all the Earth discovering such Truths and instituting such Laws and Precepts as were never known before For 1 Christ our Prophet has presented us in the Doctrine of the Gospel with a clearer and more distinct Notion and Character of God himself The Nature Attributes c. of God more clearly revealed then ever was known before as to his Nature Persons Vnity Attributes Properties c. and also concerning all his Works of Creation Providence Redemption Sanctification c. All which seriously consider'd describe him to be a God of infinite and immense Power Wisdom Truth Justice Mercy Goodness c. of which more fully hereafter and in a Word a Being which consists of all possible Holiness and Perfection 2 He has made a full discovery of those fundamental Truths which concern his Divine The fundamental Truths of the Gospel fully discover'd and Humane Natures as united in the Person of our blessed Redeemer Intimating hereby what he has done and suffer'd for us and the consequent Benefits which result from his meritorious Death and Intercession to all such as apply 'em as the Sanctification of their Persons the Pardon of their Sins and the hopeful Assurance of a blessed Resurrection to eternal Life for Christ's sake 3 Christ as Prophet has enacted such Laws for the Government of the Actions Rules for the religious conduct of our Lives adapted to our Capacities Words Thoughts Affections Inclinations Appetites and Passions both of the outward and inward Man as are highly rational and ingenuous plain and easie to be understood and practic'd and so universally Good and Beneficial in all Respects that as the like was never known before so 't is beyond the Capacity of Men and Angels to conceive any thing better or so perfective of the Nature Reason and Interest of Mankind For 't is plain in in all the Particulars that our blessed Lord has prescrib'd no other Conditions for the Attainment of eternal Happiness then what are most consentaneous both to our Rational Nature and present Interest in this World And would certainly have been best for us to 've done if they had not been commanded whereby He has evidently declar'd that he is so far pleas'd with our Services and Duties to him as they are advantagious and beneficial to our selves that we may take one Blessing in the Way to another Grace Peace and Contentment here in the Way to Glory hereafter 4 All the Duties of Christianity are of the same Stamp and Character with its Principles and Precepts The Duties tafie to be perform'd and every way so correspondent to the Rules of universal Rectitude that there 's no Person that 's truly regenerate can assign any Difficulty in Praying unto God or in Praising of him in Hearing Reading and Meditating on his Word in receiving the holy Sacraments in holy Conferences pious Ejaculations c. Yea even those more austere Duties of Religion as Repentance Mortification Self-denial Self-resignation taking up the Cross Patience in Afflictions c. which tho' they be most afflictive to Flesh and Bloud yet are so far from being troublesom and uneasie to the rational Powers of the Soul that doubtless if there be any Elixir or substantial Pleasure in this World it must result and flow from a serious devout and conscientious Performance of the Duties of Religion And therefore the Church of England upon well grounded Experience declares That the Service of God is the most absolute and perfect Freedom And this will more evidently appear if We consider 5 Those Motives and Arguments which the Christian Religion propounds And enforc't by powerful Motives Incouragements to incourage us in the doing of our Duties Which are neither few nor inconsiderable For if we be faithful herein we have an Assurance of the Pardon of all our sins past the Promise of the most plentiful Supplies of God's preventing restraining exciting assisting and sanctifying Grace to enable us to avoid all Sin resist all Temptations and to inspire us with such a holy Frame and Temper of Mind and Spirit as may dispose us to serve God sincerely and affectionately in all the Instances of Duty thro' the whole Course of our Lives To which considerable Advantages and Priviledges he has added ex abundanti the Promises of the Blessings of this Life Mat. 6.33 as Health Wealth a good Reputation Peace Prosperity c. But lest all these should not prove Motive sufficient to enforce the Practice of those most pleasant and profitable Duties of our Religion he has further assured us that upon the faithful discharge of those necessary and important Duties we shall livâ— for ever with him in whose Presence is fulness of joy Psal 16.11 and at whose right hand are pleasures for evermore Now if all these powerful Incentives to Duty do not charm and allure us to be holy and vertuous devout and serious in our Religious Addresses it will be requisite to consider on the other hand Rom. 1.18 that the Wrath of God is reveal'd from Heaven against all Vngodliness c. And as the impious and prophane who contemn or neglect the Service of God and the Duties of Religion seldom escape punishment even in this Life so there 's a dismal Time approaching Psal 9.17 when the Wicked shall be turned into Hell and all the People shall forget God If then such Arguments as these do not perswade us to be holy and religious I know not what will If these Menaces do not force us to flie from the Wrath to come and sue for our Reconciliation I know not what can And 't is most just and reasonable that those who despise or neglect the Riches of God's Grace and Mercy propounded and promis'd in the One should feel eternally the Tragical Effects of his Justice and Vengeance denounc'd and threatn'd in the Other Thus the whole Tenor of that Religion which Christ our great Prophet has so clearly reveal'd to us and propagated in so considerable a part of the World is a lively Transcript and Pattern of God's eternal Wisdom and Goodness Wherein the Divine Pleasure in what concerns our happiress and dependance upon him in this and a future State is so plain and obvious to be known possible and easie to be perform'd and recommended to us by such powerful Motives and Encouragements that if we be not wanting to our selves in the faithful Performance of those incomparably pleasant Duties which the Gospel prescribes 't is impossible we should fail of the Blessings and Rewards of it And to convince us that neither the Terms of our Reconciliation are difficult The Duties of Religion are inforet and recommended nor the Duties of our Religion impossible to be perform'd Our blessed Saviour this great Prophet has left us his own and we 've the Examples of many thousands of his Saints and Servants on Record as Patterns to walk by who have confirm'd the Truth of this Excellent Doctrine and seal'd it
them to make Shipwrack of Faith and a good Conscience and makes use of all his Stratagems to make 'em turn Hereticks if not Apostates And that his Projects have been too successful will evidently appear if we consider the many Heresies which have been broacht in the Church concerning the Natures Person and Offices of our blessed Saviour Which I should be sorry to conjure up and therefore I hope my Reader will excuse me if I rather desire to have 'em buried in the darkest Shades of Oblivion CHAP. IV. Of the Vnion of the Divine and Humane Natures in the Person of Christ WE shall not be too curious in inquiring into the Manner of this Hypostatical Vnion Of the union of the two Natures For my design is rather to edifie the sober and conscientious then humour the captious or Sceptical Reader The perfect Knowledge of this Mystery is a Sacred Reserve for the contemplation of the holy Angels and Saints glorified and it would cease to be admirable if we could comprehend or express it But we Christians may conceive tho' not by the energy of Reason yet by the eye of Faith that the Messiah of the World is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Man-hood is taken into the God-head and by the singular virtue and operation of the Holy Ghost without the intervention of an Earthly Father the blessed Virgin became impregnated and did conceive And this was the most sutable way of accomplishing that so necessary Conjunction of the Divine and Humane Natures That he might be perfectly Sanctified as Man and that the Nature which he assum'd might be free from all stain and pollution Thus God and Man make one Person Yet So that the two Natures are preserv'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 entire without Confusion as the Councils and Fathers defin'd against Eutyches And the Person of Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Si quis non confitetur carni secundum Subsistentiam unitum Dei Patris Verbum Anathemisit Cyril in Ep. Alex. Concil Anath without Division against Nestorius But they were united 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 truly and perfectly without Confusion of Persons without Commixture of Natures and yet they were united 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by a Personal and real Vnion Thus the eternal Son of God took our Nature upon Him which being united to his Divine Nature hath now the same Subsistence which he hath so that the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word assuming and the Nature assumed make but one Person God and Man one Christ I would not confound my Reader with Metaphysical and School Notions concerning the Hypostatical Vnion 't is like God himself better understood by its Properties and Effects than in its own Nature 'T is sufficient that all our Creeds and all Antiquity do confess it and unanimously concur in this great Article of our Faith Namely that altho' Christ has two Natures the Word and the Flesh yet do these two make but one Person one Son of God one Saviour of Men. We pass from the Manner of this Vnion to consider in the next Place 1 The Necessity of it 2 The Benefits which we Christians do receive by it And 3 We shall make some Practical Improvement of the Point in hand by way of Application And 1st 'T is by vertue of the Vnion of these two Natures that our Lord Jesus Christ has reconcil'd us to God and works all things for us in the great Business of our Redemption We have consider'd already what a deplorable Estate and Condition mankind was in by the Disobedience and Fall of our first Parents And no expedient could've been more sutable to unite those two distant and otherwise irreconcilable Extremes an offended God to offending Man than the Interposition of a Person consisting of both Natures which were so much at variance For 1 By vertue of that Agreement between the Father and the Son The Necessity of this Union 't is impli'd that the Saviour of the World should be God since no other expedient could mediate a Peace nor make a plenary satisfaction to God's Justice for us Besides our Transgressions being committed against an infinite God and attended with the most heinous aggravations of wickedness and villany the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or price paid for our Atonement must be sutably great otherwise God's Justice would be still unsatisfied But the Bloud of the whole Creation could not redeem one Soul from Death Wherefore he must be God that should undergo this Wrath and God that he might overcome and not sink under the Punishment More particularly if we consider the Price which was to be paid for the Purchase of our Redemption the many and great Obstacles which were to be remov'd the potent and numberless Enemies which were to be conquer'd and subdu'd as Sathan Death Hell c. the Justice of God as before which must be fully satisfied for Man's Delinquency and Disobedience the intolerable Burden of our Sins and the shatter'd Condition of our Nature which was to be rectified and restor'd to its primitive Innocence and Integrity If I say we consider all these Particulars impartially We must necessarily infer that 't was not meer Man that could atchieve our Reconciliation but 't is the immense Merit of the eternal Son of God that must conciliate the difference and reconcile sinful Man to an offended Justice Secondly Why Christ must be Man The Saviour of the World must be Man also to constitute him a Redeemer of Men. And this was absoutely necessary upon several Accounts 1 Because he must be subject to the Law and perform all the Conditions which the Law requir'd at our Hands in making up all our Defects by his Active and satisfying for all our Obliquities by his Passive and unsinning Obedience That as Man had deeply offended so he should highly please God and procure his Grace and Favour The Apostle is very express to this purpose As by the Disobedience saith he of one Man Rom. 5.19 many were made Sinners So by the Obedience of one many shall be made Righteous that is they shall be absolv'd from Guilt rescu'd from Punishment and be restor'd by degrees to the full enjoyment of their lost Innocence and happiness But the Deity being impassible and Christ our Surety having Covenanted to do this sor us 't was necessary therefore that he should assume Our Nature Heb. 2.9 10. that he might be made perfect thro' sufferings and tast Death for every Man 2 'T was requisite that the same Nature should conquer the Devil that was overcome by him and propitiate for our Pardon which had caus'd the Enmity between God and us Otherwise the Promise That the seed of the Woman should bruise the Serpent's head had been covenanted to no purpose Gen. 3.15 It was the Nature of Man in the first Adam that made the Breach and 't is the same Nature in the second Adam that must satisfie God's Justice and make our Atonement This was
never thirst if we be naked he will cloath us with the Robes of his Virtue and the Garments of his Righteousness Psal 45.8 Gen 27.27 which smell of Myrh Alloes and Cassia and are like the smell of a pleasant Field which the Lord hath blessed if we be simple or ignorant he 's our Wisdom to instruct us if we be sinful he 's our Righteousness to save us if we desire to be holy he is our Sanctification to bless us Acts 3.26 in turning us away from our Iniquities Tit. 2.14 and purifying to himself a peculiar People zealous of good Works if the Devil tempt and allure us to sin he is the Captain of our Salvation who has not only in a great measure countermanded Satan's Commission but dissolv'd his Authority 1 Joh. 3.8 Now as all sincere Believers are thus abundantly supply'd with all things needful and convenient an hundred fold in this Life and in the World to come Life everlasting Luk. 18 3â— So on the Contrary All the pompous Delights of this visible World tho' they be seemingly never so specious or profitable unless they be sanctified to us by the Grace of Christ's holy Spirit instead of being a Comfort and Blessing they will become our Plague and Punishment In like manner all our Wisdom Righteousness Learning c. which are not deriv'd from this Fountain and purified by the Bloud of Christ are but as a menstruous Cloth or filthy Rags and neither pleasing to God nor beneficial to our Selves as might be instanc'd if 't were needful in many Particulars Those outward Accomplishments may indeed make us appear Great but can never make us Good They may puff us up with Pride and Self-conceit but they seldom or never make men more holy and vertuous John 15.5 Without Christ we can do nothing but by the Assistance of his Grace and Spirit we are enabl'd to do all things 2 Cor. 9.8 Our Sufficiency is of him and we must ascribe all our holy Performances not to any Endeavours of our own but to the Riches of God's Grace in Christ And whatever we do that is Holy or Vertuous 't is no more We but Christ who by the Power and Presence of his Holy Spirit dwelleth and worketh in Us. In a Word We hold all that we have in Capite from him and 't is the best Tenure too We are his by Purchase he has paid a dear Price for us and therefore how dear and precious should he be to us We are Oblig'd to forsake all and follow him Matth. 19.27 1 Cor. 6.19 20. This is the most effectual Plea against Satan's Stratagems that we are not our own for we are bought with a Price and therefore intirely at his not our own Disposal This is that seasonable Expedient which will vanquish this and all other Enemies even our Faith in Jesus Christ God and Man in the same Person 6 And Lastly This Point of Doctrine duly consider'd will remind us of the State and Condition of other Men as well as our Selves Has God set such an inestimable Value upon Mens Souls as to purchase 'em at so dear a Price Could nothing less then the Bloud of the eternal Son of God pay a sufficient Ransom for the Redemption of them How should we then respect honour and indulge Christ's Humane Nature in the poorest and meanest of his Servants And since Good has been pleas'd to think us worthy of so much Care and Indulgence we 've Reason to use all possible Endeavours to keep these precious Jewels pure and unspotted both in our selves and others Have we contracted such an honourable Alliance with and do we stand so nearly related to the holy Trinity and our fellow Christians by the Vnion of our Nature to the Person of Christ How then should our Thoughts Desires Dispositions Words and Actions be conformable to the Nature Laws and Dignitie of such Relations How should we be afraid to submit to any thing that 's base or ignoble lest we reflect Dishonour upon God and that Nature of ours which he has so much dignified by his Incarnation Let us therefore indeavour as we are oblig'd both in Duty and Interest in every Iustance and Circumstance of our Lives to be and to do good to avoid all things evil in themselves and of evil Report That we may thereby glorifie God in our Bodies and in our Spirits which are his This would prove the most certain Expedient to bring this excellent Religion of the Holy and Eternal Jesus into Repute and Credit with those that differ from us and by our hearty Compliances with all its reasonable Constitutions we cannot fail both of the present and future Rewards which spring and flow from it Thus I have treated distinctly on the first Branch of this great Mystery of Man's Redemption and herein Particularly of the Names and Natures of Christ and that wonderful Vnion of 'em both in the same Person I have alleg'd several important Reasons why the Saviour of the World should be God why he should be Man and why God and Man in the same Person of Christ I have consider'd those special Advantages and Priviledges resulting from this heavenly Doctrine with the peculiar Influences which it should have upon the Lives and Practices of all Christians God Almighty give us all Grace so to believe these Truths faithfully and practice them conscientiously That the whole frame and contexture of our Lives may be truly conformable to the Kingdom and Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ Amen CHAP. IV. Of the Offices of Christ in general BY discoursing of the Offices of Christ and the Manner of their Administration we may understand more particularly the great End and Design of our Saviour's coming into the World And the many great things which he has done and suffer'd for the Redemption and Happiness of lost Mankind The Name of Christ as we noted before is a Title which imports Office and Dignity The Name Christ imports his Offices 'T is a Greek word in the Original and answereth to the Hebrew Messiah both which signifie our Anointed Saviour Historians tell us that 't was an ancient Custom in the Easten part of the World to Anoint their Public Officers Kings and Prophets especially with material Oyl denoting and symbolizing thereby the liberal and plentiful Effusion of extraordinary Endowments such as might qualifie them for and presignifie the hopeful and happy success of their Administrations But our Christ the eternal Son of God coming into the World to manage that great and important Office of Mediatour between God and Man must be sanctified Christ's unction differ'd from all others and set a part in a more peculiar manner than any of the Ancients were For they were only anointed with material Oyl but he was Sanctified and filled with the Holy Ghost they were set apart by Men but he was confirm'd by the Father in this Office they were invested with Authority and Ability
the Nature which was tempted by Satan and this is the same Nature which shall for ever triumph over him 3 This New Covenant of Peace and Reconciliation by Christ must be seal'd in Bloud Heb. 9.22 For without shedding of Bloud there 's no Remission to be expected Now 't is not the Bloud of Bulls Heb. 10.4 nor of Goats that could atone for our Sins and the Deity being impassible as before therefore Christ by his own Bloud entred once into the Holy Place Heb. 9.12 having by his Obedience and Sufferings if we faithfully apply 'em purchas'd our Peace and ratified and Seal'd our Pardon 4 He must be Man also that being toucht with our Infirmities He might be sensible of our Wants tender of our Welfare merciful and compassionate in bearing with our Weaknesses solicitous for the Pardon of our Sins and the comforts of God's Grace to support us under the burdensome Asslictions which spring and flow from 'em and finally that he might bear with all the Imperfections of our Nature and repair the Breaches of our declining Faith For as he must be unskilful in instructing others to bear Afflictions patiently who has not been passive himself So 't is as difficult for any to apply seasonable and successful Remedies to the Afflicted who is a stranger to their Sufferings Wherefore saith the Apostle That the High Priest of our Profession might be more apprehensive and sensible of our Infirmities he became like unto his Brethren in all things that he might be a merciful High Priest in things pertaining to God Heb. 2.17.18 and intercede effectually and make Atonement for the sins of the People For in that he suffer'd being tempted he knows how and is willing to succour those that are tempted Having then such a compassionate Advocate and Intercessor with the Father we may be encourag'd to come with bolduess to the Throne of Grace where we shall meet with a comfortable return to our Prayers and the favourable Acceptance of our Persons in time of need Thus we have seen that the Saviour of the World must be God and that he must be Man to constitute him a Redeemer of Men But neither of these two Natures distinct from the other were proper Instruments to make up the Breach Therefore Thirdly Why Christ must be God and man in the same Person There must be a Conjunction of the God-head and Manhood by an Hypostatical and real Vnion in the Person of Christ To evince and illustrate this Point 6. If God in his Justice had rooted out Mankind from the Earth his Mercy could not have been manifested in pardoning Trespasses and Offences If he had created a new Generation pure and spotless without sin which by Sufferings were to satisfie for the Offences of the former it would 've been severity in God to have punish'd the Innocent for the wicked If God had appointed an Angel to have taken upon him the Nature of sinful Man the Justice of God could by no means have been satisfied with the finite Obedience of a Creature If God had pardon'd Man's Apostacy without satisfaction Justice had still been violated and the Decree broken which was issued out against him Gen. 2.17 In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die Almighty God therefore out of his inconceivable Love to Mankind whom he had so wonderfully created and withal so jealous of his own Honor that he would neither violate the great Attribute of his Justice nor yet obscure the Glory of his Mercy was pleas'd to appoint his only begotten Son the express Image and Character of his Father's Person to take our Nature upon him Gal. 4.4 5. and be made of a Woman under the Law to redeem us from the curse of it and that we might receive the Adoption of Sons Thus Christ the Saviour of the World is God and Man in the same Person and this Vnion was necessary that he might be a fit Mediator between both to compose the difference and solicite a Peace between God and our Souls and by the merit of his obedience and sufferings make our Access to the Throne of God's Heavenly Grace more tolerable and easie Christ is God to speak to the Father for us and he became Man that he might declare God's Will to us in a more familiar less amazing and more obliging Way then otherwise it could have been Hereby shewing us an Example by his own wonderful condescention how we should submit to the meanest condition and entertain the worst Events with a Patience and Courage sutable to the submissive yet Magnanimous Spirit of Christianity Thus much of the Vnion of the Divine and Humane Nature in the Person of Christ Which the Heavens do admire all the Inhabitants of the Earth may be astonished at and the Devils in Hell are afraid to think of We pass forward 2dly To discourse of those admirable Benefits and Priviledges which result from this blessed Vnion of the Divine and Humane Natures in the Person of Christ to the unspeakable Comfort and Happiness of all true Believers And 1 Our Nature is wonderfully Enobl'd exalted since it became a Temple for the Divinity of Christ to dwell in No Creature but Man did ever arrive at that pitch of Honour to be personally united to and be adorn'd with the God-head And that our Nature is thus dignified I have clearly evicted from the Premisses To which may be added ex abundanti these two remarkable Passages from Antiquity The one is of Saint Austin in these Words Whosoever saith he shall despise Aug. de Verb. Dom 2 Joan. Serm. 38. Luke 1.71.72 Neque tamea creaturam adoramus absit sed Dominum rerum Creatam incarnatum verbum Deum adoramus Athan. Or 5. contra Arianos or refuse to worship Christ with Divine Worship shall undoubtedly suffer the Pains of Eternal Death The other is of St. Athanasius who writing against the Arrians vindicated the orthodox Christians from the imputation of Idolatry which these Hereticks endeavour'd to brand 'em with God forbid saith he that we should worship the Creature but we do worship the Lord of all the Creatures God the Word Incarnate c. But concerning the Communication of Properties and whereas God is said to 've purchas'd our Redemption that he redeem'd the Church with his own Bloud and that the blessed Virgin is term'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Mother of God c. These are all inconceivable Mysteries yet do fully import the Exaltation of our Humane Nature But tho' we should not too curiously pry into them yet are oblig'd hereby to admire and adore God's infinite Goodness and Mercy who has thus advanced our Nature from the very dregs of Corruption to a State of absolute Perfection and eternal Bliss 2 And as our humane Nature is thus wonderfully dignified by its Vnion to the God-head Gal. 3.22 Luk. 4.18 So we who were Enemies to God by wicked Works are again restor'd
of his abundant fulness grace for grace He that is truly prudent in the government of himself will use his utmost endeavour to abstain from all Sins of all sorts and study in every undertaking to make choice of the best Ends and most effectual Way and Means of obtaining them He will be careful not only to improve every Opportunity for the bettering of himself but studiously avoid every Occasion and Temptation of sinning which may interrupt his Progress and Proficiency in Grace and Virtue Now by this discreet Procedure in the prudent Conduct of our Selves we shall in some degree resemble the infinitely wise God who acts and contrives all things according to the Dictates of Wisdom and Prudence and are hereby distinguisht from all sublunary Beings who have no other Light nor Laws to direct 'em but those of natural Instinct Thus in general as Creatures endued with Religion and Reason we are oblig'd that we may proceed to the Acquest of Virtue and perform all the Duties of Christianity cheerfully and vigorously without any considerable Let or Distraction to subject all the Appetites Affections Passions and Inclinations both of the Soul and Body to the Empire of Reason and by the prudent deliberate and conscientious guidance thereof we shall be able to correct and subdue the Extravagancies of corrupt Nature and grow more manly in the Government of our Selves as sober Judgement and God's infallible Word shall direct us Thus when we have reduc'd the superior Faculties of the Soul to this Order and Harmony so that our Understandings dictate aright and our Wills are conformable to those Laws and Rules which are prescrib'd by an unbyass'd and unprejudic'd Understanding when our Affections and Appetites are subject to our Reason and have a direct Tendency to these Objects in the Enjoyment whereof true real and substantial Satisfaction can only be expected then it is that we govern our selves prudently and all is calm and quiet within us Then we act regularly as it becomes Men and Christians who are in the pursuit of generous Ends by rational Means and Methods and make it their chief Business and Delight to live holily and vermously here that they may be glorious and happy for ever And thus much of Christian Prudence which is of general and necessary use for the government of the whole Man in the Ways of Religion We descend to the particular Virtues which spring and flow from it The Souls and Bodies of Men are the constituent Parts of themselves which by the Laws of Nature and Christianity we are most especially oblig'd to love and take care for And this must be done 1 by repelling all Injuries and Inconveniencies which may tend to the Ruine or Prejudice of either And this imports an Abstinence from and a hearty Abhorrence of all Sin 2 By consulting and inforcing all the prudent and rational Means and Methods which may conduce to our comfortable subsistence in this World and will dispose and qualifie us for the Imployment and Happiness of that State which we hope for in a better Now these virtuous and vitious Dispositions are either such as respect the Happiness and Misery of the whole Man as Sobriety and Moderation Or they have a more peculiar respect some to the Souls others to the Bodies of Men distinctly We shall treat of all these severally and in Order And we begin First The Vertue of Sobriety of necessary Us for the Government both of coul and Body With Sobriety or Moderation These twin-Virtues which we shall handle together are of special use and importance for the Government of all the Faculties Affections Desires and Appetites of the whole Man that we may be able to confine them to those due Bounds and Measures which Christian Prudence has assign'd them And if we be truly sober and moderate we shall not be studious to indulge and please those Appetites and Passions which are always ready to comply with every Sin and Temptation to the great disquiet and prejudice of our rational Powers For if we study to please and gratifie our Palates with delicate Meats and Drinks the Touch with Softness and Effeminacy the Eye with fair and gaudy Shows the Ear with harmonious and pleasant Sounds the Smell with fragrant costly Perfumes c. Such Allurements as these do so influence and bewitch the sensual Appetites and Passions that the Reason and Judgement will be forc'd not only to quit their Dominion and Authority but they become subservient to all the base Ends and Designs which these imperious and domineering Usurpers shall desire 'em to comply with And what can be expected in this Discomposure but a fruitless variety of Expectations and Disappointments If then we set a greater value on these Things then they are capable of 't is impossible that we should be satisfied with 'em whenever we enjoy them For 't is most notoriously evident That no man has that gust and pleasure in the Acquest of worldly Delights which he propounded to himself and so eagerly expected whilst he was in pursuit after them Besides 't is considerable that all the things of this World are flitting and transitory and in a few Years perhaps in a few Minutes we shall be stript naked of every thing we possess except the good or bad Qualities and Dispositions of our Souls Now if it should happen when we come to die that our Souls should be hankering after the Pleasures of Sense we should carry our Affections into another World and leave their Objects behind us And judge ye in what a miserable state and Condition those poor Creatures will be in who depart this Life with such Appetites and Affections as these Therefore upon these Considerations how should we proportion our Desires and Inclinations to the value of those things are delighted and pleas'd with And the Enjoyments of this World should only affect us so far as they become subservient to the things of God and the rational and intellectual Pleasures of the Soul and till our Affections be thus cultivated by Grace and Virtue we can have no true Relish of Spiritual and Heavenly Delights For if we devote our selves to the Pleasures of Sense they cannot satisfie the Desires of the Soul but do only comply with and indulge the boundless and extravagant Appetites of the Body Hence then it must needs follow by the Rule of Contraries that the state and condition of wicked and intemperate Men in this World who being inslav'd by their Lusts and Appetites are like a Vessel in the midst of a rugged and tempestuous Sea which is in danger to be shipwrackt by every Wind and Wave by every Lust and Temptation A thousand cross Accidents both within and without do continually perplex and torment 'em which Flesh and Bloud are not able to encounter nor endure and to add to their Misery they are alwayes attended with a succession of new and unexpected Mischiefs This is the worst part of Hell and far