge that the former has vast advantages yet above the latter which was the first thing to be shown The Second is That there is some knowledge of Divine things that cannot be attained by the wicked man while he so continues though in other respects he be never so much superior to the righteous and that is the experimental knowledge of Religion which does above all other things confirm the Faith of a good Christian he that doth the will of God understands the power of good Principles to fortify him against temptations to restrain him from sin to keep him to his Duty to render it pleasant and delightful to him to moderate him in his prosperity and to support him in adversity and by all this he understands the great worth and excellency of true Religion incomparably better than any man who can talk learnedly and argue dexterously about it but never felt the
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