their Land of Canaan and the spiritual Sense of all their general Promises of good Things to come They had all the Articles of Faith and all the Instances of Duty that were necessary to their Attainment of eternal Life exhibited to them in the Writings of their Prophets and the Types and Figures of their Law For it was by this Rule alone that all the holy Men of the Iewish Nation did live and believe and either this was sufficient to guide and direct them to eternal Life or they were left under a fatal Necessity of falling short of it It was the Law of the Lord that did enlighten their Eyes and rejoyce their Hearts and convert their Souls and it was in keeping it that they found great Reward Ps. 19. 7 8 11. And therefore either they fell short of the Reward of eternal Life notwithstanding this their Illumination and Conversion or they found it in keeping that Law by which they were illuminated and converted and if in keeping their Law they found eternal Life then it 's certain that in their Law they had it So that these Words of our Saviour for in them ye think ye have eternal life do not imply that they were mistaken in thinking so or at least they only imply that they were mistaken in thinking to obtain eternal Life by adhering to the prime and literal Sense of their Law without pursuing the Mystery and Spiritual Meaning of it which was indeed the Error of the Pharisees with whom our Saviour is here discoursing For the internal Sense and Mystery of their Law was the Gospel all whose Articles of Faith and Precepts of Duty were though darkly and obscurely expressed and represented in the Types and Figures of the Mosaick Institution And hence the Apostle tells us that both the Priests and their Oblations did serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things Heb. 8. 5. So that the heavenly Things contained in the Gospel were the substantial Idea's which those Legal Types and Patterns contained and represented and the same Author calls that Law a shadow of good things to come Heb. 10. 1. that is it was an obscure Scheme or Prefiguration of the Mercies of the Gospel of which eternal Life is a principal Part. Since therefore the Law was nothing else but only the Gospel in dark and obscure Cyphers if in this we Christians have eternal Life in that the Iews had it also And therefore the Reason which our Saviour here urges to oblige the Iews to search the Scriptures of the Old Testament for in them ye think ye have eternal life doth at least equally oblige us Christians to search the Scriptures both of the Old and New For if they had just Reason to think they had eternal Life in the Old Testament and were thereupon obliged to search into it we have rather more Reason to think that we have eternal Life in the New since the New Testament is nothing else but only the Old decyphered and unriddled and therefore we must not only have eternal Life in this as they had in that but we must also have it far more expresly than they In the Prosecution of this Argument therefore I shall endeavour these Two Things I. To shew you that in the Holy Scriptures we have eternal Life II. That this is a very forcible Reason to oblige us to search them I. First that in the Holy Scriptures we have eternal Life that is that in them we have eternal Life proposed to us together with all that is necessary to be believed and practised by us in order to our obtaining it or in other words that the Holy Scripture is a sufficient Rule both of Faith and Manners to guide and direct 〈◊〉 to eternal Happiness And this is one Article of the Faith of the Church of England which we are required to explain to the People for so in her sixth Article our Church professes that the Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to Salvation so that whatsoever is not read therein or may be proved thence is not required of any Man that it should be believed as an Article of Faith or be thought requisite or necessary to Salvation Now to make the Scripture a sufficient Rule as to all Things necessary to Salvation there are two Things necessary First That it should be full and Secondly That it should be clear both which the Holy Scripture is in an eminent Degree as containing in it all that is necessary to be believed and done in order to eternal Life And this will evidently appear from these three following Propositions 1. That the Holy Spirit inspired the Writers of the Scripture with all that is necessary to eternal Life 2. That they preached to the World all those Necessaries with which the Holy Spirit inspired them 3. That all those necessary Truths which they preached are comprehended in those Sacred Writings of theirs of which the Holy Scripture consists 1. That the Holy Spirit inspired the Writers of the Scripture with all that is necessary to eternal Life For first our Saviour by whom they were originally instructed declares that as the Father loved him and shewed him all things that himself did Ioh. 5. 20. so he had made known to them all things that he had heard of his Father Ioh. 17. 8. And then when he went from them and ceased to instruct them in his own Person he promised that by his Spirit he would teach them all things and bring all things to their remembrance whatsoever he had said unto them Ioh. 14. 26. and that by the same Spirit he would guide them into all Truth Ioh. 16. 13. If therefore the Spirit did perform this Promise to them as there is no doubt but he did then we are sure that he did teach them over again whatsoever Christ had taught them before and if Christ had taught them whatsoever he had heard of his Father as he declares he had then it is certain either that he taught them all Things necessary to eternal Life or that he himself had not heard from his Father all Things that are necessary thereunto 2. That as they were taught by the Spirit all Things necessary to eternal Life so what they were taught they preached and delivered to the World For so our Saviour commanded them to go forth into all the World and teach all Nations to observe all those things which he had commanded them Matth. 28. 19 20. Which Injunction of his they strictly observed for so we are told that in Obedience to it they went forth and preached every where Mark 16. 20. And that their preaching extended to all Things necessary to Salvation is evident from their own Testimony For thus St. Paul tells the Ephesians that he had not shunned to declare unto them the whole Counsel of God Acts 20. 27. And to be sure in the whole Counsel of God all that is necessary to Salvation must be included And concerning that Gospel which he
THE Christian Life Wherein is shew'd I. The Worth and Excellency of the Soul II. The Divinity and Incarnation of our Saviour III. The Authority of the Holy Scripture IV. A Dissuasive from Apostacy VOL. V. and Last By IOHN SCOTT D. D. Late Rector of St. Gile's in the Fields LONDON Printed for Richard Wilkin at the King's Head in St. Paul's Church-Yard MDCXCIX To the Honourable SUSANNA NOEL Mother to the Right Honourable Baptist Earl of Gainsborough THis last Volume of the Works of my Dear Deceased Friend the Reverend Dr. Scott is humbly and gratefully Dedicated by Her Honours Most obliged and most Devoted Servant Humphrey Zouch The CONTENTS Discourse I. Of the Worth and Excellency of the Soul THe Connexion and Explication of the Text p. 1 2. The inestimable price and value of the Soul of Man in respect of its own natural Capacities represented under 4 Heads viz. It s Capacity of Vnderstanding p. 5 6. Of Moral Perfection p. 7 8 9. Of Pleasure and Delight p. 10 11 12 13. Of Immortality p. 14. to p. 19. Of what Esteem the Soul is in the Iudgment of those who best know the worth of it viz. the whole world of Spirits p. 20. to p. 32. Four Inferences from hence p. 33. to p. 43. What is meant by losing ones Soul explain'd p. 44. The Soul liable to a sevenfold Damage in the other World p. 45. to p. 65. Seven Causes of the Danger we are in of incurring this Damage p. 66. to p. 89. Men may forsake Christ and thereby lose their Souls 4 ways By a total Apostacy p. 90 91. By renouncing the Profession of his Doctrine p. 92 93. By obstinate Heresie p. 93 94 95. By a wilful Course of Disobedience of which there are three degrees the first proceeds from a wilful Ignorance of Christs Laws the 2d from a wilful Inconsideration of our Obligation to them the 3d from an Obstinacy in Sin against Knowledge and Consideration p. 95. to 103. Four Reasons why our forsaking of Christ infers this fearful loss of our Souls p. 104. to 115. That God if he be so determin'd may without any Injury either to his Iustice or Goodness detain lost Souls in the bondage of Hell for ever prov'd in 6 Propositions p. 117. to 130. That God is actually determin'd so to do demonstrated by 3 Arguments p. 131. to 139. A Comparison between the gain of the World and the loss of a Mans Soul in 6 Particulars whereby is shewn of which side the Advantage lies p. 140. to 164. Discourse II. Of the Divinity and Incarnation of our Saviour A General Explication of this Term. The Word p. 166. A full account of it in 4 Propositions shewing That it was derived from the Theology of the Iews and Gentiles 167. to 174. That we ought to fetch the Sense of it from that antient Theology p. 174 176. That in that Theology it signifies a vital and divine Subsistence p. 176. to 180. And that our Saviour to whom it is applied in the NewTestament is that vital and divine Subsistence p. 180 181 182. To be the Word of God denotes 4 Things To be generated of the Mind of the Father To be the perfect Image of that Mind To be the Interpreter of the Fathers Mind and to be the Executer of it and in these is founded the Reason of our Saviours being called The Word p. 183. to 196. What we are to understand by the Word 's being made Flesh p. 197 198. Five Inferences from this Doctrine p. 199. to 213. What is meant by the Words dwelling among us explain'd p. 215. to 225. His is dwelling among us full of Grace explain'd in five particulars p. 226. to 245. His dwelling among us full of Truth explain'd in general p. 246 to 256. Four Instances of his dwelling among us full of Truth in Contradistinction to that obscure typical way of his Tabernacling among the Iews p. 247. to 270. Four Inferences the first From his dwelling among us p. 270. to 277. The 2d From his dwelling among us full of Grace and that 1. In respect of his own personal Disposition p. 277. to 280. 2. Of his Laws p. 281 282 283. 3 Of the gracious Pardon which he hath procured for us and promis'd to us p. 284 285 286. 4. Of the abundant Assistance he is ready to vouchsafe us p. 287 288. And 5. Of the glorious Recompence he hath promised to and prepared for us p. 289 290. The 3d From his dwelling among us full of Truth p. 291. to 296. The 4th From all these laid together He dwelt among us full of Grace and Truth p. 297. to 305. The Glory of the Word which the Apostles beheld consisted in 4 things 1. A visible splendor and brightness which encompass'd him at his Baptism and Transfiguration p. 307. to 311. 2. Those great and stupendous miracles which he wrought p. 311 312 313. 3. The surpassing Excellency and Divinity of his Doctrine p. 314. to 317. 4. The incomparable Sanctity and Purity of his Life p. 317. to 321. This Expression The Glory as of the Only-begotten Son explain'd p. 321 322. That the glory of Christ in the Tabernacle of our Natures was such as became the Only-Begotten Son of the Father prov'd in the several particulars â—â—herein it consists p. 323. to 336. Four Inferences from this fourfold glory of the Word which the Apostles saw p. 337. to the end Dis. 3. Of the Authority of the Holy Scriptures THe fulness of the Scriptures as a Rules of Faith and Manners prov'd in 3 Propositions 1. That the Holy Spirit inspir'd the Writers of them with all that is necessary 〈◊〉 eternal Life p. 364. 2. That they preached to the World all those necessaries which they were taught p. 365. 3. That all those necessary Truths which they preached are comprehended in the Scriptures p. 366. to 380. The clearness of the Scriptures prov'd 1. From the express Testimony of Scripture p. 381. to 386. 2. From the avowed design of writing it p. 387 388. 3. From the frequent Commands God lays upon us to read it p. 389 390. 4. From the obligation that lies upon us under pain of Damnation to believe and receive all those necessaries to Salvation contained in it p. 391. Four Considerations in answer to those of the Church of Rome who tell us that though all things are not revealed clearly in the Scriptures yet we have sufficient reason to believe them since God has left us to the condact of an infallible Church p. 392. to the end Dis. IV. Of the Obligation of the People to read the Scriptures THat the People are obliged to search and read the Scriptures prov'd 1. From the Obligation the Iews were under to read and search the Scriptures of the Old Test p. 408 409. 2. From our Saviour and his Apostles apprebation of this practice of the Iews p. 410 411. 3. From the great design and intention of writing the Scriptures p. 412 413.
altogether consists in serving your selves but to disobey so dear a Friend to whom we are obliged by such stupendous Favours when he enjoins us nothing but the Means of our own Happiness is such a Piece of monstrous and unnatural Baseness as the Devil himself can hardly parallel O unkind that we are that we will not be good to our selves for our Saviour's sake and that when he conjures us to it as he doth even by all the Love that we owe him For so Iohn 14. 15. If ye love me saith he keep my Commandments Consider what mighty things I have done for you how I left my Throne in Heaven for your sakes and became a miserable mortal Man And now that I am going from you and am offering up my Life to redeem you if ever I have merited any Love at your hands express it in keeping my Commandments 'T is no great matter that I require of you 't is only that you would be kind to your selves that you would let Misery alone and endeavour to be as happy as Heaven can make you This is all the Requital that I expect at your hands that you would be as good and happy as I would have you and this which is the sum of all my Commands I conjure you strictly to observe even by all the Love that you owe me O blessed Iesus one would have thought thou hadst been requiring some mighty Trial of our Love to thee that we should do some great Thing for thee to which nothing could prompt us but only our Gratitude and Kindness But when thou only requirest us to express our Love to thee in doing that which is the highest Expression of our Love to our selves can we be so disingenuous as not to do that for thy sake to whom we are so infinitely obliged which we are bound to do for our own sakes as well as thine 5. And lastly Hence I infer what a glorious Thing it is to do Good since the Son of God having so great an Opportunity of doing Good to the World thought it worth his While to come down from Heaven and assume our Natures and undergo our Miseries as if he esteemed it more glorious and becoming the Majesty and Divinity of his Person to dwell upon Earth with poor miserable Mortals among whom he might do the greatest Good than to sit above upon the Throne of Heaven and receive the most humble Adorations of Angels for 't was only for an Opportunity of doing the greatest Good that he exchanged the Glory and Happiness of Heaven chusing rather to become a miserable Man to make others good and happy than to continue among those infinite Delights with which the Heavenly State abounds What a most glorious Thing then is it to do Good when our most wise Redeemer chose it before Heaven it self when he thought it more eligible to come down upon Earth and make us happy than to dwell in the Bosom of his Father and shine in Heaven with the Brightness and Glory of his Divinity And if there be nothing in Heaven so glorious as doing Good what is there upon Earth that may be compared unto it What dim what sullied Things are all the Pomps and Splendors of this World compared with the Glory of doing Good to others when God preferred it before Heaven it self To conquer Kingdoms to lead the World in Triumph after us how mean and inconsiderable are they compared with that Glory which the Son of God forsook meerly to do Good to the World A Thing which he esteemed so great and illustrious that he did not only leave Heaven for it but scorned and despised the Kingdoms of the Earth finding nothing below that was worthy of him but only to go about doing Good For this was his constant Imployment as you may see Acts 10. 21. And now is it possible that after this great Example we should think Beneficence a cheap or vulgar Thing Can we think it a Dishonour to stoop to the meanest Offices whereby we may serve the Souls or Bodies of our Brethren when the Son of God came down from Heaven and vailed his Glory in mortal Flesh for no other End but to do Good O foolish Creatures that we are did we but understand and consider what a magnificent Thing it is to supply the Necessities of Men and contribute to their Happiness we should doubtless embrace it as our greatest Preferment and think our selves bound to bless God for ever for furnishing us with Occasions of doing Good that he doth deem us worthy of such an illustrious Imployment to have some share with himself in the Glory of it that he will vouchsafe to us an Opportunity to honour and magnify our selves by acting this Divine this Godlike Part in the World Never then let us think that we dishonour our selves though we stoop never so low when it is to do Good no though it be to visit a Beggar to dress the Sores of a poor Lazar to instruct or comfort the meanest Wretch in all thy Neighbourhood For now thou actest the Part of God in doing the most glorious Thing in all the World a Thing for which the greatest Princes may envy thee and the blessed God for ever applaud thee Now thou art doing that which the Son of God came down from Heaven to do and which he thought more worthy of his Choice than to reign over Angels in Heaven So that either we must say that He was unwise for preferring it before Heaven or else we must acknowledge that we are infinitely foolish in preferring any Thing in the World before it II. I now proceed to the Second Proposition And dwelt among us full of Grace and Truth For that these later Words full of Grace and Truth belong to the former And dwelt among us you may plainly see by the Parenthesis in your Bible by which they are interrupted and broken off from one another In the Explication of these Words I shall do these Two Things 1. Enquire what is here meant by the Word 's dwelling among us 2. What we are to understand by his being full of Grace and Truth 1. What is here meant by the Word 's dwelling among us In the Greek it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is he pitched his Tabernacle among us which seems plainly to refer to God's dwelling in the Tabernacle under the Mosaic Law For the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 comes immediately from the Hebrew Shacan and differs from it only by the Greek Termination and from Shacan comes the word Shechinah by which the Hebrews were wont to express God's glorious Presence upon Earth and especially his Habitation in the holy Tabernacle between the two Cherubims where he is said to dwell 1 Sam. 4. 4. and 2 Sam. 6. 2. because from thence God was wont to speak and discover himself by a visible Brightness and Glory And accordingly this Presence or Habitation of God is called in the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
Chaldee Paraphrase stiles the Word of God and therefore those Words of God to Ioshua Ios. 1. 5. As I was with Moses so I will be with thee the Paraphrase renders thus As my Word was assisting to Moses so it shall be assisting to thee And 't is the Observation of the Learned Masius that generally where the Hebrew Text speaks of God either conversing with Men or managing their Affairs that Paraphrase instead of God uses this Phrase the Word of God From whence it is evident that it was the received Doctrine of the Iews that God was always present with Mankind by his Eternal Word which is therefore the more considerable because it so exactly agrees with the Doctrine of the Primitive Fathers For so Tertullian Christus semper egit in Dei Patris nomine ipse ab initio conversatus est cum Patriarchis Prophetis And in his Book against Praxian he tells us That from Adam to the Patriarchs and Prophets Christ always descended to discourse with Men and that that God who conversed upon Earth with Men was no other than that Eternal Word that was to be made Flesh. And the same Thing is strenuously asserted also by Iustin Martyr in his Discourses with Trypho the Iew. Nor can I see any Reason why he should not be the Angel of God's Presence since elsewhere he is expresly called the Angel of that Covenant by which God hath oblig'd himself to be present with his Church for ever Mal. 3. 1. And the New Testament so often declares him to be the Image and Character and Representative of God and himself tells Philip that he did so perfectly represent the Father that whosoever had seen him had seen the Father Ioh. 14. 9. And if this be so as it seems highly probable that The Word was the Angel of God's Presence that is the Chief or Prince of those Angels that represented God in the World then it will follow that the Shechinah or Majestick Presence of God consisted in a glorious and visible Appearance of the Word with a Troop of blessed Angels attending him in bright and luminous Forms And this I conceive was the glorious Presence of God which came down first upon Mount Sinai and afterwards removed into the Tabernacle and abode between the two Cherubims And this I am rather induced to believe because I find the Descent of God's Presence upon Mount Sinai is described in the same manner as Christ's coming to Judgment for so Matth. 16. 27. it is said that he shall come in the Glory of his Father with his Angels and St. Iude tells us that he shall come with his holy Myriads or Ten Thousands v. 14. for so it ought to be render'd And the Lord in the same manner is said to come from Sinai with his holy Ten Thousands or Myriads for so it is in the Hebrew Deut. 33. 2. And since they are both described in the same manner it seems to follow that they were both the same Majestick Presence of God even the Eternal Word assuming a glorious Form and attended with Myriads of bright and shining Angels And this same Presence it was that was afterwards displayed in the Tabernacle which was said to be filled with the Glory of the Lord which shone from between the Cherubims with a bright and visible Splendour that is with the illustrious Appearances of the Eternal Word and those glorious Angels that attended him And upon that Mount and in that Tabernacle did this blessed Word represent his Father even as the Vice-Roy doth the Sovereign Prince for there in his Father's Person and by his Authority he gave forth his Laws and Oracles to the Seed of Abraham and as the Vice-gerent of the most High God governed the House of Israel and distributed to them Rewards and Punishments according as they behaved themselves towards him For upon all the fore-named Reasons it seems highly probable that he was the Lord who spoke to Moses and from between the Cherubims and that thence delivered the Law to him So that as he was the Shechinah or glorious Presence of the most High God in the Tabernacle he did there represent his Person by bearing his Authority and ruling the House of Israel as his Substitute and Vice-Roy And that the Words of my Text do refer to this glorious Appearance of the Word in the Tabernacle and to his representing of the most High God there is very evident in that it is not only said that he tabernacled among them which evidently alludes to his dwelling in the old Tabernacle but that they saw his Glory too which is a plain Allusion to that Glory of his which filled the Tabernacle So that the Meaning of these Words He dwelt among us seems to be this that as Christ who is the Eternal Word was the Shechinah the Divine Presence or Angel of God's Presence which in the Tabernacle of old represented the most High to the Iews so he also abode or tabernacled in our Flesh as the Representative of his Father to Mankind In the Tabernacle of our Flesh he displayed the Glory of his Father to us he openly manifested and represented him to the World even as of old he was wont to do in the Tabernacle of Moses For for The Word to Tabernacle among us must necessarily signify more than barely to dwell or live among us for it must signify to dwell as the Shechinah in the Tabernacle that is as the most glorious Presence or Representative of the most High God as one that was vested with the Divine Authority and that was the Vice-gerent of the Father of all things So that He dwelt among us seems to signify the same with He reigned among us in his Father's stead as one who bore his Authority and represented his Person and to whom for the future we were to pay the same Homage and Reverence that we were bound to render to the most High himself who under himself hath authorized him to be our Prince and Governour to declare his Divine Will to us and exact our Obedience thereunto by rewarding and punishing us according to the Tenour of those Laws which he hath established in his blessed Gospel for this is plainly implied in his Shechanizing or Tabernacling viz. his being the glorious Representative of God in the World He tabernacled among us that is he acted in God's stead as one that represented his Father and this he did in our Flesh in a far more glorious manner than ever he did in the Mosaic Tabernacle For in our Flesh and Nature he tabernacled full of Grace and Truth which brings me to the next Enquiry viz. 2. What is here meant by his dwelling among us full of Grace and Truth By these two Phrases the Design of the holy Penman is doubtless to distinguish the Manner of his dwelling among us from that of his dwelling among the Iews in the Tabernacle For a little after he uses the same Phrases in Contradistinction to the Law of
that Representation which he made to them of God and Divine Things were false and imposturous no God forbid But thus whereas when He inhabited the Tabernacle he was full of Hieroglyphicks or mystical Representations which though they were true Pictures or Shadows of Divine Things yet have not the Truth and Reality of the Things themselves in them and consequently would be Lies and Cheats should they pretend to be what they only represent but now he is come to dwell among us he is full of the Things themselves of those Realities which formerly he only gave us the Types and Shadows of now he hath removed all that Scene of Pictures and mystical Representations and brought the Things themselves upon the Stage and exposed them naked to the View of the World So that now he doth not entertain us as heretofore he did the Iews with Emblems and Shadows but with Truth and the real Substances of Things And thus the Word is very frequently taken in the New Testament Thus Heb. 8. 2. the Christian Church is called the true Tabernacle in Contradistinction to the Tabernacle of Moses not as if that were a false Tabernacle but a typical one it being designed only as a Shadow of the Christian Church which is the true Reality and Substance which was pictured and represented in it for so the Apostle himself explains it Heb. 9. 24. For Christ saith he is not entred into the holy places made with hands which are the figures of the true but into Heaven it self From whence it 's plain that therefore those Holy Places are opposed to true Places because they were only Figures or mystical Representations of something that is real and substantial So Dan. 7. 16. when Daniel desired to know the Truth of that Prophetick Scene it is said that One stood by and made him know the Interpretation of the things that is what was the Reality and Substance that was represented in those Types and Figures So here He dwelt among us full of Truth that is when he dwelt among us he was full of the Substance and Reality of those Things which before he was wont to represent by obscure Emblems and Shadows now he presents to us the Things themselves and not the mystical Types and Figures of them as formerly he was wont to do For I think it 's very evident that the whole Model of the Iewish Polity was purposely contrived to be an Emblem and Representation of the Gospel and that the main Reason of those numerous Rites and Ceremonies was to delineate and shadow out the glorious Mysteries of Christianity For the Apostle plainly tells us that they were all a shadow of things to come and that the Body or Substance of that Shadow was Iesus Christ Col. 2. 17. And the Author to the Hebrews calls them the Patterns of the things in Heaven or the heavenly Things by which it's plain he means Christ or the Subjects of the Kingdom of Christ since he tells us that as it was necessary that those Patterns should be purified with Blood so it was necessary that those Heavenly Things represented by them should be purified by a better Sacrifice Heb. 9. 23. And what other Heavenly Things are there but only Christians that are purified with this better Sacrifice of Christ And in another place the same Author tells us that the Law hath in it a Shadow of good things to come Heb. 10. 1. And thus very frequently in the New Testament the sacred Rites of the Mosaick Law are declared to be Types and Shadows of the Mysteries of the Gospel as particularly in the Epistle to the Hebrews which is almost wholly spent upon this Argument And this the Iews themselves seem to be acquainted with long before the Publication of the Gospel For so the most ancient Iews look'd upon the Temple as a Type and Figure of the Heavenly State and Philo the Iew in his Allegories of the Law and almost in all his other Writings makes the Rites and Ceremonies of the Mosaick Law to be Types and Figures of some Divine or Moral Truth and particularly the High Priest to be an Emblem of the Eternal Word and his Crown and Vestments to be Representations of his Authority and Divine Perfections wherein he exactly agrees with the Author to the Hebrews And from sundry Passages in the Book of Psalms it seems evident that the good Iews had a Prospect beyond the Outside and Letter of the Law even into the typical Sense and Meaning of it and that through its glimmering Shadows and Resemblances they beheld very much of the Substance and Realities of the Gospel For hence probably was that of David Ps. 25. 14. The Secret of the Lord is with them that fear him for certainly the Secret of the Lord here cannot be meant the Fore-knowledge of future Events since under the Old Testament that was neither restrained to good Men nor much less was it universally with them that feared God and therefore it seems more probable that by it we are to understand those then secret Mysteries of the Gospel which were so obscurely represented in the Types and Figures of the Law especially if we compare this with that Prayer of David Ps. 119. 18. Open thou mine Eyes that I may behold the wondrous things out of thy Law which methinks plainly intimates that the good Man did believe there were some wondrous Mysteries contained under those dark and typical Representations And afterwards v. 27. make me to understand the way of thy Precepts so shall I talk of thy wondrous Works which implies that he believed that there were some Things very mystical and hard to be understood contained within the Precepts of their Law which in their literal Sense were easy and obvious and had nothing of Depths or Mystery in them and therefore certainly had he not seen something within them beyond their Rine and Outside he would never have prayed so earnestly as he doth that God would teach him his Laws and that he would not hide from him his Commandments as he doth v. 19. much less would he have imagined that by understanding of them he should be enabled to talk of such wondrous Things Afterwards v. 69. he tells us that he had seen an end of all Perfection but God's Commandments are exceeding broad which denotes that he who had seen an End of all Things else had discovered so vast and boundless a Depth in the Commands of God that he could see no End of it whereas it 's plain that the literal Meaning of them was very narrow and contracted and far from being so exceeding broad which argues that the good Man had discovered under the Letter and Surface of them a Mine of mystical Sense which he could not reach the Bottom of and that God had given him a Glimps of those glorious Secrets of the Gospel which he had wrapt up and involved in the typical Precepts of the Law Thus the Eternal Word while he tabernacled
glorious Things he was to transact in his Incarnate State and this he did chiefly by the High Priest and those Expiatory Sacrifices which he ordained and instituted among them as you may find it demonstrated at large in the Epistle to the Hebrews For as to the High Priest he was to be called and ordained of God Heb. 5. 4. in which the Eternal Word represented to them his Commission from the Father to descend into the World as his Embassador to Men. Secondly He was to be born of a Woman that came a pure Virgin into the Arms of his Father Levit. 21. 14. in which he seems to represent to them his own pure Nativity of a Virgin-Mother Thirdly He was to be washed with Water and his Flesh and Loyns were to be covered with the whitest and the cleanest Linnen Exod. 29. 7. and 28. 42. by which Christ typified to them the IMMACVLATE Sanctity and Innocence of his humane Life Fourthly He was to be clothed in the most glorious Garments that could possibly be made by the most excellent Workmen Exod. 28. 2 3. which seems to denote the Majesty of Christ's Person and those glorious Works by which he render'd himself so illustrious in the World Fifthly The Colours of the Embroideries of his Garment being blue purple scarlet and white seem to denote the Truth of his Prophetick Office the Majesty of his Royal the Perfection of his Priestly and his Innocence and Sanctity in the Execution of them all Sixthly He wore a holy Crown on his Head and a Plate on his Forehead engraven with Holiness which denotes the Divine Authority of Christ and the Sacredness and Divinity of his Person And Seventhly Upon his Breast he wore the Vrim and Thummim in which was prefigured the Height and Purity of Christ's Doctrine and the Holiness and Perfection of his Laws In a word the High Priest was to offer Sacrifice for the Sins of the People on the great day of Expiation which Sacrifice was to be a Beast without blemish voluntarily presented at the Door of the Tabernacle whither the High Priest being come he was to strip off his glorious Garment to lay his Hand on the Head of the Beast and to confess the Peoples Sins over it and then to slay the Beast and carry some of the Blood of it within the Vail and sprinkle it upon and before the Mercy-Seat by which he is said to make an Attonement for their Sins that is to obtain Authority from God to bless and pardon In which the Eternal Word gives us a plain Representation of his future Sacrifice upon Earth and Intercession in Heaven for he being both our Sacrifice and High Priest did freely divest himself of the Glory and Dignity of his Humane Nature and offer up himself to die for us by which he laid his Hand as it were upon his own spotless and immaculate Head did as our Representative acknowledge what we had deserved that for our Sins we have justly merited to die for ever by the Hand of God even as He for our sakes did submit to die by the Hand of Man And having performed this bloody Sacrifice he enters into Heaven which is the true Holy of Holies and there by the Oblation of his Blood and Obedience makes an Atonement for our Sins and obtains Authority from his Father to pardon and receive into Favour every truly penitent Offender in the World Thus you see how the Personal Transactions of our Saviour were under the Law of Moses represented in mystical Types and Figures but when he came to tabernacle among us he did all that which before he only represented He actually came down from the Father to us was born of the Holy Virgin lived a most holy and innocent Life died a Sacrifice for our Sins and is gone into Heaven to intercede for us So that now instead of Types and Figures we have the Substances and Realities that were obscurely shadowed and represented in them 2. Another great Instance of his conversing among us full of Truth is the Purity and Spirituality of his Laws It 's apparent that those which he gave to the Iews according to the literal Sense of them did only oblige them to an external Obedience and therefore St. Paul calls the whole Law a carnal Commandment Heb. 7. 16. and the Precepts of it he calls carnal Ordinances imposed upon them till the time of Reformation Heb. 9. 10. But yet it is apparent that by these carnal Ordinances the Eternal Word did designedly typify and represent that internal Purity of Soul which the Evangelical Law doth exact For he seeing that the Iews were not only a perverse but also a dull and sottish People as those generally are who are born and bred in Slavery and that therefore they were incapable of sublime and spiritual Precepts and would be apt to forget plain ones He therefore thought it most proper and suitable to their Capacity and Genius to instruct them by sensible and material Signs even as Parents do sometimes teach their Children by Pictures for of this his Condescention to their Dulness and Capacity the Prophet Isaiah takes notice Chap. 28. 10 11. where he saith that he gave them Precept upon precept line upon line here a little and there a little with a stammering tongue that is he look'd upon them as Children and so condescended to their Weakness and spoke to them in their own Dialect And this Way of instructing them by outward and visible Signs was the most probable to take effect because it was much in use in the Eastern Countries but more especially in Egypt whose Manners they were infinitely fond of to wrap up their most excellent Precepts in Hieroglyphicks which were nothing but Pictures and material Signs by which they represented their Divine and Moral Institutions Thus therefore by such visible Signs and Pictures the Eternal Word instructed them in the Rules of internal Purity and Goodness so by Circumcision he signified to them the Circumcision of their Hearts and by their several Washings Purity from Hypocrisy and Sensuality yea this was probably the Intent of that Difference of Meats as St. Barnabas in his Epistle tells us that Swines Flesh was pronounc'd unclean to instruct them not to live like Hoggs that clamour when they are hungry and forget their Masters when they are full that Eagles and such ravenous Birds were forbidden to be eat to teach them that those who live not by Industry but Rapine are abominable that Fish without Scales which generally dwell in the Mud were all pronounced unclean to teach them the Evil of Sensuality and Earthly-mindedness Thus by these outward Signs his Intent was to insinuate into them internal Purity of Mind and this was very well understood by those who were good and wise among them Hence we find David gives very high Encomiums of the Law Ps. 19. 7 8. The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the Soul making wise the simple rejoycing the Heart enlightning
the Eyes c. which Characters are proper only to that inward and spiritual Sense of the Law that was decyphered upon those outward Signs and Ceremonies Which Sense seems to have been very little taken notice of by the sottish Vulgar for only the Ceremony it self was Matter of Law to them which if they observed they were not punishable by that Law though they never took notice of its spiritual Sense and Meaning which made them neglect that inward Purity which was pictured on those outward Signs and place the whole of their Righteousness in an outside ceremonious Pageantry Hence is that of St. Paul 2 Cor. 3. 13 14 15. I used saith he great plainness of Speech And not as Moses which put a Vail over his Face that the Children of Israel could not stedfastly look unto the end of that which is abolished But their Minds were blinded for until this day remaineth the same Vail untaken away in the reading the Old Testament which Vail is done away in Christ By which Vail he means those outward Shadows and Types in which the mystical Sense of the Law was wrapt and involved and it seems they were so taken with the Pomp and Gaity of the outside that they never minded that rich Treasure of Sense that was contained within it and which the Apostle here calls the End of that which is abolished yea to this day saith he the Vail of outward Ceremonies stands so much in their Light that they cannot discern the internal Sense of the Old Testament but now saith he it is done away by Christ. Now that the Eternal Word hath pitched his Tabernacle in our Nature those outward Types wherein this inward Purity of Soul was so obscurely intimated are vanished like Clouds before the Sun and in their room are introduced the most pure and spiritual Laws of the Gospel which are no longer couched in Types and Ceremonial Shadows but in plain and naked Propositions Now internal Holiness is palpably declared to be the great Design of Religion that we should cleanse our selves from all Filthiness of Flesh and Spirit and perfect Holiness in the fear of God This therefore is another Instance of Christ's tabernacling among us full of Truth viz. the Purity and Spirituality of his Laws which heretofore he mystically represented to the Iews by outward Rites and Ceremonies 3. Another Instance of his tabernacling among us full of Truth in Contradistinction to that obscure typical Way of his conversing among the Iews is the Condition and Quality of his Church and Kingdom The Eternal Word designing to erect a glorious Kingdom in the World drew as it were a rude Scheme or Draught of it in the Form and Model of the Iewish Polity For first he erects a Kingdom among them of which himself was King to typify that Spiritual Kingdom which afterwards he meant to establish in the World then he adopts the Iews to be his Children by the external Sign of Circumcision who are therefore called a Holy Seed which was an Emblem of that holy Seed which afterwards he designed to beget to himself by spiritual Regeneration which is therefore called the Circumcision of the Heart whose Praise is not of Men but of God His delivering them from the Bondage of Egypt and leading them through the Red-Sea and the Wilderness into Canaan typified his delivering of his future Church from the Bondage of Sin and Satan and leading it by his own gracious Presence through the Red-Sea of Blood and Persecutions and the Wilderness of the World to the Canaan of eternal Rest. His giving the Law on Mount Sinai in Fire was a Figure of his delivering the Gospel by the Spirit which came down in fiery cloven Tongues at the Feast of Penteâ—ost Thus his erecting the Ark in the Wilderness was also another Type of that Spiritual Kingdom which afterwards he meant to erect in the World The divers Ornaments and Instruments of that Tabernacle represented the Diversity of spiritual Gifts and Functions in the Christian Church it s being covered with Skins without and adorned with Gold within shadowed the mean and contemptible Form wherein the Christian Church first appeared to the World notwithstanding the inward Glory and Purity with which it was adorned and embellished The Glory of God appearing in the Tabernacle denoted the Presence of Christ in his Church which he hath promised to continue to the end of the World it s being removed from Place to Place and finding no Rest till it was lodged in the Temple prefigured the persecuted State of the Primitive Church which was hunted up and down the World by the mighty Nimrods of the Earth and could find no Rest till it was transported to the Heavenly Temple By these and such like Types and Shadows did the Eternal Word prefigure the State and Condition of his future Church that so when it came to be erected in the World the Iews might know and own it having seen it before-hand so exactly decyphered and adumbrated in the very Frame and Model of their own Polity But when he came to tabernacle in our Nature he gave actual Being to those Things which before he only shadowed and represented for then he erected this glorious Church of which the Iewish was only a Model and Platform delivered it from the Egyptian Bondage of Wickedness and Idolatry and by his own glorious Presence conducted the Members of it through all the Persecutions of an enraged World to the Canaan of eternal Rest and therefore this also is another plain Instance of his tabernacling among us full of Truth the State and Condition of his Church which before was so obscurely represented 4. And lastly Another Instance of his tabernacling among us full of Truth in Contradistinction to that obscure and typical Way of his conversing among the Iews is the glorious Recompences which he hath so plainly and clearly promised to his Subjects For this he also obscurely typified to the Iews for as I have already hinted by that Canaan which he bestowed upon them after their tedious Travel through the Wilderness he did darkly represent to them that Canaan above flowing with infinite Delights which he hath promised to bestow upon his faithful Servants after they have pass'd through the Wilderness of this World So also by their Sabbaoths and especially their Year of Iubilee wherein they were to rest from all their Labours and keep a perpetual Festivity He did obscurely decypher to them that Sabbaoth of Rest and Iubilee of endless Pleasure which vertuous Souls shall enjoy in Heaven after they have finished their Labours here on Earth as you may see at large Heb. 4. Now by these and such like Shadows of their Law which possibly the Prophets by Divine Inspiration might expound to them those who were wise and good among them it is very probable were instructed in the Article of eternal Life Hence it may be might arise that famous Controversy among the Iews concerning the Written and Oral
Law which they call the Cabala or the Law by Tradition not that this traditional contained any thing that was not in the written Law but because those things which were obscurely contained in the Types of the written Law were explained and interpreted in this their Traditional Law But it is apparent that the Types of eternal Life were not fully explained in this traditional Law till after the Babylonish Captivity after which the Prophet Daniel and after him Ezekiel began to speak more plainly of the Resurrection of the Dead and from that Time forwards the Doctrine of the Resurrection and eternal Life began to be more openly taught among the Common People till about the Time of the Maccabees when it was brought forth in the Light from under those Types in which it was so obscurely represented and became a Principle even of the Popular Religion and an Article of the Iewish Faith as plainly appears from the Records of those Times particularly 2. Macc. 7. 23 26. Comp. with Heb. 11. â—5 And indeed it was very necessary that then this Article should be more clearly revealed to fortify the Iews against those many Persecutions whereunto they were exposed for the sake of their Religion that they might not be terrified to apostatize from it by those cruel Martyrdoms which in the Time of the Maccabees they many of them endured and besides now the Time of the Gospel was approaching and consequently its Mysteries like the Light of the rising Sun began to break forth clearer and clearer from under that Cloud of Types wherein it was wrapt and involved till at last the Sun of Righteousness himself arose and dispersed those Clouds and brought Life and Immortality to light by the Gospel But as for the Sadducees who give no heed to the Cabala or Traditional Law in which this Doctrine was first discovered and adhered only to the written Law of Moses they still continued Infidels in this Point and believed neither Angels nor Spirits nor the Life to come So very obscurely was it represented in the Types and Shadows of the Written Law But when once the Eternal Word came to tabernacle in our Flesh he revealed this great Article so plainly and clearly to the World that 't is impossible for any one not to believe it that believes him to be the Messias or Incarnate Word And thus you see by all these Instances what a vast Difference there was in respect of Truth between Christ's tabernacling in our Nature and in the Tabernacle of Moses And now I shall conclude this Argument with two or three practical Inferences 1st He dwelt or tabernacled among us From hence I infer the high Authority of Christ and that holy Religion which he hath revealed to us For to tabernacle among us as I have already shewed you signifies to dwell in the midst of as the Shechinah Presence or Representative of the most High God as one that acted in his Father's Person and was vested with his Authority and consequently as one who hath as great a Right to exact our Obedience as the Eternal Father himself should he have come down from Heaven in his own Person to give Laws to Mankind For so when the Eternal Word went before the Camp of Israel as the Shechinah or Angel of God's Presence God requires them that they should obey him as himself Beware of him and obey his Voice saith God provoke him not for he will not pardon your Transgression for my Name is in him Exod. 23. 21. and v. 22. To obey the Voice of this Angel is interpreted to be the same thing as to obey the Voice of the most High God himself But if thou shalt indeed obey his Voice saith God and do all that I speak then I will be an Enemy to thy Enemies c. So that for the Israelites to disobey this Angel who as I have proved to you was the Eternal Word or Representative of the most High God to them was to all Intents and Purposes the same Thing as if they had disobeyed the most High himself And accordingly our Saviour tells the Iews He that believeth on me believeth not on me but on the Father that sent me that is he doth not meerly believe on me but on the Father too whose Authority I have and whose Person I represent for so he explains himself in the following Verse He that seeth me seeth him that sent me that is I being my Father 's Shechinah or Representative Ioh. 12. 44 45. And therefore as every Contempt of the Deputy or Vice-Governor is an Affront to the Sovereign Prince whose Person he bears and by whose Authority he acts so every Rebellion against Christ is an open Defiance to the Sovereign God whose Person he represents and by whose Authority he reigns Hence our Saviour tells the Iews Ioh. 5. 23. that He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him which plainly intimates that God the Father resents those Indignities which we offer to Christ and his Laws as if they were done to his own Person and that if himself should speak to us from the Battlements of Heaven or proclaim his Law to us in a Voice of Thunder he would not be more displeased to hear us openly declare that we will not obey him than he is to see us trample upon the Laws of his Son which he hath stamp'd with his own Sovereign Authority So that if we were not infinitely fool-hardy methinks we should never dare to violate our Religion in which the Authority of the most High God is so immediately concerned For whatsoever our Religion requires of us it requires in his Name who hath an undoubted Right and Authority to command us for from all Eternity he was invested with an absolute and unlimited Power of doing any thing that is not unbecoming his Divine Perfections and in this the Right of his Dominion over us is originally founded For he that hath Power must needs have a Right to exercise it so far as it is just and becoming his Nature otherwise his Power would be altogether in vain and therefore since God from all Eternity hath a Power of doing whatsoever he pleases so far as is consistent with his Holiness and Goodness there is nothing can be pretended against the Right of his Dominion and Authority over us For God cannot but have an eternal Right to exercise his own Power and he cannot but have an immutable Right to exercise it over his own Creatures And as from all Eternity he had Power to do whatsoever was just and becoming him so from his creating of us it became most just and becoming that he should rule and govern us for we became his as soon as we were created by him all our Powers of Action were from him and by that he hath acquired an unalienable Right in whatsoever we are able to do We have nothing but what is his Gift and therefore can do nothing but what is his
shewed you already how it was as the Glory of the only begotten Son by shewing you the great Agreement and Similitude there was between the Glory of Christ when he dwelt in the Tabernacle of Moses and in the Tabernacle of our Nature And when I consider how plainly this Text doth allude to the Shechinah or Divine Presence of the Word in that ancient Tabernacle I am very much induced to think that we ought not to exclude this Sense of it namely that as he dwelt in the Tabernacle of our Nature like as he dwelt in the Tabernacle of Moses so that Glory of his which they beheld in the Tabernacle of our Nature was like unto that Glory in which he appeared in the ancient Tabernacle But then this Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is sometimes also taken for a Note of Confirmation So Psal. 73. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Truly God is good to Israel And thus St. Chrysostome understands it here 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. It is not a Note of Similitude and Comparison but of Confirmation and unquestionable Distinction as if the Evangelist had said we saw his Glory such as became and was fit for the only begotten and truly natural Son of God For my Part I see no Reason why the Words may not be fairly understood in both Senses since they are no Ways opposite to nor inconsistent with one another and if so then this must be the Meaning of the Words We beheld his Glory which was like unto that Glory in which the only begotten Son appeared in the old Tabernacle and which was such as was every Way becoming the only begotten Son to appear in The first of which Senses I have proved to you already that the Glory of Christ in the Tabernacle of our Natures was like unto his Glory in the Tabernacle of Moses and therefore now I shall only prove the second that it was such as became and was every Way worthy of the only begotten Son of the Father and this I doubt not will plainly appear by considering the several Particulars of it 1st That visible Splendor and Brightness in which he appeared at his Baptism and Transfiguration was such as became him and was worthy of him For in all Probability that Splendor consisted of Angelical Beings clothed in bright and luminous Bodies because as I have formerly proved to you that Brightness in which he appeared upon the Mount and which he displayed from between the Cherubims was nothing else but those Angels of Light or ministring Spirits which he made to appear as Flames of Fire round about him and therefore that Train of Angels whom Esay saw filling the Temple Esay 6. 1. Our Saviour calls the Glory of the Lord Jo. 12. 41. that is that visible Glory in which the Lord appear'd from between the Cherubims And if that visible Glory consisted in a Train of Angels appearing in glorious Forms then there is no doubt but that visible Glory of our Saviour at his Baptism and Transfiguration was the same since as I have already shewed you it is described by the same Name and in the same Manner of Appearance and if so how well did it become the only begotten Son to be surrounded with the illustrious Guards of his Father's Court and attended on with those high-born Spirits whose Office it is to minister before the Throne of the most High For never was the most glorious Potentate upon Earth attended with such a splendid Train and Retinue the meanest of which was far more illustrious than the greatest and most high-born Monarch in the World So that as the most High God did by a Voice from Heaven both at his Baptism and Transfiguration declare him to be his beloved Son so by the glorious Train of Attendants he sent him he manifested the Truth of his Declaration for we must needs suppose him to be the Son of the most High when we see the most glorious Beings in all the Creation so willingly submit themselves to his Service and Attendance And when we see the most High adorning his Outside with the luminous Bodies of Angels we may reasonably conclude that there was a Divinity within and that the Iewel was God because the Casket was Angels But whatsoever this glorious Splendor was in which he was clothed at his Baptism and Transfiguration it was apparently such as very well became the only begotten Son not only because as the Philosopher saith that if God would ever take upon him a Body it would be certainly Light which is a Vestment most suitable to his Glory and Majesty but also because that miraculous Splendor was an infallible Token of the Presence of the Divinity in him for it never was but where God was present and therefore it is called the Glory of God it being the inseparable Concomitant of his more peculiar Residence For thus as I have shewed you upon the Mount and in the Tabernacle it was a visible Demonstration of the special Presence of the invisible God and wheresoever in all the Old Testament any Mention is made of its Appearance you shall find that there God himself did peculiarly reside And therefore it is not to be imagined that God would have communicated to our Saviour this inseparable Token of his own Presence unless the Divinity had resided in him For Iesus Christ was the only Person upon whom this visible Glory descended never did the Hand of Heaven put such a Robe and Diadem of Glory upon any Person in the World as this which our Saviour wore at his Baptism and Transfiguration which plainly denotes that he was the only Person in whom the Divinity was substantially united and did essentially dwell So that as this visible Glory was a certain Token of God's peculiar Residence in the Tabernacle and Temple so it was also of his special Presence in Christ for the History of his Baptism tells us that it did not only make a transient Appearance but that it remained on him signifying that the Divinity whose Presence was denoted by it had made him his Habitation and Place of constant Abode For though that visible Glory after some Time disappeared and went off from him yet the Thing signified by it viz. the Divine Presence always remained in him for by that outward Glory he was clearly manifested to be the Holy One of God the Tabernacle and Sanctuary in which God was and where he had taken up his Residence for ever that his Humane Nature was that sacred Temple where the Divinity intended to dwell and from whence for the future he would deliver all his Oracles and communicate all his Blessings to Mankind So that in this Respect this visible Glory was such as highly became the only begotten Son because it plainly denoted that the Fulness of the God-head dwelt bodily in him and had chosen him for his Habitation for ever and therefore Iohn Baptist tells us that though he knew him not yet this God had revealed
not perfectly understand and in which Theophilus had not been before instructed Thus also St. Iohn testifies of his Gospel Chap. 20. 31. These things are written that ye might believe that Iesus is the Christ the Son of God and that believing ye might have life through his name And if it be objected that by these Things the Apostle only means the Miracles of Christ which are the Motives of our Belief and not his Doctrines which are to be believed by us this is notoriously false since by these Things St. Iohn means his Gospel in which not only the Miracles but the Doctrines of Christ are contained and therefore in his first Epistle chap. 5. 13. he saith These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God that ye may know that ye have eternal life and that ye may believe or continue to believe on the name of the Son of God Where by These Things it 's plain he means only that Christian Doctrine which he had been teaching throughout the whole Epistle From which two Places I argue that all Things necessary to eternal Life are written because he expresly tells us that These Things were written to this end that they might beget and nourish in us that Faith by which we may obtain eternal Life but if that Faith which these written Things was designed to beget in us be not sufficient to eternal Life then were these Things written in vain and the End of writing them which was that we might obtain eternal Life by believing them was wholly frustrated but if that Faith were sufficient to eternal Life then these written Things which begot that Faith and were the Object of it must contain in them all Things necessary to eternal Life for how can they beget in us a Faith that is sufficient to eternal Life unless they propose to our Faith all Things that are necessary thereunto And thus I have endeavoured to demonstrate from Scripture it self which all agree is the Word of God and consequently the most concluding Authority in the World that the Holy Scripture is in it self a sufficient Rule of Faith and Manners to direct Men to eternal Life And if this be so I would fain know by what Warrant or Authority any Man or Church can pretend to obtrude upon the Faith of Christians any unwritten Traditions or Doctrines of Faith and Rules of Worship not recorded in Scripture as of equal Authority with those recorded in Scripture and equally necessary to the eternal Happiness of Men. For that there have been such bold Imposers in the Christian World Irenaeus assures us in the 2d Chapter of his 2d Book against Heresies where he tells us of a sort of Hereticks who taught that the Truth could not be found in the Scriptures by those to whom Tradition was unknown for as much as it was not delivered by Writing but by Word of Mouth And these Hereticks as Tertullian observes confessed indeed that the Apostles were ignorant and that they did not at all differ among themselves in their Preaching but said they revealed not all Things unto all Men some Things they taught openly and to all some Things secretly and to a few which secret Things were the unwritten Traditions which they sought to impose upon the Faith of Christians And how far the Church of Rome it self doth in this matter tread in the Footsteps of these ancient Hereticks is but too notorious For thus in the Preface of their Catechism it is expresly affirmed by the Council of Trent that the whole Doctrine to be delivered to the Faithful is contained in the Word of God which Word of God is distributed into Scripture and Tradition And in the Council it self they declare and define that the Books of Scripture and unwritten Traditions are to be received and honoured with equal pious Affection and Reverence In which Words they expresly own another Word of God besides the Scripture viz. Tradition which they equalize with the Scripture it self And this is almost verbatim the very Assertion which both Irenaeus and Terullian condemn for Heresy and as they are the same so we find they are grounded on the same Authority For those very Texts of Scripture which those ancient Hereticks urged for their Tradition are urged by Bellarmin for the Tradition of his Church Thus for their Tradition as Irenaeus and Tertullian acquaints us they urged that of St. Paul We speak Wisdom among them that are perfect and also O Timothy keep that which is committed to thy trust and again That good Thing which is committed to thee keep All which Texts are urged by Bellarmin in his 4th and 5th Books de Verbo Dei in behalf of that Tradition which the Church of Rome contends for And 't is something hard that that which was damned for Heresy in the Primitive Church should be made an Article of Faith in the present Roman Not that we do disallow of Traditions universally received in all Churches and Ages for we frankly acknowledge that what is now contained in Scripture was Tradition before it was Scripture as being first delivered by Word of Mouth before it was collected into Writing and therefore whensoever it can be made evident to us that there are any unwritten Doctrines bearing the same Stamp of Divine Authority with those that are written we are ready to receive them with the same Veneration as we do the Scriptures themselves For it is not their being written that doth authorize them but their being from God and our Saviour and his Apostles and therefore when once it 's made appear to us that Christ or his Apostles taught so and so that is sufficient to command our Assent and Submission whether it be made appear from Scripture or Tradition So that the Reason why we embrace some Doctrines and reject others is not merely because the one are written and the other not but because to us who live at so great a distance from Christ and his Apostles it can never be made so evident that what is not written was taught by them as what is What is written hath been delivered down to us by the unanimous Tradition and Testimony of the Church of Christ in all Ages which I am sure can never be justly pretended of any one of those unwritten Traditions which the Church of Rome now imposes upon the Faith of Christians Let them but produce the same unanimous Testimony that any one of those Twelve Articles which they have thought meet to superadd to the ancient Creeds was taught by Christ or his Apostles as we do that what is contained in Scripture was so and we will as readily embrace it as any Proposition in Scripture but if this Article be neither to be found in Scripture nor delivered down to us as taught by Christ or his Apostles by the unanimous Testimony of the Church of Christ through all Ages we must crave their pardon if we cannot receive it as Part
brewed by the Priests from whose Lips the People do commonly derive their Errors as well as their Knowledge Witness those famous Heresies with which the Christian World hath been so distracted from one Generation to another such as the Novatian the Donatist the Arian the Pelagian the Eutichian the Eunomian all which Counterfeits and a great many more were first coined by the Clergy and dispersed for current Christianity among the Layty And therefore if this Pretence that the Reading of Scripture opens a Gap to Heresie be a sufficient Reason why the Layty should not Read it it is a much more sufficient Reason why the Clergy should not Read it For it requires Skill and Learning as well to wrest the Scripture into such false Senses as are likely to impose upon the World as to interpret it into its true Sense and I am very sure that it ordinarily requires more Wit and Art to extort from the Scripture probable Errors than it doth to discover by it necessary Truth and if so then if the danger of letting in Heresies is a true Reason why any should not Read it it is much more a true Reason why the Learned should not Read it than the Vnlearned and consequently why the Priests should not Read it than the People seeing the former are more qualified to extract Heresies from it than the later If therefore this Objection signifie any Thing it must be this That it is a very dangerous thing for any Body to Read the Bible that this same Divine Book which God thought fit to publish to the World and which the Primitive Church thought fit to oblige all that were able to Peruse and Study is now become such a dangerous Inlet of Heresie that like Pandora's Box you can no sooner open it but Swarms of Errors and False Doctrines will presently fly abroad into the World so that it would be very well for the World if it were either utterly extinguished or hid in some inaccessible Repository where no Mortal Eye might ever approach it 4. This Objection expresly contradicts our Saviour and the Primitive Fathers For Matt. 22. 29. our Saviour tells the Sadducees who were cavelling with him about the Resurrection Ye do err not knowing the Scriptures Had therefore the Sadducees been of the same Mind with our Objectors they would doubtless have told him by your good Leave Sir in this Point you your self are in an Error for in all Probability had we known the Scripture or been intimately acquainted with it we should have err'd much more Either therefore our Saviour was mistaken in charging the Errour of the Sadducees upon their Ignorance of Scripture or our Objectors are mistaken in making it so necessary an Expedient for the Prevention of Error to forbid the People being acquainted with Scripture for 't is plain He and They are of quite Different Opinions in the Case But whatever their Opinion is I am sure the Primitive Fathers were of the same Opinion with our Saviour For Irenaeus writing of the Valentinian Hereticks All those Errors they fall into because they know not the Scriptures So St. Ierom We must search the Scriptures with all Diligence that so as being good Exchangers we may know the lawful Coyn from the Copper And elsewhere That infinite Evils arise from Ignorance of the Scriptures and that from this Cause the greatest Part of Heresies have proceeded St. Chrysostom is of Opinion that if Men would be conversant with the Scriptures and attend to them they would not only not fall into Errors themselves but be able to rescue those that are deceived and that the Scriptures would instruct Men both in right Opinions and good Life And to name no more Theophilact tells us that nothing can deceive them who search the Holy Scriptures for that saith he is the Candle whereby the Thief is discovered But it seems according to Modern Experiments this Candle of Scripture rather serves to light the Thief into the House than to discover him when he is there and therefore it is thought necessary for honest Men's security either that it should be wholly extinguished or at least hinder'd from giving Light by being shut up in a dark Lanthorn of an Vnknown Tongue But when they who were once the honest Men are become the Thieves it is no wonder that they should thus change their Note and complain of the Light of this Candle as dangerous to them which heretofore they esteemed their greatest Security I am sure the Reason assigned by St. Peter why some Men wrested the Scriptures to their own Destruction was not their reading the Scripture but contrary wise their not reading it enough which they that are unlearned saith he wrest to their own destruction 2 Pet. 3. 16. Vnlearned in what Why doubtless in the Holy Scripture For as to humane Learning St. Peter himself was as unlearned as they and if it were their being unlearned in Scripture that occasioned them to wrest it into an heretical Sense then it is not Mens reading the Scripture that leads them into Heresy but their not reading it enough To say therefore that the Peoples reading the Scripture is an Inlet of Heresy and to say no it is not their reading it but their not reading it enough is the Inlet of Heresy is an express Contradiction the former our Objectors say the latter our Saviour his Apostles and the Primitive Church say and I think it is no hard Matter to determine which of these two Contradictions we ought to believe 5. And lastly According to this Objection the best Way to keep Men from being Hereticks is to deprive them of all Means of arriving at the Knowledge of the Truth And this I confess is a very certain Way though not a very Honest one Let Men know nothing of Religion and to be sure they cannot be Hereticks it being impossible for Men to err in their Conceptions of those Things whereof they have no Notion Put out a Man's Eyes and you certainly prevent his being imposed upon by false Medium's of Sight to mistake one Colour or Figure for another And yet I fancy most Men would think this a cruel Kind of Courtesy But if Men must not be allowed Scripture to instruct them in the Truth for this Reason because it may occasionally mislead them into Errors and Heresies then they must be allowed no Means of Instruction that may occasion them to err and consequently no Means at all there being no imaginable Means of Instruction which may not be an Occasion of Errors and Heresies Is the Scripture it self in its own Nature an Occasion of misleading Men into Heresy or not If you say it is consider before you say it how it could consist with the Truth and Veracity of God to publish such a Book to the World as tends in its own Nature to seduce and mislead the Understandings of those that read it If you say it is not so in it self but only that it may
either through Fear of Persecution or Hope of Temporal Advantage or the Knavish Arts and Sly Insinuations of False Teachers 2. The second Term to be here explained is What is meant by keeping a good Conscience Conscience in general is nothing but our practical Judgment directing us what we ought to do and what to avoid and approving or reproving according as we follow its Directions or run counter to them The Conscience therefore is good or bad according as the Directions are which it gives for the Government of our Lives and Actions If our Judgment be false and erroneous and directs us to do what we ought to avoid or to avoid what we ought to do it is a bad Conscience that instead of being a Light to guide our Steps in the Paths of Righteousness is only a wandring Night-fire that leads us into Bogs and Quagmires As on the contrary A good Conscience is our practical Judgment well informed and truly directing us in the Course of our Actions what we ought to do and what to avoid For a good Conscience is the true Eccho of God within us that faithfully resounds his Voice and upon all Opportunities of Action repeats after him to our Wills and Affections To keep a good Conscience therefore implies two Things First To maintain in our Minds a true Sense of Good and Evil and so far forth as in us lies to preserve our practical Judgment pure from all false Principles of Action and not to suffer either our vicious Inclinations or wordly Interest to warp and seduce it and cause it to mistake Evil for Good and Good for Evil. Secondly It implies our following the Dictates and Directions of a good Conscience our doing what it bids and abstaining from what it forbids and faithfully resigning our selves to its Conduct and Government and not to be prevailed upon by any Temptation whatsoever to act counter to its Sense and Persuasion In short To keep a good Conscience is to live in a strict Conformity to the Dictates of a well-informed Judgment and not to allow our selves in any Course of Action which this Vice-God within us forbids or disapproves 3. The Third Term to be explained in the Text is What is meant by putting away a good Conscience which being directly opposed here to keeping a good Conscience must denote the Contraries to it To put away a good Conscience therefore is either fâ—rst to corrupt our own Judgment of Things and Actions out of vicious Affection or worldly Interest and impose upon our selves false Notions of Good and Evil or secondly to act directly contrary to our Sense and Persuasion to leave undone those Things which our own Conscience tells us we ought to do and to do those Things which it tells us we ought not to do In short To put away a good Conscience is to live in any known Course of Sin either of Omission or Commission to practise Contradictions to our own Judgments and to follow the Inclinations of our Wills against the Light and Conviction of our Consciences 4. The last Enquiry is What is here meant by making shipwrack of the Faith which being here set in Opposition to holding or keeping the Faith must signifie oppositely and consequently must denote not holding and keeping it or which is the same thing losing and abandoning it For in this Allegory the true Christian Faith is represented as a Ship and a good Conscience or a pure and holy Life as the Pilot that steers and governs it And indeed in that State of Things there was no other Pilot but Purity of Conscience and Holiness of Life was able to conduct and preserve this Ship and carry it safe through those incessant Storms of Persecution wherein at that time it was toss'd and agitated For when Christians have once thrown off the Obligations of a good Conscience by abandoning themselves to a wicked and dissolute Life what is there left to restrain them from abandoning their Faith when it stands in Competition with their worldly Ease and Interest And though there should be no Competition between their Faith and Interest but they might freely enjoy them both without any Disturbance yet their wicked Lives will naturally tempt them to corrupt their Faith with wicked Principles of which later in the next Verse he gives an eminent instance in Hymenaeus who had not wholly deserted Christianity but only renounced one Fundamental Article of it viz. The Resurrection of the Dead As of the former he gives another Instance in Alexander who as it seems probable had through the Fear of Persecution deserted Christianity it self The Words thus explained may be resolved into this Sense That Mens living wickedly against the Convictions and Obligations of their Conscience â—oth very much expose them to Apostacy from true Religion into gross and impious Errors Thus to the love of money which is the root of all evil the Apostle attributes Men's Erring from the Faith 1 Tim. 6. 10. And that which exposed those silly women 2 Tim. 3. 6. to the Seduction of false Teachers was their being laden with sins and led away with divers lusts And the same Apostle ascribes Demas's Apostacy to his Covetousness or inordinate love of this present world 2 Tim. 4. 10. But that I may evince this Truth more fully I shall give you some particular Instances of the mighty Tendencies there are in every vicious Course of Life to Error and Apostacy from true Religion 1. It corrupts and debauches Men's Reason and Understanding 2. It renders the Principles of true Religion uneasie to their Minds 3. It deprives Men of the highest Encouragements to Constancy and Stedfastness in Religion 4. It weakens the natural Force of their Consciences which is the greatest Restraint from Apostacy 5. It strengthens the Temptations to Apostacy 6. It provokes God to give us up to the Power of Delusion 1. Living in any known and willful Course of Sin corrupts and debauches Mens Reason and Understandings So long as a Man lives in any known Sin he doth not only live without but against his Reason which instead of being the Guide of his Actions hath nothing at all to do with them but like an idle Spectator doth only behold the bruitish Scene without any Part or Concern in it And whilst a Man thus abandons himself to the Government of his own blind Will and lives not only in the perpetual Neglect but Contempt of his Reason it is impossible for him not to waste and impair it For as our rational Faculties are improved and perfected by Exercise so they naturally languish and decay through Disuse and Inactivity and consequently the less Use we make of them in the Government of our Lives and Actions which is their proper Office and Employment like standing Waters they must corrupt and putrisie And indeed there is no impure Lust but doth by its own natural Efficacy disable Mens Reason and Understanding For while we are in these Bodies our Mind is fain
more or less subservient to his present Conveniâ—nce He can blaspheme and pray oppress and give Alms with the same Unconcernedness of Mind and to act the Devil or the Saint are Parts so indifferent to him that he can perform them both with the same Remorslessness And when a Man is thus got loose from the Restraints of his Conscience there is nothing so bad that can come amiss to him If therefore while he stands in this Posture his temporal Interest should chance to beckon him to change the best Religion in the World for the worst to pray to insensible Images and dead Mens Ghosts instead of the everliving God to let go Substances to catch at Shadows and Ceremonies and to part with the most rational Truths for the most palpable and fulsom Contradictions he hath no Principle in him strong enough to withold him from a base Compliance his Conscience being laid fast asleep which whilst awake would have trembled at such an horrid Proposal And though by thus prostituting his Faith to his Interest he at once renounces his God his Saviour and all his Hopes of future Immortality yet his insensible and remorsless Heart is no more toucht or affected with it than if it were the slightest Peccadillo Thus by letting go a good Conscience Men pave themselves an easie Way to Apostacy from true Religion which otherwise would be one of the most craggy and difficult Passages in all the High-Way to Hell 5. Living in any known Course of Sin doth very much strengthen and enforce the Temptations to Apostacy He who lives under the Conduct and Government of a good Conscience takes Care to regulate his Affections towards the Things of this World so as neither to fear the Evils of it too much nor love the Goods of it too well but makes a just and equal Estimate of both and by that proportions his Affections towards them and he who doth this disarms them of their tempting Power which is chiefly owing to our selves and the false Estimate we make of them 'T is our own Imagination that gives Life and Efficacy to the Charms and Terrors of the World and renders them so successful and victorious We fancy that to be in them which is not and so are affected not so much with the Things themselves as with the false Representations that we make of them But he who by following the Dictates of a good Conscience hath reduced his wild Affections within the Lists of Reason and Sobriety can from thence defie the World and maintain his Post against all its Temptations He loves its Goods no better than they deserve and consequently he loves them not so well as to part with his Virtue his Innocence and his Soul for them He dreads its Evils no farther than they are truly dreadful and consequently is fully satisfied that to Sin is much more dreadful than to suffer and he hath found by often Experience that in the faithful discharge of his Duty there is far more Peace more Ioy and Satisfaction than in all the vain Allurements of this World He hath found another Heaven upon Earth besides these temporary Enjoyments a Heaven within his own Breast composed of joyous Hopes and blessed Expectations and in this Heaven hath often found himself a thousand times more happy than among all the Festivities of an â—arthly Paradise and therefore knows very well that he is bid to his Loss when ever he is tempted to exchange the one for the other He is throughly sensible having already found it to his Smart that by Sinning he shall sustain a much heavier Loss and expose himself to far more exquisite Agonies of Mind than any this World can threaten him with all and therefore certainly reckons upon it that when ever to avoid a Sin he incurs a Suffering he wisely chooses of two Evils the least And while his Soul stands thus affected it is shot-proof against all Temptations and much more against those Temptations which sollicite him to renounce his Religion and in which he knows by Experience there is far more Good than the World can propose to him in Exchange for it He knows both how little the World and how much true Religion is worth and having made a just Estimate of both to propose to him any worldly Hope as a Price for his Faith is the same Thing as to offer a Miser Dross for his Gold His Mind is fixed in this Persuasion that all the Mischiefs this World can do him are inconsiderable to one who must live for ever in another unspeakably happy or misâ—rable and therefore to threaten him into Apostacy with any worldly Fear is to attempt to blow up a Rock of Marble with a Squib of Wild-fire But when once a Man hath taken off the Restraints of his Conscience from his wild Affections and let them loose to the World they will aid and assist its Temptations against him and animate them with a thousand times more Life and Vigour than is in their own Natures For as for the Goods of this World they could never bewitch us as they do did we not give a Dress to them we paint their Faces and varnish them over with an artificial Beauty and then fall in Love with our own Fucus and so much as we value and affect them beyond their natural Worth so much Power we give them to conquer and inslave us When therefore by leading a sensual and wicked Life a Man has wholly devoted himself to the World he hath put himself into the Worlds Power to be commanded and disposed of as it pleases And now if any worldly Good beckons and invites him his mad Affection will presently hurry him after it though it be through thick and thin through the most flagitious and enormous Courses If any worldly Evil threaten and alarm him he must immediately fly though it be from Virtue and Innocence from God and Heaven and all that is Sacred in Religion His Affections have render'd him a meer Laquey to the Goods and Evils that are without him and whither ever they send him he must go where-ever they lead him he must follow let their Vagaries be never so wild or wicked If therefore while his Soul is thus inslaved to the World he should be tempted by it to Apostatize from his Religion what hath he to restrain or secure him For ever since he got loose from his Conscience he is wholly led by his Affections and these being chained and fastned to the World hale him after it which way soever it moves So long as his Religion and his worldly Interest consist and go hand in hand he is very well content to own and follow it but if ever a Storm of Persecution should part them in all Probability he will follow his Interest and like the treacherous Orpha give his Religion a parting Kiss and leave it For his Heart is now so wedded to the World that he esteems nothing so good as its Goods and nothing
so evil as its Evils and the one being his Heaven and the other his Hell all other Considerations are overcome by them and to obtain the one and avoid the other he must stick at nothing no not at renouncing his God and his Religion together with all his Hopes of a future Immortality 6. And lastly Living in any known Course of Sin provokes God to give us up to the Power of Delusion For so long as Men submit themselves to the Guidance and Direction of a good Conscience the Spirit of God who is a Spirit of Truth abides with them and not only directs their Wills but also informs their Understandings and enables them to discern the Beauty and Reality of those heavenly Truths which he hath revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures For though since he hath revealed already the whole Will of God to us concerning our eternal Salvation we have no Reason to expect that he will reveal new Truths to us yet seeing so far forth as it is necessary he hath promised and engaged that he will co-operate with us to enable us as well to understand the Will of God as to perform it we have the greatest Reason in the World to depend upon it that so long as we cherish his heavenly Inspirations by yielding to them our free and ready Compliance he will be so far an assâ—sting Genius to our Understandings as to suggest to us those Truths which he hath already revealed and set them before our Eyes in so fair a Light as that we shall not fail more clearly to discern and more distinctly to apprehend them than otherwise we should or could have done For when he writes his Truth upon our Minds it is with such a Victorious Sun-beam as will endure neither Cloud nor Shadow before it Whenever he speaks He speaks not to our Ears but to our Minds and represents Things nakedly and immediately to our Understandings He converses with our Spirits as Spirits do with Spirits without involving his Sense in articulate Sounds or material Representations but objects it to us in its own naked Light and characterizes it immediately on our Understandings And as he proposes the Divine Light to us so he also illuminates our Minds to discern and comprehend it He raises and exalts our Intellectual Powers and as a vital Form to the Light of our Reason invigorates and actuates it and thereby renders its Apprehension of Things more quick and piercing and sagacious Thus doth the Holy Spirit more or less assist us in the true Understanding of Divine Things as he finds us more or less compliant with his heavenly Pleasure and though he stands no more obliged to render our Minds infallible than our Wills impeccable yet so long as by our sincere Obedience to his holy Suggestions we keep our selves under his Conduct and Direction we may depend upon it he will either preserve us from all dangerous Errors or if for just Reasons he should permit us to fall into any such they shall not prove dangerous to us but either we shall be convinced of them while we live or obtain Pity and Pardon for them when we die But whilst we persist in any willful Course of Sin we do not only violate our own Conscience but also repel those good Motions of the Spirit of God whereby he strives to reduce and reclaim us in doing which we continually grieve him and if we do not forbear shall at length provoke him wholly to forsake and abandon us to give us up to our own Hearts Lusts as desperate Wretches with whom he hath hitherto strove and struggled in vain and of whose future Recovery there remains no farther Hope or Prospect And when He hath forsaken us our Mind will not only be left naked and destitute of all those Helps and Advantages for the understanding of Divine Truths which it receives from him but also be exposed to the Cheats and Fallacies of Evil Spirits whose Recreation it is to put Tricks upon our Minds to banter and play upon our easie Faith to cast Mists before our Eyes and therein to juggle away all true Religion from us and foist in the Room of it the most fulsom Errors and Mistakes For so the Apostle tells us of Antichrist the great Deceiver that he should come with all deceivableness of unrighteousness to them that perish because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved And that for that Cause viz. their not receiving the truth in the love of it God should send them strong delusion that they should believe a lye that is by abandoning them to the Power of cheating and deluding Spirits That they all might be damned who believed not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness 2 Thess. 2. 10 11 12. And God grant that this at last prove not our Fate that because we have sinned against the clearest Light and gone astray in all Unrighteousness under the best and purest Religion in the World we are not at length given up by God to follow the wild Delusions of Antichrist and to believe all those fulsom Lyes and Impostures which he from Age to Age hath been imposing upon the World But whether it prove thus or no this I am sure of that by persisting in any vicious Course against the Light and Conviction of our Consciences we highly provoke Almighty God to withdraw his Grace from us and give us up to our own Hearts Lusts and when this is done our own Hearts Lusts will soon betray and give up our Faith to false and vicious Principles of Religion And now having shewn at large what strong and prevalent Tendencies there are in a wicked Life to Apostacy from true Religion I shall conclude this Argument with two or three Inferences 1. From hence I infer What a great Malignity there is in Mens being inconstant to and apostatizing from the true Religion in Compliance with their sinful Affections it being as you see the ill Daughter of a bad Mother a debauched and a dissolute Conscience and consequently partaking of all its natural Bane and Malignity even as all other bad Effects do of the malignant Nature of their bad Causes But the Truth of this will more fully appear by considering the particular Evils which Mens Inconstancy to and Proneness to revolt from the true Religion implies of which I shall give you these five Instances 1. The great Impiety of it 2. The desperate Folly of it 3. The foul Dishonesty of it 4. The shameful Cowardize of it 5. The vast Hazard and Insecurity of it 1. Consider the great Impiety of it He who can part with his Religion or any Principle of it upon any other Terms than a full Conviction of the Falshood of it is either a down-right Atheist who believing no Religion to be true governs himself by this Principle That the wisest Course is to profess none but that which is uppermost and most for his Interest or a prophane and impious
some good warm Place or the Hope of gaining some important Station or Preferment And if this be found the Truth of his Case when he comes to appear before the Tribunal of God it had been a thousand times better for him that he had never been born for then he will be found a base Deserter of his God a treacherous Iudas to his Saviour and a perfidious Renegado from his Religion and according to the Quality of his Sin and Guilt receive his Portion of Damnation 4. Consider whether before you entertained any Intention to change you were fully resolved impartially to consult both sides of the Question I doubt there are too many among us that first resolve to change their Religion and then begin to enquire after Reasons and Arguments against it and that their Resolution to change is so far from being the Effect of sincere Conviction that their Conviction is the Effect of their Resolution First Some vile Affection or some temporal Interest recommends another Religion to them that either gives them leave to be wicked without Remorse or Disturbance or promises them Gain and Advancement upon which they resolve right or wrong to entertain and embrace it and then to excuse themselves to their own Consciences or to vindicate their Reputation to the World from the Scandal of being down-right Apostates they fall a hunting after Reasons and Arguments to convince themselves of the Truth of it or at least to make the World believe that it was not their Interest but their Conviction that turned them And when Men thus resolve first and enquire afterwards to be sure their Enquiry will be very partial for being fully resolved to change their Religion upon some vicious or secular Motive it is become their Intâ—rest to pick Holes in it and to reason or cavil themselves out of the Belief of it And this makes them shy of bringing the Matter under a fair and impartial Examination lest while they are seeking Reasons to overthrow their Faith they should find Reasons to establish and confirm it So that they begin their Enquiry with these secret Intentions We will listen only to one side of the Cause and leave the other to shift for it self and seek for as many Arguments as we can against our Religion but none for it We will read the Books and consult the Teachers of one side only viz. the opposite side to our present Belief and Persuasion and if among them we can but find Arguments enough to render the contrary Persuasion any way probable we will submit our Faith to it without any farther Enquiry and not trouble our selves to examine the Evidence on the other side for Fear we should be convinc'd in spight of our Teeth that the Truth lies there and then our Conscience will never let us be quiet but be perpetually clamouring against us for base and impious Apostates That this is the foul and hypocritical Intention of too many among us is notorious enough by their Practice they leap from Church to Church and from one Communion to another without any Pause or Consideration they are with us to Day and gone from us to Morrow and are such Mushroom extemporary Converts that before ever we hear they doubted of their own they are confirmed in a contrary Religion In short they steal out of their Religion so softly and with so little Noise that they are commonly gone before ever we hear they are going as if they were afraid we should stop and detain them by better Reasons and fuller Convictions Whereas had these Men any Conscience or Honesty in them they would consider that Religion is a Thing too sacred and serious to be thus dallied and trifled with and that to change ones Religion is a matter of such vast Importance as requires a long and through Consideration and a very clear and full Conviction of Mind that there is too much depends upon it to part with it upon slight Pretences and that it concerns them as much as an Eternity of Bliss amounts to not to desert it upon any other Inducement but that of a through well-weighed Persuasion of Conscience And if they had had any such honest Thoughts about them while they were under the Temptation to change they would never have admitted any Doubt of their Religion but upon great and palpable Evidence and then they would have doubted long before they would have concluded against it and not have precipitated their Judgment hand over head into a contrary Persuasion till they had first applied themselves for Resolution again and again to their old Guides and Pastors and with all due Deference to their Authority had strictly examined all their Reasons and Answers till they had throughly inspected their Arguments pro and con and equally heard both sides of the Cause till they had read advised and consulted on both sides and weighed the whole matter over and over with the greatest Care and Exactness But when Men run away from their Religion in an Instant without ever observing this regular Process of sincere Enquiries it is a plain Case that their Wills were resolved before their Understandings and that they were converted before ever they were convinced and consequently that it was not Reason and Conviction that turned them but Lust or Interest For though when they are turned they may perhaps be very diligent to seek Conviction yet this is only an After-game which they are fain to play to save their Conscience or their Reputation 5. Consider before you entertain any Intention to change Whether it be your unfained Intention whatever shall happen to you to adhere to that side which shall appear most reasonable Perhaps you are not yet arrived to that Height of Impiety as to resolve right or wrong to change your Religion whether you find it true or false upon a just and fair Examination for this is such an horrible defiance of God such an express and absolute Renunciation of all that is sacred and good as no Man can be guilty of who is not utterly abandoned of all his natural Sense of Religion and Relish of Good and Evil. But yet perhaps you may be tempted to change with the Prospect of such Advantages on the one side and Calamities on the other which though it doth not obtain of you that base and wicked Resolution yet doth so far prevail as to engage you upon a fresh Enquiry to try whether upon second Thoughts and better Consideration you can satisfie your own Minds of the Truth of that Religion you are invited to turn to that so you may if possible comply with a good Conscience and secure your Interest in doing your Duty And thus far you are safe enough but before you proceed any farther it concerns you as you tender your everlasting Interest to look into your own Souls and consider seriously whether you are unfeignedly resolved whatsoever the Consequence of Things may be to cleave fast to the Truth of God on which side