A SERMON Preach'd before the LORD MAYOR And Court of Aldermen AT GVILD HALL Chappel July the 18th 1686. By JAMES FEN M. A. And Vicar of Goudhurst in Kent LONDON Printed by J. Darby for Jonathan Robinson at the Golden Lion in St. Paul's Church-yard 1686. TO THE Right Honourable Sir Robert Geffery Lord Mayor of the City of London And to the Court of Aldermen Right Honourable THE Controversial has so prevail'd over the Practical Divinity that the generality of Men are more studious to defend an Opinion than to live well and please themselves more in the bare Notion of Religion than the Practice of it So that now serious Exhortations to Piety and to a Religious Life are become highly necessary Of this Nature is the following Discourse The Design whereof is only to perswade that Men would endeavour by an holy Conversation to adorn the Christian Faith which in words they dispute up and pretend so much Zeal for and that they would manifest the Reality of their Belief of another World by their Victory over this That God would be pleased not only to protect Ye from the Adversity of this World but also to enable Ye to despise and live above its Prosperity as 't is the Subject of the Sermon so 't is of the Prayer of Right Honourable Your most humble and most obedient Servant JAMES FEN A Sermon preach'd before the Lord Mayor at Guild-hall Chappel 1 JOHN 5. part of the 4th Vers This is the Victory that overcometh the World even our Faith NO sooner was our Saviour come into the World but the Devil had his Agents ready either totally to stifle the belief of him or else to blast the Fruits of that Belief good Works and a holy Conversation Among the latter of these were a sort of Men who to the profession of Christianity join'd a Life which a sober Heathen would have blusht at for being by the Gospel freed from the burthensome Ceremonies of the Law they thought they had nothing more to do but to give themselves over to all manner of Licenciousness to carry on a free Trade hold an open Correspondence with the Vanities of the World serve God and Mammon too They thought that an empty belief of the Joys of Heaven would at last carry them up thither though in the mean time they minded Earthly Things glued their Affections to this World and walk'd in those Ways which lead to the bottomless Pit To such Believers as these who had nothing to distinguish them from Infidels but the rehersal of their Creed St. John applies himself in this Epistle and tells them That if they do believe that the Son of God came into the World to save Sinners if they do believe that he has freed them from Misery and purchased Heaven for them they must then evidence the Truth of this Belief by their Heavenly Conversation and by living as becometh those who do indeed expect to be partakers of the Glorious Inheritance of the Saints in Light Nor must they now concern themselves with the World any farther than to look upon it as an Enemy and to fight the good Fight of Faith against it And to shew that this is a Thing of Weight and Moment and to engage their utmost Strength and Policy in this Spiritual Expedition he uses words which imply the beating of the Brain the stretching of the Nerves and Sinews he speaks of Victory and Overcoming This is the Victory says he which overcometh the World even our Faith From these words we may observe I. What Faith the Gospel requires not a Notional or Speculative but an Active Practical Faith implied in this word Victory which is a thing not to be expected without Industry and Action II. Consider we the Thing conquer'd and that is the World where I shall shew what is meant in this place by the World and how Faith overcometh it III. The Time when we must engage against the World and that is exprest in the Present Tense Overcometh 't is not enough that we have once opposed the World or do design it but it must be our present constant endeavour to compleat and maintain the Victory And lastly I shall make some Reflections upon these Particulars by way of Conclusion I begin with the First viz. What Faith the Gospel requires not a Notional or Speculative but an Active Practical Faith implied in this word Victory Victory being a Thing not to be expected without Industry and Action And therefore 't is sad to consider how Men content and delude themselves with a mere Historical belief of the Gospel without regard to the Precepts of it and think they can go an easier way to Heaven than what Christ has appointed They extol and cry up Faith as if the very name of it was sufficient to carry them into Abraham's Bosom but in the mean time suffer the Obedience and Work of Faith to lie groveling in the Dust and trampled under Feet For alas what is the Faith of too many but either a bare not denial of those Truths recorded in Scripture concerning the Son of God or a receiving Christ only as a Saviour without respect to him as Lord or else a presuming upon his Mercy to pardon the neglect of that Service which they cannot but acknowledg as a most reasonable Tribute for what he has suffered and done for Sinners Thus instead of Humility Patience Temperance Charity Self-denial subduing the World c. Men lay all their Hopes upon an idle lazy Faith to the great prejudice and undermining of our Duties both towards God and Man But if we look into Scripture we shall meet with several places which enjoyn Piety and good Works as Conditions of Salvation altogether as necessary and indispensable as Faith is and if we weigh those very Texts which the Solifidian produces in vindication of his Justifying Faith we shall find that they imply those Religious Actions which such a Faith obligeth to For can we believe that Christ was sent from God to be our Redeemer and our Lord and not yield that Obedience which is due to him as such by submitting to his Will and observing all that he has commanded us For at the Day of Judgment when Christ shall summon us before his Tribunal we must be judged and sentenc'd not only by our Belief but by our Actions and not the knowing of our Master but the doing of his Will must then plead for us And therefore our Saviour foretold the Jews that they would come unto him at the last Day with Lord Lord in their Mouths boasting their Belief and Knowledg but because he should find their Faith void of Works he before-hand pronounc'd their Doom Depart from me ye Cursed for I was an hungred and ye gave me no Meat I was thirsty and ye gave me no Drink I was a Stranger and ye took me not in Naked and ye clothed me not Sick and in Prison and ye visited me not Therefore depart from me ye
cursed into everlasting Fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels Mat. 25. 41 42. So that having briefly put you in mind that the true Christian Faith rests not in a bare Speculation but proceeds to Work and Action still breathing and reaching after Victory let us in the next place consider what it is that our Faith does overcome and that is the World this is the Victory that overcomes the World And that we may the better understand how Faith overcomes the World let us see first how the World assaults us It assaults us two ways on the right hand by Prosperity on the left by Adversity Sometimes it draws its Forces into open Field displays its bloody Colours marches against us with the fiery Trial of Affliction it handles us roughly shakes and gripes us severely But when by its Threats and open Hostility it cann't prevail it retreats to its Policy makes use of mild and gentle Stratagems layeth an Ambush of its counterfeit Glories and offers to give us all if we will fall down and worship But Faith on the other side withstands the World these two ways 1. By patiently suffering its Adversity 2. By resisting and despising its Prosperity So that Faith overcometh the World 1. By patiently suffering its Adversity Adversity is so terrible so dreadful to those whose Hopes are only in this World that to avoid the stroak of it they willingly undergo the greatest hardship they rise up early and sit up late contrive and plod labour and toyl for more gain and profit denying themselves the enjoyment and comfort of what they already have and in contradiction to our Saviour take too much thought for to morrow Nor is this Fear of Adversity the Spring and Source of this immoderate and unchristian care only but also of that Injustice Oppression Deceit Perjury and of all those other Vices which with worldly Men are in so great repute let but the least storm of Adversity begin to arise and presently to secure themselves they venture upon any Sin and if at last the Cloud does overtake and fall upon them like forlorn Creatures they despond cause their Burden to sit uneasy by impatience and increase its weight by strugling under it Their mean Condition which is already miserable they make more miserable by discontent which turns that little Bread they have into a Stone and their few small Fishes into Scorpions Nor do they stop at this but as the Apostle expresses it fight against God himself murmuring and repining at his wise Providence and Government of the World calling his Goodness and Justice into question opposing their own corrupt Desires to his most Sacred Will accounting any state of Life better than what their Heavenly Father knows to be best and is pleased to place them in Thus does the World through fear of Adversity and Impatience under it lead unbelieving and earthly-minded Men into Captivity and erect its Trophies over them and no wonder it so easily subdues them for in the Psalmist's words These are the Men who took not God for their strength Psal 52. 7. And as Infidelity thus yields so on the other side Faith overcometh the World amidst all its Frowns and cross Events by a serene submission to the Divine Will Faith takes out the Sting of Adversity sweetens its Gall and Wormwood makes its Yoke light and easy by having its Eye fixt upon God whose Goodness as at first 't was pleased to make us so still delights to preserve us whose Wisdom knows well how to order all Things to the best for them that trust in him and whose Power would never suffer any Evil to approach us unless for our greater Good some way or other 'T was this Faith instructed St. Paul in whatsoever state therewith to be content and to know how to want as well as to abound For he was perswaded That neither Sword nor Famine nor Pestilence nor any other thing could separate him from the Love of God though he might be deform'd with Poverty mangled with the Sword defaced with Sickness yet God's Love would own him in the most contemptible shape or habit and so long as he was God's Favourite it troubled him not though the World frown'd Such a Faith such a Belief in a Deity supported the wiser sort of Heathens in their Straits and Difficulties who readily submitted to the Will of the Great Governour of the World and repined at nothing that seem'd good unto him The many Examples of this nature which we meet with among the Ancient Philosophers may serve to fortify us against the greatest Adversities and teach us not to grieve or murmur at God's dealing with us considering we are his Creatures and his Will the Law we must be ruled by This one Consideration alone that God gave us our Being and therefore we ought to be subject to his Government and disposal of us is enough to engage our Patience under his afflicting Hand who has been pleased to place us upon the Stage of this Life chearfully and obediently to act our Part not dispute it This is our Duty as we are Men as we are Creatures But then as Christians as Believers when we have an Eye to the Recompence of Reward in the Life to come and begin to recollect with our selves that we were made not only to obey God here but to enjoy him hereafter no affliction then can any longer seem grievous which yields such Fruit of Righteousness to them that are exercised thereby as St. Paul speaks in his Epistle to the Hebrews Heb. 12. 11. Set before ye therefore the glorious Company of Prophets and Apostles the noble Army of Martyrs but above all looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our Faith and see how all these for the Joy that vvas before them endured their Cross and sundry kinds of Death and are now set down upon the Throne at the right Hand of God When St. Paul began to meditate upon the eternal Weight of Glory presently his Affliction vvas but light 't was then but for a moment Our light Affliction says he which is but for a moment works for us a far more exceeding and an eternal weight of Glory 2 Cor. 4. 17. So that however rigid and severe the World may be to us novv unwilling to allot us any Portion here below but mournful Golgotha unvvilling to allovv us Property in any Element besides the Waters of Marah grudging us the very Air vve breath in unless so much as may furnish us vvith Sighs yet let this Faith and Belief comfort us viz. that there is a Life to come vvill make amends for all our Sorrows here and vvhen vve shall once enter into the promised Land and take possession of those vast Regions of Bliss vve shall be for ever out of the reach of any more Storms taking our Rest and happy Repose upon a calm and serene Eternity vvhere vve shall have nothing more to do but to receive Blessings and sing Praises to the
God that gives them And therefore vvhen the World assaults us vvith Adversity to force us to stoop and yield Faith on the other hand teaches and enables us to oppose and overcome it by reasoning thus Alas vvhy should vve do any thing unlawful and sin against our Conscience to avoid Poverty or Trouble or what Man can do unto us If the whole World conspire it can make us miserable but for a time and at last it can but take away our Life and when this is done we shall be out of its reach for ever The Evils of this Life can follow us no farther than the Grave they can never come near the Soul to destroy the least Ingredient of its happiness and so long as that is safe and well we are happily provided for But if we cast off the Fear of God and make him our Enemy we are undone for ever for he can punish us everlastingly Away therefore all ye vain Cares and Discontents at what befalls us here We will not fear what the World can do unto us but vve vvill take the surest course to secure our selves from Misery We vvill fear God and set him always before us vvho after this transitory Life is at an end if vve now displease him can make us miserable for ever This is the first vvay vvhereby Faith overcometh the World viz. by patiently suffering its Adversity 2. Faith overcometh the World by resisting and despising its Prosperity If we consider the things in themselves which furnish this World for our Delight and Service we must pronounce what once the great Creator did of them Behold all very Good But alas by our too much admiring this Goodness we turn it into Vanity and what was at first bestowed upon us for our Comfort through our own folly becomes vexation of Spirit We provoke our Heavenly Father to send a Curse upon his very Blessings whilst we pay that adoration to them which is due only to the Giver God has been pleased to become the Author of our Comforts he has made all things about us useful glorious and beautiful to engage our Gratitude and win our Love to himself but we ungrateful and unkind forsake the Maker and fall in love with his Creatures set them up as our chief End and Happiness which ought only to be used in way to it We pursue the Pleasures and Profits court the Honours of this World because we propound these to our selves as the greatest and highest Good Upon this Mistake we are so perpetually busy and restless and so wholly taken up with the beloved Vanities here below that Heaven Eternity and God himself are seldom thought on We study and contrive labour and contend for this World and care not what becomes of us in the next so we can but thrive and prosper here Thus the false Beauties and Glories of the World like Gloworms which shine in the dark having once dazled our Eyes we follow Shadows for the substantial Good and stoop to the lure of every Trifle Like perpetual Inhabitants of these lower Regions we mind things that are only present and live as if we had never heard of Death or a Life to come Now the God of this World having blinded our Minds and holding us fast bound in these Chains of Darkness leads us in triumph exercises a Dominion over us and begins to command to command our Time scarce allowing us a few Minutes for our Devotions For how often are our Prayers either totally forgotten or else wilfully laid aside upon the account of a little worldly Business an idle Visit or perhaps some worse Diversion And when we do enter into our Closet as our Saviour enjoins us to perform our Religious Duties the World follows and commands us there too it commands our Thoughts bidding them come to this sinful Object and they come go to that Vanity and they go It takes possession of the whole Soul engages all that is Spiritual to it self and affords us nothing for God but bodily Service which the Apostle tells us profiteth little we bend indeed the Knee to God but worship Mammon This is the deplorable condition of earthly-minded Men who so eagerly covet the Things of this World that they can relish nothing that is heavenly they loath the Celestial Manna the Joys of the heavenly Canaan and will run after the Garlick the Onions and the Trash of Egypt The World has totally subdued and conquered them uses them as its Slaves and Vassals exacts all their Cares their Industry and Affections as its proper Tribute and through a seeming Paradise leads them into perpetual Bondage But now see how Faith obtains the Victory and triumphs over the World by a pious contempt of all its Glories It looks through their Paint and Varnish and finds them to be but of a fading perishing Constitution not worthy we should lavish out our Thoughts and Desires upon them It considers Man too tho Lord of all below to be but a poor mortal Creature of a dependent Being each moment more and more mouldring into Corruption and hasting into his native Dust Upon the belief and consideration of this see what a Note of ignomy David sets upon the worldly Man's Prosperity he compares it to nothing better than to a Dream and to the Image of things Psal 73. 20. As a Dream when one awaketh so O Lord when thou awakest thou shalt despise their Image Though these Men may think themselves truly happy yet when Death shall stir up and awake their Soul they will then find themselves naked and poor and their earthly Possessions no more able to help them or supply their Wants than are the imaginary Riches of a Dream And in Psalm 39. 6. he tells us That Man walketh in a vain shadow and disquieteth himself in vain he heapeth up Riches and cannot tell who shall gather them As if he had said The continual trouble Men put themselves to in increasing their Possessions will avail them but little in the end for they must die and leave what they have hoarded up to they know not who for they are not sure what manner of Person their Heir may prove or what may befal him or who shall enjoy their Wealth when they are dead And therefore 't is in vain for Mem to break their Rest and disquiet themselves about Things of so great uncertainty for says the Psalmist He heapeth up Riches and cannot tell who shall gather them Agreeable is this to what our Saviour said to the covetous Man Luke 12. 20. Thou Fool this Night shall thy Soul be required of thee and then whose shall all these things be Though Men may flatter themselves with Provisions for this World and Goods laid up for many Years and bid their Soul take its ease yet one time or other Death will seize upon them and strip them of all they placed their trust and delight in here An Instance of this we have Luke 16. 24. in the Rich Man who being
us there were not worth the enjoyment not worth the looking after But true Believers when they are tempted to desire or to covet the Glories of this World check those vain Motions by arguing with themselves thus The Glory we expect in Heaven will out-shine all these we will not therefore neglect the Joys Above for any thing that seems great or glorious here 'T is below us to think upon the World this is a Subject for a Turk or Barbarian and such as know not Christ A Believer has a nobler Theme for his Thoughts to work upon he 's thinking of the Unity of the ever-glorious Trinity he 's meditating upon the Privileges of Angels who are admitted to stand about the Throne he 's meditating upon the Spirits of Just Men made perfect and that we also shall be like them This is a Subject fit for them who profess the Belief of another World and do indeed look for the blessed Hope and glorious Appearance of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ as St. Paul's words are in Titus 2. 13. I come now to the third general Head of my Text and that is The Time when we must set our selves against the World exprest in the Present Tense Overcometh 'T is not enough that we have once opposed the World or do design it but it must be our present constant endeavour to compleat and maintain the Victory He is no true Souldier who does but begin to prepare for the War when the Trumpet is sounding the Retreat And 't is too late to arm our selves against the World when the time of our Departure is at hand and the Night come when no one can work When as Solomon expresses it the Keepers of the House shall tremble and the strong Men shall bow themselves Eccles 12. 3. when the vigorous Spirits shall be wasted and nothing left but the dregs of Life not strength enough to bear up under the Infirmities of decrepit Age or to support us under the sad Reflections upon an ill-spent Life under the horrors of dying and the fearful looking for of Judgment to come Can we imagine that the setled Conquest and undisturb'd Dominion which all our Life long the World has had over us can be cast off and overthrown with our faint last Breath with a few sighs and groans upon our Death-bed Which very sighs too 't is to be fear'd proceed not so much from a real enmity to the World as from a grief that we can no longer enjoy the Pleasures of it and yield our selves its Servants as before And yet how are the thoughts of this great and necessary Victory laid aside to the very last Minutes as if the pale gastly frightly looks of a dying Man could in a moment daunt and put to flight our Spiritual Adversaries And therefore St. Paul puts us upon another course in order to our Victory over the World he advises us to arm our selves betimes and to stand always upon our defence Ephes 6. 13. Take unto you says he the whole Armour of God that ye may be able to withstand in the Evil Day In the Evil Day i. e. in the dangerous and perillous time of our whole Life because the World all our Life long continually assaults us with its Temptations that we might become its Prey therefore the Apostle gives us such a strict charge to arm our selves and to be always prepared to oppose the World It must be our present Work and Business we must not defer or put off this Victory over the World till we come to die No! 't is exprest in the Present Tense that Faith overcomes the World now and is always in Arms against it So that the design of the Apostle in exhorting us to take to our selves the whole Armour of God is to instruct us that we should be always prepared and in continual readiness to resist the World and when we shall have put on the whole Armour of God and done what we can to arm our selves against the World lest we should despair of victory our Saviour gives us encouragement from his own conquest over the World John 16. 33. Be of good chear says he I have overcome the World As if he had said when I command ye to subdue the World I put ye upon no more than what I have performed my self And now the Conquest can't seem impossible or difficult to you since I your Leader have shewn you the way I have already overcome the World and left it to you but a maim'd Enemy But besides all this if we do but implore Relief from Heaven and pray unto the Lord of Hosts to aid our own Endeavours and to help our Infirmities he will give us the assistance of his mighty Spirit and we shall be more than Conquerors as St. Paul speaks Rom. 8. 37. He says we shall be more than Conquerors i. e. we shall win a greater Victory and more renown than all the ambitious and vain-glorious Men of the World though they subdue Kingdoms we shall merit more true applause than do your hot fiery furious Spirits and in plain terms murderers of this Age who upon the least Punctillio and scarce discernable Point of Honour as they call it pride themselves in stabbing wounding killing one another who forget their Baptismal Vow of fighting under the Banners of Christ the Prince of Peace and Love and live as if they had solemnly been baptized into the bloody Service of the Devil who is a murderer from the beginning such as these are but poor unhappy Conquerors and triumph only in their own slavery and subjection to their unruly Passions So that true Believers who overcome the World if compared to these may well be stiled more than Conquerors their Victory is of a higher nature they bear about with them in their Bodies not the Wounds and Marks of their injured and provoked Brother but the Marks of the Lord Jesus their boasting is that they have lost a right Hand and a right Eye in the Service of Christ that they have overcome the Pride of the World by their Humility its Luxury by their Temperance and Sobriety its Covetousness by their Liberality its Malice Hatred and Revenge by their Charity and brotherly Love Such a Victory as this will make us more than Conquerors as the Apostle's words are and will be rewarded with Peace of Conscience through the whole course of Life with Comfort in the hour of Death and with eternal Rest in Heaven I come now to a Conclusion by making some Reflections upon the Particulars of my Text. I have put you in mind that the true Christian Faith is not a bare Notional or Speculative but an Active Practical Faith implied in this word Victory c. 1. That this Faith overcomes the World two ways 1. By patiently suffering its Adversity 2. By resisting its Prosperity III. I have spoken concerning the Time when we must set our selves against the World and that is exprest in the Present Tense Overcometh it must be our present constant endeavour to oppose the World And now if our Faith must be Practical and Active what remains but to frame our Lives answerable to our Faith seriously considering what it is we say when we rehearse the Articles of our Creed Do we not then solemnly profess that we believe there is a God who made us who sent his Son into the World to redeem us and at last to be our Judg from whose Tribunal we must go to the place either of everlasting Happiness or endless Misery And if we really believe all this What manner of Persons ought we to be in all holy Conversation and Godliness looking for and hastning to the coming of the Day of God 2 Pet. 3. 11. St. John tells us in 1 Epist 3. 2. that when Christ shall appear we shall be like him but then he adds Vers 3. that every one who has this Hope in him to be like God purifies himself even as he is pure He must keep himself from the pollutions of the World and from all filthiness of the Flesh and Spirit Suppose it were possible for us to draw aside this Veil of Flesh and take a view of the worldlings Soul now as 't is daily mudling up and down the World hugging as it were each piece of Dunghil saluting every fulsom Object rowling it self in the Dirt and Mire Can we imagine such a Soul as this in the least fit for Heaven where nothing enters in that defiles fit to associate with those clean Inhabitants above and to stand in the presence of an holy God No! St. James tells us That pure Religion and undefiled which must render us acceptable to God is to keep our selves unspotted from the World And to this end that we may overcome the World and live above it I advise unto frequent Meditations upon our Divine Original that we are descended of the Father of Spirits that we are of the same Family with Angels and Arch-Angels related to the Cherubims and near allied to the Eternal King And shall we now degenerate and so live as if we had no Relations no Alliance but as Job speaks Corruption for our Father and the Worm for our Mother and for our Brother So that if we do believe and expect an Inheritance incorruptible that fadeth not away an House not made with Hands eternal in the Heavens let us set our Affections upon those Things Above and not on Things on the Earth let our Conversation be in Heaven from whence we look for the Saviour and then the same Jesus who is now the Author of our Faith will be the Rewarder of it Which Rewards God for his own Mercies and for his Son's sake be pleased to bestow upon us all Amen FINIS