Undertakings depends much on our right timing of them and in nothing more than in Administring Reproof God came to Adam in the cool of the day and the best time to advise a Man is when he is Sedate and Calm and at leisure to consider of the Counsel we give him Every Man has his mollia tempora fandi Seasons when he is willing and dispos'd to receive an Impression and the way to make our Advice successful and profitable to him is to lay hold on these Opportunities for as Solomon well observes A word spoken in due season Prov. 15.23 how good is it it is like Apples of Gold in Pictures of Silver There must be also regard had to the place for the more private our Reproof is it is for the most part the better Matth. 18 15. If thy brother trespass against thee tell him his fault between thee and him alone Publick Correption is then only necessary when others are to be warn'd to leave the same Sin and avoid the same Snare Neither are all Persons to be treated after the same manner Inferiours must be very careful how they behave themselves towards their Superiours and Governours Is it fit to say to a King Job 34.18 thou art wicked and to Princes ye are ungodly Great Care must be had least what we think Zeal for God and the Good of our Neighbour should be justly interpreted Sawsiness and and Presumption And therefore when Nathan was sent by God himself to Reprove David he doth it after the most modest and submissive manner by representing his Case to him in a Parable and decently veiling his Reproof under the name of another Man With our Equals and Inferiours we may use greater Liberty and Freedom only taking Care that whilst we reprove the Vice we do not shew any distaste to the Person Many more Rules might be given but in this as in such like Cases much is to be left to Christian Prudence and he who carefully observes the first Rule I laid down with which I shall also conclude cannot do very much amiss Which is That we make the Glory of God and the good of our Neighbour the End and Aim of our Reproof as well as of our other Actions SERMON V. PREACH'D When the CHAPEL was newly Furnish'd and Beautify'd PSALM XCVI 9. O Worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness 'T IS agreed on by the whole Current of Interpreters that the inspir'd Pen-man of this Psalm sets forth the Kingdom of the Messiah and the blessed Effects of it the Conversion of the Jews and the Salvation of all Nations and hereby shews us not only how God was worship'd under the Law but points out to us how he expects to be worship'd under the Gospel The beginning of this Psalm contains an Exhortation to all the People of the World as well Heathens as Jews to praise God for that wonderful Blessing of sending a Saviour to preach the Gospel unto them and revealing the Doctrine of Remission of Sins and therefore he commands his Worshippers To declare his Glory among the Heathen and his wonders among all the People that all the Earth should sing unto the Lord and that they should shew forth his Salvation from day to day so that their Praise might be as extensive as his Benefits and in some measure bear Proportion with his Blessings which were to be shed upon all the Nations of the world and to continue for ever Ver. 1 2 3. In the following Verses he inforces this Duty of praising God by some Arguments drawn from the Consideration of his glorious and wonderful Attributes his Majesty Glory Power and Wisdom which were after an extraordinary manner display'd and manifested in the Incarnation of our Blessed Saviour and from thence he concludes Ver. 7 8 9. That it was the Duty of all Men to frequent the place of God's Publick Worship to Prostrate themselves before him and to admire reverence and adore his Holy Name Honour and Majesty are before him Strength and Beauty are in his Sanctuary Give unto the Lord Glory and Strength give unto the Lord the Glory due unto his name bring an Offering and come into his Courts And having in these words describ'd the Worship of God after the manner of worshipping him under the Law by approaching his Temple and bringing a Sacrifice in the words of the Text he explains himself that he doth not mean that these Sacrifices should continue under the Gospel and that those who liv'd under the Reign and Kingdom of the Messiah should worship as the Jews did but that it would be their Duty to worship God in the Beauty of Holiness i. e. with such a pure and devout Frame of Mind such suitable Affections such becoming decent and orderly Behaviour as were typify'd and denoted to them by the Rites and Ceremonies of the Jewish Law O Worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness In which words we have these two plain Lessons taught us I. That all Christians are oblig'd frequently to meet together for the Publick Worship of God II. That the Publick Worship of God ought to be perform'd in the most decent and solemn manner imaginable 1. That all Christians are oblig'd frequently to meet together for the performance of God's Publick Worship By Worship I mean that immediate Worship which is offer'd up to God in his Sanctuary that Publick Acknowledgment of his Government and Soveraignty over us by the performance of those Duties which are enjoyn'd us in the first Table such as are praying to him magnifying his Holy Name hearing his Word and receiving his Sacraments which Duties are in a peculiar manner call'd the Worship of God because they have God for their immediate Object they are address'd to him and terminate in him The Will of God is the Reason why they are perform'd and his Honour and Glory ought to be the ultimate End of the performance of them So that the Worship here meant may be defin'd that religious Adoration which is offer'd up unto God in the Publick Assemblies of Christians The Command of worshipping God in the Text was Originally given to the Jews but hereby was denoted and typify'd to us that more pure and spiritual Worship which was to succeed that of the Jews and was to be offer'd up unto God under the Gospel For there is a rich Vein of Gospel Truths which runs through the Old Testament and particularly the Book of the Psalms of which one of the Principal is this Command of Worshipping God in Publick which is as obliging to us Christians as ever it was to the Jews As may be made appear from these following Considerations 1. Because God has instituted and commanded this sort of Worship 'T is not only a branch of the Law of Nature but also a Principal part of instituted and reveal'd Religion The Light of Nature will teach us that there is one first Cause of all things who contains in himself all those Perfections
suitable to the Divine Nature then are our Minds duly qualified and prepared to perform that Spiritual Worship which God is best pleas'd with and takes most delight in John 4.24 For God is a Spirit and will be worshipp'd in Spirit and in Truth And therefore 't is no wonder that of so many who frequent the Publick Worship of God so few reap Benefit by it because the Generality of Worshippers render themselves uncapable of receiving those Blessings which God offers them in his Holy Ordinances They come into God's Courts carelesly and negligently without a due Sence of the importance of those Duties they are going to perform their Minds are full of vain worldly and sinful Thoughts polluted with carnal Desires and Affections and then no wonder that they take so little delight in the Service of God and reap no more Benefit by it 2. If we would worship God in the Beauty of Holiness we must comport our selves after such a manner as is sutable to the Duty we are about and express the Zeal and Fervency of our Souls by becoming and expressive Gestures of our Bodies Did we consider That the place we tread is holy ground Exod. 3.5 that God and his Holy Angels look down upon us and behold us the House of God would strike a greater Awe and Reverence on our Minds than the Throne of any temporal Prince which will not fail of exacting from us the worship of our Bodies Gen. 28.17 How dreadful is this place says Jacob This is no other but the House of God this is the gate of Heaven A due Sense also of the importance of the Business we are about would have the same Effect for were we begging of God some temporal Blessing which we might well be without indifferency in our Behaviour would better become us but when the eternal Welfare of our Souls lies at stake when we are Candidates for an everlasting Inheritance we cannot be too earnest we cannot be too Devout had we a thousand hands and a thousand tongues they might all of them be employ'd to express the Devotion of our Souls and the Fervency of our Affections 'T is not a bare joyning in the Prayers of the Church a repeating the Responses and putting our selves in that Posture the Rubrick enjoyns 't is not the avoiding the Indecencies of a prophane or clownish Worshipper I am now pleading for this the Custom of the place good Manners and gentile Education will exact from us But that we go farther and by the Humility Gravity and Composedness of our Behaviour stir up Holy Affections in our own Minds and encourage others to imitate our Example Lastly the Beauty of Holiness doth also consist in the Decency and Solemnity of those Circumstances which Accompany our Worship Which tho' they consist of Rites and Ceremonies in their own Nature indifferent yet are ordain'd to an excellent end and are of admirable use for the promoting Devotion and Uniformity in the Service of God The Generality of Mankind are very much influenc'd by the shews and appearances of things and whatsoever is pleasing to the Eye has an easier Admission and makes a deeper Impression on the Mind And therefore it has been the Care of Holy and Devout Christians in all Ages of the World when Religion had the Countenance of Publick Authority and was in a flourishing Condition to build Churches for the Publick Worship of God to keep them in good Repair to furnish them with such Ornaments that the Worship of God may be perform'd orderly decently and solemnly and appear regular and beautiful in the Eyes of the Beholders and hereby raise up in their Minds awful and reverent Thoughts of that God who is there worshipped For 't is a Sign that Religion is vile and cheap in the Eyes of those Men who as the Prophet speaks can suffer the house of the Lord to lie wast whilst they dwell in ceiled roofs They spare no Cost to raise beautifie and adorn their own Houses They ceile them with Cedar Jer. 22.14 and paint them with Vermilion and yet will not contribute the least Mite to the Service of the Temple Quorsum perditio haec is their usual demand To what end is all this Cost and Charges were it not better that all this Money was spar'd and given to the Poor To whom I answer in the words of a Learned Knight which probably will give better Satisfaction Sir Edwin Sands in his Speculum Europae than if spoken from the mouth of a Clergy-man Tho' the Ornaments says he of such places as are Dedicated to God's Service ought to be rather Grave than Pompous yet it could never sink into my Heart to imagine that the allowance for furnishing them out should be measur'd by the Scanty Rule of meer Necessity a Proportion so low that Nature it self has gone beyond it even in the most ignoble Creature or that God has enrich'd this lower World with such wonderful Variety of things Beautiful and Glorious that they might serve only for the pampering mortal Man in his Pride and that to the immediate Service of the great Creator Lord and Giver of them only baser cheaper and less Beautiful things ought to be employ'd Especially seeing that as in Princes Courts so in the Service of God this outward State and Glory being well dispos'd doth beget encrease quicken and nourish the inward Reverence and respectful Devotion which is due to so Sovereign a Majesty Thus this truly Pious and Devout as well as excellently Learned Person To whom Assents the voice of all Antiquity 't is well known what Care was taken that the Tabernacle of Moses should be as rich and as Beautiful as Art could make it in what Glory Splendour and Beauty the Temple of Solomon was built how desirous David was to have been the Founder of it But since that Honour was reserv'd for his Son Solomon he made it his business to provide Materials and tells us Moreover because I have set my Affection to the house of my God 1 Chron. 29.3 I have of my own proper Goods of gold and silver which I have given to the house of my God over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house even three thousand talents of gold of Ophir and seven thousand talents of refin'd silver And when this House was destroy'd a second Temple was built which tho' much inferour to the former yet for Beauty and Magnificency was the wonder of the whole World And thus 't was not only under the Law but from the first planting of Christianity as soon as ever the Christian Religion was tolerated by the Civil Magistrate their great Care was to build Churches for the more Decent and Solemn Worship of God And when those Churches which were overthrown in the Dioclesian Persecution were re-edified adorn'd and Beautified under Maximinus The Historian tells us Euseb lib. 10. cap. 2. That the Hearts of all Men were fill'd with a
of our Duty it commands the Practice of the most necessary Precepts such as are those which are enjoyn'd in this and the preceding Chapters and leaves our Reason to work out what ought to be done upon particular and casual Emergencies to direct in some Cases what is lawful and in most what is prudent and expedient And for our greater Security has laid down some general Rules which if seriously consider'd and carefully attended to will be sufficient to direct our Reason in all its Judgments and Determinations Thus in Relation to the Duties of the first Table which principally concerns the Worship of God the Holy Gospel commands us Joh. 4.24 24. To Worship him in Spirit and in Truth to direct our Addresses to God alone through one Mediator our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and several other particular Precepts it gives us as to the necessary and Essential parts of Divine Worship But our Directions how to behave our selves as to the Circumstances of Worship are all referr'd to this general Rule 1 Cor. 14.40 Let all things be done decently and in order And thus in Relation to the Duties of the second Table which concern our Neighbour our Saviour has laid down many excellent Precepts in this admirable tho' short Epitome of Morality his Sermon on the Mount and then Closes all with this Rule of universal Influence Whatsoever ye would that Men should do unto you do ye so unto them for this is the Law and the Prophets The End and Design then of this Rule is to teach us how to behave our selves towards our Neighbour which is the most difficult and most neglected part of our Duty For we are generally so much byass'd by Self-Love that when any Controversie is started in which our own Interest is concern'd we are very nice and exact in Claiming what belongs to us and is our due but when the Scales are turn'd and 't is our Duty to weigh and consider what our Neighbour may justly expect from us then we make use of false Weights and Measures and too often determine directly contrary to the plain Rules of Justice and Honesty We are not so apt Scholars in learning this Lesson of Charity as we are severe Masters in exacting it from others And therefore II. I shall mark out the Bounds and Limitations of this Rule and consider the just extent and Latitude of these words Whatsoever ye would c. 1. 'T is evident that this Rule is determin'd to the Duties of the second Table for so 't is limitted in the very words of the Text. 'T is whatsoever ye would that Men should do unto you c. Some there are indeed who would have this Rule extend also to the Duties of the first Table and to be the measure of our Duty towards God but this without the support of any good Reason for though Religion may properly be said to be Justice towards God because all the Service which we owe and are able to pay unto God is highly just and reasonable and what is but our bounden Duty and Service yet the distance is so great between an infinitely perfect Being and us Poor vile Worms His Works are so wonderful and his ways past finding out that 't is utterly impossible and 't would be the highest Presumption for us to weigh our Actions in the same Balance with his These words are therefore limitted to the Duties of the second Table as may be plainly made out from that parallel Place where our Blessed Saviour being ask'd this Question Matt. 22.3 Master which is the great Commandment of the Law Returns this Answer Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart and with all thy Soul and with all thy Mind and this is the first and great Commandment and the second is like unto it Namely Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self And then adds on these two hang all the Law and the Prophets Where we may see that this Rule is made to be the Sum and Substance only of the second Table 2. This Rule is determin'd to those things which tend to the benefit and advantage of our Neighbour And therefore St. Austin reads the Words Quaecunque bona c. Whatsoever good things ye would that Men should do unto you do ye so to them For there are some Men of such envious and malicious Tempers that they would willingly undergo any severity themselves on Condition that their Enemy might endure the same and suffer their own Houses to be burnt that his might perish in the Flames nay lose one of their own Eyes that he might be depriv'd of the like Advantage Like the pretended Mother of the living Child would say 1 Kin. 3.26 Let neither of us have it but let it be divided Others there are of so proud and churlish a Disposition that they scorn to be oblig'd and had rather be without a Benefit than to be beholding for it to one they hate Such a Man as this would sooner die than owe his Life to an Enemy and in regard to these Men this Rule must be understood thus 3. Whatsoever ye would that any Man not this or that particular Person should do unto you do ye so unto them 4. If we would put the Case right we must suppose the Circumstances to be the same between our Neighbour and our selves For one different Circumstance will very much alter the Nature of an Action thus upon Supposition that I am stronger and more healthy than my Neighbour I may be willing that he may do some things to me which if I should do the same to him would tend very much to his Prejudice and Disadvantage A rich and wealthy Man may be willing that others should with-hold their hands from doing him good that he might have the same Excuse to deny his charitable Relief to the Poor Nay meer difference in Opinion may make it unreasonable that I should desire some things of such a Man which he might very reasonably demand of me and I should readily comply with 5. We must take Care in applying this Rule that our Desires be restrain'd to those things which we have just and reasonable cause to expect from our Neighbour and then this Rule will run thus Whatsoever ye have just and reasonable cause to desire that any Man in the same Circumstances should do unto you do ye so unto them For every Malefactor who is Sentenc'd to Punishment for his Evil Deeds would willingly have his Punishment remitted and the Judge himself would desire it if he was in the same Circumstances and a Criminal at the Bar But yet it is not just and reasonable that all Criminals should be pardon'd for this would make the Law it self uâ—eless by relaxing the co-ercive Power of it and render Magistrates cheap and contemptible when they are no longer ble to be a Terror to evil Doers Rom. 13.3 but only Encouragers of those who do well These are the most
Ordinances of Religion are tiresome and a weariness to the Flesh that the Holy Scripture tells us Acts 14.22 Heb. 12.6 That thro' much tribulation we must enter into the Kingdom of God That those whom God loves he chastneth and That straight is the Gate Matth. 7.4 and narrow is the way that leads to Heaven and eternal Happiness And if so then certainly it cannot be so happy and pleasant a State of Life as I have represented it To which I shall briefly Answer That many of those Texts of Scripture which speak of the Difficulties attending a religious Course of Life are to be understood of those times when the Christian Religion was persecuted by the Heathen Emperors of Rome and the Professors of it in danger of losing their Lives for the Testimony of the Gospel It must be confess'd That even in our Times when Kings are become the nursing Fathers of the Church those Persons who have been long habituated to a sinful and wicked Course of Life will find it a very difficult matter to forsake it and to give themselves entirely up to obey the Commands of God and the Duties of the Christian Religion But yet it may be a mighty Incouragement to consider That 't is only the first Entrance on a religious Course of Life which is attended with so great Difficulty that it will become every day more and more easie and at last pleasant and delightful to them When they have for some time accustom'd themselves to it the Comforts of a well-spent Life will flow in upon them and nothing will yield them greater Satisfaction than to be allow'd the Privilege of pouring out the Desires of their Souls before God and begging Supplies from him and returning him thanks for his Blessings bestow'd upon them They will earnedly desire to come and appear before God and as the Hart panteth after the water Brooks Psal 42.1 so will their Soul pant after their God and their Redeemer But yet supposing that there should be some Difficulty in the leading of a good Life that God should see fit to make the Profession of his Truth hazardous and the Practice of their Duty chargeable Yet what generous and Praise worthy undertaking can be perform'd without Pains and Diligence All that is excellent and noble requires Labour and Industry and the Pains Men take makes the dear-bought Blessing more acceptable to them Do they not undergo much greater Difficulties for things of lesser moment tho' their Success is seldom answerable to their Expectations Do they not compass Sea and Land leave their best Friends and nearest Relations and dig even into the very Bowels of the Earth in quest of Wealth tho' for the most part they find a Grave where they seek their Treasure Do they not toil and sweat and wade thro' a Sea of Blood in pursuit of Honour tho' they expect no other recompence for their Pains but a Lawrel-Wreath or the Applause of the People And shall not Heaven and eternal Happiness deserve our Care Shall we not take as much Pains for a never fading Crown as we do for a withering Garland But let us suppose the greatest Difficulties we can possibly imagine in the Practice of a good and Holy Life Suppose as we are apt to fancy that there are Lyons in our way to Heaven Mountains which cannot be remov'd by our natural Strength and Ability yet even the most formidable Evils will not fright us from the Practice of Virtue and Holiness if we consider Thirdly That the worst Circumstances a good Man can be reduc'd to are to be preferr'd before the prosperous Condition of the wicked as will appear from these following Considerations 1. That in the lowest and most afflicted Condition the good Man enjoys the Comfort of a quiet Mind and the Peace of a good Conscience which is a sufficient Compensation for all the Evils he can possibly endure in this Life All other Evils are supportable and may be undergone by a stable and well resolved Mind The spirit of a man may bear his Infirmities Prov. 18.14 but a wounded spirit who can bear This is the only Load which is insupportable and is for the most part the Lot of the prosperous wicked Man 2. The good Man is furnish'd with never-failing Remedies against all the Evils of this present Life He is assur'd that all Afflictions shall be for the good of those that serve God and that God disposes all things with the Wisdom and Love of an indulgent Father that the Wheels of God's Providence have an Eye within them which always guides them to some wise end or other 2 Cor. 12.9 That Gods grace will be sufficient for him and that he will proportion his Assistance to his Wants so that if he should call him out to give his Body to be burned and to lay down his Life for his sake he will also give him strength to undergo the fiery Tryal and chearfully to praise him in the Flames And 3. The good Man is assur'd that the Evils he suffers will soon be at an end that the time draws on apace when he shall be eas'd of all his Troubles Rev. 7.17 Have all tears wiped away from his Eyes and receive a Hundred fold for all those momentary Afflictions he has undergone in this Life Whilst he endures the Cross his Faith shews him the Crown of Glory hanging over his head and the lively Hopes of it make him not only patient but thankful for and chearful under Affliction And I am perswaded that St. Paul when in Chains and under all his Calamities and Persecutions was infinitely more contented than Caesar or Seneca than any of the most fortunate Princes or wisest Philosophers amongst the Heathens From these and such like Considerations I think it is sufficiently evident 1. That there is very little true Pleasure to be found in a debauch'd and wicked Course of Life 2. That the way to lead a comfortable Life even in this World is to be vertuous and religious 3. That the worst Circumstances a good Man can fall into are to be preferr'd before the most prosperous Condition of the wicked And if so then from hence we may reasonably conclude That Godliness has the Promises of the Life that now is i.e. That our Happiness in this World is best secur'd by leading a Holy and religious Life It only remains that I shew Secondly That a Holy and religious Life fits and prepares us for everlasting Happiness in the world to come And this is evident because a State of Grace and a State of Glory only differ in degree Grace is Glory begun and Glory is Grace perfected and consummated So that every good Action and religious Duty that we perform is a step towards our everlasting Happiness it both qualifies us for it and leads us nearer to it for by a Holy and religious Life we Copy out the Perfections of the Divine Nature and become more like God and the
our Ways as to turn our feet unto God's Testimonies Which God of his Mercy grant for the sake of our blessed Redeemer Jesus Christ our Lord. SERMON III. 2 TIM III. 5. Having a form of Godliness but denying the Power from such turn away THIS know saith St. Paul Ver. 1. That in the last days periolous times shall come because of the wickedness of Men as he goes on in the second Verse for Men shall be lovers of their own selves covetous proud boasters blasphemers and all which he comprehends under one Character in the words of the Text Having a Form of Godliness but denying the Power And this is the chief Reason why the times would be so perilous because the greatest part of these wicked Persons should conceal their Crimes under a Form and shew of Godliness Were they professedly and openly wicked there were some Ingenuity even in their Impudence because they could not be tax'd or upbraided with Hypocrisie Were they covetous proud blasphemers without a shew of Zeal and pretence of Religion then all Men might plainly discern and detect them Psal 55.12 and from an open Enemy I would have hid my self says David Shelves and Quicksands that have Lights always burning to discover them by are the more easily avoided and we are forewarn'd against the Dog that barks first But these Deceivers of whom St. Paul speaks have a fair and glorious outside tho' they are foul within These workers of Iniquity cry Lord Lord and are great Professors of Religion They put on the Form of Godliness tho' they deny the Power thereof and therefore they have the greater Sin From hence it is that they are the more dangerous Company and we have the greater Reason to observe the Caution laid down in the Text from such turn away Having a Form of Godliness but denying the Power from such turn away From these words I shall shew I. What is here meant by Godliness what by a Form and what by the Power of it II. That we may have a Form without the Power of Godliness III. How we may discover whether we have the Power of Godliness or else only the Form of it IV. And Lastly how far we must turn away from such as have only the Form but not the Power of Godliness 1. What is here meant by Godliness what by a Form and what by the Power of it Godliness in the Original 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is a devout and sincere Worship of the only true God in Spirit and in Truth both inwardly and outwardly according to his Word Or to describe it more fully and expresly 1 Tim. 1.5 'T is an earnest Love of God out of a pure Heart and a good Conscience and Faith unfeigned whereby we are incited to glorifie God and to do good towards Men So that in this one word is imply'd our whole Duty towards God and Man This is express'd by St. 1 Tim. 2.2 Paul by leading a quiet and peaceable Life in all Godliness and Honesty 1 Tim. 4.8 This is that Godliness which is profitable unto all things and has the Promises of the Life that now is and that which is to come By a Form of Godliness is meant an outward Resemblance a colourable shew or likely appearance of Godliness when a Man puts on the Face and outside of Religion Acts and Mimicks it so well as to deceive and impose upon those who converse with him who judging according to the outward appearance believe him to be an honest holy and religious Man tho' in truth he is nothing less He may not only deceive others but delude himself also and be confidently perswaded that he is the Child of God and one of the chief Favourites of Heaven when indeed he is a Servant of the Devil and a Firebrand of Hell And in truth the Form must be like the Pattern or else it is no Form at all for we do not say a Picture or Statue is such a Man's Picture or Statue unless it bears a lively Resemblance of his Looks and Person Thus a Form of Godliness must be such a shew and outside of Religion as is of the same hew and complection with true Religion and a lively Portraicture of it tho' in many Respects it falls short of the Power of Godliness which implies that Force and Efficacy that internal Principle and Spring of Action which is well express'd by the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whereby a Man is made as St. 1 Tiâ—â— 41 8.12 Paul says An example of Believers in word in Conversation in Charity in Spirit in Faith in Purity and has the Grace of God which bringeth Salvation teaching him to deny ungodliness and worldly Lusts and to live soberly righteously and godly in this present world If a Man has Charity in Conversation Faith and Purity in Spirit so as to deny all worldly Lusts and to live soberly in himself and righteously towards others and godly towards his Maker and Redeemer Then is his Soul and Body entirely subject to the Cross of Christ then his Form of Godliness proceeds from the Power of it And this is that Power of Godliness which works mightily unto Salvation And this Power of God is most evidently seen in reducing the most Stiff-neck'd and Hard-hearted Sinners in prevailing with them to leave their beloved Sins and bosom Vices and in beating down and subduing the most stubborn and unruly Passions such as Pride Envy Malice and Revenge those Sins our corrupt Nature is most subject to and in making so great a Change in us that we do not seem to be the same Men. The Lyon becomes a Lamb and the Serpent a Dove a natural Man a Man wholly Spiritual and a Servant of the Devil a Child of God He aims at new ends Acts by new Principles and is ready to expose his Life by giving his Testimony to those Truths which before were foolishness unto him And therefore the Gospel is call'd Rom. 1.16 the Power of God unto Salvation to every one that believes This is that Power of Godliness which those Hypocrites mentioned by St. Paul in the Text are without here 't is they are defective which brings me to shew 2. That the Form of Godliness may be without the Power of it And this is confirm'd by many other Texts of Scripture We are forewarn'd that we do not look to the outward appearance 2 Cor. 11.14 for the Devil can transform himself into an Angel of Light and then 't is no wonder that his Servants can put on the guise and appearance of the Children of God There are numerous instances set down in the Holy Scripture sufficient to convince us of this Truth We are told that a Man may pretend to be sent from Heaven and yet Preach another Gospel than that which our Saviour reveal'd to the World and hereby deserve an Anathema Nay he may Preach the true Gospel with such force of Reason and wonderful Efficacy
Divine Joy to see those Churches rais'd to a greater heighth and adorn'd with a more splendid Magnificency than their first Founders had bestow'd upon them 'T is plain to any one who consults Ecclesiastical History that as the Christian Religion encreas'd and Kings and Emperors became the nursing Fathers of the Church more stately and magnificent Structures were built and Dedicated to the Service of God No Cost was spar'd nothing was thought too good for this sacred Use The whole Christian World did seem to rejoyce that they had the Liberty of bestowing their Goods to this holy Purpose and their profuse Liberality was spoken of with Honour and Approbation St. Jerom. ad Nepotian de vitâ Clerici Ad Demetr Epist 12. Ad Gaudentium 'T is confess'd there are some Passages in the Fathers which seem to condemn these expensive Buildings but then 't was only comparatively when there was so much laid out upon these Structures that there was nothing left to bestow on the living Temples of the Lord and they had such a mistaken Zeal for adorning Churches that they starv'd the Poor and did not provide a competent Allowance for those who serv'd at the Altar And now what remains but that we who profess our selves Members of the Church of England endeavour to adorn our Profession by a diligent and constant Attendance on the Publick Offices of Religion by a due Preparation of our Minds for these Holy Duties and a devout Comportment of our selves in the performance of them and a Filial regard to all those Devout Rites and Solemnities enjoyn'd us by our Superiours That so we who are now Members of the Church Militant may as far as the frailty of our Condition will permit resemble that hidden Dignity and Glory wherewith the Church Triumphant in Heaven is glorified and Worship our God in the Beauty of Holiness SERMON VI. 1 THES V. 22. Abstain from all appearance of Evil. THE latter part of this Chapter is a Recapitulation of several Truths deliver'd in the Body of this Epistle between which there is no strict Connection neither have they any exact dependance one upon another only the words of the Text and those which go immediately before do bear some Relation For in the Verse before the Text the Apostle gives Directions concerning our Practice of those things which are Good We must carefully examine all things by the Touch-stone of God's word whether Doctrines or Practices and we must distinguish between those which seem and appear to be good and those which are really so We must reject the one and hold fast the other Prove all things hold fast that which is good But we must take quite different Measures in relation to those things which are Evil which either are plainly contrary to the Law of God or which we have any probable Reason to suspect are so We must abstain from all appearance of Evil. There is indeed another Interpretation of these words those who follow the Syriac Version render them Abstain from every kind of Evil But since this Word is not so rendred in any other place of the New Testament nor is there any Reason from the Scope and Coherence of the words to translate it so I shall rather chuse with the Generality of Interpreters to follow the vulgar Translation and render it as in my Text Abstain from all appearance of Evil and the rather Phil. 4. â—â— because the positive part of this Precept is contained in other places of the Holy Writ The words thus understood may be consider'd either as they relate to the Articles of our Faith or as a Rule for the directing our Lives and Conversations The latter of these is chiefly intended in the Text and therefore my present Enquiry shall be What those Actions and Practices are which have the appearance of Evil and from which we are commanded to Abstain That I may give a more plain and satisfactory Answer to this Question I shall consider these words 1. Absolutely and 2. As they bear a Respect and Relation to our Neighbour First Taken absolutely they may be resolv'd into this Proposition That we must not do any Action which either really is or has the Blush or appearance of Evil. Secondly If consider'd with Respect to our Neighbour they import That we must abstain from all such Actions which may probably be an occasion of Offence or Scandal to our Brother First I shall consider the words absolutely and then they import these three things I. That we must abstain from every Action Word or Thought which is contrary to the Divine Law II. That we must abstain even from lawful Actions if they appear Evil to us III. That we must abstain from all such Actions which have any Tendency to incite insnare and tempt us into Sin 1. That we must abstain from every Action Word or Thought which is contrary to the Divine Law though it may appear of never so little Concernment Whatsoever is a breach of God's Law tho' in the smallest and most inconsiderable Circumstance must be carefully avoided by us because every such Transgression will expose us to God's Anger and by Consequence render us liable to everlasting Punishment Let us therefore carefully avoid even the lighter breaches of our Duty let us make a Covenant with our Eyes and set a watch over the thoughts of our hearts and take Care that we do not offend with our Tongue remembring that at the last day every idle word must be accounted for and that in God's Book all the Thoughts and Intents of our Hearts are recorded Some Sins are indeed of a deeper Dye than others and do admit of more heinous Aggravations Sins committed wilfully and presumptuously are more hateful to God wast the Conscience more and by consequence are more dangerous to the safety of our Souls than those Sins into which we are betray'd by the frailty of our Natures and the surprize of a Temptation But if we consider Sin in it self and in its own Nature no Sin can be small or little or as the Papists speak Venial for every Sin is a willful Transgression of the Law of God 1 Joh. 3.4 and whoever wilfully offends God justly incurrs the Sentence of eternal Damnation Nay even the lighter breaches of our Duty may be attended with such Circumstances and Aggravations as may render them of more pernicious Consequence unto us than those which in their own Nature imply a greater Guilt a small Injury done on purpose to vilifie and reproach us is resented more heinously than when we sustain a greater Damage thro' the Folly and Inadvertency of our Neighbour and therefore we have Reason to conclude That the least Sin willfully committed and obstinately persevered in will deprive us utterly of God's Favour and Protection How vain and dangerous then is that known distinction of Sin amongst the Papists into Sins venial and Sins mortal i. e. as they explain it into such Sins as do deserve eternal
they corrupt their most Holy Offerings and turn the Sacrifices of their Prayers and Thanksgivings into sin Let it therefore be our first and principal Care to fix our thoughts and keep them attentive to the Duties we are about and we shall soon find that he who has thus well begun has half finished his work If we can but once bring our selves to be serious and attentive to apply our Minds to the Worship of God this will naturally produce 2. The Intention and Ardency of our Affections Rom. 12.1 For the Duties of Religion are in themselves so reasonable a Service so excellently fitted to bring about those Ends for which they were appointed and so agreeable to the Faculties of our Soul that there is requir'd little more to recommend them to our liking and delight than a sober and serious Application of our Minds and a daily and constant accustoming our selves to them It will be tedious and irksome to us at the first to spend our time in Religious Duties to pray and hear God's word and meditate upon it but when we have once got the Victory over our corrupt and stubborn Natures by a daily Practice of these Duties nothing will yield us so much Pleasure and Delight on this side Heaven as the pouring out our Prayers before God the laying open our Wants and begging Supplies the magnifying his Name for Benefits bestow'd upon us and communicating to others the grateful Resentments of our Souls These are the Employments of Saints and Angels above and will create a kind of Heaven in every good Man's breast whose Mind is taken up with such glorious Conceptions and joyful Resentments as these Psal 19.10 These as David tells us are sweeter than the honey and the honey comb Which made him chuse rather to spend one day in God's Courts Psal 84.10 than a thousand else-where Let us therefore Worship the Lord our God with all our heart and all our mind and all our soul Let us embrace his Truth with our Understandings treasure it up in our Memories and caress it with our Affections Let us pray unto him with Faith Zeal and Fervency and praise him with a due Admiration of his Goodness and grateful Resentments of his Mercy and Loving-kindness and then nothing will remain but that 3. We close with it by our Wills and conform them to his Divine Will and Pleasure That we resolve to amend our Lives in every particular wherein we have done amiss and to yield a sincere Obedience to the Laws of God in every known Instance of our Duty that we may not perform our Devotions only that we may be thought to be Religious but that we may be really so and not only be wiser Men but better Christians For the end of all the Devotional parts of Religion is chiefly to lead us unto Practice they are enjoyn'd us as helps and means to assist us To direct our Conversations aright and that hereby we may be the better enabled to live up to the Rules of Reason and Religion Do but take any particular Duty into your Consideration and you will find that it has a necessary influence upon our Lives and a direct Tendency to assist us in a due performance of our Duty For Instance would it not be absurd to imagine that God has commanded us to Repent of our Sins because he takes delight in the Sighs and Tears of the Penitent Sinner For he who is a Being of infinite Goodness is never better pleas'd than when he is doing us good and communicating his Blessings unto us But the Reason why he commands us to Repent is that he may make us sensible of the Evil Nature of our Sins and the Misery and Ruin which our Vices betray us into and that hereby we may be deterr'd from those Actions which are so dishonourable to God and so prejudicial to our selves Nor would it be more reasonable to Fancy that our Prayers and Praises make any addition to his Glory or increase his Happiness for he is infinitely and therefore perfectly happy in the Enjoyment of himself but these Duties are enjoyn'd us that by the performance of them our Souls may be more seriously affected with a humble Sense of our own weakness and a grateful Resentment of God's Goodness whereby we may be inclin'd to yield the readier Obedience to his Commands and be drawn by these cords of a man to obey his Laws I might instance in all the other Duties of instituted Religion Hosea 11.4 but from what I have already said it plainly appears That all the parts of Publick Worship do directly tend to make Men more Holy in this Life in order to make them more Happy in that which is to come and that then it doth obtain the End for which it was appointed when we take up Resolutions of living better and of conforming our Wills to the Divine Will and Pleasure Thus I have shew'd what that Worship of our Souls is which God requires of us that it consists in the Attention of our Thoughts the Intention of our Minds and the Harmony of our Wills with God's Divine Will I come to consider 2. How we ought to Worship God with our Bodies For since our Bodies as well as our Souls were the Workmanship of his hands 't is but highly reasonable we should pay him the Homage of them and serve him also with our Bodies which are his That we should dispose our selves during the time of Divine Worship to such Decent becoming and reverential Gestures that we may make it evident to all Men that our whole Man is dedicated to his Service And this will be best perform'd by bearing in mind this general Rule That we put on that Gravity and seriousness of Looks and Behaviour and deport our selves after such a manner as the belief of God's immediate Presence and the solemnity of his Worship requires from us For though Irreverence and Indecency in the Publick Worship of God is by too many esteem'd a light and trivial Offence and hardly worth taking notice of which proceeds from this false Notion they are prepossessed with That if they serve God with their Minds and Spirits 't is no matter what their bodily Behaviour is Yet this will be found to be a gross Mistake and of dangerous and pernicious Consequence if weigh'd in the Balance of the Sanctuary and of unprejudic'd Reason for 1. Why should we believe those Men will Worship God with their Souls and Spirits who will not Worship him with their Bodies If they will not do so easie a thing as to comport their selves decently and affectionately during the time of Divine Service 't is not probable that they should perform that which is far more difficult to Worship him with Intention of Soul and Ardency of Affection It requires their utmost Diligence and Application to keep their Minds attentive and to go along with the Congregation in all the parts of Publick Worship which these Men will