§ 2. The miscar­riage com­monly committed in the Edu­cation of Chil­dren. 1. Some wholly neglect the con­cern of their Souls. The preten­ces of such di­scover­ed and refuted.TO enter then on the former of these particulars, namely the faults & omissions that men commonly are guilty of, with respect to their conduct [Page 3] in the Education of Children; It will in the first place be readily granted, that they are Highly Criminal, as to this who wholly abandon all care of the Spiritual concerns of their Young Ones; Never imploy­ing any of their time, their thoughts, or endeavours this way, at least never seriously and to purpose. It is true they'l pretend to initiat them into the Christian Religion by Baptism, but alas! God knows, that they do this is more owing to Custome, then any Consci­entious Care, or real design, of dedica­ting them to the service of their Savi­our, which is beyond contradiction evi­dent, For, 1. This divine Institution is solemnized not only without devotion and seriousness in the Parents, or any solid resolutions of fulfilling the sacred obligations of it themselves, or a [...]quain­ting their young ones with, and per­swading them to discharge their Baptis­mal engadgements, but also is attend­ed with a great many abominable disor­ders, & abuses, excesses, & levi [...]ies, very unbecoming that strictness and gravi­tie, that should alwayes appear in Christians, Especially when professing to devote their Off Spring to GOD, [Page 4] Not that I wholly condemn entertain­ments on such occasions, providing they were regulated according to the measures of the Gospel; But it is plain, these are almost universally dis [...]egard­ed. And 2. when these Baptismal offi­ces are once over, as if men thought they had thereby sufficiently discharg'd their duty. The Souls of the poor little Ones are scarcely ever noticed afterwards, nor any pious endeavour [...]redge [...] used to train them up in the practices of that Religion into which they have been Baptized. Mean while, it were well, if these wretched Patents did con­tent themselves with the simple omissi­on of their duty to the Souls of their Children; But alas! they do not stop here, but proceed to more positive and effectual methods of debauching and undoing their Off-Spring, my mean­ing is, that by the infectious influence of their unholy and profane lives, they not only cherish and improve the corrupted Natures which they have communicated unto their Children, but also choak all good motions in them, and teach them in effect to renounce their Baptism, by oblieging them after [Page 5] their cursed example, to walk cross to the Obligations of it; So that the conse­crations of infancy are in some sort dese­crated by the Antichristian practices of wicked Parents, who render Vice and Irreligion famillar to their Children from their very cradles, and beget and confirm in them an early aversion to Piety and Virtue; so that if ever after­wards these poor creatures take hold of the pathes of Life, they have not their Pa­rents to thank for it.

But perhaps some may think tha [...] they do well enough [...] quite themselves of their Obligations to their Children, when they are at pains to provide for their Bod [...]s, to furnish them with meat and Cloaths, and take care that they be well accommodate in all things and make a figure in the World. It would seem indeed that this is all the duty that the most of Parents are sen­sible of; And it must be acknowledged that there is generally no defect of du­ty here: O what infinit toils do Pa­rents put themselves to that they may secure Worldly Inheritances to their Children! This is it that employes their sleeping and waking thoughts, and [Page 6] forces them in many thousand Contriv­ancies, pursutes and ca [...]es: But alace! have not your Children S [...]uls as well as bodies? And do you not confess the one to b [...] Divine & Immortal, the other Earthly and perishing? How unreason­able is it then, that the more precious part should be wholly neglected while the viler is well treated? And further if to provide for the necessities and Con­veniences of the outward man, be all the duty you ow your Children, what difference do you make between them and your beasts? For you take care that ev'n they be well accommodated, in what ever is necessary for the Support of their Animal life: And if you do no more for your Children than this, you plainly Intimat, that you Intend they should live no other life then that of beasts; And cons [...]quently that they should injoy no other rewards but such as suite and agree with a Brutish and sensual life.

But the great pretence, by which care­less Parents think to wipe off the dread­full charge, of being accessarie to the damnation of their Children, is, that they send them to Schools, and Col­ledges, [Page 7] and Commit them to the care and inspection of others, who are bet­ter qualified to teach and instruct their Children then they (the Parents) are; And besides that, the Ministers of Reli­gion are especially oblidged to interess themselves in this weighty concern, Be­ing by vertue of their office; The Watch­men of the Souls both of Old and Young. To this I answer, That it is Ext [...]eamly to be wished, that Schools and Colledges were nurse [...]ies of Pietie as well as of Hu­mane learning, and that the Masters and Governours of these Societies were not only Professors of Languages, and Philosophy, but eminent Patterns of Christianity also. It is Certain that such they ought to be, and that it is their duty to look very narrowly to the spiritual Concerns of the Youth com­mited to their care, & that GOD will sadly reckon with them for the neglect of this most necessary and most Indis­pensable part of their Province. In the mean time, as to this Particular, I desire the following remarks (of the truth of which all that are Candid will be easily sensible) may be duly considered. 1. That as the design [Page 8] of the Parents, in sending their Chil­dren to these seminaries, is not that they may become Christians, but that they may become accomplished in the Languages and Wisdom of this World, which,1 Cor. [...].6. (as the Apostle tells us) come to nought, so the Masters fully gratifie them in this, and bend the whole of their endeavours to instruct the Youth, intrusted to their Inspection, in Humane Arts and Sciences. This is the whi [...] they level at, Piety and its concern [...] come in only by the by, Obiter and in Transitu, to wit, when the weightier a [...] fairs of Languages, Phylosophie, and the Mathematicks are over; The for­mer takes up well near the whole of the time, both of Masters and Discip­les, the latter only hath some little Shreds and parcells of it, the o [...]e is vigorously set about, the other but ve [...]y superficially and trifflingly hand­led, as if it were by farr the less essenti­al and momentous Concern. 2. When the Children have fulfilled the years of their attendance at these Schools, and Colledges, that which the Parents do most solicitously enquire after, is not, what advances they have made [Page 9] in the Theory and practice of Christi­anitie, but what speed they have come in Humane Learning, and if they can have satisfaction, as to the latter, I doubt if they will be much troubled in any defects that may be in their Children as to the former. And since the matter is thus in effect; How the pretence of sending Children to Schools and Colledges, will excuse negligent and unconscientious Parents in the sight of GOD, I am not able to com­prehend.

Next as to Ministers of Religion, It is acknowledged that it is their indis­pensible duty, very particularly to con­cern themselves with the Pious Educa­tion of Children, and that not only in exhorting Parents to diligence in this great work, and taking care that they seriously set about it, but also travel­ling in it themselves, as much and as often as possibly they can; Remem­bring that if they be negligent herein, their great Master, (who in the days of His Converse on earth,Matt. 19.14. Suffer little Children to come unto Me, and forbid them not, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven. was so ve­ry concerned about the Salvation of [Page 10] Young Ones will severely account with them for it; But in the mean time, let it be considered that the duty of the Pastor doth not supersede the Obligati­ons of the Parent, both ought to joyn and concurr in this most important work and all the endeavours that both can contribute, will be but little enough to carry it on.

If it be further urged that Parents are at great expences to keep their Chil­dren at [...]chools, and that they pay large Stipends to Ministers, of purpose for en­couraging them to travel in the Edu­cation of their Children, and that therefore it is but reasonable, that they (the Parents) be exempted from the trouble, and cons [...]quently, that the blame of their ill Education must not ly at the door of the Parents, but of those whose particular functions oblige them them to superintend it. It is an­swered that as Ministers and the in­structers of Youth, are obliged with all possible care and faithfulness to dis­charge their dutys in Advancing this most weighty concern, so the Pa­rents are obliged to discharge theirs. It is doubtles the joynt work of both, none [Page 11] of them must decline their share in it, & the more hands employed about it, the better success it is like to have. How­ever it seems very evident, that GOD hath devolved the greatest Stress of this Province, on the Parents themselves, and it is infinitly reasonable he should do so, Considering the very many and great Advantages which they have a­bove all others for their Childrens good. And if you desire to know, what these advantages are, a Judicious Author will informChr: Dir. part 2. page 38 you.

But because the passage is full and pertinent, and since the Book where it is, being voluminous, is not readily in the hands of all those whom these di­rections may concern, I shall not con­tent my self with a simple referrence to it; But for the common benefit of Parents transcribe it at large; ‘1 No­thing (saith he) doth take so much with any one, as that which is known to come from love; The greater love is discerned in your Instruction, the greater success may you exp [...]ct: Now your Children are more confident of their Parents love, then of any others: whither Ministers and Strang­ers speak to them in love, they cannot tell [Page 12] but of their Parents love they make no doubt. 2. And their love to you is as great a Preparative to your Success. We all hearken to them whom we dearly love, with greater attention and willingness then to others. They love not the Mini­sters as they do their Parents. 3. You have them in hands betimes, before they have received any false Opinions, or bad Impressions, before they have any sin, but that which was born with them: You are to make the first Impressions on them: You have them while they are most Tractable, and Flexible, & Tender; & make least re­sistance against Instruction: They rise not up at first against your Teaching with self conceitedness and proud objections. But when they come to the Minister, they are as Paper that is Written on, or Printed before, unapt to receive another Impression: They have much to be untaught before they can be taught, and come with proud and stiff resistance, to strive against Instruction, rather then readily to receive it. 4. Your Children do wholy depend on you for their present Maintenance, and much for their future Livelyhood and Portion; And therefore they know that it is their Interest to obey and please you; And [Page 13] as Interest is the common byass of the World, so it is with your Children, you may easi­er rule them that have this handle to hold them by, then any other can do that have not this advantage. They know they serve you not for nought. 5. Your Authority over your Children, is most unquestionable, they will dispute the Authority of Mini­sters, yea, and of Magistrates, and ask them, who gave them the power to teach them, and to command them? But the Parents Authority is beyond all dispute. They will not call you Tyrants, or Ʋsurpers, nor bid you prove the validitie of your Or­dination, or the Ʋninterruptedness of your Succession. Therefore Father and Mother as the first Natural Power are mentioned, rather then Kings or Queens in the fifth Commandment. 6. You have the power of the Rod to force them, Prov: 22.15. Folishness is bound in the Heart of a Child, but the Rod of Correction shall drive it far from him. And yo [...] Correction will be better understood to come from Love than that of the Magistrate, or any other. 7. You have best opportu­nitie to know both the Diseases and Tem­peratures of your Children, which is a great advantage, for the choosing and ap­plying [Page 14] the best Remedie. 8 You have op­portunity of watching over them, and discerning all their faults in time. But if a Minister speak to them, he can know no more what faults to reprehend then o­others tell him, or the partie will confess. You may also discern what success your former Exhortations had, and whither they amend, or still go on in sin, and whi­ther you should proceed to more severe Re­medies. 9 You have opportunitie of speaking to them in the most familiar manner, which is better understood, then the set speech of a Minister in the Pulpit, which few of them mark or understand. You can quicken their Attention by Questions, which put them upon Answering you, and so awaken them to a serious regard of what you say. 10. You are so frequently with them, that you can repeat your instructions, and drive them home, that what is not done at one time, may be done at another: Whereas other Men can seldome speak to them, and what is so seldom done, is easi­ly neglect [...]d or forgotten. 11. You have power to place them under the best means, and to rem [...]ve many impediments out of their way, which usually frustrate other Mens endeavours. 12. Your Example is [Page 15] near them, and continually in their sight, which is a continual and powerful Ser­mon. By all these Advantages, GOD hath enabled you above all others to be In­struments of your Childrens Good, and the first and greatest promoters of their Salvation.’

Now let all prophane and negligent Parents seriously review these Advan­tages, & see whither there do not arise from them most Indispensable and In­delible Obligations, whereby it be­comes, in a peculiar manner, their du­ty to interess themselves in the Pious Education of their Children, and whither the neglects of others, to whose care they may commit th [...]m, will justifie theirs. I shall shut up this particular with a passage of St. Chrysostomes: ‘Hom. 46.1. Tim. All the evils which we see, (saith he) is owing to our Remissness and Negligence, and because we do not labour in the ten­der years of your Young Ones, to form them to Pietie, We are at the pains to cause them to be instructed in prophane Arts and Sciences. We use all possible en­deavours to procure for them considerable Imployments at Court, and in the Armies. We heap up Wealth for them, and pro­vide [Page 16] them friends. In fine we do our out­most to make them considerable in the World. But we take no care to procure them the Favour and the Love of the King of Angels, nor to endeavour their Advancement into an honourable Station, into the Heavenly Court one day.’

§. 3. 2. a Some encou­rage & streng­then them in, and push them for­wards to sinful courses§. 3. 2. They deserve yet a severer Check, as being wofully defective in the Dutys they owe their Children, who not only wholly neglect their Christian Education, and set before them the examples of an unholy Life, but also deliberately Countenance and Encourage, yea and Defend, and perhaps Assist, and partake with them in direct Impieties. GOD knows, this is no groundless Charge; For there are many Parents, either so Uncharitably fond, or so wretchedly Prophane, that though they observe their Children to Lie and Steal, they will be so farr from reproving and Chastising▪ that they will rather Cherish and Caress them, and be very angrie at such as would endeavour to Reclaime them; Especially, this they will be tempted to do, if the wicked practices of their Children be such as will bring them any Worldly Gain [Page 17] and Advantage. Oh cruel and unna­tural Parents! What is this but a down­right sacrificing of your children to the Devil, and devoting them to dam­nation? Doubtless your miseries in the other world must be double, who have not only your own sins, but the sins of your children also to an­swer for.

§. 4. 3ly. But further, even they who would seem to make some conscience,§ 4. Thirdly Some in Educat­ing their Chil­dren are too much acted from the spi­rit of the world, and are not suf­ficiently gurarded against the more Diaboli­cal Eruptions of corrupt Nature, of the pious Education of their children are in carrying it on, too visibly influenced from the spirit of the degenerate and wicked World, to which Christians are obligedRomans 12. ch 2. ver. not to conform in any thing, especi­ally in an affair of such importance as the Education of children is; For it is evi­dent enough, that the Fashions and customes of it, such as are intended meerly to pride and vanity, and all the Inclinations of corrupt Nature, are indulged in the children of a great ma­ny, who would be thought to bring them up in the Nurture and Admonition of the LORD. Neither their Appetites nor Habits, their converses, nor Recre­ations are regulated according to the [Page 18] Prescripts of Christianity. A Liberty is allowed them to please their Flesh and Senses in every thing. Some restraints perhaps may be put upon them, as to lying, swearing, and stealing, and the like Enormities, which the world it self cryes shame on; but the more spirit­ual, and more hateful instances of de­praved Nature, such as pride, self-love, Passion, and Covetousness, are permit­ed to pass in them without check, whereby the love of the world, and the things of the world, and the Lust of the Eye, the lust of the Flesh, and the pride of life, are Cherrished in them from their tenderer years, and grow up and gather strength as they advance in Age. So that whatever Re­ligious tinctures they may receive, by means of this partial education, they are but slight and superficial, and of no value, being consistent with dispo­sitions and practices, directly opposit to the Spirit of Christianity. And of this miscarriage, though they of the meaner sort are certainly guiltie, yet it is most chargeable on Parents of qualitie, whose Grandeur and Pomp, and a­bundance are, alace! temptations to [Page 19] them to follow the measures of the World that lyeth in wickedness. O how happy were it for the Age, and and how infinite an advantage, both for themselves and their Children, if they of the higher Rank would begin first of all others, to disdain and un­dervalue the shaddowie glories of the world, and the measures they dictate, and educate their Children according to the lowliness of the Holy JESUS. This is it that would entail a true and lasting Nobility on their Off-Spring, and secure them Eternal Inheritances, and with all force, and even shame those of inferiour rank, to the imitati­on of such laudable and Noble Paterns.

§. 5 4ly. Others there are,§. 5. 4 The bur­dening their memo­ries, with words and prayers whereof they do not understand any thing, and the com­mending them for the retaining and rehearsal of these things, as if on that accompt they were Religious, Justly condemned. who think they have happily enough laid the foundation of the Education of their Children, when they have loaded their me­morie with sacred words, with Portions of Scripture and Catechisms, of the meaning and sense whereof they are absolutelie ignorant and taught them to say Prayers, which [Page 20] they neither do, nor can understand. These are Patrat like exercises of pietie: How­ever when the poor young ones have performed them, their Parents highly commend them; and call them good Children, and tell them, that GOD loves them, and that they will go to Heaven. I am well assured that this conduct is verie prejudicial unto them; for it naturalie inclines them to think themselves Religious, and in the fav­our of GOD, when they can remem­ber good words, and say verbal Prayers, though in the mean time, their hearts be whollie unconcerned, and act no part in them; and by this means they learn from their verie infancie to lay stress on outward, liveless and superficial performances; and it is hard to be­lieve how fast the impressions of Re­ligion, which we receive in our young­er years, do stick unto us all our life after. These are like theThat is, these unsolid Judge­ments which young Ones make of things before they have attained the use of their understanding and reason, such [...] Sun is not bigger then a Bonnet, and the like. Praejudicia infantiae amongst the Philosphers, which impose upon men in their riper years and seduce them into false Judgement's [Page 21] of things. It were certainly far better, to endeavour by words plain, easie familiar, and adapted to their capaci­ties, to awaken their affections, that is to stir up their love and their desires, and their joyes, and turn them towards GOD and Divine Things. Doubtless, the foundation of a pious Education, is better laid in the heart then in the me­mory. And if we can once engage the hearts of Young Ones, their memories will follow of course, for we easily and profitably remember these things that we dearly love, nay our love to them will obliege us toPsal. 119.11 hide them in our hearts, as we secure the Jewels that we highly value in our Cabinets. And I believe the love, the desire, and the Joy of young ones, are as soon awakened, as any other of their faculties, and if we do but direct these to their true object, the rest of our work will be done easi­lie, and with pleasure: Whereas, if we studie only to improve their me­morie, and understanding, without serious endeavours to excite and guide their desire, their love, and their joy; we commit an errour in the verie foun­dation, whereby the whole Superstruc­ture [Page 22] will be not only useless, but dan­gerous also. This is that which is briefly touched on §. 2. of the ensuing Letter.

§. 6. 5ly. There are yet others, who in setting about the Pious Education of their Children, §. 6. 5. The train­ing them up bi­go [...]lie in prin­ciples and o­pinions of a particu­lar Sect, is of mis­chiev­ous conse­quence. make it their great de­signe and p [...]incipal work to bring them up, not so much in the Nurture and Admonition of the LORD, as in the opinions and practices of a particular Sect or partie; For the Parents; Alace [...] having them­selves opiniona [...]ively drunk in the in­fusions, and warmly espoused the in­trest of some Religious faction or other, do prop [...]gate, not their corrupted na­tures only, but even their bigotrie al­so unto their Children. The princi­ples and doctrines of their way, as dis­tinguished from all others, are reputed by them as the great things of Religi­on; and under that notion, they are seriouly recommended to, and pressed on their Children, And if they can get but these rooted in their mindes, they verily perswade themselves, that then the puritie of their faith and manners, and Salvation are sufficient­lie secured, though in effect, these things that they are so fond of, may [Page 24] be, and often are, such as wherein, not only Religion is wholly unconcern­ed; But such also, as realie are great enemies to its true interests.

This perhaps is as pernicious a mis­take as can be committed in the Edu­cation of Young Ones, and the conse­quences of it are very fatal. For first, By means of this, the minds of Young Ones are forestalled and preoccupied, the ingenious freedom of Judging is taken away, and their Understandings rendred unaccessible to Truths, if they do but fancie them not to agree with these Opinions which their Parents have taught them to look on, as the standard and measure of Doctrines, whereby it often falls out, that they become unchangeably prejudicate a­gainst very important and necessary both Truths and Dutys of Religion. 2. Their Charity, which in imitation of the divine Mat. 5.45. which ought to be like the Sun beams unconfin'd and universal, com­municating its influences to the evil and the Good, is limited and r [...]strict­ed to a partie, which they have been taught to call the Church, the Household of Faith, the Elect, and People of GOD, [Page 24] to the exclusion of all others, as Repro­bate and Damned; whereby an hatred and contempt of their Neighbours and Brethren is rooted in their Hearts, and even made a part of their Religion. 3. The essentials of Religion, these weightier matters of the Law (as our Sa­viour calls themMatt. 23.24) come to be, if not wholly, yet very much slighted; For since the little Opinions and Practices that constitute and distinguish their own Partie, have been recommended to them by their Parents as the great things, 'tis about these that their Zeal is principally imployed. These are the Diana's that must be adorned, as­serted, defended, and vindicated, while the most important and most necessary Truths and Duties are sadly neglected; For daily experience puts it beyond dis­pute, that Men are more foreward and hot in advancing these Opinions and Practices that are peculiar to their way, then in advancing these things that are unquestionably the fundamen­tals of Religion; Nay it often comes to pass that the later is sacrificed in fav­ours of the former: Which obliges me to add; 4. That by this Conduct, [Page 25] the foundation of everlasting Divisions and Schisms among Christians is infal­libly laid; For since each Partie train up their Children in these Opinions and Practices that are peculiar to their own way, and teach them to look on these as things of infinite moment, on the believing and practising whereof their Salvation depends; this naturally leads them to divide and separate from one another, each one looking on them­selves as in the right, and on all others that differ from them as Heretical and Erronious, and so a Sourse of mutual Annimosities and Heats, of hatred and persecutions, is effectually opened; whereby it comes to pass that the very Vitals of Religion, Love and Concord, Humility and Peace, are necessarily stiffled and trampled on. Now all these mischiefs might be happily pre­vented, if Parents would be prevailed with, to acquaint their Children, with the essential and indispensable Truths and Duties of Christianity; The Know­ledge of JESƲS CHRIST and him Cru­cified; which was all that the great St. Paul, either determined1 Cor: 2.2. or desired to know And Love, which as he in­forms [Page 26] us, is theRom. 13.10. fulfilling of the Law; And to oblige them to lay the greatest stress on the knowing and doing these things, and withal to tell them, that the Opinions and Practices that are peculiar to Sects and Parties are at best but accessaries,§. 7. 6. The danger­ous ten­dency of putting the pro­phane heathen Authors in their hands too ear­ly with the refutation of the pre­tences that would justifie that cus­tom. the value or hurt where­of is to be judged of, from the bad or Good influence which they may have upon, or more or less conexion which they may have with the former and greater things, and that theRom. 14.17. Kingdom of GOD is not meat and drink, but Righte­ousness and Peace, and Joy in the Holy Ghost.

§. 7. 6ly. I shall only take notice of another errour of very dangerous Ten­dencie, that is but too commonly com­mitted in this great affair, it is, that the Impure Heathen Authors are put in the hands of Young Ones verie early, and even before they have received any solid Informations of Divine things, and good Impressions have ta­ken either none at all, or no verie deep Root in their hearts. I take it that theNefandum est, & borrendum, ab iis (institutori­bus) inquinatis simos & impios gentium canes, ae­tati tenerae, om­nisque formae sus­cipiendae capaci, tradi, praelegi, & laudari, un­de prima fides (ut Tertilliani verba adhibeam) diabolo aedifica­tur ad initium cruditionis. Quamvis enim (quod a paucissi­mis fit, & raris­ime) ab horren­dis suis sordibus castra rentur, re­manet tamen regnatque in illis Spiritus profani Ethnicismi, amo­ris proprii, am­bitionis at{que} glo­riae, vindictae, voluptatum, gu­lae atque luxu­riae, irrisionis, impietatis, va­nitatis, nugaci­tatis atque ad­eo omnis generis malorum semina in unum quasi acervum collecta, quae legentium mentibus non possunt non pede­tentim insinuari maximè vero ae­tati tenerae. Poi­ret de euditione. lib. 3. pag. 231 §. 16. Metamorphosis of Ovid, & Ho­mers Iliads; Are no very pro­per [Page 27] Systems of Divinity to be taught Young Ones, for it is certain that these Authors are stuffed, not only with gross and ridiculous falsehoods, but do also abound with commenda­tions of the ugliest and basest vices, and it is hard to deter­mine, how far the belief and love of these villanous absur­dities may insinuat into young and uninformed hearts. Alas! the corrupted nature of Little Ones is of it self so prone to wickedness, that it needs not these early incentives to push it forwards; and it things were traced to their true Originals, it would perhaps be found that the unhappy tinctures, which some have received from the earlie perusal of these impure Authors, before their being so­lidly instructed in true Divinity, may have been no inconside­rable cause of that wretched A­thiesm and Prophanitie, into which in their riper years they did degenerate. For when de­praved [Page 26] [...] [Page 27] [...] [Page 28] and unhallowed witts do meet with these writtings whose contents are agreeable to their corrupt Inclinations, as they readily drink them in, so they quickly receive impres­sions from them, which in pro­cess of time take root, gather strength, & grow, & are impro­ven into principles, especially considering that the Devil will not fail to assist & promove his own divinity, such as certainly Heathenism was, which being designed to delude Mankind, to keep them in the dark, and to divert them from the true GOD and His Light, could not be owing to any other Original, but His Infernal Inspirations; And what the consequences of this may be, let all ingenuous and serious Souls de­termine.

However I would not be understood to speak here of these heathen writings which contain in them verie profitable and useful, yea, and Divine things, such as are the writings of some Pytha­gorians, of Epictetus, and the like, [Page 29] whom Justin Martyre, in his Apol: and others have asserted to have been en­dued with a Christian spirit. These may be very advantageously perused, and it seems to be unaccountable, as well as sadly to be regrated, that cus­tome hath not made the later so com­mon in Christian Schools, as the for­mer; but that we need not wonder, that the great Enemie of Mankind, uses his outmost endeavours to shuffle out everie thing that might be instrumen­tal to season young Hearts aright; and doubtless he is very well pleased to see that they receive their first impressions from his divinitie, for this may give him Just Ground to hope, that his after at­temps to engadge them in his service, will be the more succesful.

If it be pretended that the designe of putting these Authors in the hands of young ones so earlie is, that thereby they may be timously acquainted with the puritie of the Greek and Latine tongues. It is answered, that since we haveQuasi vero nobis deessent in Cyprianis Lac­tantiis, Minu­tiis, Hieroni­mis, Salvianis, aliis{que} quamplu­rimis piis, Cae­sares, Cicerones, Salustii, & om­nis generis suf­ficientissimi, ut sic dicam, La­tinistae Christi­ani, Solutâ at{que} ligatâ oratione, optima ac sanc­tissima quae{que} a­nimis nostris cum puritate Sermonis instil­lantes, ne in Graecis eloquen­tissimos patrum similiter com­memorem. Idem. Lib. 3. Pag. 235. §. 20. such varietie and plen­tie of the excellent, Learned & pious monuments of Chri­stian Writers, both Ancient [...]r [...]sostom, Nazianzen, Cyprian, [Page 30] jerom, Lactantius, prudentius, &c. And modern, such as Castalio, who hath presented us with the Elegancies of the Latine Tongue in his ornate translation of the Latine Bible, as Erasmus hath done in his excellent Paraphrases on the New Testament, and Buchan­nan in his admirable one in Verse on the Psalms. Since I say, we have so great a store of such writings as these wherin we may learn, not only the puritie of the mentioned Lan­guages, but also together with them, many edifying, useful and Divine things; there is cer­tainly no necessitie that we should make our recourse to the impure sources of Hea­thenism, to be acquainted with the puritie and ornaments of Tongues.

Doubtless it were a better way be far, to put in the hands of Young Ones at first such writings as would not only in­form, them of the properties and Ele­gancies of Languages, but also drop [Page 31] some usefull Instructions into their ten­der hearts, that so as they advance in the knowledge of the Languages, they might do the same likewise in Pietie, and in the knowledge of Divine things; And then afterwards when by being well instructed in, and having received due impressions from these things that are trulie Divine; their hearts are suffi­ciently guarded against being infected by the Vanities of these Airie and Fabu­lous Writings, they may the more in­nocently, and with the less hazard per­use them, but with these two cautions, 1. That too much of their time be not imployed that way; for time which is bestowed on us, that in it we might pre­pare and dress our Souls for Eterni­tie, is more precious then that any larger portion of it should be squan­dred away, and spent on imper­tinent and vain triffles. 2 That they peruse them with pious designs, that is, not to gratifie a vain Curiositie, or to take a ground of pleasure and delight from them; but seriously to inform themselves of the follies and vanities of Heathenism, and how dark and fool­lish, perverse and wicked, corrupt na­ture [Page 32] becomes when left to it self; And withall to take occasion from this dis­coverie, to give GOD heartie Thanks for having acquainted them with better things; And in Fine, to resolve to make good improvements of their light, and advantages; lest GOD by their disobedience and ingratitude be provoked to abandon them, as he did these Heathens Who Rom. 1.18. held the Truth in unrighteousness. But if we do not peruse them in this view, and with these dis­positions; it will be better wholly to pass them by, and to deny our selves the vain pleasure of looking into them; Nay this we must and ought to do, if we find that they become snares and temptations unto us engrossing our time and thoughts, taking hold of our af­fections, and too excessively engaging our curiositie which oblieges me to tell, what an Excellent Person assures us from his own experience;Ego sane, quod me attinet, vere fateor, me nunquam, in il lis animi gra­tia, vel unicam legisse pagellam, quin inde postea me Senserim in bono debilitari, qua boni Jactura, me ab illis curiosi­us legendis deter­ruit divina dona­tio. Poiret ubi Su­pra. Namely that he scarcely ever perused a page in these Authors, but he was sensible his better part in­curred some Disadvantage thereby, and recounts it as a special vouchsafement of Divine [Page 33] goodness, that by this means he was frightned from a more curious perusal of them. But if any incline to see this, and many other most weighty and important points very solidly and satisfyingly and piously discussed, they may consult the Treatise, with care, which I have now once and again cited. I shall not need any longer to insist, in declaring the errors and mis­takes that are commited in the educati­on of Children, especially considering, that not only these which (that they might be the more carefully noticed and avoided) I have particularly, and by themselves alreadie mentioned, and because of their unhappy consequences; cautioned against, but also several others will be easily discovered from what I am next to enter upon which is.

§. VIII. 11.§. 8. 11 The positive directi­ons, and the particu­lars to be treated of, in pursuance of these. To offer some positive directi­ons too consciencious Parents, and all o­thers that may be concerned in the edu­cation of young ones. And in pursu­ance of this I shall 1. Tell them what [Page 34] they are to do, 2. The means of doing it: 3. The manner after which it ought to be done, 4. I shall more particular­lie recommend some things to Mothers: As to the first particular, Viz. What they are to do; we shall consider it with re­spect; 1. To the Souls of the young Ones, 2: To their Bodies 3: To their inclina­tions. 4: To their recreations. 5. To their Callings and Imployments.

§ IX. 1 What Parents must do with re­spect to the Souls of their Chil­dren is design­ed to be here only repre­sented in the gene­ral.§. IX. 1. The first thing I have o­bliged my self to give an account of is, what Parents and others entrusted with the care of Children are to do with re­spect to their Souls. And here, as I need not, so, I am not resolved to be particu­lar, that is, to treat of the methods of improving the several faculties of the Soul: For this is that which is done de­signedly, and to very excellent pur­pose in the following letter, I intend only to insist on generals, which how­ever, are genuine Deductions from what is there said, or enlargements on some things which the bounds of a letter (to which the Author confined himself) would not allow to be drawn out to their full length. And to the end, the super-structure of a Christian education may [Page 35] be well secured, we will in declaring the following Directions, take our rise from the verie foundation, and so ad­vance gradualie, till by the Divine assis­tance, we happily arrive at the cape­stone, and therefore I affirm,

§ x. 1. That it is necessary,§ X. 1. The se­rious pi­etie of such as enter into the married state an happy founda­tion for the Christi­an edu­cation of Chil­dren. that be­fore People enter upon the Married State, they should not only competently understand the Duties owing to Children, and the vast moment and importance of them; But also be truly Religious themselves, that is, practically acquainted with the power of Godliness. This is that which happily paves the way to a Pious Educati­on of Young Ones; For it is the Love of GOD, and a living Sence of Divine Things, deeply rooted in the Hearts of the Parents that inclines them to, and guides them in the training up of their Off spring in the Nurture and Admoni­tion of the LORD; and therefore, when they who are sincerely Pious be­come Parents, as they will be careful of their own Souls, so they will not fail to be tender of the Souls of their Chil­dren; Whereas, when persons igno­rant and graceless, engage in the Mar­ried State, they will take no other care [Page 36] of the Souls of their Young Ones, then they take of their own; That is to say, none at all. For being as Psal. 32.9. the Horse or Mule (to use the Psalmists phrase) which have no Ʋnderstanding, the outmost they will do for their Issue, is no more then what the mentioned beasts will do for theirs; That is, provide for their Ani­mal and Sensual Life; Yea, some Pa­rents are more unnatural than the very beasts themselves; For, many of them do by their debauchries and excesses di [...] lapidate, and exhaust what should and might honestly maintain their Families, and will rather see their Little Ones starve, then that their extravagant lusts should not be gratified. O! How happy were it both for the Parents themselves and for their Children, if none did en­ter into the married state, but such as had a practical and living Sense of Pietie? It would be happy for the Parents, be­cause the will of the married Persons (whom we now suppose to be truly Pious) being united (as on the mentioned sup­position they will certainly be) in the Will, and Love, and Spirit of GOD, are a lasting and sure Foundation of their future Peace and Concord, Amitie and [Page 37] Contentment, under all the Changes and Vicisitudes of Human Life, with­out which the married state is but a temporal hell, by reason of the perpetu­al jarrs and discords, heats and passions, repinings and discontents, that must infallibly ensue, and daily increase, when the wills of the married persons are not united in this Divine centre; It would be happy for the Children, because, when once Christ is truly formed in the Hearts of the Parents, this will oblige them as it were to travel in birth Gal. 1.19. again, until he be likewise formed in the hearts of their Little Ones.

And though this direction, as 'tis sta­ted, may seem only to concern those that are yet to enter into the married state; yet they who have already enter­ed into it, and are actually Parents, yea all others who are interessed in the Education of Young Ones, may learn their duty from it, which is, to make it their first and principal work to become sincerely pious themselves; & then when they have seen and tasted how good the LORD is, and are experimentally ac­quainted with the pleasures of His ways, this will powerfully encline them by all the pious Arts imaginable to recōmend [Page 38] these things unto, and to inculcate them on their Children, for as Nature teach­es Parents, to use all their possible en­deavours, that their Children may be happy with respect to the World; how much more will Grace teach them to do so with respect to Eternitie: It was the knowledge that GOD had of Abra­ham's Pietie, that made him so confident­ly hope that he would diligently travel in the pious education of Children.

I know him, Gen. 18.19. saith GOD, that is, I am so well assured of his being sincerely Religious, that I do with confidence con­clude, that he will command his Children and his houshold after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do Judgement and Justice.

§ XI. 2 D [...] ne aims ought to in­fluence the pro­creation o Chil­dren.§ XI. 1 It is necessarie that People enter into the married state with Divine Aims, that is, not to gratifie lust or cove­t [...]usness, or that they may have a nu­merous Off-Spring to represent them in the World, and to inherite their lands and poss [...]ssions; but (so far as it respec­teth Children) that they may have Crea­tures like themselves to joyn with them in Praises and Services, and to partake with them in the Felicities of GOD. Doubtless [Page 39] as this was the great design of GOD in making intelligent Creatures, so it was His great design in the institution of Marriage, and ought to be the design of all that enter into it; but alas in this degenerate and corrupted state of Man­kind, how little is it regarded? how few are they that are acted from this noble motive in begetting Children! This is it that would justify the regrates for want of Children; and I am apt to think that a regard to this Divine Aim, was one reason at least, why many good Souls of old, did so passionatly bewaile their Barrenness; that is, be­cause they were not so happy as to in­crease the number of those that love and praise, and enjoy GOD; certainly, were Children procreate with this prospect, the remembrance of this Di­vine Aim that influenced the begetting of them, would oblige Parents to use all possible endeavours, that they might not fall short of it. But when the pleas­ing of lust, and the inordinate inclina­tions of corrupt nature, is the only principle that acts men; it is no wonder though the education of Children be suitable to it, that is, carnal and sensual, [Page 40] in the mean time, if they who have entred on the married state, and are Parents, shall find that they have been defective in this (as it is to be feared, there are few but will) it is absolutely fit, that they resume this noble aim: Or if they be such as are past the hopes of having any more Children, let them make the best mends they can, by pious cares, and a doubled diligence, to bring up those they have already, with a spe­cial reguard to the Aim so often men­tioned; that though they have not been influenced by it in the Generation, yet they may be in the Education of their children. I know the prophane and sensual World, will be ready enough to laugh at this; For so dissolute and vain are Men become, that nothing (though never so serious) can be said of the Du­ties of the Married State, but it must be presently turned into matter of sport, and entertainment; But it is to the con­scientious I am Writing, and these, I know, will be well pleased to be taught their Duty.

§ 13. 3ly: Children must be very early dedicated to GOD, what this dedication imports.§ XII. 3. As soon as ever God hath blessed these [Page 41] that are in the Married state with Chil­dren (as indeed Children arePsal. 127.3. an heri­tage of the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is his reward) it is their duty imme­diatly, and with all possible seriousness and gratitude to Offer up and Dedicate them unto Him, that they may be His, as soon as they are theirs, and then let this more private De­dication be afterwards solemnly renewed, con­firmed, and sealed in Baptism. I do not think that the Dedication of Young Ones to GOD, must be suspended until they are Baptized, for many things may interveen that may hinder, or oc­casion a delay in the Administration of this Sacred Ordinance. And when in the primitive Church, Baptism was celebra­ted only at two set times in the year, (excepting cases of necessity, as when the Infants were in danger of death;) doubt­less the pious Parents did before these times approached, very often in humble prayers offer up their children to GOD. However, this more private Dedication must not supersede or evacuate the more publick and solemn One, but rather the former ought to be looked on as a pro­per and necessary preparation for the Later. Neither must the groundless [Page 42] scruples that some have made of late, a­bout the Baptizing of Infants, make Pa­rents slight and neglect so holy a practice which, that I may deliver my self in the words of the Learned and Reverend Cembar,Companion to the Temple part 3. page 178. ‘is so Reasonable and so Ancient, so beneficial to the Infants, so comfortable to the Parents, yea, and so great a security to Religion, by binding these future hopes of the Church in early Vowes of Pietie; For as Baptism was appointed for the same end that Circumcision was, and did succeed in the place thereof; so it is most reasonable it should be Administred to the same kind of persons, and as GOD commandedGen. 17.12. Infants to be Circumcised, so doubtless He would have them to be Baptized. Nor is it necessary that Christ should particularly name Chil­dren in His Commission,Matt 28.19. it is sufficient that He did not except them, nor forbid to Baptize them, for that supposeth, He inten­ded no alteration in this particular, but that Children should be initiated into the Christian, as well as into the Jewish Reli­gion.’

But that the nature of this Dedicati­on of Children to GOD may be well understood, let it be seriously consider­ed, that it includes or implyes three [Page 43] things. 1. That the Parents be such as have sincerely dedicated themselves unto GOD; For i [...] iridiculously absurd, for people to pretend to dedicate their Little Ones to GOD, while themselves are devoted to the Devil; To promise in the name of their Children, to renounce the World, the Devil, and the Flesh; And yet to be, and to continue Worldly, Devilish, and Carnal themselves; To say, that they believe the Christian Faith; and yet to lead An­tichristian lives; That they do obediently keep GODS holy Will, and Commandments, and will walk therein all the dayes of their Life; Whereas, they never keep one of them, nor perhaps ever intend to do. If there be any thing like mocking of GOD, to be sure this is it to a very great hight. GOD indeed promises, that He will shew Mercy to thousands of them that love Him, and keep His Command­ments; But how they that do habitually hate and disobey Him, can pretend any right to this Promise, I cannot well un­derstand. I am well assured, that what­ever mercy the Good GOD may shew the poor Young Ones, it is not owing to this Hypocritical Dedication But when Parents, sincerely and unreservedly de­voted [Page 44] unto GOD, do offer up their Children to Him, He looks on them as very acceptable Presents, and p [...]l not fail to bless them, and fulfi [...] [...]is Pro­mise to them. 2. This Dedication of Children is a serious, cheerful, and re­solute Designing and setting them a part for the imitation of the holy JESƲS; That is, to represent inwardly in their Hearts, and outwardly in their Lives, His self denyall and humility, His meekness and patience, His charity and goodness, His purity and simplicity, His Heavenly mindedness, and contempt of the World; His sufferings, and death, and Resur­rection, that so they may Rom. 8.29. be conform to the Image of the Son of GOD. The imi­tation of the Holy JESUS is the End and Scope that must be aimed at in the De­dication of Young Ones; And is that al­so, which must influence the whole of their Education; That is, Parents must manage it with a special regard to this Divine Patern, that it may be such as it ought to be, that is truly Christian: And further, let it be considered, that this dedication must be done by Parents in a due manner, that is, sincerely and resolutely, and with the Heart, so as [Page 45] they may confidently appeal to the Searcher of Hearts, as to the honesty of their in [...]entions and firmness of their resolutions. 3 Young Ones being thus dedicated, must ever afterwards be looked on as consecrated things; For in effect the dedicated Children of Christian parents, are as so many1 Sam. 1.11. Samuels given to the LORD, all the dayes of their Lives; And therefore the parents must with all pos­sible diligence watch over their Chil­dren, and take care that they be not conformed to the World, that is, that they do not follow the wicked customes and examples, the lust and Vanities of it; For this were to unhallow them again, and plainly to defeat the end of their de­dication.

§. XIII. 4. As long as Children are in the state of Infancie,§. 13. 4. The du­tys which Parents owe to their Chil­dren, during the state of In­fancy. and consequently uncapable of minding the concerns of their Souls; the Parents must endeavour to make up this disadvantage by their pious cares and devotions, for though the poor Infants, while such, cannot do any thing in the work of their Salvati­on, yet the Parents must not wholly ne­glect it, yea the inability of their Young Ones, should be a spur to the Parents [Page 46] to do all that possibly they can for their Spirituall Good, that so by their dili­gence and pietie, they may redeem these years of ignorance and brutality, (I may just [...]y call them) which their Children must pass over without any care of GOD or their Souls. And there are three things I wou [...]d earnestly re­commend to Parents to be employed in, during the infancy of their Children; 1. That they h [...]artily bewail the corrup­tion of Nature, which they have derived from them, and the lamentable consequences and fruits of it; of both which, they cannot choose but see very many and great discoveries even in the Infant state. For that impatience and those little passions that forwardness & implacableness these violent and impetuous desires after the breasts, and eager and greedy cleavings to them, (which is the infantile sensuali­ty) these irregularities I say, and ma­ny other the like, that Infants bewrayImbe­cillitas mem­brorum infanti­lium in­nocens est, non animus infanti­um Aug: cons: L: 1 Cap: 7: are plain evidences of the corruption of their Nature: and their weakness and tenderness, their indispositions and dis­eases, their impuritys and lyablenes to death, are the genuine and native con­sequences of this corruption; for such [Page 47] miseries could not have been in pure and uncorrupted Nature, which was a state of perfection and glory of beauty and purity, of soundness and immor­tality; now, I say, that Parents ought to bewail this corruption, which imports 1. That they make sad and serious reflections on themselves, in whom this Corruption first dwelt, and from whom it hath been commu­nicated unto their Children, forJob. 14.4. who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean, they are the polluted sources whence impu­rities are derived into their Off spring, they are the impoison'd Root, which diffuses its venome throughout all the branches, and why should it not deeply affect the hearts of Parents to see both themselves and their Children plung'd into sin, and exposed to all the dread­ful consequences of it? 2. That they be truly sensible how unsutable to GOD, how unable to do his will, how unca­pable of his happiness, how blind and dark, how listless and disaffected to Di­vine things, and how prone to wicked­ness; this corruption of Nature makes both them and their children. This is that which all serious Parents will by Experience both feel in themselves, and see the In­dications [Page 48] of in their Little Ones. And the sense of it should furnish materials for their penitential Confessions, and oblige them to say with the Royal salmist Psal. 51.5. Behold I was shapen in iniquitie, and in sin did my Mother conceive me. And this they ought to do, not only on their own ac­count, but also in the name of their children, who in the state of Infancie, cannot make confessions for themselves, which incapacitie of theirs, the Parents must by their pietie supply in this, and all other instances of duty, untill they come to the years of understanding; 3. that they do not murmur nor repine at the af­flicting consequences of this corruption, such as povertie and wants, diseases and defor­mities, reproaches and disgrace, and the like: But that they patiently and peni­tently submit unto them, when inflicted on themselves or their Young Ones, and look on them as the Just fruits of their vitiated natures, and sinful practices, and say with the Prophet,Mic: 7.9. I will bear the in­dignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him. 4 That they use all possible means to destroy this corruption both in them­selves and their Children, for though they pretend never so passionatly to bewail [Page 49] it, yet if they do in anie measure, knowingly and willingly foment and cherish it, either in themselves, or in their Off-Spring, and if their lamen­tations over it do not Issue, in heartie and vigorous endeavours to root it out; They do but play the hypocrite, for when Godly sorrow is in the Soul, no­thing will satisfie it, but the utter ruin and extirpation of corrupted nature, so far as its endeavours or influence can reach, which leads me

2. To recommend to Parents that they be seriously imployed, during the infancie of their Children, in importun­ing the good Spirit of GOD for their sancti­fication. Let them earnestly beseech Him, that he would become their Father by regeneration; that by these powerful efficacies, of His Grace, he would root out their corrupted nature, and make them partakers of the divine nature, that he would Sow the incoruptible seed in their tender hearts, which may afterwards Spring up into the fruits of Righteousness. The Divine grace is the only effectual cure of the corruption of Nature, all other things, and practices are but prepara­tives to it, or means whereby to obtain [Page 50] that grace which will accomplish it. O With what earnestness; and devote im­portunitis, should Parents adress Heaven for the influence of grace; that as they have been the conveyances of corrup­tion to their Children, they may be al­so the instruments of their regeneration; that as they have infected them with the disease, so they may contribute to ef­fect the cure; when they observe that any disease (especialy such as are of a dangerous tendence) do appear in the bodies of their Children, presently the Physician is called for, his skill de­pended on, and his prescripts carefully reguarded, how much more is it their duty, when they cannot but be sensible that their Souls are sadly and dangerous­ly diseased, to offer them up to the heavenly Physician in a confident de­pendance on his skill, and due Submis­sion to his cures but let it be considered, that these Pra [...]ers for the divine Grace must not be limited to the infancie of Children, but are to be continued all their life long, and varied according as their circumstances shall require; that is, if they should be unhappily in­gaged in a wicked course of life, then [Page 51] the Parents must pray for their conver­sion and ammendment; and if they see any hopeful beginnings of good in them, They must pray for the increase, con­firmation and perseverance of it; if they are afflicted, and in trouble, they must pray, not so much for their deliverance, as for grace to bear them patiently, and that they may tend to their Spiritual advantage. And when they engage in any Calling, they are to pray, that they may be enabled to serve GOD in it, and to be useful instruments to advance the honour of Religion, and the good of Mankind. and to be sure, these ad­dresses, when they come from sincere and ingenuous hearts, will not be dis­regarded: For infinite goodness will not fail to reward them, and communicate light and grace unto, and increase them in, both themselves and their Off-Spring: So that they may on good grounds, hope that their young ones will be sanctified from the womb.

3. Another duty I would injoyn Pa­rents, during the infancie of their Chil­dren, is, praise and thankfulness, to which they can never want many various, and most endearing motives; such as are [Page 52] GODS constant care over their young ones, the provision he makes for their necessities; his powerful protecting their tender Infancie, from the innume­rable, dangers, to which they are ever exposed. And above all his astonishing love manifested in CHRIST JESUS, both to them and theirs, whereby he offers them his Grace, gives them many great and precious promises, professes his willingness to adopt them for his Children, and to make them eternal­lie blessed in the posession of his felici­ties and joyes. These are such oblig­ing instances of bounty, as naturalie invite, to praise and gratitude, and this is the tribute that GOD requires, and justly expects from all his intelli­gent creatures, and since Children, while in the state of Infancie, can nether be sensible of the favours, nor make the deserved returns, it is fit that the Pa­rents do it in their name, and piously observe the Divine kindness, and de­voutly thank the Blessed Author, and Source of them, who will take pleasure to continue, & increase his Blessings to all such as are duely sensible of them, and gratefully acknowledge them, and who [Page 53] evidence their ingenious gratitude in a life and conversation agreeable to him.

§. XIV. 5.§ XIV. 5. The improvment of the faculties of young Ones, not to be delayed, The advantage of an early sea­soning them with good im­pressions with some very useful instructions, di­recting Parents how to manage these beginnings of a Christian Education. As soon as e­ver the faculties of Young Ones begin to be capable of any Exercise, it is necessary that the Parents begin their im­provement, and endeavour to drop into them the Notices and Love of Divine Things, by wayes and Means proportioned to their weak capacities, and what these means are, and how to manage them, the perusal of the following let­ter will aboundantly inform. It will be doubtless, the great happiness of young Ones, that their faculties, when once awakned, do receive their Impression [...], and Tinctures, from Heavenly and Spiritual Objects, and therefore it is the indispensable Du­ty of their Overseers Conscientiously to take care, with all possible speed, to set about the Addressing them to GOD, and the Things of God, and not to delay until their minds are prepossest with the love of vanity and toyes; Since in that case the Work will become difficult and [Page 54] uneasie. For corrupt Nature, if not timeously cheked and resisted, quickly improves, and gathers strength; And the stronger it is, the more uncapable they are of Good Impressions; Where­as, if their Faculties get a right sett at their first appearance, the Work of a Pious Education advances prosperously, and these early Instructions may prove an happy mean, by GODS Blessing, to keep out the love of vanity and sin for ever; For when Divine and neces­sary, Solid and Eternal Things are effectually recommended to Young Ones, before Earthly, sensual and sin­ful objects have gained ground on their Hearts. To be sure, corruption and sin will never afterwards find easie Access into their Affections. But let it here be considered, that since Chil­dren, even after they haveHomines cum ex infantia em­ergunt, paula­tim{que} adolescunt, sunt etiam pau­latim, quantum ejus sunt Capa­ces, Eternitati divinisque, nec non humanis ne­cessariis praepa­randi: Verum quia nostri ortus ea est miseria, eaque corruptio, ut omnia per­versa sint, hinc in erudiendis facultatibus, ve­rus naturalis{que} dignitatis ordo, qui esset incipe­re a facultati­bus summis, & descendere ad infimas, etiam inversus est, nec observari potest, si quidem infan­tes facultatum indigniorun usui & regimini sunt impares, aptiores autem ad ea quae inferiores concer­nunt, a quibus ad immaginati­onem, ex hae ad rationem, deni{que} exratione ad di­vinis superior­esque facultates eum procedat e­orum maturaetio; eodem quo{que} or dine cum illis a [...] gendum est: Non quod ubi imagi­nationis, rationisque ipsi capacesfiunt, non fint eorum facultates superiores excitandae, nec excreendae; (Pos­sunt enim omnia fimul excitari, uti etiam eò tendunt, & a DEO disponuntur) sed quod crassiora & inferiora sic praevaleant superioribus, ut ea veluti ob [...]egant, nec datur ad [...]aec aditus nisi per ista erassamina. Igitur quemadmodum optimum est verbis ima­ginibus, aliis{que} quae imaginationis sunt, cos sic al­licere, in eorum defiderium atque aequiesecutia (in­tellectus enim eum istis imaginatis haud ita convenit) excit [...]ntur ad bona originaria, & permanentia; Sic eorum, quamtum per etatem permittitur, ratio pau­latim ita colenda, ut in ea ideae de eternis, Divinis, Spiritualibus, Sanctis{que} rebus, excitentur carumque nexus & sequela, quantum potest, estendantur, nec non ut officia ad quae, ex rebus per ideas istas repre­sentatis tenemur, simul proponantur, & confideranda exhibeantur. Poiret [...] de Erud. lib. 2. pag. 139. §. 21. come out of the state of In­fancy, strictly so called, are not yet immediately capable of the Exercise of the Divinet and more Noble Faculties, To wit, the Desire which ar­dently aspires after an Infinite and infinitely satisfying Good, [Page 55] the Ʋnderstanding, as it is re­ceptive of Divine Ill [...]minati­ons, and the aequiescence, where­by the Soul, delightfully [...]ests and is Gloriously satisfyed in the Luminous and Quieting Presence of the Infinite Good, actually residing and display­ing his Light and Joyes in it (all which are more particu­larly deduced in the follow­ing Catechism, where the faculties of the Soul are treated of) I say since Children are not immediatly capable of the exercise of these higher faculties, therefore these must be stired up, and guided to their true object, by means of the inferiour faculties, namely the sences, imagination and reason, which are the faculties that are first discoverable in Children: It is true, were our nature pure and uncorrupted, such as they were, when we came out of the Hands of our Creatour; there is no doubt, but we would be first and im­mediately [Page 56] capable of the Ex­ercise of the Diviner Faculties, but in this state of Degeneracy and corruption, wherein all things are perverted and out of order, and wherein the Diviner Faculties are fast a­sleep; It is necessary that we make our way into them by the other Faculties.

But great care must be taken, that we do not teach Young Ones to Exercise their lower Faculties meerly for them­selves, so as finally to rest in the Exer­cise of them, as if the perfection of our Souls did consist in their improvement without respect to the Nobler Faculties, For this were to teach them to seek their Happiness in themselves, and in the Exercise and Activity of their own Faculties, in a neglect of GOD, of his Light and Joy. But our Duty is, by the Exercise of their lower faculties, ro lead them to the Imploying of the Divine Ones, and to teach them to direct their Desires to GOD, that infi­nitely satiating Object, to offer up their Ʋnderstanding to be Illuminated by his Divine Light, and to Aequiesee and Rest, and delight themselves in the solacing presence of his Felicities and Love; And a Conscientious and expert Instructer of Young Ones will be quickly sensible, that these Divine Faculties are capable of a very early Exercise; And may by the Pious Diligence of Parents, and the Divine Grace accompanying, be awakned and excited, as soon as ever the lower Faculties begin to appear, and [Page 58] can be exercised, as might be made evi­dent by many Instances of Young Ones, who, some in the Eight, some in the seventh, some in the sixth, some in the fifth, yea, and some in the 4th. and third year of their Age, had great de­sires after, and wonderful discoveries and Tastes of GOD.

But I think, it will not be unseason­able here to injoyn Parents, and o­ther Instructers of Young Ones, that they seriously tell them, of what Value and Import all these Ideas and Notions of Divine Things are, which they have either by the Exercise of their Reason, or by the information of others. And that they may know how to carry on this, I shall lay down before them, two Counsels very necessary (borrowed out of that excellent TreatiseAddenda tamen hic duo perquam Neces­ria monita: Pri­mum ista omnia pront a nobis concipiuntur, non res ipsas esse; sed rerum picturas umbratiles, mortuas, steril­es, nec ullo mo­do animam il­luminantes, Sa­tiantes, ditan­tes, vero Soli­do{que} bono implentes; Sed poti­us, nisi ab illis ad res ip­sas, sive ad De­um, omnium luminum, bono­rum{que} solido­rum fontem & dispensatorem unicum, conver­tamur, ab illo rerum Suarum substantiam pe­tituri & expec­taturi, nos ex Ideis nostris ra­tione{que} circa illas occupatâ, evasu­ruros & pejores, ob culpam ne­glecti officii; & miseriores, ob paenam vacui­tatem{que} animae, a divina justi­tia, bonorum quae non desside­ravit, copia pri­vandae. Alterum iis inculeandum, il­lud est: ideas nostras in cle­mento suo consi­deratas, hoc est, quaetenus cum rebus ipsis non confunduntur, sed ut Picturas Saltem umbra­tiles, quales vere sunt, ha­bentur; non ta­men Picturas tales esse, quae res exacte repre­sentent, quas tanquam pic­turae, & natu­ra suae congruas possent habere, id{que} ex deprava­ta nostra origine & nativitate esse, nec emen­dari utcunque posse, nisi auxilio tum Divino, precibus implor­ando; Tum hu­mano, eorum in quibus haec ma­gis quam in no­bis correcta sunt. Duarum is­tarum observa­tionum ope, si eae non negligan­tur, hoc conse­quentur adoles­centes rationi exercendae va­cantes, nempe, ne ex ideis quas acquirunt, acti­husque propriis circa illas fiunt tumidi, (quasi qui res ipsas ha­berent) nec per­vicaces (quasi eo­rum pictaeideae, ut ut bellae, defecti­bus omnibus ca­rerent, nec quic quam iis accide­re posset) nec im­pii, a DEO eva­anescentes, & tandem aeternum miseri: Quod accideret si ideis & rationis exercitio sicco unice inhaererent, non remeando ab umbris illis, ad res rerum{que} Au­thorem, scepum unum creationis nostrae, & omni­um quibus sumus praediti. Ita pro superba, ob­stinata, frigida atque impia opi­nionibus & judi­ciis propriis ad­haesione (quae u­niversalia eru­ditorum saeculi vitia sunt, cum iis a pueritia inolita) acqui­ret inventus cum cultura & augmento rati­onis annimum docilem, humi­lem, atque pie­tate imbutum non fucatâ; quae quidem ad omnia, teste Paulo, 1 Tim. 4.8. atquae adeo ad eruditionem solidam acquirendam ut ilis futura est. Ʋbi supra pag. 141. 142. I have so often mentioned) which they must carefully recōmened to their Young ones. And this I shall do the rather, because they will pre­pare the way for a more easie entertaining of some things in the Letter that follows, they are these. 1. That all these Notices or Ideas of Divine [Page 59] and Spiritual things, which we have in our minds, either by means of our reason, or by the instruction of others, are not the things themselves, but the faint and shaddowie, the dead and Barren Pictures, or Images of them, which do no wayes iluminate, satiate, and enrich the Soul, nor fill it with that which is truely and solidly good. But rather, (if we do not turn our faculties from these Airie Images unto the things themselves, that is, unto GOD, who is the only Source and Dispensor of all lights, and of these things that are truely Substantial, seeking and expecting from him the realitie, and substance of his own things) we shall, if we obstinately adhere to our own notions and ideas, and the ex­ercise of our corrupted Reason about them, become by this means both worse, for neglect­ing to make our recourse to the living, & the liberal foun­tain [Page 60] of realities; and more mi­serable, because our Souls will be empty and destitute of the Substance of Divine things▪ having nothing to feed on, but the dry and withered and in­substantial notions and imag­es of them; it being Just with GOD to punish us with the Deprivation of these things which we neither sought from him, nor depend on him for 2. The other thing to be in­culcate on them, is, that our ideas and notions of Divine things, considered in their own element or Nature, that is, as they are separated and distinguished from the things themselves, and regarded as shaddowie Pictures, (such a [...]redge [...] indeed they are) not however such Pictures, as perfectly represent the things, or which have in them all, these per­fections, which even as Pic­tures they might have, but are attended with a great many defects, and even false [Page 61] delineations; and this is ow­ing to the depravation, and degeneracie of our nature, wherehy our reason, not be­ing rayed on by the Divine light, shining in the superi­or faculties, is become dark, and therefore cannot excite in our minds, but verie disor­dered, and even oftentimes verie impertinent apprehensi­ons and ideas of Spiritual ob­jects. And these imperfecti­ons of our Ideas, are such as cannot be redressed, but by Divine Aids (which by our Prayers we are instantly to call for) and by the assistance of those, in whom these things are more rectified, then in our selves.

By the help of these two ob­servations, if they be not neglec­ted, they who study their ex­ercise & improvement of their Reason, shall reap these Advan­tages, namely that they shall not be puffed up by means of the Ideas and notions of things [Page 62] they attain to, and of their reasonings about them, as if they really possessed the things themselves; nor pertinacious, as if their painted Ideas, how prettie and fine so ever they may seem to be, were without all defects, and such as were uncapable of any Additions or Amendments; nor impious, falling away from GOD, and in end becoming eternally miserable, which would inevitably come to pass, if they should only cleave to the Ideas, and the dry and sapless exercise of their corrupted Reason, not retreat­ing from these shadōws to the things themselves, and the e­ver blessed Author of them, which is the scope of our Crea­tion, and of all these things wherewith we are endued. Thus instead of a proud, obsti­nate, cold and irreligious ad­herence to their own Opinions and Judgements, which are the Epidemick Vices of the [Page 63] learned Men of the World, grown up with them from their verie Childhood, the Youth shall acquire together with the culture and increase of their Reason, an humble and teach­able mind and temper, and beautified with undisguised and ingenuous Pietie, which asTim. 4.8 St. Paul attests, is propofitable unto all things, and consequently conductive to the attainment of solid Learning.

I am perswaded that these great & im­portant Truths will not displease any good Souls, who may have the opportunitie of perusing these pages; for their experience will sufficiently inform them, that true Divinitie consists not in empty Notions, in dry and ineffectual speculations, but in living and inward sensations, in solid and substantial enjoyments. And here I am resolved to set down the admi­rable [Page 64] words of an excellent Author, in the reading whereof, I profess ingeni­ously to have learned more, then in the perusal of an hundred Volums of the superficial and capricious Di­vines. ‘Ink and paper, sayes he D. Cad­worths Sermon on 1 Jo. 2 34.3. Edition Pag. 40. can never make us Christians, can never beget a New Nature, a living Principle within us, can never form CHRIST or any true Notions in our hearts. The Gospell that new Law which CHRIST delivered to the World, is not meerly a Letter without us, but a quiekning Spirit within us, Cold Theorems and Maxims, Drie and Jejune disputes, lean syllogisticall reasonings, could never yet of themselves beget the least glimpse of true Heav [...]nly Light, the least sap of Saving Knowledge in any heart. All this is but the groping of the poor dark Spirit of man after Truth; To find it out with his own endeavours, and seek it with his own benummed hands; Words and Syllables, which are but dead things, cannot pos­sibly convey the living Notions of Heavenly Truths to us. The secret Mysteries of a Divine Life, of a new Nature of Christ formed in our Heart; They cannot be written or spoken, Language and Ex­pressions cannot reach them, neither can flourish [Page 65] if they be truly understood, except the Soul it self be kindled from within, and awakned into the life of them. A Painter that would draw a Rose, though he may flourish some likeness of it in figure and colour, yet he can never paint the scent and fragrancie; or if he would draw a Flame, he cannot put constant heat into his Colours, he cannot make his Pencil drop a sound as the Eebo in the Anagram mocks of them; ‘Si vis similem pingere, pinge Sonum.’ All the skill of cunning Artisans and Mechaniks cannot put a principle of Life into a Statue of their own making. Nei­ther are we able to inclose in Words and Letters, the Life, Soul and Essence of any Spiritual Truths, and as it were to in­corporate it in them. AllPage. 52. the Books and Writtings which we converse with, they can but represent Spiritual Objects to our Ʋnderstandings, which yet we can never see in their own true figure; Colour and Proportion, until we have a Divine Light within, to irradiate and thine upon them. Though there be never such excellent truths concerning CHRIST and his Gospel set down in words and Letters, yet [Page 66] they will be but unknown characters to us, until we have a living Spirit within us that can decipher them, untill the same spirit by secret whispers in our hearts, do comment upon them, which did at first en­dite them. There be many who understand the Greek and Hebrew of the Scripture, the original Languages, in which the text was written that never understood the language of the spirit. There is a Caro and a Spiritus, a Flesh and a Spirit, a bo­dy and a soul in all the writings of the Scripure, it is but the Flesh and the Bodie of Divine Truth that is Printed upon paper; which many moths of Books and Libraries do only feed upon, many walking sceletons of knowledge that burie and entomb Truths in the living sepulchres of their Souls, do only converse with such as never did any thing else but pick at the meer bark and rind of truths, and crack the shels of them. But there is a Soul and a Spirit of Di­vine truths that could never be congealed into ink, that could never be blotted upon Paper, which by a secret tradition and conveyance passeth from one Soul into another, being able to dwell or lodge no where but in a Spiritual being in a living thing, because it self is nothing else but [Page 67] life and Spirit: Neither can it, where in­deed it is, express it self sufficiently in words and sounds, but it will best declare and speak it self in actions, as the old manner of writing among the Aegyptians was not by words, but things. The life of Divine truths is better expressed in actions than in words, because actions are more living things than words. Words are nothing but dead Resemblances and Pic­tures of those Truths, which live and breath in actions. And the Kingdom of GOD (as the Appostle speaks) consist not in word, but in life and power. Thus he, and much more to the same pur­pose.’ And O! how infinitly advantageous would it be to Religion, and the Souls of men; If the discourse and writings of Divines, did run in this Noble and Di­vine strain, for then it might be hoped, that that outward, literal and lifeless Christianity, that some are so fond of, would be soon discredited, and men in­duced not to fill their heads with noti­ons, criticisms and controversies, but their hearts with life and power.

But to return to the design of our di­rection, hence it appears, how necessarie it is, that Young Ones be earlie ac­quainted [Page 68] with those weighty and im­portant Truths, to the end that they may ardently desire, and vigorously endeavour after the substance, reality, and Life of Divine things, and that their Pietie may not degenerate into cold and lifeless forms, into empty and superficial notions, which do make the Soul proud and presumptuous, not Devote and Religious.

§. XV. 6. Children having arived at a com­petence of Dis­cretion and Ʋn­derstanding must be put in mind of their Baptismal Vows. The solemnities and circumstan­ces of doing this largely declared.§. XV. 6 When the ca­pacities of Children are consi­derably encreased, and they have arrived at the years of Discretion, it is the Duty of Parents solemnly and serious­ly to put them in mind of their Baptismal Vows. And that they may know how to acquite themselves becomingly in this important part of their work, I shall recommend something to them, both with respect to their Children, and to them­selves. 1. With respect to their Chil­dren, they are first to tell them that they are Consecrated things, being Baptiz'd in the Name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; Which imports, [Page 69] not only that they were Baptised by Authority and Commission from, and into the Faith and Profession, but also devoted to the Love and Service, Fear, and Reverence, Obedience and Ador­ration, and designed unto the participa­tion of the Felicities and Joyes of the ever Blessed TRINITIE. Which, as it was the end of their Creation, so it is of their Baptism; For as by their Creation they were designed into the Love and Enjoyment of the Adorable TRINITIE; So by their Baptism, they were consecrated unto i [...], and invio­lable Obligations laid on them, vigo­rously to pursue it; So that they are no more their own, nor at their own dis­posal, but GODS Propertie, and His Peculiar Ones, who must be Ruled and Governed, not by their own cor­rupted wills (which they are for ever to Abandon, Renounce, and Crucifie) but by His Holy and Divine Will. 2. They are to acquaint them with the Du­ties of their Baptismal Vow, which are briefly these. 1. Since by their being Baptized in the Name of GOD the Father, they have acknowledged and taken him to be their Father; There­fore [Page 70] they owe him the Duties of Chil­dren, and they are these. 1. To re­present him in his Divine Perfections, to be Perfect as their Father which is in Heaven is Perfect, and to be Followers of GOD as dear Children. 2. To love him with all their Soul, Heart, and strength, that is, with the highest and most ele­vated measures of Love, and such as suite the infinite Loveliness and Good­ness of His Nature, and to love nothing but in Him, and for His sake. 3. To be ever ready to do His Will, and keep His Commandments with chear­fulness and delight, and patiently to persevere in obedience to Him, and never to be prevailed upon by any temptations to make interruptions in their Duty. 4. To fear Him with a Filial fear, that is, to be infinitly ten­der of displeasing him, and to chuse ra­ther to incur the displeasure of all the World, then be enduced to do any thing that should be disagreeable and offensive to him 5. To seek from Him and to depend upon Him for supplies to all thei [...] necessities both Spiritual and Temporal, assuring themselves that their Heavenly Father will not give them a [Page 71] stone when they ask bread, but will give his holy Spirit unto them that seek Him, & that he which cloaths the Lilies of the field, and feeds the ravens, will not suffer his own Children to want any good thing. 6. Devotely to praise and thank him for all the discoveries of his Love, and to acknowledge him to be the alone Author, and source of all the good things that they enjoy or hope for, and to return all back to him in Love, Gra­titude and Obedience.

2ly. Since by being baptized in the Name of God the Son, they have acknow­ledged and accepted Him to be their Redeemer, they therefore owe unto Him the dutys of redeemed Ones, such as are. 1. To be deeply sensible of that lament­able state into which sin hath plunged them, to know that they are miserable & wretched, and poor, and blind; & naked in themselves; And that if the Son of God had not by his Infinitly Meritorious In­tercession and Sacrifice, prevailed to ob­tain pardon for the guilt of sin; And Grace to purifie the Soul from the filth, and to destroy the Power and Domini­on of it, they had been eternally un­happy and undone. 2. To ascribe en­tirely [Page 72] the glory of the wonderfull work of Mans Redemption unto this Son of GOD; Who alone was able to effectuate it. ForActs. 4.12. there is no Salvation in any o­ther. Neither they themselves nor An­gels, nor any other Creatures could have accomplished it, it being a work so vastly disproportioned to their merits, abilities and love, because it required an infinitie in all these, and this the crea­tures were not capable to furnish; And particularly as to merits, these were so far from being infinite, that they were none at all; For it is very hard, if not impos­sible to conceive, how creatures, not only the fallen and sinfull, (for this is beyond controversie) but even the most inno­cent and Holy, can be said properlie and strictly to merit.

3. To adore his surpassing Condescendency, who rather then Mankind should perish Eternally, choosed to be made like unto them in all things, sin excepted; That is, to espouse their mortal Humanity, with all its infirmities & weaknesses, and [Page 73] in it to suffer poverty and wants, re­proach and contempt, and in end an ignominious, accursed and painful death; And that, not only to Propitiat and Merit, but also to Teach them by his own example, how to return to the Love of GOD and their Happiness. 4. To consider all the good Things both of Grace and Nature, that they at present enjoy, or hope for afterwards in this Life, and the Glories of Eternitie that are reserved for them in the other World, as the Fruits and Purchase of His Infinite Merits; And therefore to Pray in His Name, and to expect all things for His Sake, and to come to GOD through Him, who is the new and living Way. 5. Undoubtingly to believe all the discoveries of the Divine Will, which He, who is the Truth it self, hath made unto Mankind, and that with such a Faith as is practical and operative, purifying the Heart and reforming the Life, and bringing forth the Fruits of Righteousness. 6. To of­fer up their souls to be illuminated and instructed by him, who is the True Light, and who can speak to their hearts [Page 74] in words of life and power; and teach them the truth as it is in Jesus, and let them see and feel divine things in their realitie and beautie, efficacie and sweet­ness. 7. To study an universal conformi­tie unto him, and that 1. By the imita­tion of his holy life, in the practice of self denyal & contempt of the World, humility and resignation, meekness, and patience, Cha [...]ity and Goodness, continual prayer, and thanksgiving, and of all the other graces, which he, as their Divine Patern did exemplifie, that so they may walk as he walked. 2. Of his Death, by dying unto sin, and crucifying the flesh, and doing violence to the most rooted inclinations and appetits of corrupt nature. 3. Of his Resurrection, in leading a new life, that is a life of puritie and righteousness, the life of GOD, whereof GOD is both principle and End, in opposition to the old, carnal and sensual life, to which corrupt Nature prompts. 4. Of his Aseension, in raising their hearts above the World, and having their conver­sation in Heaven, in a continual inter­course with GOD and Divine things. And this imitation of the Redeemer, [Page 75] parents must represent unto their Chil­dren, to be of such absolute and in­dispensable necessitie, that without it they cannot be Fellow-heirs with him in the possession of the Glorious inheri­tances of the other world. 8. Not to think themselves secure, or that they are truely saved from their sins, by rely­ing on what the Saviour hath wrought without them, untill he also work within them, and by the mightie effi­cacies of his Blood and Spirit purifie their Souls from the impurities and corruptions of their sinful and vitiated Natures, so having cleansed them from whatsoever is disagreeable to the puri­tie of his Divine Nature, he may be for­med in them and live and dwell in their hearts, and fill them with his Light and Joyes, and Order and manage them as living Temples; And that therefore it is their Duty with all imaginable cheerfulness, to submit unto all these operations of His Grace, and methods of his Infinite wisdom, whereby he shall think fit to accomplish the purification of theit Soul, though never so uneasie to their flesh, and corrupted nature.

3ly. Since by their being Baptized in the [Page 76] Name of the Holy Ghost, they have ac­knowledged and taken him to be their Sanctifier, who hath already visited them by his preventing influences, and is still willing to make more ample communications of himself, even so as to take up his residence in the Souls of such as are humble and penitent, and pure, & willing to admit of him; They therefore are obliged. 1. To invite him into their Souls by sincere and ar­dent Prayers, and (to be sure) he will not fail to answer these pious importu­nities by his gracious insinuations, for it is to such that he is promised: GOD will give his holy Spirit to them that seek him. 2. To listen carefully to his Divine Voice and Calls, when He stands at the door and knocks, and not to suffer themselves to be deverted by distract­ing thoughts and cares, and the hurry of inordinate lusts, and passions from harkening unto him, and so turn­ing a deaf ear to his Heavenly Charms. 3. To open the doors of their hearts unto him, (to do which they are already enabled by his preventing influencc) and dearly to Welcome and Cherish his motions to co-operate with his ope­rations, [Page 77] to run when he draws, and faithfully to improve His Divine Aids, and not to resist him by a pertinacious and wilfull continuation in sin, or indulging a wretched laziness. 4. To preserve the Temples of their Souls pure and agreeable to Him, and not to harbour any thing that may grieve or offend him, or quench these Flames of Divine Love, that he kindles in them, or blast these tender fruits that he hath planted, and breaths on, and would carry to Perfection and Ma­turitie 5. To be very thankful for the measures of Grace alreadie received: But yet not to rest satisfied with what they have attained, as if there were no more behind, or as if they had enough, and were not capable, or did not stand in need of any more, but to be still thirsting after, and desiring fuller Communications of these Living Influences, until in end they be filled with all the fulness of GOD.

4ly. Since by Baptism they are entered into a League with GOD, and are become His Confederats, they there­fore must have the same Friends and enemies, especially, considering that the same which are enemies to him, are al­so [Page 78] enemies to their Salvation, and con­sequently it is their Duty never to in­dulge, countenance, or cherish them; never to keep any secret Correspon­dence, much less to joyn issue with them; but being now lifted under the Redeemer, end assisted by His Almigh­ty Grace, to renounce and abandon, to resist and oppose them with vigor, con­stancie and Resolution, as the declared Enemies of their GOD, and their Hap­piness. Now these Enemies are first the Devil, who is the principal Agent in op­posing their Salvation him therefore they must stedfastly resist in the Faith, ne­ver serving under him, never doing his wicked works, nor listning to his sug­gestions, nor obeying his commands, not complying with his temptations, but looking on all his fair and flattering Pretences, and false promises, as de­ceitfull gins o [...] snares, and cunning de­vices, whereby to cheat and betray them to perdition and ruin. 2. The World with all its pomps, and Vanities, and Pleasures and sinfull customs. This is the mighty engine the Devil makes use of to seduce those, that have been de­voted to the service of the Holy JESUS, [Page 79] into disloyaltie against their great LORD and Master, and basely to de­sert his Standard; And therefore they must for ever renounce and despise the World with all its wicked factions and entising Gayeties, the gaudie splen­dor of Riches, and all the magnificence which ministers to pride and vanity. They must not desire them greedily, nor delight in them at all, nor use them so as to make them forget GOD, or ne­glect the solid Glories of a better World. 3. The flesh, that is, corrupt Nature with all its lusts and appetits, inclinations and desires. This is a bosome enemie, and consequently the more dangerous; It is by means of it, that the outward ene­mie gets access into the Soul; And con­sequently it must be carefully guarded against, and not only so, but its utter ruine and extirpation constantly and vi­gorously endeavoured; It must be cru­cified, killed and destroyed. And when once the Victorie is gain'd over this inward enemie, the attempts of the outward will be soon defeated, and the conquest over them easily obtained.

3. When Parents have thus represen­ed unto their Children the Baptismal [Page 80] Covenant, and the great and necessarie Dutys, to which it indispensably obleiges them, their next work is to gain their ex­press and personal consent to what was pro­mised in their name, and to engage them to the practice of the Duty from the consideration of their Baptismal Vows. They are to tell them, that when they were young and tender, and could do nothing for themselves, they undertook and acted for them, but now that they are come to the years of Discretion, and understand their Obligations, they must undertake and act for themselves, and that hence forth, if they neglect their Dutys, the guilt must ly at their own door, they must be accountable for it to the Judge of Quick and Dead.

And here it will be proper for Pa­rents to suggest two things unto their Children; 1. The Nature and Quali­ties of that Consent, which they must give to their Baptismal Covenant. 1. It must be free and ingenuous, not forced and constrained, but such as issues from the generous Principles of Love and Gratitude. 2. Resolute and Hardie, not Faint and Cowardly, such as will be dash­ed at every Turn by the least trifling [Page 81] Inconvenience; But such as will couragiously run through the greatest, and most discouraging difficulties and dangers rather than fail in the discharge of their Obligations. 3. Entire and un­reserved; such as will not allow any in­timacie with sin, even the dearest and most fashionable, and most advantage­ous; nor decline any Duty, even the hardest, most uneasie, and unaccept­able to corrupt nature; not partial and byassed, forsaking some sins only, but hugging others; performing some Du­tys, such as are chape and easie; but o­verlooking others, that will pinch and do violence to the Flesh, and Self-Love. 4. Absolute and unconditional, not with If's, and Proviso's. I will adhere to my Baptismal Covenant, providing I may enjoy my ease, and Liberty, and Repu­tation, and if it do not prejudge my Worldly Interests, nor gain me Ene­mies, nor expose me to Reproach and Scorn, and the like. the putting in such conditions as these doth not suite the noble genious of a, generous Chri­stian; the Language of a Soul that hath truely consented to become the Votary of the Holy JESUS will run in the strain [Page 82] of the ApostleRom. 8.35, 38, 39. Who shall saparat us from the Love of JESƲS? shall Tribulation or Distress, or Persecution, or Famine, or Nakedness, or Peril, or Sword? I am per­swaded that neither Death, nor Life, nor An­gels, nor Principalities, nor Powers nor things present, nor things to come, nor Height, nor Depth, nor any other Creature, shall be able to separat me from the Love of God which is in Christ Jesus, my Lord. 5. Present and Peremptory, not lingring and full of Delays. To day while it is called to day. Now is the acccpted time. Off-puts great­ly gratifie the Devil, and is a certain Evidence of Hypocrisy; a present Com­pliance is very acceptable unto GOD, who takes it well, that we enter into his Way, as soon as ever it is made known to us: For out speedy chusing of it, is an Indication that we believe it to be the best, most safe, and most pleasant; whereas our delaying to engage in it, plainly enough insinuats, that we are yet in doubt, whether the way of the Devil, the World, and the Flesh, be better and more pleasant than His; which is an horrible Reflection on His Wisdom and Goodness. 6. Constant and Persevering; such as will oblige to [Page 83] run out the Race, and to be faithful un­to the Death, not for some little time, or by Fits and Starts, now breaking off, and again resuming our Resolutions, af­terwards within a little letting them fall, sometimes joining issue with the Devil and Sin, and then taking some Turns in the Camp of the Holy JESUS, and yet basely retreating again: Alas! these Vicissitudes of seeming Piety, and real Wickedness, are shameful and inglori­ous, and unbecoming the constancy of an ingenuous Disciple.

2. The other thing they are to en­joyn their Children, is, That in giving their Consent, to adhere to their Bap­tismal Covenant, and to discharge the Obligations of it, they do it not in their own strength, but in an humble depen­dance on the Grace and Spirit of the Holy JESƲS; who assures them that Without him they can do nothing: When men engage in the Spiritual Warfare, confiding in their Abilities, it is no wonder, though their Hearts fail them, and their Courage fagg, when they rencounter, and feel these mighty and formidable Oppositions, which their many and potent, and cunning [Page 84] enemies will unweariedly make unto them; Whereas, if they did, in enter­ing the lists with their strong and inve­terate corruptions, and the powers of darkness, that are confederate with them, seek the LORD and His Strength, His Grace would be sufficient for them, and make his Yoak easie, and his Burden light, and even the strait and narrow Way, Pleasant and Delightful unto them. He would inspire them with such noble Courage, and Divine Strength, as would soon foile their enemies, and put them to a shameful flight.

4. When Parents have seriously be­spoke, and happily gain'd the consent of their Children to the Baptismal Co­venant, their next Task is further to urge and encourage them, to discharge the duties of it with diligence, Fidelity and Constancie, and that by represent­ing unto them on the one hand; the Vast and Endearing priviledges of such, as heartilie engage to be, and are invin­ciblie resolved to continue; the Disciples and Votaries of the Holy JESUS; and on the other, the inconceivable miseries of such as desert His Services and treach­erously apostatize from the allegiance [Page 85] which they swear to him, 1: Then they are to tell them that such as adhere to the Baptismal Covenant, and con­scientiously to discharge the duties of it, have GOD for their Father. The Re­lation of a Father is sweet and obliging and very advantagious, especially, if the Father be not only affectionat, but Rich, and great, and powerful: and who not only dearly loves his Children but is also in a capacitie to give Good Things unto them, and to do great Things for them. To be sure then, the Endearings and Advantages of this Re­lation must infinitly increase, when the Blessed GOD owns it, Whose Love, and Fulness, and Power are equally In­finite. Now GOD expresly declares, that He stands thus related to all sincere Christians, and that not in a larger sense only, as they are his Creatures, but in a stricter and more comfortable sense, as they are born of Him, partake of his Nature, bear His Image, and represent Him in their Dispositions and Practices, and carrie towards Him as dutiful and Obedient Children. Hence Our Savi­our in His discourses to His Disciples, so often recommends Him to them, [Page 86] under the Lovely designation of their Heavenly Father, and enjoyns them, and all His Faithfull Followers, to eye Him in their Prayers, under this AspectLuk. 11.2. When Ye pray, say, Our Father. And what may not the Children of such a Father expect, He graciously assures them that all these vast and comfortable priviledges, which the Relation of a Father involves, shall be bestowed on, them, such as are (that I may menti­on a few of them) Tenderness and Compassions, Like as a Psal. 103.13 Father pityeth his Children, so the LORD pityeth them that fear Him. Instruction, What Man Psal. 25.12. is he that feareth the LORD, him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose, Seasonable CorrectionProv. 3.12. Whom the LORD loveth He correcteth, even as a Father the Son in whom he delighteth Provision,Mat 6.13. Take no care say­ing What shall we eat or what shall we drink or wherewithal shall we be clothed, for Your Heavenly Father knoweth that you have need of all these things. ProtectionPsal. 33 18 19. The Eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, to deliver their Soul from Death. And all these advantages are of such a nature, and given in such a way as is worthy of the Father of Mercys. Compassion that [Page 87] never fail, not meerly an aff [...]ctionate, and ineffective Sympathy (such as often­times the compassion of the most tender earthly Fathers are) but relieving and consolatory Instructions, which give not the speculative notions only, but the realitie and sweetness of Divine things: Corrections that do not really hurt or grieve, but reclaim, amend, and puri­fie. Provisions, whereby not only the Body is furnished with what it stands in need of, but which look after the ne­cessities of the Soul, and satisfie all its capacities. A protection which not only prevents and averts dangers and troubles, when it is seasonable so to do, but also prepares for them, and disposes to welcome them, and to endure them with patience, which powerfully sup­ports under them, and Graciously de­liuers from them: O! How unspeak­able a priveledge, is it to be the Chil­dren of such a Father! What wonder, though St. John, when Viewing it, and discoursing of it, is put into a raptureJoh. 3.1. Behold what manner of Love the Father hath bestowed on us, that we should be called the Children of GOD, 2. They shall have an intrest in the merits and pur­chass [Page 88] of the Redeemer, that is, they shall partake of all the blessed fruits and consequences of his Holy life, and Bloody Agonies of his Death, and wounds, Resurrection, and Ascension. 1. Their sins shall be pardoned Eph. 1.7. in whom we (that is all sincere Christians) have Redemption through his Blood, even the for­giveness of sins according to the Riches of his Grace. As Psa [...]. 103.2. far as the East is from the West, so far shall their transgressions be re­moved from them: So that the demerit, and guilt of by past sin shall not hinder, but they shall receive good things for the future, providing that they continue in a resolute hatred of it, and opposi­tion to it, and do not again [...]sal. 85.8. return to f [...]lly, but cleave to the LORD Acts. 11.23 with pur­pose of heart, in an hearty endeavour of universal conformitie to him. 2. Their Soul shall be purified. The 1 Joh. 1.7. Blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin. Not only doth this precious Blood merit, the par­don of the guilt of sin, but by the Di­vine and Powerful Efficacies of it wash­eth away the impurities of it, though it is true, it doth this in wayes that are not agreeable and pleasing to corrupt­ed nature, which must be crucified [Page 89] that is destroyed and rooted outIsa. 4.4. by the spirit of Judgement, and of burning; By Mortification and self-denyal, and bear­ing the Cross in a conformitie to the suffering life of JESUS; Whereupon 3. Will follow the fall and ruin of the Dominion and Power of sin; Rom. 8.2. for the Law of the Spirit of Life in CHRIST JESƲS shall make them free from the Law of sin and Death, so that Rom. 6.14. sin shall not have Dominion over them, they shall no more be under its Influences, nor carryed captives by its impetuous motions, nor drudge in its accursed service, but are under the con­duct of a Divine Spirit governed by an Holy Law, sweetly captivated and drawn by the Cords of love, and engag­ed in a Service that is perfect liberty. 4. They shall be made partakers of a Di­vine Nature; when the Old man is root­ed out of the Soul, the New Man takes place, CHRIST is formed Gal. 4.19. in the heart, lives & dwells and acts in all his Faith­ful Followers, the true and living mem­bers of his mystical Body. That Phil. 2.5. mind is in them that was in CHRIST, they have the same disposition and temper that he had, are meek and lowly, pure and patient, self denyed and charitable, [Page 90] gentle and peaceable as he was; For out of his Joh. 1.16. fulness they receive, and Grace for Grace; That is not only Grace in ample measure, (as some explain the phrase) but (as others more emphatically) Grace answering to the Grace of the Redeemer, they have a Grace for every Grace that is in him. The Holy JESUS doth in a manner transcribe himself on their Souls, and as a Divine Seal imprints his own characters on them, so that they become his living and exact Image and representatives. 5. They shall have a joyful Resurection, Their Phil. 3.21. Vile Bodie shall be changed, that it may be fashioned like unto his Glorious Body; For though in this state of imper­fection and trial, their bodies be frail and corruptible, exposed to diseases and to Death, yet at Acts 2.21. the times of the Restitution of all things, their corruptable 1 Cor- 15.53. shall put on incorruption, and their mor­tal shall put on immortalitie: For 1 Thess. 4.14. if we believe that JESƲS Died and Rose again even so, them also which sleep in JESƲS, that is all his true disciples, who have faithfuly imitated his Holy life, and have been led and acted by his Spirit, will GOD bring with him. 6. They shall [Page 91] inherit the glories of Eternity; this is the noble & consumating fruit of the merits of the Redeemer, Eternall Life Rom. 6.3. is the Gift of GOD through Jesus Christ our LORD This is the Heavenly prise that shall be confered on all that without wearieing run the race set before them, and by patient continuance in well doing, seek for Glory ho­nour and imortality. This is the Blessed Inheritance that shall be given to such in the other World, as shall faithfully discharge the duties of Children in this. This is the rich and Noble Crown which shall adorn the heads of those, who fight the good fight, and con­quer their Enemies, by the Blood of the Lamb. This the Holy Jesus promises in aVtd: Rev: 2.3. Chap: through out great many endearing words, where­by for the encouraging his Conflicting followers to persevere in the Spiritual warfare both the delightful varieties, & satisfying fulness of the Glories & Joyes of Eternity are set forth, To him, saith he, that overcometh will I give to eat of the Tree of Life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of GOD, the hidden Manna, the white Stone, and the new Name, power over the Nations, the Morning Star, and the white Rayment, and the honour of being made a Pillar in the Temple of GOD, and advanced to sit down [Page 90] [...] [Page 91] [...] [Page 92] on the Throne. 3. Such as perseve­ringly adhere to the Baptismal co­venant, in a consciencious discharg­ing the duties of it, shall be under the influences of the Holy Ghost, who will not any longer pay them meerly tran­sient Visites, such as he graciously vouchsafes, even to them that are yet in an impenitent and unregenerate state, with design to reclaim them, but will take up His residence in them, and abide Joh: 14.16. with them, and sow the incorruptible seed of His graces in their hearts, which by His gentle [...]an: 4.15. breathings, and kindly dews will spring up, and be carried on to maturity and perfection; where­by the Soul will become as a delightful garden, whither the Beloved will come and eat His pleasant fruits. This Divine Spirit when once he inhabites the Soul, will (that I may summ up a great many things in few words) more and more enlighten their understandings, dispose them to discern Spiritual things, and acquaint them with Divine secrets, sanc­tifie their persons, manage and govern their conversations; He will inspire their prayers with Devotion, and their Obedience with cheerfulness, increase [Page 93] their hope, support their weakness, comfort them under afflictions, suggest counsels to them in difficulties, and fill them with peace and joyes unspeakable and full of glory.

And now behold a summarie and comprehensive view of the vast and en­dearing priviledges of all the Faithful, and persevering Followers of JESƲS; And O! who would not run and strive, wrestle and fight, love and obey, who would not cheerfully deny, and crucifie self, generously disdain the World, and couragiously resist the Devil, in order to be made partakers of them! but on the other hand, such as basely Desert the camp of the Holy JESUS, and perjuri­ously break their allegiance to him, and take his and their own enemies by the hand and joyn with them, must of ne­cessity inherit all the Opposite Infelicities; For 1 GOD will not be their Father, nor carty towards them as Children. They shall not have any other Father to own them, butJoh: 8.44. the Devil, whose Children they are, whose Image they bear, whose works they do, and whose interests they have espoused & promov­ed, and what can be expected from [Page 94] such a father? from him who is fully and finally, and eternally separated, from the Essential, and Living Source of Light and Joyes? to be sure, he can­not communicat to others, but such things as himself hath; That is, sin and darkness, corruption and filthiness, curses and miseries, agonies and terrours; These things are necessarly and natural­ly in a being wholly alienated and dis­united from GOD; And these, his ac­cursed being derives unto, and increases in all these beings, whom he finds like himself, and in his own dispositions and state. The Devil cannot entaile on his children, but such inheritances as he hath just title to, and these are. chains of darkness, and everlasting burnings Hence we are told, thatMat: 24.41. the goats, that is in effect, the children of the Devil, shall be obliged at the lastday, to go into eternal fire, prepared for the Devil and his an­gels; So that whoever shall be finally and impenitently found in the Devils element, that is, in the state of corruption and sin, must of necessitie be his Companions in endless, easles, and incomprehensible torments. 2. The Redeemer shall dis­claim them, for though they were listed [Page 95] among His Followers, called by His Name, and professed His Re­ligion, Yet, because their hearts were not with Him, because they did not imitate His Life, nor obey His Laws but under the Masque of His Worthy Name, under the Vizard of a specious Profession practised villanously, and clave to his Enemies whom they swore to renounce for ever, did the lusts of the devil conformed to the World, and gratified the flesh, He cannot but look on them as hateful Traitors, who be­trayed Him when they pretended to kiss Him, and wounded Him when they seemed to be His friends, and conse­quently He must treat them as such, this Himself expresly assures us of, towards the close of His incomparable Sermon on the Mount,Matt. 7.22.3.2 Many will say unto Me in that Da [...] LORD, LORD, have we not prophesied in Thy Name? and in Thy Name we have east out devils? and in Thy Name done many wonderfull works? Then will I profess unto them I never knew you, Depart from Me ye that work iniquitie. So that, these abo­minable Apostats, who were once by Baptism listed among the Followers of JESUS, and yet afterwards forsook His [Page 96] Service and broke their Vows, shall not have any interest in His Salvation, He shall disown them for ever; and that Precious Blood which was shed for them and designed to save them, shall in end cry Vengeance against them, for the indignities they have done to it, The merits of the Redeemer shall be so far from relieving them, that they shall greatly heighten and aggravat their damnation, For it shall be more tollerable for Sodom and Gomorrah, in the day of Judgement, then it shall be for those who have misimproven such happy advanta­ges, violated such solemn engagements, and slighted all the importunities and indearments of the Divine Love and Grace. It is certain then, that to such as sin thus wilfully, Heb: 10.36.27. and in the very face of the most Sacred obligations, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin, But a cer­tain fearful looking for, of Judgement, and fiery indignation which shall devour the Adver­saries. 3. They shall be under the In­fluence and conduct of no other Spirit, but of Him, Who now Eph: 2.2. worketh in the Children of Disobedience, It is this Infernal Spirit that inspires and teaches, that acts and manages all such as have resisted

[Page 98] and quenched, grieved and done de­spite unto the good Spirit of Jesus Christ. Where the latter is not admitted, the former must infallibly take place: And as the Souls of all True & Faithful Christi­ans are the Temples of the Holy Ghost, so the souls of such treacherous Apos­tats, as practically renounce their Bap­tism and Christianity, are the residen­ces of this accursed spirit, who inspires them with his own abominable lusts, teaches them the lessons of prophanitie and vice, acts them as his slaves, and leads them in the broad way. O how lamentable a state is it to be under the horrid and black impressions of the spi­rit of darkness, and to have no other comforter no other guide, but the be­trayer and murtherer of Souls.

And thus I have deduced some of the most important considerations; that Parents should make use of; In perswad­ing their Children to fidelity and per­severance, in performing the duties of their Baptismal Covenant; And these considerations, Parents should first ren­der familiar to themselves, and then inculcate on their Children, with seri­ousness and frequency. But this leads me,

[Page 99]2ly. To declare some things which Pa­rents ought to do on their part, in or­der to mannage aright, and carry on this very Momentous instance of duty. And here I shall recommend these things. 1. That when they put their Children in mind of their Baptismal Covenant, they fail not to remember and renew their own Vows, especially if they are sensible that they have been such as have made no Conscience of them. But lived in a practical opposition to them. I think Parents cannot be Serious enough in urging their Children to mind and re­new their Baptismal Covenant, as long as they neglect it themselves, Neither can they reasonably hope that GOD will prosper this work in their hands, while he [...]ees them play the hypocrite, which they in an eminent manner do, when they pretend to perswade their Children to do that which they have no mind to do themselves, in doing where­of, to be sure they can never be Sincere and ingenuous, nor with any confidence look up to GOD for his Blessing. And here I may establish it as a general direc­tion, worthy of the consideration of all Parents, namely, that whatever they recom­mend [Page 100] to the practice of their Children, they take special care to practice it themselves. To see habitual drunkards recōmend tem­perance to their Children, or such as as are unclean and adulterous Recom­mending chastity; or the prophane and irreligious perswading to Devotion and seriousness; or the wrathful & passionate, pressing meekness, is very rediculous; and their Children will never think they are in Earnest, but will believe that they may take the same libertie that they see their Parents take. It is true indeed, such Parents as have been effectually reclaimed from the practice of the mentioned, or like vices, may on good grounds diswade from the com­mission of them, and their Counsel may be very effectual to that end: because they speak from doleful and sad experi­ences of the folly and madness of such practices, which disposes them to a passionat Seriousness, in perswading o­thers, either to abandon, or not to engage in these hurtful and dangerous wayes: But the Exhortation of vicious men, are but vain and empty words, and such as have commonly no other effect, but to make Religion and Seri­ousness [Page 101] matter of sport and entertain­ment.

If it be said, that the exhortations of wicked persons may have influence to recommend Vertue, becaule though their Parents be contrary to it, Yet their commendations of it are the result of an inward conviction, which they have in their minds, of the excel­lency of it; and what greater engage­ment to the practice of vertue, then to hear its very enemies commend and perswade to it? It is answered, that if any shall be so wise, as to make such good Improvements of these Exhortati­ons, I cannot but highly approve their so doing, though it is certain this is not their ordinary Consequence, but rather the contrary, even that which I have just now intimated. But further, The commendations that wicked Persons give to Religion and Virtue, are so far from doing them any honour, that they really disparage them, because they represent Virtue as a weak ineffica­cious Thing; for tho they are (as sup­posed) convinced of its Excellencie, yet the [...] chuse rather to do the contrary, whereby they plainly insinuate, that [Page 102] what ever discoveries they have of the beauty of Virtue, yet there are other things, which they think have a greater and more overcoming beautie in them, namely, these things which they practically love and pursue, that is to say, in effect the filthiest vice; so that if there were no other beautie dis­coverable in Virtue, then what vitious persons see, its like very few would be­come its Votaries. Besides, I cannot understand what other influence the Commendations, which vitious persons give to Virtue, can have on the hearers, but such as it hath on the Exhorters themselves, that is, to commend Virtue without practising it. If it be furder urged, that then wicked persons should not ex­hort at all to the practice of Virtue? I answer, that it is indeed the Duty of wicked persons to exhort, but not im­mediatly; there are somethings they must carefully first set about the doing of, before they can be competently qua­lified for this Work, that is, they must abandon their vices, reform their Lives, and heartily engage in the practice of Virtue, and when they are experimen­taly acquainted with its power, sweetness [Page 103] and advantages, then it is that their Ex­hortations to the practiee of it, are likeli­est to take effect. The summ of all is, that it is the living and vigorous sence of Religion, on the hearts of the P [...] ­rents, that will dispose them to be impor­tuntae, and serious with their Children, in order to proselyte them to it; and GOD the searcher of Hearts, being conscious of their sincerity, will not fail to second their pious cares with his Blessing and Grace, which leads me to advise.

2. That Parents, before they enter u­pon this great work of putting their children in mind of their Baptismal co­venant, and obliging them to give their consent to it; do set some time a part for humble and serious prayer, and recommend their purpose and in­tentions to GOD, earnestly intreating, that he would countenance and second their indeavours, with the influences of his Heavenly Grace. They must re­member that they are but instruments, and that GOD is the principle Agent in the Salvation of their Children; and though he requires that men cooperate with his Grace, yet he would not have [Page 104] them to confide in their own strength and activity, or to think that they are able by their own power to beget Grace either in their own hearts, or in the hearts of others. Paul may, and ought to plant, but it is GOD that gives the increase. And therefore Parents must in this, and in all pious endeavours, comply with the exhor­tation of Solomon;Pro: 16.3. Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established. In which words, he directs us in all our undertakings, to depend on Divine Assi [...]tance, and assures us that in so doing we shall have good success.

3. It is very necessary, that Parents go about this important work, with grave and becomming solemnities, whereby the Children will be obliged to greater seriousness, and reverence, and deeper and more lasting impressions of their duty will be made on their hearts, and what these solemnities are, is well known in these Churches, where the order of Confirmation is practised, and I cannot but reackon it as no inconsiderable defect in this Church, that this Primi­tive and very profitable custom is quite out of Doors. If they of the Church of Rome, have gone to one extream, in [Page 105] advancing it into a Sacrament, others have gon [...] to another in quite abolish­ing i [...] However I find that all sober and Judicious Protestants, are so far from condemning of it, that they high­ly value and approve it. It is allowed of by the Lutheran Churches, and constantly practised in Bohemia, and in the Church of England, whose peculiar Character it is, that it payes a just vene­ration to all Ancient & good Customes, and loves to retain them, but retrenches the abuse of latter times. And even Calvin whoseInstit. L: 4. Cap: 9. §. 13. &c. authority is wont to be of no small weight, not only commend­eth the Ancient use of it, but the abuse being removed, heartily wisheth it Restored. And Baxter, an English Presbyterian, hath written a large Treatise in its favours, passionat­ly recommending the use of it. But I in­tend not to impose on, or quarrel with any on this head; only I doubt not but it will be agreed on by all; that it is the indispensable duty of Parents to put their Children in mind of their Baptismal Covenant, and to ingage them to give their actual consent unto it: and when it is their lot to be in a Church, whose custom it is not, to do this more solemn­ly [Page 106] and publickly, that they ought to do it in private, with as obliging cir­cumstances as can be; and the whole in my Judgement, may be very profi­tably mannaged after this manner. 1st. That the Parents fix a day for the So­lemnizing this renewal, and ratifica­tion of the Baptismal Covenant. 2. That the Child or Children be acquaint­ed with the design, and that injunc­tions be given them conscienciously to prepare for it. 1st. By serious con­sideration of their vow in its nature, obligations and vast moment, as hath been formerly represented. 2. By ear­nest prayers & suplications to GOD, that he would by his powerful Grace incline their Hearts unto his testimonies, and enable them to [...]ield themselves to him absolutely, unreservedly, and for ever. 3. That some pious Relations, or Neighbours be ad­monished to be present at the day ap­pointed, particularly such, if they can be conveniently had, as were witnesses at the Baptizing of the Children, who should come with good wishes, and help with their Prayers, and be wit­nesses also to the ratification of the Bap­tismal Covenant: And specially, that [Page 107] the presence of the Pastor be intreated, who if he be a serious and good man, will not refuse to assist at such Pious Offi­ces. And indeed His Piety, Experience and Station, qualifies him to discharge the duties of this occasion, to better pur­pose & greater edification then any other. 4. When the fixed day hath approached, and the persons invited are met, the Children called, and the whole Family, for their common Benefit and Advan­tage, assembled together in a conveni­ent place, which the Pastor being pre­sent, may be the Church, then it is fit that the Pastor, or, if he cannot be had, the Parent, begin with humble and de­vote Prayers, beseeching GOD, that He would vouchsafe to Countenance the Work they are about, with His Bles­sing and Gracious Presence, that He would turn the Hearts of the Young Ones to Himself, and strengthen them sincerely to renew their Baptismal Vows, and to make ingenuous Surrenders of themselves unto Him, and to engage in His Service, with firm and unchange­able Resolutions, never to swerve from it any more; And that, to this Effect, He would impart unto them liberal [Page 108] measures of His good Spirit. 5. After these Devotions are ended (in which all are supposed to have heartily concurred) then in the next place, it is proper that the Child or Children be called up, and that the Pastor, if present, or otherwise the Parent, rehearse all the Dutys of the Baptismal Covenant in their Audience, and their consent be sought severally to each Article, by express and particular Interrogatories, according as it hath been recommended in the forgoing part of this Section. And this being done; Then 6l [...]. Let it be sensibly represented to Children, that now they have undertaken for them­selves, that by their own consent and express Promises, they have engaged to be the Disciples and Followers of Je­sus, and that from henceforth the care of working out their Salvation, is prin­cipally devolved on themselves; And that therefore they must labour diligent­ly, wrestle Couragiously, mortifie Im­partially, Obey Universally, and Pray Fervently, and strive to enter in at the strait gate, and to make their Calling and Electi­on sure. 7ly. After which it will be sea­sonable, in order to perswade them to [Page 109] Fidelity and Constancy, in discharging the Dutys of their renewed Vows, to use some pertinent and affecting Exhor­tations, taken from the Considerations above mentioned; and with all to for­warn them, not to be discouraged by any difficulties, and oppositions that may befal them, at their entrance into the Christian Warfare; For that these will soon over, and that GOD will Support and Strengthen, Guide and In­fluence them by His good Spirit, and that in end, the hardest Duties, will become not only easie, but also Plea­sant and Dlightful, and even Natural unto them. 8ly, And in Fine, let the whole be shut up with Prayer, wherein the Supplicant is humbly to intreat, that GOD would graciously receive these Young Ones, who have now de­dicated themselves to Him, into His Favour and peculiar Care; That He would perfect the good Work in them, which He hath enabled them to begin, that He would keep them from the evils of the World, and seal them by His Holy Spirit, unto the Day of Redemp­tion, and increase His Divine Graces in them day by day, and teach them His [Page 111] own Will in all Things, and Treat them as His Children, Correcting, In­structing, Providing for, and disposing of them in every thing, as His infinite Wisdom shall Judge convenient. And last of all, it will not, I think, be im­proper to conclude with Praises: For which Purpose, let a selected Portion of the Psalms of David, and particular­ly, if I be allowed to prescribe, the two first Sections of the CXIX be sung with Devotion and Seriousness. And now upon the review of all, I assure my self that all pious Hearts will approve of the method I have laid down. Only let it be still remembred that I do not magi­sterially dictate, but lovingly recom­mend, what I conceive to be the pro­perest Means to effectuate the pur­poses now in hand. I shall only advise on this Head in the [...]

Fourth and Last Place, That Pa­rents piously improve this Consent, which their Children have given to their Baptismal Covenant, as a Power­ful Mean, either to prompt them to Diligence, if they find that they are turned remiss & negligent; or to reclaim them from vice, if they shall observe [Page 111] them declining towards any. Let them dexterously manage this vast Advan­tage that is now put in their Hands; Let them feelingly tell their Children, how prodigiously aggravated a sin it will be, to break Faith to their Redemeer, to who [...]e Service and Imitation they have solemnly dedicated themselves; How like they are to forfeit all Interest in the glorious Priviledges of Faithful and Per­severing Disciples, and fearlesly rus [...] upon endless callamities, and with how many sad and wounding thoughts it will one day fill their Souls, to reflect that they have dealt so disingenuously with their dear Saviour, who had done such great Things for them, and was wil­ling to confer so great, Things on them. These Considerations, and the like, Parents must inculcate on their Chil­dren, as often as occasion shall offer, which are very proper to work upon their Ingenuity, and will by GOD'S Blessing be attended with suitable Effects.

§. XVI. 7.§ XVI. 7. Young Ones must be early instructed in the Ex­ercises of Devotion, and obliged not only to observe the ordi­nary times of Prayer but also to pray with­out ceasing, import of which are here de­clared. Further I must earnestly recommend to Parents, That they train up their Children betimes in the [Page 112] Exercises of true Devotion, o­bliging them to observe, not only the common and ordinary times of Prayer, but also to keep their hearts with GOD all the day, lifting up their Souls to Him on all oc­casions; To do which, they can never want proper incitements, which soever way they look, whither without them, or within them. For the remembrance of sins should oblige them to penitenti­al Confessions,Psal: 41.4. Heal my Soul, for I have sinned against Thee. The receipt of Mer­cys, to grateful Acknowledgements,Psal: 103.2. Bless the LORD, O my Soul, and forget not all His Benefits. The sense of wants to ardent desires after Grace,Luke 17.2. LORD in­crease our Faith. The Works of GOD, to a pious Adoration of His Wisdom, Goodness and Power,Psal: 104.24. O LORD, how manifold are Thy Works! in Wisdom hast Thou made them all. Providential Occurrences, if afflicting, to submission,Luke 22.42. Father not my will, but Thine be done. If prosperous, to Gratitude and PraisePsal: 119.68. LORD Thou art Good and doest Good. Thus there is no­thing that can be presented to us, but may afford us convenient Opportunitys, [Page 113] Of devout Elevations of Soul unto GOD at all times, by means whereof we may maintain a constant & delight­ful converse with GOD. Our devotion must not be confin'd to our Closets, but should be our constant attendant all the day long. There are a great many that seem to be very serious in their Morning and Evening address, who yet shut GOD out of their thoughts and conversations the rest of the day. This continual lifting up of the Soul to GOD, is doubtless, that praying without ceasing, which ourLuk: 18.1. bles­sed Saviour; And after him, his great ApostleThes: 5.17. so expresly injoyn, and which the Royal Psalmist practised, as he informs us, when he sayesPsal: 16.8. I have set the LORD alwayes before me; and else where,Psal: 139.18. when I awake, I am still with thee. This Divine and Heavenly prac­tice young ones ought to be early in­structed in: Its advantages being infinite, and so obvious, that they need not be insisted on. However, as I intimated be­fore, they must be oblieged to observe the ordinary and set times of Devotion, which are commonly, mornings and evenings, and the Hours of meal. The [Page 114] Devotion usual at these occasions must not be omitted, it being so very rea­sonable, to begin and close every day with GOD, and present unto Him our first and last thoughts. Our morning Addresses to GOD should be an intro­duction to that continual converse with Him all the day, that just now I spoke of, and our evening Devotions, a pre­paration to these silent Adorations which we offer up to Him on our beds, whenPsal: 16.7. our reins instruct us in the night seasons; Neither must they be allowed to neglect the Devotions accustomed at the Table, but piously taught, when they are to use the Creatures, to beg GODS Blessing on them, sinceMatt: 4 4. it is not by bread alone that man liveth, but by every word which proceedeth out of the mouth of GOD; And when they have served themselves of them, to return hearty Thanks to Him,Psal: 103.5. who filleth their mouths with good things; And Psal: 145.15. gives them their meat in due season, devoutly acknowledge that he is the source of all the sweetness, and nourishment that are in the Creatures, and stedfastly re­solving to serve Him in the use of them.

[Page 115]§. XVII. 8ly.§ XVII. 8ly. Children are to be made deeply sensible of the great corruption of Humane Na­ture, and that because the just sense of this will na­turally lead them to the practice of ve­ry weighty & most impor­tant duties, some whereof are briefl [...] e­numerated. Moreover it is indispensably necessary, that Parents do with all possible care, endeavour to make their Children sensible of the great degeneracy, and corrup­tion of Humane Nature, how that by the entrance of sin in­to the World, man became wholly alienated and estrang­ed from GOD, from his Life, his Light, his Puritys and Joyes; and did degenerate in­to a dead and dark, a pollut­ed, filthy, weak and miserable creature: For sin, which in effect is nothing else but the separation of the Soul from GOD, hath filled man with its own accursed fruits; that is, with blindness in his under­standing, hardness and insensibility in his heart, perverseness and disaffect­edness to GOD and goodness in his will, disorder in his affections, being wholly turned away from their true objects. This is naturally the state of Man fallen and corrupted, so that they (the Children) who are the issue [Page 116] of degenerated Parents, must of necessity inherite the pravity of their Fore­fathers, beingPsal: 15.5. Shapen in iniquity, and Conceived in sin. This Corrupt nature is represent'd to us in Holy Scripture, un­der different disignations, sometimes under that of Flesh Gal: 5.17. sometimes it is called theCol: 3.9. old man, sometimes our Earthly Col: 3.5. Members, and other whiles the Body Rom: 6.6. of sin. This sad, but very great truth, must the rather, and with the greater earnestness be inculcated on young ones, because it is the foundati­on of a great many most wighty and concerning truths and duties, that they must be carefully instructed in, some of the most considerable whereof, I shall here briefly recommend.

1st. To be sensible of their in­ability to do good.1st. From this Parents must take oc­casion to inform their Children of their inability by Nature to do Good; For let us suppose, that there is no other Principle in Man, but his corrupted nature: It will not be possible to conceive that he c [...]n do good, for corruption cannot bring forth but corruption, which is evident from that Divine Expression of our SaviourJoh: 3.6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. We may as easily [Page 117] conceive that darkness can give Light, and filthiness produce Purity, or weak­ness Power, or death Life, as imagine that man in the state of meer corrupti­on, could do any thing that is truely and savingly good. Of this our Savi­our admonishes His Disciples, expresly in that known ScriptureJoh: 15.5. Without me ye can do nothing. That is, Ye being in your own element of corruption, and separated from me (as the Word in the Original imports) can do nothing, cannot bring forth the Fruits of Righte­ousness, nor Will, nor Do, that which is good.

2ly.2ly. To see the necessi­ty of Divine Grace. From this also they must inform them of the necessity of Grace; For since, as said is, corruption can beget nothing but corruption: It necessarly follows, that there must be some other Principle in Man, actuating and informing him, before he can be capable of doing good. And this Principle is nothing else but the good Spirit of GOD, who by His Living and powerful Influences prevents man, quickens his deadness, awakens his desires, enlightens his mind, inclines his Heart, and works in him to Will and to Do. Now this Divine Principle, [Page 118] GOD through the Intercessions and Merits of His Well beloved Son, hath communicated unto Mankind, and by this it is,Rev: 3.20. That He stands and knocks at the doors of Mens Hearts, sweetly insi­nuating Himself unto them, and inspir­ing them with Gracious Motions, and good Thoughts; And when admitted and entertain'd, powerfully perfecting what He hath Graciously begun.

3ly. To desire Grace with an Holy and pas­sionate earnest­ness.3ly. From this they must be further ditected with most ardent importunities to seek Grace. This naturally follows u­pon the former, for a serious sense of weakness, and of the necessity of Grace, cannot choose but dispose the Soul in whom it is to mighty Desires after the Holy Spirit, and His precious Influen­ces. This is that Hungering and Thristing after Righteousness, which our Blessed Sa­viourMatt: 5.6. assures us shall not fail of being satisfied, and these desires after the Heavenly Graces, and influences of the Holy Spirit, must be timeously excited and tenderly preserved in Chil­dren. It is to these Blessed Objects, that we must address their young Hearts, and not to the vanities and toyes, the pleasures and airie delights of this [Page 119] world, The former must be highly Valued, and earnestly recommended to their enquiries; The later ever dispa­raged, and represented to them as mo­mentany and vanishing, unsolid and unsatisfying. And for their incourage­ment to pursue the former, they must be told, that their HeavenlyLuke 11.13. Father will give His Holy Spirit unto them that seek Him. But then they are to be in­formed, that these Desires after Grace must be sincere, and such as are ad­missive of it, that is, such as not only open the Heart to give it Entrance, but also such as dispose the Soul to maintain and cherish it, to cooperat with, and use it, and to suppress all motions contrary to it.

4.4ly. To attri­bute all the good they may observe in themselves un­to the spirit of GOD as its only eause. From this also they must be taught to ascribe all the good that they may discover in them­selves, or is done by them, entirely to the Operations of Divine Grace. For corrupt nature cannot be the cause of any thing that is truly good nothing but darkness, pollution and disorder can issue from this impoisoned Source in my flesh, saith theRom: 7 18. Apos­tle Paul, that is, in my corrupted na­ture, [Page 120] dwelleth no good thing. Since then it hath no goodness in it self, it cannot be the Author or Cause of any Good: And therefore all their good thoughts, all the pious motions & desires that we do at any time discern in our selves, a [...]e entirely owing to another Original, namely, to the good Spirit of GOD. The due sence and consideration where­of is a most solid ground of Humility, and will hinder us from entertaining overweening thoughts of our selves: for since all the evil that is in us, all the disorders of our hearts and Lives, are entirely our own product, theGal: 5.19 20. works of the Flesh, that is, the natural and ge­nuine off-spring of corrupted nature; And since all the good that is in us, or done by us, (the only thing we ought value our selves for) is the issue of a Divine Principle,Gal: 5 22, that is, not our sel­ves, or in St, Pauls phrase, is the fruit of the Spirit, what imaginable pretence can we have to be proud, or self con­ceited.

5ly To disco­ver the necessi­ty of Regene­ration as an indis­pens­able prepar­ation for Hea­ven.5. From this also they are to be convinced of the necessity of Regenerati­on, in order to be made partakers of the Glo­ries of Eternity. We must partake of [Page 121] the Divine Nature, before we can partake of the Divine Felicities. It is not possible for us to be admitted into the Fruition of GOD, as long as our Na­tures are disagreeable to His, For what Fellowship can Light have with darkness, or Purity with filthiness. St. Paul assures us, 1 Cor: 15.50. that flesh and blood cannot inherit the King­dome of GOD, neither doth corruption inherit Incorruption. Which passage, though it may seem principally to respect the body, yet it holds equally true of the Soul, for as the body cannot be glori­fied as long as it retains these loathsome qualities wherewith sin hath cloathed it, so neither can the Soul enjoy GOD, while it retains these vicious habits:, these perverse and carnal inclinations which it hath contracted by its defecti­on from Him, it must of necessity be purified from its darkness and impuri­ties, that disaffectedness to GOD and Divine Things, that is deeply rooted in it, must be Eradicated, and so render­ed agreeable to GOD, Before it can be Immediatly capable of Divine Joyes; for otherwise the Luminous and de­lightful presence of GOD could be no happiness to a Soul that is in the state [Page 122] of corruption and filthinss, but rather a very torment, since it is wholly un­suitable to it, and averse from it, and hath neither appetite for, nor a pallat to taste the infinite sweetness of it. To evince this is the designe of our Saviours discourse to Nicodemus, Joh: 3.5. where He tells us, That except a man be born of Water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the King­dom of GOD.

6ly. And of Mortifi­cation as the way in­to the Rege­nerate state.6, From this, Yet furder they must be informed of the necessity of Mortifi­cation, and perswaded to the practice of it, as the way into the Regenerate State. And consequently, as the Way into Eternal Life; Corrupt nature must not in the least be cherished, no indulgence must be given it, but violence must be done to its dearest and most rooted Inclinati­ons and appetites. Self denyal * is the first Lesson that we must learn in the school of Jesus. Here it is that our Christi­anity commences, & in the practice of it, we must resolutely continue all our life long. Now this Self-denyal is nothing else but a vigorous and constant oppo­sition to corrupt Nature, a fixed and generous resolution never to comply with, or gratifie its unreasonable, and [Page 123] vitious Appetits and Desires; which resolution must necessarily issue out into, and dispose the Soul for oppor­tune and actual resistances, never al­lowing corrupt Nature but those things which are simply necessary to its Subsistance, and to the advance­ment of the great Designes of our being in this state of Tryal. And this blessed practice, the Holy Jesus not only most seriously recommends, as that without which none can be his Disciple (there­by making it one of the most indispen­sable Fundamentals of his Religion) but also most eminently exemplified it in his Life, which all alongs was a continued exercise of the severest Self-denyal; for never was there any that did more generously, and more uni­versally abandon and disdain the Pleasures and Profits, the Riches and Honours, the ease and satisfactions of this World then he did; thereby Leaving 1 Pet. 2.21. us an example that we should follow his steps. This is that which is inculcate on us in these Precepts which injoyn us,Col. 3 5. To mortifie our Members that are upon the Earth, and to Crucifie Rom. 6.6. the old Man with his Deeds. Thus it is likewise [Page 124] that theMat. Kingdom of Heaven suffereth Violence, and the Violent take it by force, that is, by crossing and resisting, curb­ing and even crushing the inclinations of corrupt Nature, and by a generous bravery (inspired into us by the Di­vine Grace) trampling on its brutish Lusts, shutting our Ears against the Importunities of its most bewitching Flatteries, forcibly silencing all its ex­travagant cravings, and making it to languish, and afterwards to die and expire down-right, that so we may hap­pily enter first upon the Regenerate, and then on the Glorified state; For as the old Man dies, the new Creature takes place, when the Flesh is Crucified with its Affections and Lusts, the Spirit of Jesus with all its blessed Fruits and Ope­rations powerfully succeed, whereby in endEph. 4 13. We come to a perfect man, unto the Measure of the Stature of the fulness of Christ; And being thus prosperously advanced, we are in the next and im­mediate Disposition to eternal Life.

7. From this also they must be taughtWith Patience and Chearfulness to undergo what­ever doth tend to the ruin of cor­rupt Nature. Chearfully to submit unto, patiently to enduro, and even to desire, and to be content with all [Page 125] these Wayes and Means, that may most effectually contribute to the Crucifixion, and Destruction of corrupt Nature, though never so uneasy, so contrary, and so disagreeable to it. For corrupt Nature is the great enemy of our Salvation; This is the adversary that doth most successfully hinder us in our marches Heaven-ward,Reasons of and Inducements to the practice of this Duty. and gives all our other enemies advantages over us, and opportunities to vanquish and enslave us. 'Tis by this, as being his own element, that the Devil hath easie access into our Hearts, to tempt and seduce us; this is the Engine that he dextrously manages to work out our ruin; by this it is that we are ex­posed to the Flatteries of a deceitful World and to be deluded by its guilded and guileful appearances. In fine it is this corrupt nature, especially when che­rished, countenanced and followed, that keeps the Holy Spirit, that Bles­sed principle of Divine Life, from taking Possession of our Hearts, and working in us. And therefore the sooner that corrupt nature is mortified and overcome, the sooner is our Sal­vation [Page 126] secured. And consequently it cannot but appear very just and rea­sonable, that all who are tender of their Eternal Happiness, should pati­ently & chearfully submit unto, & em­brace whatever may effectually tend ro the destruction & rooting out of corrupt nature, though it be never so unac­ceptable to it. Hence it is, that our Blessed Saviour, after having cxhort­ed all that would be His Disciples to deny themselves, enjoyns them fur­ther to take up their Cross, as the great Mean of crucifying and exterminat­ing the old Man. For by the Cross we are to understand all these troubles and afflictions, whither inward or out­ward, that may befal us in this State of Tryal: And by taking it up, is meant a chearful and patient, an unrepining and contentful undergoing these trou­bles as very useful, and even necessary for purifying us from our natural cor­ruption. Now these troubles, as is al­ready intimated, are either inward or outward. The Outward, are either such as by a Providential Direction are per­mitted to fall on us, as poverty, sick­ness, reproaches, persecutions, and [Page 127] death, or voluntary and chosen, as Fasting, Watchings, taking for our selves the meanest things and lowest places, and the like Pious and Morti­fying Rigors The Inward are Con­trition, Godly Sorrows, Penitential Remorses, and in a word, all these painful Sensations within us, which result from the Operations of the ho­ly Spirit conflicting with, and rooting out our corruptions. Now all these troubles we must patiently endure, and chearfully embrace, not only as the just consequences and fruits of our sins, but as very proper Medicins to cure our diseased nature.

It is true, the Old Man will be ready to say with the Jews John 6.60. These are hard sayings who can hear them? The flesh can­not endure so rough and so severe a treatment, but will be apt to be angry, and to pick quarrels at the Doctrines that press and urge its ruin. Corrupt nature loves smooth and easie Schems of Divinity; It dearly values a Gospel, that assures it that all things are done for it, without putting it self to any trouble; It would have ease and plea­sures in both Worlds; And the Doc­trines [Page 128] that must flatter it, and secure its repose, and withall blow it up with hope of Eternal Life, do wonderfully please it. However it is certain that in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, nothing is de­signed for it but Crucifixion, Death, and utter extirpation. And of this great and most weighty Truth, Young Ones must with all possible care, be made very early sensible, and trained up, not only meekly and patiently to bear, but even to love whatever may effectually contribute to the destructi­on of their corrupt natures. And to do this, they must be encouraged from two Considerations especially. 1st. That it was by the way of the Cross that the Holy Jesus Himself entered into Heaven, ought not Christ, sayeth he to His DisciplesLuke 24 26. to have suffered these things, and then to enter into his Glory? Now since the innocent and harmless Lamb of GOD, having once assumed our mor­tal humanity, could not escape Suffer­ings, though he did no sin, Neither was guile 1 Pet. 2.22. found in his mouth, how unrea­sonable is it, that sinful and poluted worms should expect immunity from them? 2. That all the followers of [Page 129] JESUS must be conform unto him: such as were his circumstances in this World, such of necessity must theirs be. They Phil. 2.10. must know the fellowship of his Sufferings, being made conformable unto his Death: And fill up that which is behind of Col: 1.24. the afflictions of CHRIST in their flesh. They must travel in that same way that the Blessed JESUS hath chalked out unto them, which is not a way of car­nal ease and pleasure, but as himself as­sures us, a strait and narrow, that will pinch, and severely grate upon, and even quite distroy the flesh, and corrupt­ed nature, before it comes to the end of it.

8ly. From this, lastly, Par­ents are obliged with most se­rious endeavours to guard their young ones against the most notable eruptions, 8ly. The most remarkable and pernicious instances of cor­rupt nature, are with special care to be watched against and suppressed in young ones. or instances of corrupt nature, such as are self-love, self will, self-esteem, or Pride, self-Confidence, Sensuality, and Covetousness. It is true, these Vices are so twisted and interwoven together, that where one is, the others readi­ly are; however they may admit of a [Page 130] distinct consideration, and must be se­verally cautioned against.

1. Self-Love, Corrupt Na­ture is very fond and tender of it self:Some of those instances enume­rated, with an account of their hainous Nature, and the methods of their Cure. It dearly loves its ease, and Pleasures and Ad­vantages; and cannot endure to think of forfeiting these on any terms; for it would al­wayes be flattered and gratified, and will not away with roughness and Se­verities. It seeks and aims at Self in every thing: Whatever it designes or does, Self is the Principle, and Self is the end.1. Self-love. From this it is that it takes its measures of all Dispensations and Doctrines: For these things that please and favour Self most, are, in its esti­mate; the best; and whatever doth cross and offend it is presently accoun­ted evil. In a word, Self is the Deity that corrupt nature adores, to which it refers all things, and by which conse­quently Men are set at the greatest distance from, and most visible oppo­sition to God: For in effect men in this case do put themselves in the room of God, and fall down before and Worship themselves, and so become [Page 131] their own Idol, and give that love to themselves which is due to God only. For all which, it evidently appears how necessary it is, that young Ones be early instructed with Job Job. 42.6. to abhor Themselves, that is, absolutely to dis­claim and renounce Self, together with all the dictates and inclinations of it, as infinitely worthy of hatred and dislike. And to do this, they must be urged from the consideration of that degeneracy and corruption, these wants and imperfections, these Weak­nesses and Diseases that are visible in them, and whereof they cannot but be very sensible. And hence they are to be convinced that in themselves, who are but sinful, corrupted and miserable Creatures, there is nothing lovely, and consequently that Self hatred and not Self love is their Duty: But in the mean time, they are to be informed, that this self-hatr'd must only aim at, and termi­nate in the ruin and destruction of cor­rupt Nature. It is their duty to preserve and support their mortal Life by all lawful Means, but then their design in so doing must be, that they may have the longer time, and greater conveni­encies [Page 132] for crucifying the old man: And when they cannot any longer get it kept, either because nature hath come to its utmost period,Psal. 90.10. or because a good conscience and the Love of GOD oblige them to sacrifice it, then they must chearfully and patiently submit to Death, as the Holy JESUS their Blessed Pattern did, rejoicing to be conform to him in all things. And when Parents have thus discovered un­to their Children how unsuitable it is for poor, and emptie, and degenerat Worms to love themselves, in whom there is nothing, but what deserves hat­red and aversation; It will be a season­able Juncture to address their Love to GOD, that Soveraign, and infinitly lovely Object, for whom this Noble Faculty was planted in the Soul, and Who, as He is in Himself the source of eternal Beauties, Perfections and Re­alities, so in the Love of Him, (which when it is sincere, ardent and prevail­ing, is inseparable from the Fruition of Him,) consists the Beauty, Perfec­tion and Blessedness of our Souls.

2. Self-Will, 2. Self-will. This is another very e­minent branch of corrupted nature, [Page 133] and immediatly issues from self Love; for when men becomes lovers of their own selves, there is nothing in Self that is dearer to them than their own wills, these they would have set up as absolute Dictators, and are impatient that they should be contradicted: And therefore one of the most considerable duties which Parents owe their Young Ones, and one of the greatest kindnesses they can do them, is to habituate them be­times to deny their own wills; For the will of man, since the entrance of sin is corrupted and disunited from the Will of GOD, and consequently is be­come a very dangerous Guide; and yet this is the guide, I mean, our will as separated from the Divine will, that we are all inclined to follow. This is that which we would set up as the measure and rule, not only of our own actions, but of the actions of others also, yea e­ven of these of GOD Himself, at whose providential Dispensations we repine and murmure, when they seem not to suite, or agree with our capricious and corrupted wills. Now this carnal self-will begins very early to discover it self in Young Ones, and therefore Parents [Page 134] must very seriously endeavour to inure them to the denyal of it, and in order thereto, take all occasions lovingly to break and crush it: I say lovingly to inti­mate, that a great deal of prudence, and discretion is necessary, for the dis­charging this part of their duty; for it ought to be so managed, as that the Children may be sensible, that it is their good and advantage that is ai­med at, in this crossing, and not gra­tifying their wills; they should so deal with them as to let them see, that all the severities used towards them, are the result of love to them, and tender­ness for their wellfare. As little humor, and passion as possible, should appear in their way of treating them for other­wise, instead of teaching them, to deny their wills, they will teach them, to be humourous and self willed; for an hu­mourous and unaccountable conduct in the Parents, will naturally instill hu­mour and wilfulness in the Children: 'Tis true Parents are not obliged, nei­ther ought they, to give reasons of all the particular instances of their conduct towards their Children; it ought to satisfie them in the general, that what­ever [Page 135] thcir Parents do to them, or ad­vise them, is for their good, and so they are obliged to obey implicitly, e­ven, when they cannot understand the reasons of every particular Duty. But still the Parent should deal with them, as much as possible they can in lovc and meekness. And by this means they will become tractable, docile and obe­dient, and more ready to notice, and follow the Wills and Commands of their Parents, than their own. It is the commō course of Parents to please their Children so long, by letting them have what they crave, and what they will, till their Wills are so used to be ful­filled, that they cannot endure to be denyed, and so can endure no Govern­ment, because they can endure no cros­sing of their Wills. To be obedient, is to renounce their own wills, and to be ruled by their Parents, or Gover­nours Wills: To use them therefore to have their own Wills, is to teach them Disobedience, and harden them to a kind of impossibility of obeying: They must be told often with Fami­liartiy and Love, of the Excellency of Obedience, and how it pleaseth [Page 136] God, and what need they have of Go­vernment, and how unfit they are to govern themselves, and how dangerous it is to have their own Wills. But the great Design that Parents should aim at, in breaking the Wills of their young Ones, must not be, meerly to train them up in a Submis­sion to themselves, but to dispose them for, and to direct them to an absolute acquiescence in, and obedience to the Divine Will; and therefore they are to be informed, that the Wise and Holy, the just and good will of God, must be the Rule and Measure of their Wills: That is, that they must Will only in conformity to his blessed Will, and that whatever it injoynes, is to be obeyed without reserve, and without dispute, and all its Dispensations chear­fully acquiesced in, even when the rea­sons of its injunctions, and disposals are not understood; being well assured, that whatever it commands or dispen­ses, even though cross to, and dis­agreeing with their corrupted Wills, is really for their good. And to this ab­solute submission to the Divine Will, [Page 137] they are to be encouraged 1. From the example of Christ, whoJoh: 5.30. Sought not his own Will, norRom. 15.3. Pleased himself, but in all things, and on all occasions, very chearfully said, Father Luke 22.42. not my will, but thine be done. 2. From the consideration of the unspeakable ad­vantage of this practice; for what greater Happiness can there be, then to have their own weak and foolish Wills to be managed, and governed by the infinitly wise and good Will of God; who, because he is Omniscient, knows what is best for them, in all States and Conditions of Life; and be­cause he is infinitely Good, will not fail, in every circumstance, to choose and pitch on that, which will be most for their advantage.

3. Self-esteem, 3. Self-esteem As corrupt nature dear­ly loves it self, so it highly values it self; for being wholly averted from GOD, and from the view of his Glo­rious Beauties and Perfections, its Eyes are turned towards it self, and views and considers only its own fancy­ed Perfections, and swells with big ap­prehensions of it self Hence it is that corrupt nature greatly desires applause, [Page 138] and Praise, and Commendation; it would have it self Honoured and Re­spected, yea even in a manner Deified and Adored; and in whatsoever it does, especially in Religious things, it aims at its own esteem; and if it hap­pens to fail in any thing, it regrets, not that GOD is dishonoured, or his own Soul, or the Souls of others prejudged, but, that dear self is reflected on, and dishonoured; for it cannot endure to meet with disgrace, or contempt, it scornes to obey and to suffer, it Loves, and would have the finest things, and the highest places, would be Superiour to all, and looks on others with slight and disdain: It sees not its own Mise­ries and Deformities, or if it doth, it sees them under quite another Aspect, that is, as pleasant, as agreeable and decent; for it will defend its own Vi­ces, and vizard them over with the masques of Vertues, and recommends its own practices as the only imitable patterns; so that Pride is one of the most accursed Weeds that is in cor­ruped Nature; 'tis deeply rooted in it, and very early and insensibly Springs up and manifests it self, and is [Page 139] in effect a kind of spiritual Antichrist, which opposeth and exalteth 2 Thes 2.4. it self above all that is called GOD. Whence it is e­vident that it is the indispensible duty of Parents, to check this hatefull vice in the first appearances of it, and to use all possible care to root it out, which otherwise will infallibly prove ruinous and destructive to their Souls. But a­las! Parents generally are so far from endeavouring to discover this abomi­nable weed of pride in their Children, with design to suppress and extirpat it, that they cherish, and foment it, by flattering, praising, and commending them, and arraying them in fine ap­parel, and by such other practices, as naturally tend to beget in them Self-conceit, and big opinions of their own worth: But such as incline to be tender of the eternal welfare of their Young Ones, must steer by another compass, and therefore to these, I would recom­mend. 1. That they endeavour to make their Children know themselves well, for (as a very excellent and most divine Soul observes) ‘True Humility consists in a perfect Knowledge of Ones self. For he that knows himself [Page 140] well can never be proud, nor have any e­steem of himself, he will not glory in the praises and honours of men; he will not desire Riches to be adored or served, for an humble heart believes that it deserves no­thing, and the least things content and sa­tisfie it; an humble heart is not in wrath for being abased or despised, because he seeth, in knowing himself, that he deserves nothing, but is worthy of all contempt. And whereas that is not practised among men, it is because they know not themselves, and so judge themselves worthy of esteem and honour, riches and service, and that makes them proud: For if they observ'd well whence they are, what they are, and what shall be­come of them, it were impossible that they should in the least esteem themselves; on the contrary, they would see that they deserve all sort of contempt, because they are as to the soul, frail, ignorant and unconstant, and as to the body full of mise­ries, infirmities, and diseases, lyable to death and corruption:’

This and much more to the same purpose, ye will find set down, with a great deal of ingenious and Christian simplicity, and plainness, in a TreatiseSolid Vertue by A Bau­rignon Letter 4. & 5. lately done into English, which tho [Page 141] these squeamish Stomacks, who cannot digest Solid Truths, unless when set off with the ornaments of human Oratory, and with the rigid coherencies of the methods of the Schools, will not per­haps relish, yet these good Souls whi­ther learned or unlearned, who truly love Divine Truths for themselves, and without respect of their outward dress, will peruse it, I perswade my self, with a great deal of satisfaction and profit. But to return to our design, Parents cannot choose but discern from this, that it is their duty, in order to prevent the growth of Pride in their Children, to begin very early to make them sen­sible, that they are fallen and degene­rated creatures, and that they have no­thing they can call their own but their sins and corruptions, their wants and Imperfections, and that therefore they ought to have mean thoughts of them­selves, and to believe that they deserve nothing, but the worst of things: And that when they are praised they ought to disclaim it, as not being their due, and when they are ill treated, meekly and calmly to submit to it, as being that which justly belongs to them. O [Page 142] how happy were it for the Souls of Young Ones, if Parents did endeavour to beget such a frame and spirit as this in them, from their tenderer Years. 2. They are to recommend to the conside­ration of their Young Ones, as a most Soveraign antidote against the poison of Pride, the practice of the blessed JESUS, whose whole life was a con­stant and uninterrupted discovery of the profoundest Humility, and recom­mended it unto all, who would be e­ternally happy, to become his Disci­ples in this, Learn of Matt. 11.29. me, saith he, for I am humble in heart. Now since he, who was Holy and Harmless, and in whom dwelt the fulness of the Divine Nature and Perfections, did, having assumed our Humanity, and designing to be our Pattern, Exercise a continual Hu­mility, how infinitely Just is it that we, who have nothing in us, but a ful­ness of Sin and Corruption, should imi­tate him in this, tho for the Love he bore to us, Made Phil. 2.7, 8. himself of no Reputa­tion, and took upon him the form of a Ser­vant, and was made in the likeness of Men: And being found in fashion as a man, hum­bled himself, and became Obedient unto Death, even the Death of the Cross.

[Page 14]4. Self-Confidence, 4 Self-Confi­dence. Corrupt Nature apprehends a Self-sufficiency, and looks upon it self as a kind of independent be­ing, its Language will be much of the same Strain with that of Laodicea Rev. 3.17. I am rich and increased with Goods, and have need of nothing. It sees no necessity of Di­vine Grace, nor of a Righteousness, whereof it should not be the Author and cause: It fancies that it can by its activity, and natural efforts, spin a Righteousness out of its own bowels, that will sufficiently qualify it for Hea­ven: In all difficult circumstances, it will run to its own wisdom, and in all wants to its own imagined fullness: It believes that it can attain to the true meaning of the Holy Scriptures, and comprehend Divine Mysteries, by its rational Speculations, and Critical Learning, and needs not go to learn Divinity at any other School, or de­pend on any other Teacher then that of its reason, assisted with the outward Revelation. Thus all men are natu­rally Pelagians, that is, such as are not sensible of the corruption of their Na­ture, nor will own the necessity of a Cure, nor seek after the only healing [Page 144] Antidote, namely the Divine Grace. Hence it appears, that Parents are high­ly concerned to endeavour, as soon as possible, to beget in their Children a deep sense of their emptiness and insuf­ficiency, their darkness and ignorance, their weakness and folly, their impu­rities and corruption, and solidly to convince them that there is nothing in themselves that can relieve them a­gainst these Miseries, but that it is God only that by his Light and Grace can restore, heal and purify their Souls, en­lighten their Understandings, calm and satisfy their Desires, acquaint them with the Secrets, and open their Eyes to see the wonders of his Law. And that consequently it is their Duty wholly to distrust themselves, not to lean to their own Understandings and natural Activity, but intirely to com­mit themselves to the Operations and Conduct of the Holy Spirit, who not only assists and operats in all, who sin­cerely desire and admit of him, but even prevents their Desires, by his gracious Motions and Solicitations, whereby he awakens them to desire, But something to this purpose hath [Page 145] formerly been insisted on, and recom­mended.

5ly. Sensuality,Sensua­lity. As Corrupt nature hath a great aversion for what is pain­ful and uneasie to it, so it hath a wonderful liking to what ever flatters, pleases, and agreeably affects it. It would willingly Swime in pleasures, and not feel any thing but what is smooth, delicious, and Relishing: And indeed there is no doubt, but these inclinations, and desires which we have after joyes and satisfaction, are deeply rooted in Humane Nature, but they are such as were designed for quite other joyes than these, to the research whereof corrupt nature applyes them: for it seeks no other pleasures than such as immediatly issue from the Creatures, and if it have aboundance of these, it concludes it self happy enough, although it never feel any of these higher, truely Satisfying and only permanent Joyes, which flow from the Presence and O­perations of God in the Soul, and hence it is, that corrupt Nature is so excessively addicted to these pleasures, which come to it by the natural Senses. It is certain, that as the essential happi­ness [Page 146] of Man consists in the perception, and fruition of the Light and Joyes of GOD, or in these Felicities which GOD doth immediatly, and by Himself communicate unto the Soul; So doubtless, GOD designed a kind of Accessary Happiness to Man, by means of the senses, for in the state of Innocence, the Senses were as so many Windows, at which the Works of GOD, these beautiful Representations of His perfections, did enter, and were presented into the Soul of Man, and by which he did agreeably feel their seve­rall impressions, which were to him, both as so many memorials of the Di­vine excellencies, & as incentives to ob­lige him to ascend in gratefull, and be­coming acknowledgements, to that most generous and most powerfull Goodness, which not only gave Being to such vast Numbers of Amiable and Glorious Creatures, but also gave him capacities, and powers to feel their delightfull Qualities, so that man in this state, did not rest in these pleasures, which were afforded him by means of his Senses, nor view them without respect to any other thing but his own satisfac­tion, [Page 147] but by them, his mind was car­ried up to the Contemplation, Love, and praise of their glorious Original; and so he did feel, and see, and taste GOD in every Thing, and referred all things to Him: But now in this state of degeneracy and corruption, how lamentably is the Scene altered? for instead of taking occasion from the pleasures which our Senses afford us, by their converses with the Creatures, of devoutly mounting up to the Blessed Source of the sweetnesses and perfections that are in them, we use them only as means of our own satisfaction: Corrupt nature doth not any more either seek or feel GOD in the Creatures; and that which it aims at, in the use of its Senses with respect to them, is its own ease and pleasures; For (as the exellent Person lately mentioned hath it) ‘if the eyeSolid vertue let. 6. Page 43. please it self now in looking on beautiful and pleasant things, it is only to satisfie it self, and not to refer them to GOD their Author, as he did before sin: and if [...]he hears melodious sounds or harmonies, it is only to delight and recreat himself, and that too in this valley of miseries, where he ought rather to mourn [Page 148] in embracing the chastisements of GOD be­cause of sin: And if he will satisfie his smell by good odours, it is to repell the putridity which sin hath brought upon Na­ture. And if he will satisfie his Feeling, it is but to defile his Soul by these unlaw­full pleasures which he takes in Feeling.’ And so we may add with respect unto the Taste, that the design which we propose to our selves in Eating and Drinking, is not meerly to relieve the necessities of Nature, which doubtless is allowed us, but to gratifie self, and hence it is, that we are not pleased, with the courser Entertainments, but we desire and search after the more de­licious and pleasing Meats and Drinks, which do the more agreeably touch our Pallats, and consequently affords cor­rupt Nature the greater pleasure. And therefore it is certain, that Parents should take great care to speak to their Children, dishonourably, and with disparagements of sensual pleasures, and seriously to tell them, that these are infinitly unworthy of Creatures that were designed for the Joyes and Felicities of GOD. And that they may discharge aright this part of their Du­ty, [Page 149] I shall recommend five things unto them.

1. That they inform their Children, That their inordinate addicting them­selves to sensual pleasures, will insen­sibly, and yet most effectually extin­guish the Love of GOD in them, and draw away their hearts from Him: ‘There needs no more (as the Author just Sol: vert: le [...]: 7. Page 50. now cited observes) but to follow them, and their inclinations, to turn us away from GOD, and remain in the way of damnation, for no sooner loose we the Reins to our sight, but it pleases it self to behold beautifull and curious things, and no sooner have we considered them, but we covet them. And if we yeeld to the sense of Hearing, the heart delights in it, and the affection is drawn to it. It is even so with smelling, where the sensitive part takes pleasure. And if we please our selves in Taste, all our care and study are imploy­ed to search means to satisfie it, and that sense is more unsatiable than any other, and precipitats unto all sorts of sins. More­over, it excites the sense of Feeling; for he that pleases his taste, seeks also to satis­fie his feeling with pleasure and satisfac­tion. Even all the five Senses are moved [Page 150] only by the love we carry to our selves, and desire of affording our selves pleasure. Now assuredly all these things withdraw us from GOD, and from Dependence on Him, For He hath commanded us to love Him with all our heart, and so wills not that we fix our hearts on things so frail and vile, as are the Sight, Hear­ing, Smelling, Taste, and Feeling; for it is unworthy of the Divine Soul that GOD hath given us, and which is capa­ble of Loving an Eternal GOD, Who de­sires and commands that we love Him with all our hearts, to give its Love to such poor and mean satisfactions, as are the pleasures of sense. So that the Man that hath effection for his senses, voluntarly quits the Dependence of GOD, seing he doth not submit himself to his will, who requires that we should love him with all our heart.’ Men commonly think that they may gratifie their Senses, and love the pleasures they afford, very in­nocently, and without any incroach­ment on the great Command of Love­ing GOD with all our heart; but were we sensible how deeply our Senses are corrupted, how prone we are to love our selves and our satisfactions, and [Page 151] how easily the pleasures of sense imposes on us, and quickly gain such interest in our affections as will justly denominate us to be Lovers of pleasures more then Lovers 2 Tim 3.4. of GOD, We would soon be convin­ced, how necessary it is, in order to re­turn to, and keep our selves in the Love of GOD, intirely to deny and abandon these kinds of pleasures.

2. They are to tell them, That the pleasure of Sense are amongst the most powerfull baits, that the devil makes use of to draw men to perditi­on, by engaging them to sin, and di­verting them from the Love and O­bedience of GOD, he very well knows the inclinations of men, and what it is that is most apt to gain ground on their hearts, and accordingly suits and ac­commodates his temptations; And be­cause a long experience hath taught him, how prone men are to follow the pleasures of their senses, he fails not to address these to their fancies, in the most flattering and inveigling circumstances that may be. ‘Thus the Devil labouredSol: Vi [...]: let 7. p. 50. violently from the beginning of the world, to per­vert man from the will of GOD, who had created him with design to delight himself [Page 152] with him, and for that effect commanded that he should love him with all his heart; there cannot be delight but with what is beloved; And therefore GOD will be lov­ed of Man with all his heart, and com­mands that he place his affections on no­thing else but on Him alone. The devil no sooner perceived that, but he enticed him by the five natural Senses, (which are as the five windows of our heart,) that he might withdraw his heart and affections from GOD, and place them on visible and sensible things, the devil then first moved Adams heart to regard the beautifull creatures, which GOD had created for him; he moved also his sense of hearing, to give attention to the false perswasions of that old serpent, who made him believe that he should know good and evil, if he did eat the fruit of the Tree, which GOD had forbid him to eat of, he moved him to put his band to touch the Apple, his smelling to smell it, and his taste to eat it, and by that means the de­vil carried Adams heart and affections to the Creatures, and turned him away from the Love he owed to GOD:’ This was the first Temptation by which the devil assaulted man, and finding it so [Page 153] successfull, there is no doubt but he still continues the same methods, and re­news them in his attemps upon the pos­terity of Adam, and therefore it is cer­tain, that we can never be dili­gent enough in watching over our sen­ses, which are the passages by which the devil attacques our Souls, with the firie darts of his temptations, with de­sign to destroy and ruin them.

3ly. Since it is certain that some use of our sense is allowed us: Yea, even is necessary for us, for if we did not use them, it were not possible for us to live; And therefore, that there may be no miscarriage committed in the Lawful and allowed use of them, Three things are to be earnestly recommended, and prest upon Children, 1. That they take special care, never to gratifie their sense in any excessive and extravagant manner, but that they strenuously la­bour to confine them to what is simply necessary. And to know what that is which is simply necessary, we need not but seriously consult experience, con­science, and the love of GOD, which, if we are willing to be resolved, will soon determine us: For there cannot [Page 154] particular Rules be prescribed here, so great is the variety, and difference of the constitutions of men: only it is cer­tain that nature will be content with a little, and that if men did live ac­cording to the rules of a strict sobriety, they would soon discern, that less would satisfie them than ordinarly doth it is certain that this is the safest mea­sure we can walk by, for as long as we keep within the bounds of necessity, we do not sin; but if we transgress these limits, we easily slip unto intemper­ance. 2. They must beware, that in a [...]owing their senses what is necessa­r [...], they do it not with designe meerly to gratifie their sensual appetites, for this were (that I may yet once more use the words of the Divine, ‘A Bon­ [...]ignon) to satisfy our self love, which to do, is certainly evil, because that is an affection we carry to our selves: Now our affection and love ought to he confin­ed to GOD alone and not to things so base and vile, which we may well use but ne­ver love, seeing GOD will have our heart entirely. This was figured by the earth­ly Paradise, where GOD placed man at the beginning of the World: He gave him [Page 155] a full liberty to eat of all sorts of delici­ous fruits, but reserved that of one only Tree, of which He forbade man to eat: And that to let us understand that GOD does permit us to use all the creatures which He hath created for our use, pro­vided we keep our affection for himself on­ly,’ 3. They are to be taught, when they feel the pleasure of their senses, and perceive the creatures that cause these pleasures, not to stop in the sen­sation of them, or in the consideration of the objects that ocasion them: But by means of them, with love, praise and admiration, to lift up their Hearts constantly unto, and devoutly con­template, that adoreable, most power­ful, and most Communicative cause that gave b [...]ing to these creatures, in­dued them with such gratifying quali­ties, and gifted them with faculties to feel the pleasure that result from them. It is a most brutish thing, and very unworthy of intelligent beings to view the creatures only with respect to themselves, and because of the pleas­ing impression which they make on their senses. The Creatures were not given us that we might meerly fix and [Page 156] stay in themselves, without any high­er prospect; but that by them we should sally up towards their bountiful Auth­thor, and so return and offer up his own creatures to him, as whole burnt-offerings from the Altar of inflamed and ravished hearts. And therefore, when we see beautyful objects, hear har­monious Sounds, or smell fragrant od­ours, taste delicious meats, & Liquors, or touch agreeable things; We should improve these pleasures into opportuni­ties of Devotion, and look upon them as our remembrancers of the rich and munificent Bounty of GOD.

4ly. It is further to be recommended to the Consideration of Young Ones, that by excessive indulging themselves the use of sensuall pleasures, or even by using of them at all without the menti­oned References, their Souls will be sadly dishonoured, will become brutal, dark, and poluted, void of GOD, and unsuitable to him, and uncapable of his Heavenly Delights: These excellent Spirits of ours, that were made for lodging the Deity, and for feeling these unutter­able Joyes that are unseparable from the presence of GOD in a purified [Page 157] Soul, are horridly prostituted and a­bused, when only imployed in inter­taining and conversing with the crea­tures, and in feeling these poor and mean satisfactions they can afford. How unbecoming is it that a Chamber of Presence, where the King with his Noble Attendants, and spendid Retinue ought to be only entertained, should be filled with Frogs Toads and Serpents, with poison, vermine, and excrement; just so it is that we treat our Souls which were designed to be filled with GOD, and His Joyes, where we admit nothing to enter unto them, but Creatures, cor­ruption, and sin.

5ly. They are in the last place to be admonished, that, when any Objects noisome and offensive to their senses come in their way, they remember that this is the Fruit and Consequence of sin, which hath lamentably polluted and putrified and put an horrible con­fusion and disorder in every thing with­out them and within them; for doubt­less there was nothing but Purity and Agreeableness, beauty and good order, delightfull Harmonies, and delicious Fragrancies in the Creatures when they [Page 158] came out of the hands of GOD, from whom nothing could issue but what was exactly representative of his beau­tifull, most agreeable, and most per­fect Nature.

And therefore when any thing of a contrary Nature and Q [...]a ity affects our senses. It should oblige us patien­ly to bewail, heartily to abhor, and re­solutely to turn from sin, the fatal cause of all the disagreeablenesses and disord­ers that are in Nature.

6tly, Covetousness, 6. Cove­teous­ness, GOD the Blessed Father of Spirits, when He gave Beeing to the Soul of Man, amongst the many Divine, and noble Capacities and pow­ers bestowed on it, he indued it with the Faculty of desiring infinitly: And this He did because He designed to form a Creature, that should be cap­able both of enquiring after & enjoy­ing an infinit Good: For if we did not desire infinitly, we could not enjoy infi­nitly, it being impossible that we can enjoy more than we desire, That is, then we have Capacities fo [...]: For on the Supposition, that we did enjoy more than we desire, we could not sensibly injoy it, and what we do not [Page 159] sensibly injoy, we do not injoy at all, so that the Capacity of Desiring is the foundation of all Delightful Fruition Now these vast and comprehensive de­sires are so essential to us, and so unse­parable from our thinking natures, that we can never lose them: And though by our fall and degeneracy, we have undergone many sad changes, yet we have suffered none in this, We still re­tain our mighty and vehement desires; The mischief only is, that we do not direct them to their true objects, for Corrupt Nature being wholly allienat­ed from GOD, it runs to the Creatures, it feels its wants and desires, and search­es after supplies, but knows not where to find them. In it self it meets with nothing but emptiness, and it is unae­quainted with, and disaffected to the living source of true and solid satisfacti­ons; And therefore it carries it's crav­ing and hungrie desires to the World, and the things of the World. Hoping to find a full Satisfaction in drawing out of these broken Sisterns: But alace! It meets with a sad disappointment, and finds by experience, that the more it drinks of these muddie Waters, the more rest­less [Page 160] 2nd dissatified it's desire are: Now this inordinat and excessive letting lose of our Desires after the Creatures, is that Covetousness so severely forbidden in holy Scripture, & whereof very early indi­cations are discoverable in young ones: For we may observe as soon as these little Creatures begin to notice things, how eagerly they grasp at them, and how impatient they are until they make themselves masters of what they see. These are certainly the first appearances, and the early buddings, of the sin of Coveteousness which if not seasonably checked and controlled, will gather strength as they grow in years. And therefore a con­siderable instance of the care of Parents must be, that they diligently guard a­gainst the Springing up of this pernici­ous Root. And that they may manage this part of their duty as they ought, I recommend the following particulars, 1. That assoon as their Young Ones are capable of it, they acquaint them with the true object of their desires, that is with GOD, that they display as they best can, his Divine Beauties and Perfections before them; [Page 161] that they tell them, that the reason, as hath been alreadie intimated, why they were doted with the noble faculty of desiring infinitly, was, that they might vigorously pursue after, resolutely fix on, and eternally possess an Infinit Good. That this is the only object that can fill and satisfie the cravings, compose and calm the restlesness, and delight­fully quench the ardours of their migh­ty desires. And in fine, that they let them understand, that it was towards this all satisfieing and Blessed Object, all Good Souls have addressed this Di­vine Faculty. So these Devotionists in Isaiah Isa: 26.8.9. The desires of our Souls (say they) is to Thy Name, and to the Remembrarce of Thee: To which the Prophet subjoins an accompt of his own practice to the same purpose; With my Soul have I desired Thee in the Night, yea with my Spirit within me will I seek Thee early. 2ly, That they speak to them disparagingly of the pomps and vanities of the World, and represent gold, and riches, honours, and ornaments, Lands, and possessions as things infinitly unworthy of their desires; not only, because they are mo­mentany, and impermanent, for the [Page 162] 1 John 2, 17. World passeth away and the lusts thereof But also that they are so far from giving satisfaction, that they fill the soul with anxious and disquieting thoughts: for in the Estimat of the wise man All Eccles: 1, 14. is not only vanity but vexation of spirit▪ also, 3ly. Let them be seriously put in mind of their Baptismal Vows, by which they expresly engag'd themselves to renounce all the covetous desires of the World; And from this let them be made sensible, that every inordinat setting their hearts upon the things that are on earth, is a visible breach of these sa­cred obligations. 4ly. Let them set before their eyes the example of the Blessed JESUS, who was so far from desiring, that he constantly, generous­ly, and universally, contemned the riches, and grandours, the State, and magnificence, the pomp, and glories of this vain World; and choos'd a poor mean, and despised Life: And this he did that he might let us see, what cir­cumstances are properest for this state of Trial, namely, not fulness, Ease and Plenty, honours, state, and dig­nities, but rather the contrary, pover­ty, meanness & disgrace, as being most [Page 163] suitable to that mournfull and pe­nitential life, which we should lead in this valley of tears, and most opposite to the inclinations of corrupt Nature, which it is both our interest and duty to suppress and controll. 5ly. These portions of Holy Scripture that dis­swade from covetousness are to be ren­dred familiar to them; Such as are these that followMatt 6.24. You cannot serve GOD and Mammon. Col 3:2. Set not your affections on things on the Earth Jam: 4.4. Whosoever will be a friend of the World, is the enemy of GOD, [...] Joh: 2.15. Love not the World nor the things of the World, if any man love the world th [...] Love of the Fa­ther is not in him. These Divine Apho­risms are to be seriously inculcat on them, as often as it shall be thought seasonable. 6tly. Let them be made sensible that by rhis inordinat devot­ing of their desires, to the pursute and research of worldly things, they not only prostitute this noble faculty, by debasing it to poor, mean, and undue objects, but also, they contract an habi­tuall Aversion and Disaffectedness, to these Blessed Objects for which they were designed. They become dead to GOD, and to the Things of GOD, they neither long [Page 164] for them, nor find any savour in them, no more than a sickly stomack can desire, or a vitiated pallat relish, the most exquisite fare. Yea further, by [...]naging this Faculty at this rate, they do effectually and necessarly pave the way to eternal miseries; for the things of this World to which they have con­fined their desires, are momentany and vanishing, and will infallibly end with this Life: And therefore they must enter into the other World with nothing else but vast, and empty, violent and craving desires, which be­ing forever depriv'd of the objects they did affect, and habitually disaffected to these that only could make them happy, do certainly lay the Foun­dation to the most exquisit callamities: For (as a very judicious Author well observes) ‘EveryScot C [...]r [...] L [...]e part page 57 Lust the Soul carries unto the other World, will by being eter­nally seperated from it's pleasures, Con­vert unto one helpless Desire, and upon that account grow more Furious and im­patient: For of all the Torments of the mind, I know none that is eomparable to that of ane outragious Desire, joynyed [Page 165] with Dispair of Satisfaction, which is just the ease of sensual and Worldly mind­ed Souls in the other life, where they are full of sharp and unrebated desires, and like Starved men shut up between two dead walls, are tormented with a fierce, but hopless hunger, which having nothing else to feed on, preys and Quar­ries on themselues, and in this dessolate condition, they are forced to wander to and fro, with a restless rage, an hungrie and unsatisfied desire, Craving Food, but neither finding nor expectng any; And so in unexpressable anguish they pine away a long Eternity. And though they might find content and satisfaction, could they but Divert their affections another way, and reconcile them to the heavenly Enjoy­ments; Yet being irrecoverably preingag­ed to Worldly and sensual goods, they have no Savour or Relish of any thingt else, but are like Feverish Tongues, that disgust and nauseat the most grateful Liquors, by reason of their own overflow­ing Gall.’

§. XVIII. 9.§. XVIII. 9. That Chil­dren must be very carefully taught to sup­press and morti­fie their Iras­cible Passions. The most ef­fectual methods of doing this Particularly de­duced, in re­commending some things to the care of the Parent, and some things eo the consideration and practice of the Children. Another thing Parents must evidence a time­ous care in Instructing their young ones about, is the right [Page 166] mannagments of their Passions. These are very strong in Chil­dren, for their Blood is hot, and their reason feeble; And therefore they had need to be under the Conduct and influ­ence of a prudent directour. As to these Passions that are called concupiscible, namely desire, Love, Joy, and their at­tendants; I am not here to concern my self with them, hoping that all Pious Parents will in what hath been said al­ready, and particularly in the Section immediatly preceed­ing, find sufficient instructions how to carry with respect to these, which in some Amount to this, to wit, that young ones be so trained as that their desire breath after GOD alone; Their Love be confined to Him, Their Joy arise from some degrees of his presence already possest, and from the hopes of a full fruition; Their fear be to lose their intrest in him, and their grief for hav­ing offended him, and being at a dis­tance from him. It is the Irascible [Page 167] passions namely, anger, wrath, hatred, malice, Envy, and Revenge, That I am at p [...]esent to direct Parents how to sub­due and mortifie in their Children. These are the black and violent Passi­ons that offer the greatest Indignities to Reason, that reject and scorn all it's sober dictats, that precipitate and hurry Men e're they are aware unto a thousand wild extravagancies, Yea, and that fear and Torment, disquiet and Crucifie, even these very Souls that harbour and entertain them. These passions are visibly the conse­quence of the entrance of sin into the World; for I cannot understand what room or use they could have in pure and incorrupted nature, that is, if neither Angels nor Men had sinned, but all things had continued in that in­nocence, rectitude, and glory, in which they were at first created. It is by let­ting these fierce & untowardly passions have an uncontrolled swing and li­berty, that the interests of corrupt na­ture get a full establishment in the Soul, and that Men are transformed into Devils: And therefore it cannot be but the Advantage as well as the duty [Page 168] of all, vigorously to endeavour the suppression and even extirpation of them, both in themselves and in all that they have interest in. I shall not need to advertise Parents that these passions are deeply rooted in their Chil­dren; For they naturally issue from corrupted Natures, such as theirs are; And accordingly they bewray them­selves, not only in the more advanced years, but even in the very Infancy of Little Ones, which the Parents are made sensible of by a frequent and un­easie experience. What Parents are to do during the Infancy of their Children with respect to the effects of corrupted Nature that then begin to appear in them, I hope I have alreadie§. 13 suffici­ently declared: But it is in their riper years, as their capacities, and discre­tion advance, that the mortification and cure of these passions are to be most effectually attempted. And in order to the doing this to the best Ad­vantage, I shall acquaint Parents with some things that they are to do them­selves, and some things that they are to recommend to their Children.

1. The particulars I would injoyn [Page 169] Parents on this head, are these. 1. That they do not themselves, nor suf­fer others needlesly and too often to rankle and exasperat their Children, and so awaken their passions; But that they labour as much as possibly they can, to preserve them in a smooth, and gentle, easie, and agreeable Temp­er: For it is certain, that by their being alwayes kept fretting, wheening, and crying they become habitually froward stormie and passionat. To this purpose I may alledge, or at least accommo­dat that of St. Paul Eph: 6.4. Fathers provoke not your Children to wrath. The reason of which injunction, besides that menti­oned by the Apostle elsewhereCol: 3 taken from the fear of being discouraged, we may conceive to be this, namely, lest by the rigid and sever Treatment of the Parents, the Children be rendered froward, peevish, and passionat: For it is certain that when Parental Autho­rity, degenerats unto tyranny, humor or arbitrariness, it will be so far from preventing or reforming miscariages, that it will dispose for disobedience and con­tempt, and beget and cherrish per­versness and ill nature. 2ly, That they [Page 170] do in their own conversations, set be­fore their Children the example of Meekness and Gentleness, Patience and Contentedness, Charity and Forbear­ance; and such other Graces as are most opposite to the irascible Passions. I assure my self, that if Children did see Sweetness and Benignity daily ex­emplified by the Parents, if they found them never in anger, but upon grave and important Occasions; this would be a very powerful Mean to derive a­greeableness and good Nature into the Children, who are naturally prone to imitate what they see the Parents prac­tise. Whereas if they shall alwayes see their Parents Stormy, and out of Hu­mor and discontented, apt to quarrel, to resent, and to take vengeance, this will insensibly convey ill Na [...]ure into them; for we soon learn the Dispositi­ons, and the manners of those we day­ly converse with. But this of the Ex­ample of the Parents, is of universal Influence in the Education of the Chil­dren, and therefore must be particu­larly treated of under another head. 3ly, They are not by any means, to be allowed to do any thing, that may [Page 171] Excite, gratifie or cheerish ill nature, hatred or revenge. And here it will not be unseasonable to communicat the Advice of a late Celebrated WriterLook in his thoughts concerning Edu­cation. § 110. p. 130. One thing (sayeth he) I have fre­quently observed in Children ‘That when they have got possession of any poor Creature, they are apt to use it ill: They often torment and treat very roughly young Birds, Butter-flies, and such other poor Animals which fall into thier hands, and that with a seeming kind of pleasure. This I think should be watched in them, and if they incline to any such Cruelty, they should be taught the contrary usage; For the custom of tormenting and killing of beasts, will by degrees harden their minds, even towards Men: And they who delight in the suffering and destruction of inferiour Creatures, will not be apt to be very Compassionat or Benign to those of their own kind. Our practice takes notice of this in the exclusion of Butchers from Juries of Life. and Death Children should from the beginning be bred up in an abhorrence of killing and tormenting any living Creature, and be taught not to kill or destroy any thing, unless it be for the Preservation or Advantage of some other [Page 172] that is Nobler.’ Our Author cannot be perswaded, but this barbarous and inhumane disposition, which Young Ones bewray, is forreign and intro­duced: And certainly though the prin­ciple of this, and all other perverse dispositions, be unquestionably rooted in degenerate nature, yet if we consi­der it as an habit, we may justly say, that it is excited and begotten by Custom and Conversation. For as he adds; ‘People may teach Children to strike, and laugh when they hurt or see harm come to others: And they have the ex­ample of most about them to confirm them in it. All the entertainments and talk of history, is of nothing almost but fighting and killing: And the honour and renown that is bestowed on Conquerours, who for the most part are but the great But­chers of Mankind, farther mislead growing Youth, who by this means come to think slaughter the laudable bussiness of Man­kind, and the most heroick Virtue. Thus custom plants unnatural appetits, and re­conciles us to that which it has laid in the way to honour: Thus by fashion and opinion, that comes to be a pleasure which in it self neither is nor can be any. This [Page 173] ought carefully to be watched, and early remedied, so as to settle and eherish, the contrary and more naturall temper of Be­nignity and compassion in the room of it:’ Thus doubtless nothing that savours of Cruelty, nothing that is inhumane, nothing that satisfies the black passions of envy, malice, and revenge ought to be countenanced in Children: On the contrary if the Parents shall observe that the inclinations of their Children, haue a special Tendeney to gratifie these affections, they are to suppress them with all caution and care; which leads me,

2. To tell Parents. What they are to recommend to their Children, in order to the suppressing and mortifie­ing these passions: And here, some things they are to recommend to their consideration, and some things to their practice.

1. They are to recommend to their Consideration, these particulars, namely. 1. That if they follow the swing of their wrath and anger, and malice, envy and revenge, they will infallibly forfeit the repose and quiet of their minds; And consequently be certainly mise­rable [Page 174] in this world: For when these passions are allowed to rage and domi­neer without control or restraint, they necessarily creat storms in the mind, and make it like the Troubled Sea, that cannot rest. Now if one be rob'd of the peace and serenity of his mind he cannot choose but be miserable; for let a man's other comforts be never so many and so great, yet he cannot relish them, as long as his inward man is out of tune and disjointed: And yet to this disadvantage they pepetually expose themselves, who take no care to check and crucifie their passions. For as an Excellent Author hath it Chr: Life part 1. P. 63 Whilst we are in this World, we must expect to be encompas­sed with continual crowds of evil accidents, some or other of which will be alwayes press­ing upon or justling against us; so that if our minds are sore and uneasie, and over apt to be affected with evil, we shall be continu­allie pained and disquieted. For whereas were our minds calm and easie, all the evil accidents that befall us would be but like a shower of hail upon the tylls of a musick house which with all its clatter and noise disturbs not all the harmonie that is within: Our be­ing [Page 175] too apt to be moved unto passion by them, uncovers our mind to them, and lays it open to the tempest! And though Men ima­gine that by giving Vent to their passi­ons they ease and allay the evils that be­fall them, yet in effect they do but in­crease and aggravat them, be­cause by so doing, they do, for instancc, add the torment of an outragious anger to the indignities that are offered them, and the smart of a peevish impatience to the sufferings that happen them, and make their want more uneasy, through an invidious pineing at anothers fulness, and sharp­en the injuries they meet with, by a mallicious and revengeful Resentment of them. 2. Let it be gravely repre­sented to them, that these Passions, if they are indulged and continued in, until they Convert into inveterate ha­bits, do necessarly sink the Soul into the miseries of Eternity: For when a man goes unto the other World with these black and ill natured Passions a­bout him, in their full vigor, and without ever having used any effectu­al endeavours to suppress and mortifie them, to be sure, he carries his Hell and [Page 176] his Devils in his very Bosom: For, (that I may deliver my self in the emphatical and sinewy words of the Eloquent AuthorChr: life part 1. P. 64. last mentioned) ‘All the irascible affections are in their ex­cesses naturally vexations to the mlnd, and do alwayes disturb and raise tumults in it: For so wrath and impatience distracts and alienates it from it self, and confounds it's thoughts and shuffles them together, unto a heap of wild and disor­derly fancies. So malice, envy, and re­venge, do fill it with anxious biting thoughts, that like young Vipers, gnaw the womb that bears them, & fret & gall the wretched mind that forms and gives them Entertainment. And though in this World we are not so sensible of the mis­chief, which these black and rankorous Passions do us, partly because our sense of them is abated with the intermixture of our bodily pleasures; and partly, because while we operate as we do by these un­weildy Organs of Flesh; our reflections can­not be comparably so quick, nor our Passi­ons so violent, nor our perceptions so brisk and exquisit, as they will doubtless be when we are stript into naked Spirits: Yet, if we go away into the other World [Page 177] with these affections unmortified in us, they will not only be far more violent and outragious than now; And we shall not only have a far quicker sense of them than now, But this our sharp sense of them shall be pure and simple, without any intermixture of pleasure to soften and allay it. And if so, Good LORD! What ex­quisit Devils and Tormenters will they prove, when an extream Rage and hate, Envy and revenge shall be altogether like so many hungrie Vultures preying on our Hearts, and our minds shall be conti­nuallie bated aend worried with all the furious thoughts which these outragious Passions can suggest unto us! When with the meagre eyes of Envy; we shall look up towards the Regions of happiness, and incessantly pyne and grieve at the felici­ties of these that inhabit them; when through a sense of our own folies, and of the miserable effects of them, Our rage and impatience shall be hightned and boyled up unto a diabollical fury: and when at the same time, an inveterate malice a­gainst all we converse with, and a fierce de­sire of revenging of our selves upon those who have contributed to our ruine, shall like a Wolf in our Breasts, be continually [Page 178] gnawing and feeding upon our Souls, what an unsupportable hell will we be to our selves! Doubtless that outward hell to which bad spirits are condemned is very terrible; But I cannot imagine, but that the worst of their hell is within them­selves, and that their own Devilish passions are severer furies to them, then all those Devils that are without them: For Wrath, and Envy, Malice, and Revenge, are both the Nature and the plague of De­vils; And though as Angels they are the creatures of GOD, yet as Devils they are the Creatures of these their Devilish Affections; They were these that trans­formed them from Blessed Angels unto cursed fiends: And could they but once cease to be Envious; and Malicious, they would cease to be Devils, and turn Blessed Angels again. If then these ran­corous affections have such a Malignant Influence, as to blacken Angels unto Devils, and make them the most miserable, who were once the most Happy Cre­atures; How can we ever expect to be Happy, so long as we indulge and Har­bour them.’ 3ly. Let them be o­bliged often to think on these Scrip­tures that dehort from these Passions, [Page 179] such as are these here notedEph: 4.31. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and cla­mour, and evil speaking be put away from you. Rom: 12.17:19. Recompence to no man evil for evil, Avenge not your selves: but rather give place unto wrath. Matt: 5.22. But I say unto you that whosoever is angry with his Brother without a cause, shall be in danger of Judgement, and whosoever shall say unto his Brother Racha shall be in danger of the Council, but whosoever shall say thou Fool, shall be in danger of Hell Fire. Certainly frequent, and serious reflectings on such passages, cannot fail to have a choice Influence on the Tender and unprejudiced minds of young ones, and dispose them infinitly to dislike these base affections, Against which there are so many, and so express in­hibitions standing on record. 4ly. Let them be directed to to look unto JESƲS, Heb: 12.2. the Author and finisher of their Faith, who endured the Cross, and despised the shame. That is, who underwent all the rude and Barbarous useages that were done to him by an unthankful and unbe­lieving World, with admirable meek­ness and Patience. For when he was reviled, he reviled not again. Pet: 2.23. When he [Page 180] suffered, he threatened not: But Isai: 53, 7. as a Sheep before her Shearers is Dumb, so he opened not his Mouth. Doubtless, when we consider what was the Carriage of Him who was Innocence it self, when Injured, reproached, and ill treated, It cannot choose but power­fully engage us to conform to so Love­ly a Patern, and resolutely to study to be Meek, and Patient under the most disobliging, and most exasperating provocations.

2ly. To their Practiee, The Parents on this head are to recommend. 1, That they diligently labour to be truely indu­ed with, and practise on all occasions, the graces and vertues that are oposite to the Irascible Passions, that is, as the great Apostle excellently hath it, * That they put on bowels of Mercies, Kindness, Humbleness of mind, Meekness, long suffer­ing, that they forbear one another, and for­give one another; And that above all these things, they put on Charity: Which if it be seated, and prevails in the Soul, according to these Divine qualities, which St. Paul Attributes unto it, will prove the most Soveraign antidot a­gainst these black and unmanning Pas­sions: [Page 181] For1 Cor: 13.4.5, 6, 7. Charity suffereth long, and is kind, Charity envyeth not, Charity vaunt­eth not it self, is not puffed up, doth not behave it self unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, re­joiceth not in iniquity, beareth all things, be­lieveth all things, hopeth all things, endur­eth all things. A Soul that is Beauty­fied with these amiable ornaments, is (that I may use the words of the late­ly mentioned Author) Elevated above the reach of injurie, and sits above the reach of Injury, and sits above the Clouds in a calm and quiet Aether, and with a brave indifferencie hears the rouling Thunder grumble and burst under its feet. And whilst outward evils fall upon Timorous, peevish and Malicious Spirits, like sparks of fire upon a heap of Gunpowder, and do pre­sently blow them up, and put them all in combustion, when they happen to a dispas­sionate mind, they fall like stones on a Bed of Down, where they sit easily and quiet­ly, and are received with a calm, and soft complyance.

2ly. When Chlidren complain of the litle injuries and affronts that are done to them by their Camerads, and playfellows, Their Parents must effec­tually [Page 182] engage them to bear these treat­ments with Meekness and patience. They should tell them that they must suffer greater things than these, for the love of JESUS, that their Redeem­er was himself ill treated in this wick­ed World, and that they should be content to be dealt with in it, as he was, since the servant is not above his Lord; That they must suffer with him if they would Reign with Him. Thus ought the Parents to mitigate, and divert the Resentments of their Children, and not give Countenance to any thing that may highten or exasperate them; And therefore, it is that the Parents must not themselves, nor suffer their Children spitefully to threaten, to give reviling language unto, or take ven­gance on the offenders, (For this were to inspire them with, and to root in them these execrable affections that we are cautioning against) but rather they should oblige them readily to forgive those that have injured them, and to do them some little Civilities or Courtisie, such as they are capable of and thereby teach them to overcome evil with Good, Rom: 12.21. It is true, when Children de­liberately [Page 183] and willfully, or out of ill nature, do some considerable hurt or prejudice to their Play-fellows, then their Parents or Governours must not fail to chastise them; But in the mean time, the injured must be taught not to rejoyce, or take pleasure in the suffer­ings of him that hath done the wrong, but rather be grieved that his wicked nature prompted him to do such things as exposed him to punishment, and heartily to wish that his chastisements may reform and amend him. Thus Parents are very early to acquaint their Children with the maxims of the Cross of Jesus Christ, and to oblige them to practise accordingly. I know such Parents as conform unto the World, and follow its dictats in educating their Young Ones, will not readily down with this Injunction: They will be apt to say, that to traine them up at this rate would be to render them coward­ly and pusillanimous, to inspire them with snaking and sheepish dispositions; That they for their own parts are far better pleased to see their Children bold and couragious, apt to contend with, and domineer over their play-fellows, [Page 481] to do mischief unto and take vengeance on those that offend them; That such things as these, are indica­tions that they have Mettle and Spirit; Thus the world and corrupt nature do dictat. But alas! they are quite out in their Measures: For true Courage and Bravery do not consist in a heat & ferment of the Blood and Spirit, since at this rate Mastives and Game-Cocks might commence Hero's; but in being so fenced and guarded with Divine Reasons and Considerations (such as these just now insisted on) as that no dolorous accident from without is able to invade our minds, or raise any vio­lent commotions within us. He is cer­tainly the bravest Hero that enters into the fields against himself, and combats his unreasonable and stormie affections, and continues fighting until he quell these monsters, and get such mastery over them, as that no temptations will prevail with him to be either envious in want, or impatient in suffering, or angry at contempt, or malicious and revengeful under injuries and provoca­tions. 3ly. It will be fit to enjoyn them, that they take care to check [Page 185] and controll their passions in their first risings; That as soon as they observe them begin to appear, they en­deavour vigorously to divert them, by some one or other of the Considerati­ons above mentioned, or if they can­not get them at first wholly kept from making a stirr within, that at least they hinder them from breaking out at the mouth in exasperating and oppro­brious Language; Since if once we give them vent this way, they can hardly afterwards be managed and re­strained; For our words will add heat and fire to our Passions, and our Passions will edge our words with bit­terness, and so they will swell up to greater and greater hights, till in end Religion and Reason be dethron'd, and all their sober dictats disregarded; And then we act the parads of mad men: For there are no Scenes so extra­vagant and so ridiculous, but we may while driven before the Torrent of our inraged passions be precipitated unto. Whence it is evident that it is our in­trest to crush these cockatrices in the egg, and quench our passions while they are yet but a spark. 4ly. Let it [Page 186] be recommended to them, that they earnestly pray that the good Spirit of God, the Spirit of Peace and Love would come and inhabite their Souls, and by His gracious presence and o­perations, sweeten, smooth, and calm their fierce and stormy & rugged Dis­positions, and fill their hearts with his peaceful and quieting fruits. In order to the casting out these devilish passions it is necessary that we use humble fre­quent and fervent Prayers, and invo­cat a Power greater than our own to our assistance, in order to crush and dislodge these furies that our corrupted natures have hatched.

§. XIX. 10. Parents are ob­liged to teach their Children the true Know­ledge of GOD. What this obli­gation imports.§. XIX. 10. Another very considerable instance of Paren­tal care in the Pious Education of Children is. To impart unto them be times the true Knowledge of GOD. It is doubtless very neces­sary that Young Ones be ac­quainted as soon as possible, with the great and adorable Author and Source of their Beings and Blessings, and that they be taught suitable carriages towards Him; To remember their Creator in the days of their [Page 187] Youth, Eccl. 12.1. is the peculiar duty of Chil­dren; But this they cannot acquit them­selves well of, while they are ignorant of Him, for one cannot remember that which he doth not know. And therefore Parents should very dili­gently labour to instruct their Young Ones very early in the Knowledge of the GOD of their Fathers, and repre­sent Him unto them under all these lovely and endearing Characters, and Idea's whereby he hath manifested himself, whether in his word or in his works. And because this matter is important, and one of the principal concerns of a Pious Education, I shall offer the best assistances and advices I can, for directing Parents and all o­thers that are concerned, how to man­age this part of their Trust to the best advantage, and shall declare at large what the obligation of teaching Young Ones the true Knowledge of GOD doth import. And

1.1. To settle in their minds the Belief of his Be­ing: The most effectuall wayes of doing this declared. It is their duty to settle and establish in the hearts of their Young Ones the Belief of his ex­istance or Being. But they are not to do this at first in a discour­sive [Page 188] manner or by way of Ar­gument and reasoning, but by way of simple proposition, tel­ling them that there is a God, that is, an Eternal, most Glorious, most Perfect and Incomprehensible Being, Who is Self-sufficient, and therefore most Happy by the Sole fruition of his own perfection: Who is most wise, most powerful, and most good, who made the Creatures, not because he stood in need of them, but because he would represent his own Excellencies by them, and communi­cat his felicities unto them, especially unto the intelligent Creatures, and particularly to Man, whom he dearly loves, and would make Eternally hap­py. Such plain declarations as these comming from serious Parents, will have the force & weight of Arguments with the tender and unprejudiced hearts of young ones, who also will be sensi­ble of something within them, oblig­ing them to assent unto the truth of those assertions. Some things to this purpose are insisted on in §. 4th. and 5. of the ensuing letters.

But afterwards when their cappaci­ties [Page 189] have advanced, it will not, I humbly think, be improper to guard & fortifie them against the infectious influence of that wretched Atheism, which so desperat­ly spreads & prevails in this degenerat age: And that by furnishing their minds with such proofs of the existence of a Deity as, if well mannaged, will be sufficient to baffle and silence the Cavils and specious pretences of Athe­istical Witts. And to this purpose it will be very useful to acquaint them with these arguments that are insisted on by the Famous Descartes in the third and fifth of his Meditations, which though slighted by less penetrating minds, yet if well understood and con­sidered will be found to amount to solid demonstrations, and very excel­lent in their kind. However I willing­ly acknowledge that I am of opinion, that these proofs that a late singularly, Pious, and eminently Learned AuthorL'Oeconom: Divine Tome. 1. C. 1. Verameth: Pars 3. Pag: 137, &c. By Monsieur Poiret. offers unto us, ought to have the preferance of all others I have yet met with. To de­clare particularly what these arguments are, would oblidge me to too Tidious a Di­gression, [Page 190] especially since I have elswhere insisted on some of them.Vide Just Measures, &c. Pt. 2d. Where the cure of specu­lative Atheism is condescended on. Such as desire a full and satis­fying account, may consult his own excellent writings, and particularly the places to which I have referred. It is true, this Author supposes that the persons whom he would convince, are ingenuous, Candid, and impartial, and such as are very desirous to have their scruples so­lidly removed, and willing to receive satisfaction when ever it is offered to them: But as for such as are in a contrary disposition, he pretends to have nothing to do with them: And the truth is, it is but lost labour to at­tempt to give satisfaction to those that are neither desirous nor willing to re­ceive it. And further one of the Argu­ments or methods, that he makes use of, to perswad that there is a GOD, is of such a nature that in order to feel the force of it, one will be obliged to do that which the Atheists hath no great mind to, that is, To purifie the heart by emptying it of corrupt lusts and passions, of creatures and vanities, which when one [Page 191] does, and then offers up his Soul unto that Being he would be assured of, in sincere and ardent Desires to know and feel Him; He shall in consequence of this not fail to receive more Living, more sensible and more affecting per­ceptions and sensations of the existence of a Deity, then these are which he hath of his own. I am verily of opi­nion, that this is the most effectual method to convince Man solidly of the Being of a GOD, that is, to oblidge them first to abandon their lusts, and then to turn their hearts towards that Being, whom in their inquiries they are pursuing, and so, sincerely make a triall, whither or not that adorable Being they doubt of, and are enquir­ing after, will vouchsafe such transcen­dently luminous and powerful, such sensibly transporting and delightful manifestations of himself, as will make them no more to doubt of his Exis­tence, then they can doubt that the Sun shines, when at midday, with o­pen eyes they see his Light and feel his Warming influences. By this method the will and affections of the Atheist are gained, and I much doubt if all the [Page 192] Arguments we can propose to his Un­derstanding, without this, will be ef­fectually convictive: For as One very pertinently observes, it is not for want of Arguments that Men turn Atheists, but for want of Consideration and an Ho­nest Will: The Byass which carrys them towards infidelity is not in their Ʋnder­standings, but in their Wills and affecti­ons: It's only their partiality to their lusts that inclines them to Atheism: And the reason why they are so ready to believe that there is no GOD, is, be­cause they wish in their hearts there were none. So that could the Atheist be once brought to discord with his lusts, and abandon his vices, he would then ly open to the dint and force of Arguments, and solid Reasonings might prevail with him to disclaime his former apprehensions: Whereas if he still cleaves to his lusts, and would enjoy his pleasures, without these un­easy stings and remorses wherewith the belief of a Deity doth imbitter and damp them, he will not fail to use all imaginable Arts to perswade, or ra­ther cheat himself unto the belief of the weakness, and insufficiency of [Page 193] all these Arguments that are urged a­gainst him.

And here it will be very seasonable to advise Parents that they speak al­wayes dishonourably of Atheism to their Children, that they begin de­signedly, and betimes to beget just pre­judices in their hearts against so exe­crable a vice. Some Parents are often very zealous in byassing their Children against some indifferent, and very innocent practices, as if they were dreadfully Criminal, whilst they leave their minds at Unity with, and reconciled to the blackest Vices. I heartily wish that all Parents would direct the edge of their zeal, against these things that are unquestionably vitious, and oblidge their Children to do the same, and particularly to dis­like Atheism.

But when I speak of Atheism, I do not mean that which is too commonly understood by it: For there are some sorts of religious Sects so fond of their own opinions and practices, as to look on all that are not of their way as Athe­ists: And to conclude that the disown­ing of them, is in [...]ffect, the same [Page 194] with the disbelieving of a GOD. This is hateful bigotry, base, selfflatery, and wretched uncharitableness. But when I speak of Atheists, I understood such as disbelieve there is a GOD, at least who pretend to do so, and really act and live as if there were none, who disclaim the great truths that are con­sequential to the acknowedgement of His Being, such as, that there is a providence, that there are actions in­trinsecally good, and intrinsecally evil, that there is a day of Judgement, and a state of rewards and punishments after this life is over: And who there­fore abandon themselves intirely to gratifie their flesh and senses, and take their fill of the pleasures of this World, as if these were the only felicities that our nature are capable of. This is the Atheism I would have disgraced, and which Parents should possess their Chil­dren with an infinite dislike of: And if any would see this sort of Atheism ve­ry pertinently Exposed, they may con­sult the Author I last mentioned.Ch. life, part 2d. Vol. 1. 1. c. [...]. § 2. p. 157. But because all may not have that e­laborat work by them, it will not be amiss I supose, to borrow a thought or [Page 195] two from it, and put them in the mouths of the Parents, which they are to use for the purposes already mentioned.

1st. Atheism highly reproaches the dignity of Humane nature: For were that true which the Atheist concludes for, Viz. That there is no GOD, It would follow that the nobler faculties in man, serves to no other purpose, but to render him more wretched and despicable. If there be a GOD indeed, the mentioned faculties are of excellent use, as having an object commensurate to their widest capacities, and every way fit and worthy to imploy and ex­ercise them; An infinite truth for our understandings to dive into, and an in­finite good for our will and affections to pursue and imbrace: But if there be nothing to be injoyed by us, but what is carnal, and sensual; Our Noble fa­culties are so far from being our Or­nament and perfection, that they are the Plagues and disgrace of our na­tures: For, for any nature to have more faculties than what are necessary to its Happiness, is monstrous; and there­fore had we nothing to enjoy but the [Page 196] Happiness of Bruits; It would be a de­formity to our Natures to have the fa­culties of Angels: Because these faculties would be in vain, there being no ade­quate object in the Nature of things to imploy and entertain them.

2ly. Atheism represents Mankind as a very Ridiculous sort of being: For there are certain affections interwoven with Humane Nature, which if there be no GOD, are shamefully ridicu­lous, such as the Dread of invisible Powers, the sence of good and evil, and the anxious Expectation of a Judgement to come; All which are so deeply inlaid in our beings, as that with all our Arts and reasonings, we cannot Totally erase them. And even the Atheists themselves, who have tryed all possible wayes of extin­guishing them, have found by experi­ence, that the outmost they can do, is to damp and stupifie them at present: But that in despite of them, they will re­vive & awake again, when Death or dan­ger approaches them; Now how ridicu­lous are these affections in Humane Na­ture, if there be no such being as a God? For upon this supposition, we have passi­ons that have no objects in the nature of [Page 197] things, that have nothing in the World to move & affect them, but wild Chime­ra's, flying Dragons, and Castles in the Air. And whereas all other beings have re­al objects in nature, corresponding to their several instincts and affections, (For so the Hare hath a natural dread of a Dog, the Sheep of a Wolf, the Mice of a Cat, the Toad of a Spider; all the objects of which dread, have a real existance) Poor silly Man, sup­posing there is no GOD, naturally trembles at an invisible nothing, and is horribly affraid of the Shaddow of an imagination.

3ly. Atheism is very uncomfortable; For supposing that we were left destitute of God, and of Providence, and of all these blessed Supports we derive from thence, we were of all Creatures the most miserable: For in this state of things, we are compassed about with miseries and misfortunes, and (which without God is our greatest misfortune) We have a thing called Reason within our Breast, which is very ingenious in giving stings to our miseries, and vex­ing us with cutting reflections on them; But it is not able to qualifie our grief [Page 198] or minister one dram of solid comfort to us. But when we lift up our eyes to God, there are such vast and innume­rable comforts, flowing down to us, from the consideration of His Nature and Providence as are sufficient, not only to allay our sorrows, but to con­vert them into Joyes and Triumphs: For in Him we behold not only an In­finite Wisdom that alwayes knows what is best for us, but also an Infinite Goodness, that alwayes wills what it knows to be so, and an Infinite Power, that alwayes does what it wills: And whilst we see and consider this, there is nothing in the World that can hap­pen amiss to us, welcome pain, wel­come pleasure, welcome loss, welcome gain, welcome disgrace, welcome ho­nour: For if we have but God our Friend, we may securely depend upon it, that whatever befalls us is best for us. And to add no more.

4ly. Atheism is infinitly unsafe and hazardous; He who believes there is a God, and acts accordingly, runns a very small and inconsiderable venture, if in the issue of things he should chance to be mistaken: He only ven­tures [Page 199] the dissatisfying a few extrava­gant lusts, the crossing some irregular inclinations of his Nature, which if he had gratified, would have vexed and tormented him, and intangled his Life with a thousand ill circumstances; He only ventures some Prayers and some Tears, some Watchings and some strug­lings, and contentions with himself, and some reproaches and persecutions for Righ­teousness Sake; In exchange for which he hath commonly a healthful and a prosperous, an even, safe and con­tented Life, and alwayes a quiet and triumphant Conscience, and a joyous Expectation of a blissfull Eternity, which do outweigh all the incommodi­ties he ventures, all the pains he under­goes, and all the pleasures of which he debars himself; And if in the conclu­sion when he resigns up his breath, it appears that there is neither God, nor Heaven, nor hell, his condition will be altogether as good as the Atheists with whom he will sleep quietly in the same dust, under the same everlasting insensibility. But on the contrary, the Atheist by believing that there is no God, and acting accordingly, runns the [Page 200] most desperat hazard in the World. For besides that he throws away the main support and comfort of his Life, and lays himself open to all contingen­cies, and resigns up the satisfaction of a good Conscience, together with the hope of a blessed Eternity, and all the innumerable Joyes it abounds with; besides all which I say, he ventures to be eternally miserable and wretched in the World to come; In exchange for all which, he hath no other present compensation, but the pleasures of a riotous tumultuary Life, which do al­wayes die away in the injoyment, & are generally dashed and sophisticated with a thousand very sad and incomfortable circumstances. And then, if when he concludes this present Scene of Life, he should find himself mistaken in his A­theistical confidence, and be unexpec­tedly summoned to the Tribunal of that God, whose Being and Authority he hath so peremptorly denyed and affronted, and from thence be trans­mitted unto a dismal Eternity, there to languish out an everlasting existance in remediless woes, & un-pitied lamen­tations; How could it not astonish and [Page 201] confound him, to see his confident in­fidelity baffled by such a woful experi­ence, when, instead of being a sleep in a state of silence and insensibility, which was the thing he depended on, he shall find himself wafted to a strange shoar, and there landed among devils and mi­serable spirits, in a state of endless, eas­les, and remediless calamity. How blank and forlorn will the fool look, to find himself thus fatally mistaken? yet for all he knows, this may be the result and issue of things.

Such considerations as these, It is the interest of Parents to be acquainted with, and to take occasion to inculcate on their Children according as their capacities do advance; and as there are just grounds to fear that the infectious roots of Athiesm doth diffuse its poison, which to be sure it doth very visibly & to an eminent degree in our unhappy times, though it may seem strange, that Atheism and Irreligion should be the prevailing vice, in an age wherein Religion and its interest seem to be the common ground of contention; I heartily wish that while men pretend to fight for, and quarrel about it, [Page 202] they do not realy trample on its most Sacred and Inviolable Maxims, and under the specious pretexts of asserting its Rights, seek their own things, and pursue their own designes, and so con­firm Atheists in their prejudices about Religion, as if it were a trick of Politi­cians, an Artifice to winde unwarry, and Credulous minds, the more easily unto obedience and subjection. Such as desire to see Atheism Combated at large, and to very excellent purpose in out own Language; They may at their leasure consult Sir Charles Wolsley's Ʋnreasonableness of Atheism; How's Living Temple, Dr. Henry More's Antidot, Dr. Culdworth's Intellectual System, and Christian life. part 2d. Vol: 1. throughout.

11. That Children may true­ly know GOD,11. To ac­quaint them with just noti­ons of the Di­vine Nature, what these are declared in some important particulars, & Measures E­stablished, whereby to Judge of their genuinness; and some pernicious mistakes cauti­oned against. great care must be taken to settle in their minds, Just Notions of the Divine Nature; but when I speak of notions of the Divine Nature, I do not in­tend such as are full, adequate and comprehensive: For in this sence none but GOD himself whose Ʋnderstanding is Infinite, can have just Notions of his [Page 203] own boundless Essence: But my meaning is, that our Conceptions of GOD, how imperfect so­ever they may otherwayes be, should be worthy of Him, and such as truely and genuin­ly represent some one or other of the Perfections and Excellen­cies of His Nature. Neither ought it to appear ridiculous (that I may obviat a Cavil of the Atheists) when we say that we may have just No­tions of a being that is confessedly in­comprehensihle: For as we may have a very clear Prospect of the Sea, though our Eyes be not so large as to take in its vast circumference, and truely discover and touch a huge Mountain, though we cannot enclasp it within our arms, so we may have very just notions, and discoveries of the Divine Nature, though our limited minds can­not span and comprehend it: Yea, this same very notion of the Divine Nature, namely, that it is Incomprehensible, is a very just one; For if it were not incom­prehensible it could not be Infinite, and if it were not Infinite it could not be Di­vine. But further, if the Atheist [Page 204] must needs expunge out of the Cata­logue of Beings, and put wholly above the reach of our knowledge, what ever is incomprehensible, I doubt, He will re­duce whole Nature to a State of Nonex­istence, and introduce an absolute igno­rance of every thing; For it is un­denyably evident, that there is nothing in Nature, but what is incomprehensible to our Scantie minds. It is true, GOD is so by reason of the Super-eminency, and Inaccessible Glory of the Perfections of His Nature, which are so Vastly Disproportioned to the limited capacities of creatures; whereas, the things of Nature are so, not because (absolutely speaking) we could not know them, if the Author of Nature did vou­chsafe to acquaint us with His Own Wayes and Contrivances; but because we of our selves, and by the profoun­dest Enquiries and Penetrations of our Reason could not so dive into the Se­crets of Nature, as to attain any solid and certain knowledge of them; As a curious Artist could so excellently con­trive an Engine, as that others who are unacquainted with the Art, could never by all their own researches, come to [Page 205] understand the mysteries of his contri­vance, if himself did not make a dis­covery. The appearances of Nature then are incomprehensible to us, we cannot by means of our own faculties come to any certain knowledge of the admirable Contrivances of the Infinitely Wise Architect of the World; But it were a very absurd inference to say, that therefore things are not at all, and cannot be known in any sense. The Loadstone is, and we know it, it attracts the Steel, and we know it likewise; But what is the secret contexture of its parts, and what are the methods of its attraction, we are as absolutely ignorant of: And the ac­counts which Philosophers give us of these things, though they may yield us matter of entertainment, and dis­course when we incline to be diverted, and take our Recreations; Yet I sup­pose all that are impartial will confess, they afford us no solid and satisfying knowledge. The upshot of all is that the Incomprehensibility of the Divine Na­ture, cannot be any just prejudice either against Its Existence, or against our knowing it, in such a measure as Finite [Page 206] Natures are capable of: But to re­sume our design,

I affirm that great care must be taken to settle right Notions of the Divine Nature in the hearts of Young Ones, since if they do not conceive rightly of GOD, they cannot be said truely to know Him; For when our Apprehensions of GOD are false and undue, and such as make injurious and disagreeable Representa­tions of His Infinitely Lovely, and Adorable Essence, we do not in this case know GOD, but some Idol, to which our deceived imaginations have given be­ing. This is a matter of vast impor­tance, and must be treated of with a great dale of care and caution. ‘And, O may the Blessed and Eternal Source and Father of Divine Lights and Knowledge, so influence, order, and direct our Medi­tations, as that we may not assert any thing unworthie of Him, or that may in the least sullie or darken the Adorable Pu­ritie of His Nature.’

And I suppose I need not scruple to establish it as a general and infallible rule, that these are the Justest Notions of the Divine Nature, that are most capable to make the Divinest Impressions on our Souls. For [Page 207] since the Blessed GOD made our Souls after His own Image, and that he might communicat Himself to us, and converse with us, to be sure, these notions of Him are the most genuine, that have the greatest Efficacy and Force to make us like Him, to dispose us for His Com­munications, and to admit us to His Converse. So that when our concepti­ons of Him, are such as excite us to the Devotest Adorations, inspire us with the most Generous Love, beget in us the Profoundest Humility, quicken us to the chearfullest Obedience, and intirest Submission, keep us at the greatest dis­tance from sin and filthiness, oblige us to universal Purity, powerfully incline us to the most i [...] reserved Imitation of the Divine Perfections, and awaken in us the most ardent desires after the parti­cipation of the Divine Light, and Grace and Joyes▪ I say when our notions of God are such, as are naturally most apt to have such influences as these on us, we need not doubt but they are true and genuine: These are some of the noblest Impressions that can be made on intelligent Creatures, as dis­posing them for the highest Communi­cations [Page 208] and Converses; And they are such as necessarly result from Just No­tions of the Divine Nature in pure and hallowed minds. And I am very con­fident that whither we consult the Word of GOD, or view His Works, or con­sider His Providences, or reflect on the Idea's of our own minds, if we are im­partial and serious, we shall soon be convinced that all the Discoveries that GOD hath made of Himself, in all and each of these, are such as natural­ly and powerfully tend to beget such Heavenly dispositions in us, as these just now mentioned. And now I hope I may safely adventure to acquaint Pa­rents with these notions of the Divine Na­ture, which they are with all possible care to settle in the hearts of their Chil­dren. And I shall be well pleased that the genuinness and truth of them, [...]e examined according to the measures already condescended on. And

1. Let Parents represe [...] GOD unto their Children as a self-sufficient Being, who stands in need of nothing but his own Perfections for his Happiness. He is doubtless so full and so transcendent­ly perfect a Nature, that he needs not go [Page 209] out of himself to seek his happiness any where else. There is such a superabun­dance, or rather such Adorable Infinities of most luminous Beauties, of most real and most solid perfections and glories in his Vast and Incomprehensible Essence, as are an Eternal and indeficient Source of the Highest and Purest, and most satisfying delights and Joyes: This is certainly the import of that wonderful Name which he assumes to himself * I am that I am, That is I only am, I necessary and ab­solutely am, I self sufficiently am, I am Light and Life, and Joy, and Happi­ness, and all things to my self. All other beings are nothing, but what and when I please; They have no being, no reality, no perfection, no happiness, but what I please to Communicat, and in what manner I please, and at what time I please: This is that thought which a late excellent AuthorOecon Di­Divine To: 1. C: 2. Cogit. rational: De Deo: Edit: 2. in diseourse: praelimin: p: 5, &c. Lib: 3. C: 10. P: 288. insists on to very admirable purpose.

Every Being, saith he, which can neither be, nor be happily, & perfectly without the consideration of another Being then it self, every thing to which the thought, the knowledge, [Page 210] and consideration of it self alone, is not suficient for its Light, and for its perfection; Every Being which must necessarly carry its desire, its affections, its thought, towards other things, other Idea's, other objects than its own nature, and then that which it is in it self, is not the Creator, but the Creature. And thence it is that we may deduce the most suitable, the most exact, the most stately and sublime Idea which the Spirit of Man can distinctly have of GOD. This great Being is so per­fect by it self, so independent of every other thing but it self, that in order to be what it is, that is to be most perfect, most luminous most intelligent, most happy, and most con­tent, it needs nothing but the only conside­ration, the only Idea, the only representation, the only Love of himself, and of his own only and most Sole Essence, to the exclusion of every other thing, that is not himself. His un­derstanding, his knowledge, his essential representation, in order to be most perfect, and to know it self as such, needs not know and consider any other thing, any other Idea, any other Nature, any other Truth but that of his own Essence. No necessity is laid on him, to think on any other thing but himself. His Love and his Affections in [Page 211] order to be most perfect, and most satisfied, do not require the research and approhation of any other object, of any other Truth, of any other Goodness, but that which He is Himself without needing to go further; with this he might be and subsist eternally, in a most perfect, most luminous, most happy, and most glorious Estate, in the most secret abyss of his own Eternal Essence, where there was no Creature, or any consideration or I­dea of Creatures, but his own only most sim­ple and most pure Divinity. In a word no­thing is necessarly in God, but God Himself; all other Beings, all other Considerations, Idea's, Objects, and Truths, might never have been. Such as desire a further Deduction of this great and usefull Truth, together with the Proofs and Improvements of it, may consult the Writings last cited.

And now to be sure, The contem­plation of the Divine Nature, under this view is capable to beget in intelli­gent Creatures the profoundest Adora­tions. Such an amiable prospect as this is, cannot choose, but fill our Souls with admiration and Love. O How ravishing is it to behold a Being so self-sufficient, so infinitly luminous wit [...] [Page 211] his own Glories, and so vastly satisfi­ed with his own essential Joyes, as not to be obliged to seek his Happiness in forreign and extrinsick objects! To see all things else in a state of absolute no­thing, and God only solaceing Him­self with Himself, and gloriously in­heriting the ine [...]able delights of his pure Eternity! It is no wonder though with the Devout Psalmist, all our bones should say on this occasion, Lord who is like unto Thee?

2. They are moreover to let them understand, that there are vast Num­bers of Glorious Excellencies and Perfections in the Divine Nature. For to be sure, since there are such varieties of Excel­lencies in each of the Works of GOD, yea and in the very meanest of them, there must of necessity be incompre­hensibly more in their most Blessed Original and Cause. It is not indeed possible for created minds to determine in particular what, and how many the Excellencies of the Divine Nature are, However the discoveries that GOD hath made of himself in his word and [...]ledge [...]rk, and the Idea of an infinitly per­ [...]ledge [...] being, that is stamped on our minds, [Page 213] do acquaint us with a great many of them, such as that, he is wise, power­ful, good, true, holy, and the like. But as an Honourable, pious, and learned Author observesBoyl in a treatise of the high veneration man's intelect ows to GOD: Pag: 2, 3, 4. "Its pro­bable (I might add certain) that GOD may have diverse Attributes, and consequently, perfections that are as yet unknown to us: For whereas there are two chief wayes to arive at the knowledge of GODS Attributes, the contemplation of his work, and the study of his word; I think it may be doubted whither either or both of these will fuffice to acquaint us with all his perfections: For first though Philosophers have rationally deduced the power, and goodness of GOD from those impresses of them, that he hath stamped upon his works, yet since the Divine Attributes which the Creatures point at, are those whereof themselves have some participation or resemblance: And since the fecundity (if I may so speak) of the Divine Nature is such, that its excellencies may be participated or represtnted in, I know not how many wayes; How can we be sure that so Perfect and Exuberant a Beeing may not have Excellencies that it hath not ex­pressed, or Adumbrated in the visible [Page 214] World, or any parts of it that are known to us? — I readily grant that the Revelations GOD hath Vouchsafed us in the Holy Scripture (which we owe to that Spirit that searcheth all things, even the depths of GOD) have clearly taught us some things concerning their Adorable Author,1 Cor. 2.10. which the meer Light of Nature either would not have shown us at all, or would have but ve­ry dimly discovered to us: But the Scripture tells us indeed, that the pro­mulgators of the Gospel, declared to Men the † whole Council of GOD (as far as was necessary for their Salvation) but never sayes that they disclosed to them the whole Nature of GOD,Acts 20.27. who is said1 T m 6.16. to inhabite an unapproachable Light, which Humane Speculations cannot pe­netrate. Thus he, and certainly the general notion which we have of GOD, namely that He is an Infinitly Perfect Being, may assure us, that there are vast Abysses of yet undiscovered Glories in his Nature, and this we may with the greater confidence assert, when the Scripture tells us1 Cor 13.12. that now we know in part; The fuller and more perfect dis­coveries of the Divine Excellencies being [Page 215] reserved for our Intertainment in the other World, which is more then inti­mated by the Apostle, when he tells, that then we shall see Him face to face, and know even as we are known; For doubtless in that blessed State, the Divine Excellen­cies shall in a most Luminous and most delightful manner be displayed before us; And since it is not possible for our limited minds at once fully to view all the Beauties, and to feel all the Joyes of that incomprehensible Essence, it is not improbable but Scenes of new Glories, and of new Delights shall everlastingly succeed one another, and be presented to us; so that in ETERNI [...]IE we shal be ever discovering, and ever enjoying, but shall never come to the bottom of that Inexhausted Source of Lights and Joyes.

But as I said, some of these perfecti­ons we already know; The holy Scrip­tures have given us an account of a great many of them, and these it is our duty to contemplate and Adore; For they are so many Beatifical Rayes issuing out of that Luminous Essence, which, when viewed with purified and devote minds, will wonderfully prompt us to Love GOD. And it is no small [Page 216] part of the duty of Parents to bring their Children to an Early acquaint­ance, with the Excellencies of the Divine Nature, and to render these passages of Holy Scripture wherein they are espe­cially pointed at, very Familiar unto them as is recommended, §. 3. And 4. of the following Essay.

(3) They are to tell them, that all the excellencies of the Divine Nature are equally Essential to it; Purity, and Goodness, truth and Justice do no less belong to the Nature of GOD, than Power and know­ledge; Nay, if we seclude the Former from having any Ingrediencie in His Nature, we will have but very false, disadvantagious, and most derogatory apprehensions of him: For to suppose GOD to be Infinitly Powerful, and In­finitly Knowing, and yet not to be In­finitly and essentially Good, and Just, and true, is to set up the most Fright­ful Being, that is possible for our thoughts to fix on: For as an excellent Author hath itChri­stian life P [...]: 2. Vol. 1 C: 6. Pag. 479. to be Good and Just, are the Brightest raves of the Deitie, the rayes that Illustrat, and Glorifie all his other perfections, and without which Infinite Knowledge, and Infinite [Page 217] Power would be nothing but Infinite Craft and mischief. And hence the Ho­ly Scriptures represent GOD unto us under the Notions of Love and Light. GOD is Love, saith S. John 1 John 4.8., and elsewhere1 John 1.5. GOD is Light; That is, he is essenti­ally necessarly, and unchangeably, such, these are his very nature. The Deitie is the most endearing, and most Lovely object that we can poss [...]bly think on: Infinite Goodness and Benignity, and Glorious purity do constitute its es­sence, and to Conceive of GOD, with­out these is to injure, reproach and Blaspheme Him. However we must not think him to be a Fond and partial Love; which promiscuous­ly admits all into its embraces, without regard to their qualities and dispositi­ons; For that would destroy the awful and reverential fear, that ought to be had of the Deity, and would make men presumptuous, and regardless of their Practices, and therefore we must re­member that he is essentially Just and Righteous, and hath assured us that he will render to every man according to his Works. But in the mean time, we must not fancie that this Justice is [Page 218] a vindictive and ill natured Quality, which delights to sport it self with mi­series; For in effect it is a most ami­able Excellency, and necessarly results from the Divine Purity and Love, For because GOD is infinitly Pure; Therefore He will admit none into the participation of His Joyes, but such as are agreeable to Him, that is in the Apostles phrase,1. John 3.3. Such as purify them­selves even as He is pure. All others, He must of necessity leave in that state of destitution and miserie, which they have freely and unchangeably chosen, and because He is Love, He cannot fail to embrace and reward all in whom he sees His Love, and His I­mage, and whom He finds conform to His Son.

4. They are to inform them that all the discoveries that God gives of Himself, all the Sallyes that He makes out of His own Essence, that is all the acts of His will, and all His Decrees and Constitutions; all his Works and Words, must of necessity be agreeable to, and even represent the perfections of his Nature.

GOD cannot act but as it becomes [Page 219] a God, that is, as it becomes a most Wise, most Powerfull, most Good, most Liberal, most happy, most Pure, and most Luminous Being; In a word, He must act as a Being that is Essenti­ally Light and Love. The Manifes­tations that He vouchsafes of Himself, His Establishments and Constitutions, cannot possibly contradict His Essence, but must necessarly carrie in them the marks and impressions of His Excel­lencies, He cannot give a false Testimo­ny to Himself and to His most amiable Nature, otherwise He should deny Him­self. which the Apostle assures2 Tim: 2.13 us is not possible for him to do. From this it is easie to deduce the following very great and important Truths. 1. That whatever God hath willed, decreed, and constitute is unchangeable, and can never alter; and that because it is a­greeable to His Nature, and represen­tative of His Perfections. It was indeed free and arbitrarie to God to have re­presented His Excellencies by other Be­ings, other Natures, other Truths, then these that are now established; He needed not to have erected the pre­sent Scene of things, He was not ne­cessarly [Page 220] determined to one System; Only this was necessary, that whatever sorts of Beings or Natures He would choose to constitute, they behoved to represent His Perfections; whence it follows, that the things already establish­ed can never be disagreeable to Him; He must necessarly be well pleased with them, seing they are the Resemblances of His Excelencies: It was His good plea­sure that they should be, and He can never will the not Being or destruction of His own pleasure. And therefore 2. The Love of God, Charity to Man, Goodness and Benignity, Truth, Pu­rity, and Righteousness are not alte­rable things, The Divine Nature is the pattern as well as the cause of them. For which Reason (as one well observesIntel: System Pag: 20 5) Virtue is defin'd to be an Assimulati­on to the Deity. Justice and Honestie, are no Factitious things made by the Will any Command of the more pow­erfull to the Weaker; but they are Nature and Perfection, and descend downward to us from th [...] Deity. 3. Whatever is repugnant and disagree­able to the Divine Nature and Perfec­tions is not from God, is not of His [Page 221] Establishment; whatsoever He wills & decrees, whatsoever he does ought neces­sarly to savour of the Source whence it issues, that is, must have in it the Char­acters of His Perfections, & consequent­ly, whatever hath in it visibly the very contrary Characters is undoubtedly owing to another Original. Whence 4. It evidently follows, That Darkness and Impurities, Confusions and Disor­ders, Wants and Imperfections, Tor­ments and Miseries, Death and De­struction, in a word, sin and all its na­tural consequences are not, cannot be from God, cannot be the result of a Divine Decree or Establishment; For the Decree of God, is to all things a source of Perfection and beauty, of power and activity, of Purity and Glory, of Fecundity and Happiness, of Tran­quillity and Joyes. That infinitly a­miable Essence cannot establish any thing, that it must necessarly disaprove and infinitly hate.

Now to be sure, these thoughts when seriously instilled in the hearts of Chil­dren betimes, are most apt to beget in them the Noble and Heavenly Im­pressions [Page 222] lately mentioned, and which we have established as the measure of the Truth of our apprehensions; For 1. These thoughts will naturally lead them to pay the profoundest venerati­on and respects unto the Deity, out of which they see nothing can issue but Love and Endearments, nothing but what is infinitly amiable and delightfull. 2. They will wonderfully recommend Goodness and Virtue unto them, which now they understand to be nothing else but Copies and Imitations of the Di­vine Perfections. And consequently, That to be truly en [...]ued with them, and constantly to practise them, is to be, and to act like God himself. 3. And in fine, These thoughts will represent sin unto them, under the blackest aspect they can possibly view it in, that is as infinitly contrary, re­pugnant and disagreeable to the Divine Nature, will and establishments, which doubtless cannot but forcibly incline them to the greatest abhorrence of it, and keep them at the greatest distance from it.

5. They are moreover to let them know, that it was not any necessity, a­ny [Page 22] consideration of advantage, any de­signes to make new acquisitions, or adding any thing to his essential hap­piness; that obliged God to make the World, and to give Being to such vast variety of Noble and Beautifull Crea­tures; For, as hath been asserted, he was infinitly and gloriously happy, by the sole Fruition of the increated de­delights of his own eternal and perfect Essence, when the Creatures, and all consideration of the Creatures, were absolut nothings, and in this pure Eter­nity he might have alwayes subsisted solaceing himself, with the views of the Glories of his Nature, most brightly, and most amiably shining in his essen­tial Image, and feeling, with an in­finit satisfaction, the delightfull Raptures of his Essential Love, without ever needing to sally out of himself by the production of a World: And this is that, I suppose, which1 Tim. 1.11.6.15. the Apostle designed to intimate unto us, when once and again he Stiles Him the Bless­ed, or rather (which the original seems more properly to signifie) the Happy GOD, Happy in and by himself, though there were not creatures, nor [Page 224] any Idea or Consideration of creatures and so inseparable is self Happiness from the notion of GOD, that even the Epi­curean Lucretius himself could not but be sensible of it. For in that very passage wherein he denyes a providence, and impiously deprives GOD of the Government of the World, under the pretence that it would be uneasie and and disquieting to him, he acknow­ledges that the Divine Nature is happy by its own essential Possessions, it being as he truely affirms

That is, if I may be allowed to En­glish it.

It was not I say, any necessity or in­digence, any interest, or Prospect of advantage, that oblidged GOD to make the World: For, to be sure, the designs of a selfsufficient, and ever [Page 225] happy Being, in raising up vast numbers of Creatures out of nothing, could not choose but be most generous and most dissinteressed: It was not his own happi­ness that he aimed at, but the Happiness of others. The Creation of the World was not the Result of Indigence, but of in­finite Fulness and Plenty, for if there had not been an infinite Fulness of Goodness, Wisdom, Power, and Glory in the Deity, the World could never have been; For all these Perfections are most illustri­ously displayed in it. GOD gave Being to a vast number of Creatures, not to re­ceive from them, but to communicate un­to them. The motive that induced Him to make the World was only Pure Libe­rality. His Goodness was so immense and so generous, that it desired an In­finity of Objects to which it might im­part its Riches, and those Goods with which it so unmeasurably abounds. The design he aimed at with Respect to the Creatures was their Perfection, Happi­ness and Glory; and with Respect to Himself, the Manifesting and displaying outwardly, by Varieties of Amiable Representations, these Adorable Excel­lencies, which Gloriously and Eternally [Page 226] shone in his Essential Image. For These He delightfully viewed, and with the view of them He was infinitly satisfied in his Pure Eternity, when the Creatures were in a State of Nonexistance, and seeing His own Divine Beauties most a­miably represented within Himself, in Him who is the brightness of his Glory, and the express Image of His Per­son, He resolved in Favour of Him, and for His Sake to raise up a World of Beings, that should in different mea­sures and in different wayes, carry in them the marks and impressions of the Glories and Excellencies that were re­flected in him, and thereby to represent himself without himself, and by so doing he saw that he would Act as became a Nature that is essentially Love and Good­ness, that is, that he should make other Beings besides himself Happy. For to create Representations of the Divine Ex­cellencies, is in effect to create Glorious, Perfect and Happy Beings, since no­thing can truly represent them, but what doth partake of them; for imper­fect, deformed, miserable and unhappy Beings cannot represent a most perfect, most beautiful and most happy Nature, [Page 227] such: the Divine is: And from this Consideration we must take the true rea­son of that Verdict which the Blessed God passed on his works, when after their Creation h [...] had taken a review of them;Gen, 1.31. God saw every thing that he had made, and behold it was very good. Why very good? Doubtless because all the Works of God, did carry with them the Characters and Impressions of that most Lovely, most benign Original whence they did Issue. For nothing can be called Good▪ but ei­ther GOD himself, or something that represents Him and partakes of Him.

O! How great an engagement to Love, Gratitude and Adoration is it to see the Essential and ever Living Source of Love and Joyes, of Light and Purities, that is, the Divine Nature, which was Infinitely and Eternally Happy in and by it self, and stood not in need of Creatures, to see it, I say, displaying its Beauties, and communicating its Riches, by the Creation of a World of Beings, and that from no other Motive, but its own overflowing, most generous and disinterressed Goodness; and for no o­ther end, but the Arbitrary Pleasure of see­ing its own Perfections represented with­out [Page 228] it self, by a World of Beautiful, Glorious and Happy Creatures. I call it an Arbitrary Pleasure, because it was not Necessary; for, as hath been often in­timated, God might have been alwayes without the Creatures, and without all the Pleasures they could afford him: He needed nothing but his own most per­fect Essence to compleat his Happiness: He Necessarly desired no other Pleasures but such as his own Essential Representation, his Well-beloved Son, his Eternal Word did yeild him. To all other things he was perfectly indifferent, and might have left them eternally in a state of non Existence, without any pre­judice to the fulness of his Happiness. However, having once made the World, he Rejoyces in his Works, as the Psalmist often assures us. He is wonderfully pleased to see his Creatures Happy and Glorious: And though Sin hath greatly sullied their Beauty, yet the time is ap­proaching whenRom. 8 21. They shall be delivered from the bondage of Corruption, and restor­ed to their primitive GloryAct. 3.21. which leads me to enjoyn.

6. That in fine, Parents seriously in­form their Children, that the Great end [Page 229] aimed at in the Creation of man, was, that he might Enjoy God, represent him, and partake of him in a more special and more eminent manner, then any other of the visible Creatures. God designed man for the most peculiar and most intimate con­verses with himself, and to receive from him the Divinest Communications, and consequently to be admitted into the greatest Happiness that a Creature is capable of. To Glorify God and to enjoy him for ever is commonly and very just­ly said to be the Chief End of Man, not of this or that man, or a few number of Men only, but of man in general; That is, in effect of all Men, without the exception so much as of one, and this Noble and Excel­lent End (an End indeed worthy of an Infinit, most generous and disin­terressed goodness, that had no interest of its own distinct from that of the Crea­tures) this End, I say, the Blessed GOD did alwayes aim at, not only before, and in, but also after the Creation of Man. That he did it before the Crea­tion of Man; These notable Words, Let us Ge [...]: 1, 26. make Man in our Image, and after our Likeness, do sufficiently evince; [Page 230] For to be sure, he that was to be made after the Image of GOD, was designed for the Happiness of God. 'Tis true the other visible Creatures are Images of GOD, and represent in some measure his Excellencies, but they are but faint­er ones in comparison of Man; For Man was to be a Living Image of GOD, and designed to represent Him in that which is most Noble and Divine; That is, as he is a Living, free and Spiritual Nature, that thinks, and knows, that wills, and loves, and consequently was to be made capable of the nearest con­verses, and richest Communications that GOD could vouchsafe a Creature: And accordingly in the Creation of Man these Proposals were put in execution, which we are assured of with a deal of Emphasis, Jer: 1.27. GOD created Man in his own Image, in the Image of GOD creat­ed he him. For having formed his body, which to be sure was then an admirable and glorious Fabrick, and carried in it more conspicuous Impressions of the Di­vine Excellencies than any of the mate­rial Creatures, it being made for far nobler Ends than they, namely to be Espoused or strictly United to an Intelli­gent [Page 231] or Spiritual Nature, the Divinest of Creatures, and to serve it as an Organ, or Instrument for conversing with the material World; I say, having form­ed the body of Man out of the dust of the ground, he breathedGen: 2.7. into it the breath of Life; That is, a Divine Soul, endued with noble and admirable Faculties, and capable of the greatest Happiness; And with respect to it especially, Man is said to be Gods Of-Spring, & to be made after his Image. Now to have such a Soul as this, was not the advantage of the First Man only, but also is the common Pri­viledge of all his Posterity, for doubt­less, every individual of Mankind in particular, hath a Soul of the same Na­ture and Faculties and Capacities with that of Adam; And consequently all of them were designed for the same Felici­ties and Glories that he was. And that GOD, since the creation of Man did and doth ever most vigorously pursue the same gracious End,Vide Chr. Lise part 2. vol: 1. page 432. the many Decla­rations of Holy Scripture, one would think leave no possibility of Questioning, for by these we are fully assured, that GOD is a Bountiful Benefactor to all his Creatures, and an universal lover of the Souls [Page 232] of Men; That would have all Men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of Truth, and both Heartily and Readily contribute to our Eternal Welfare; That leaves no Art of Love; No Method of Kindness unattempted to rescue us from eternal Per­dition, and when we have utterly baffled and defeated them all, doth most un­willingly abandon us to the woful state we have chosen and prepared for our selves; That in punishing even the most incorri­gible sinners doth not at all design to wreak and gratifie his own revenge, but to do Good to the World, and warn others by their Sufferings not to imitate their sins: And in a word, that importunatly invites us back, when we are gone astray, and upon our return, graciously receives us, and when he hath receeived us, is infinitely Industrious to prepare us for Hap­piness, and when he hath prepared us, abundantly rewards us, and when he hath rewarded us, everlastingly Triumphs in our Glory and Beatitude.

Such thoughts as these are truely wor­thy of GOD, and befitting the Infinite Goodness of his Nature, and as such do earnestly recommend Him to our Affec­tions, as the most amiable and endearing [Page 233] Object in the World, and prompt us to pay him a Chearful, Ready and Wil­ling Obedience: such Apprehensions of the Blessed GOD as these, are naturally apt to kindle in our hearts a most generous Love to Him, and consequently to in­spire us with the most Noble and Liberal principle of Action, which will sweetly and yet most powerfully influence, yea and constrain us to an universal and constant endeavour of pleasing Him in all things, and infinitely to detest what ever we know to be disagreeable and offensive to Him. And in fine, such thoughts as these will dispose us to aspire after a con­formity to GOD, and to Imitate the Goodness and Benignity of his Nature, where­by our Souls will become at once both Beautiful and Happy.

And thus I have indeavoured to ac­quaint Parents with the Notions of GOD, which they ought with special care to settle in the Hearts of their Children: And that they are true and Genuine, I have sufficiently evidenced by discovering as I went alongs, their Aptness and ten­dency to beget the Noblest, and Divinest Impressions in our Souls: And these Notions as they are very important, So [Page 234] they are vastly useful, not only disposing all ingenuous and honest hearts to suit­able carriages towards God in every Circumstance and condition of Life, but also serving as Antidots or Counter­poisons, to secure and Guard us against all false and injurious apprehensions of the Deity; For the Notions which we have been hitherto Remmending, when they are once deeply rooted in the hearts of Children, when they are influenced by them, when they see them in their true light and evidence, and feel their Power and efficacie, will sufficiently in­able them without any other Monitor, to discover the falshood of these disparag­ing and unlovely accounts, which some give of the Divine Nature: However I suppose, it will not be a miss here to mention one or two of these mistakes, which have been intertained and propa­gated concerning the Deity, to the end that Parents may caution their Children against them; Yet I would not recom­mend this to all Parents an [...] Instructers of youth promiscuously, but to the more knowing and intelligent only; Neither would I have these things proposed to Children, whiles they are very young; [Page 23] For that would be very impertinent, since they are not able then to compre­hend them; But when their understand­ings are considerably improven, and when they are in danger to be infected by the Converses of the World, then, I think, it will not be improper to acquaint them with the mistaken ap­prehensions, that some have entertain­ed concerning GOD, and to secure their minds against the contagious influences of them, by discovering how unground­ed and how unworthy of the Deity such thoughts are.

If it be said, that it were better to keep Children ignorant of these things, con­sidering that their Knowledge of such false opinions, will give opportunity of frequently reflecting on them, and if they shall discover in them any thing that is taking and plausible, they will be apt to close with it; For Youth is curious, and their unexperienced Judge­ments are not able to penetrate difficul­ties, nor to master the specious pretences that may be offered to them. It is Answered, that could Parents and the Instructers of Youth be well assured, that there are no possible ways, [Page 236] whereby Children could come to the Knowledge of these false Opinions, but by their means only; I grant that it were reasonable to forbear informing them, as indeed there are many vitious practices, which it were proper to keep Children in absolute ignorance of, could it be well done. But since these erroneous conceits are abroad in the World, since they have abettors and defenders, that propagat and spread and recommend them, I judge that it is great P [...]udence and Charity in Parents, and other In­structers, to forwarn Children of these dangerous Notions, and even to disco­ver the weak grounds on which they are built, and to invalidate what may seem plausible in them. Could I on good grounds perswade my self, that when the plague rages in a Countrey, my Child would never come near the places where it prevails, or though he did, that he is in no danger of being infected, in this case, I might both spare my self and him the trouble of giving him cautions: But if I be certainly assured that it is ve­ry possible for him, to approach the places, and to converse with the Persons that are infected, and that the contagion may [Page 237] seize on himself, then it were a cruelty in me not to put him on his guard.

But in the mean time, I do not think it necessary, that the same caution and warriness be used with respect to all Opi­nions, even though they be false; For there are a great many Speculations wherewith the World hath been troubled and embroiled, that are of every little moment, and that, as on the one hand, it is very hard to determine on which side the Truth lyes, so on the other the Salvation of Souls, and the true interests of Religion are very little concerned in the decision. We must take our mea­sures of the importance of Opinions, from the Good or bad influence they neces­sarly have on our Hearts and Lives, so that these Opinions that necessarly and visibly tend to the destruction of the Practice of Piety and Vertue, that effec­tually diminish if not extinguish the Love and Reverence, the Duty and Ho­mage we owe to GOD, can be never e­nough baffled and discredited: And of this sort I take these that follow to be.

1 The first misapprehension of GOD, I shall take notice of, is that pernicious one of Spinoza, who owns no other God [Page 238] but Nature, or the Ʋniverse; and calls all Beings Mods of the Divine Substance: This one would think, is a prettie con­ceit, and yet it is strange, how it im­poses on a great many. The Author indeed is very subtile, but I humbly think not so much in his Metaphysical thoughts as in his fraudulent dealing; For he ge­nerally retains the common wayes of Speaking, but in a sense different from all Mankind. He will tell you that God is, that He necessarly exists, that He is Eternal, that He is Infinite in Power and Knowledge; but under those expres­sions, he couches thoughts that flatly contradict what he would seem to esta­blish, and destroyes downright the com­mon Notions that Men have of these things; For whereas all the World con­ceive of GOD as a singular and indivi­dual Being distinct from the Universe, whereof he is the Maker and Governour, as a Being that is infinitly perfect and and happy in and by himself, and that necessarly and essentially possesses all i­maginable Excellencies, Our Author understands nothing by all the Glorious Forms of Speech that he uses, but the Ʋ­niverse or Nature. The being of Nature [Page 239] is the Being of GOD; the Power, Wis­dom and goodness of Nature, is the Pow­re, wisdom, and goodness of GOD; or to deliver his Mind if possible more plain­ly, all the particular Beings of the Universe considered and united under one general Notion of Being, is that Notional Being, which he attributes unto GOD. For in effect, Spinoza acknowledges no GOD as distinct from the Universe, but a general abstract Notion of Being, formed by our intellects, and which hath no real existence without our minds, much like Ʋniversale among the Lo­gicians, which is a general Idea formed by our minds, from the consideration of many particulars, agreeing in the same nature and properties, and which may be equally affirmed of all the par­ticulars, but hath no real existence of its own distinct from these; thô in Spinoza's Language, the several particulars may be considered as the mods of this general Idea. It is in this sense that Spinoza as­cribes Being to GOD, or in no sense at all; For (1) he will not allow any singular individual Being distinct from Nature to be actually existent, Tho this be that which all the World understands, when GOD [Page 240] is spoken of. Neither (2) will he allow that GOD is this or that Beeing in particular, and consequently there remains nothing but that general abstract notion of Being, which hath no existence but in our minds, to be attributed unto GOD. And as the Being which he gives his pre­tended Deitie, is notional and imagi­nary, so are also the excellencies of Power, Wisdom, Knowledge, &c, that he ascribes to it. Thus, for instance, the Power of all the particular Beings of the Uni­verse, considered under an abstract notion of Power, is the Power of GOD; the Knowledge of all the Particular Beings of the Universe, considered un­der one general Notion of Knowledge, in the Knowledge of GOD; and so of the rest: For our Author will not allow his Deitie to have any singular individu­al Excellencies of its own, distinct from these of the particular Beings of Nature; the generall abstract Notions of them, being sufficient in his account to consti­tute a God. But pray what is this but under the vizard of good and promising Words, to introduce the blackest Athe­ism? But perhaps it will be said, that our Author asserts all the particular Be­ings [Page 241] of the Universe to be Modes of the Divine Substance, and therefore the Di­vine Substance really exists; For since these Mods or Modifications are real and actually existent, they must suppose a real and actually existent Substance; For a substance that hath no real and actuall existence cannot be really and actually modified. This will not mend the matter, but rather give us opportu­nity of discovering greater and greater absurdities. The Truth is, our Au­thors disquisitions about Substanee, its Attributes, and Modifications, are so con­fused, indistinct, and odd, that it is very hard to pick up any tolerable sense out of them, and the best we can hit on is very absurd. His thoughts in short are these, if I may pretend to under­stand him, (1.) That there is but one only Substance which he sayes is GOD. (2) That this one Substance hath two Es­sential Attributes; to wit, Extention & Co­gitation. (3) That all particular Beings are not Substances, but Mods of that Substance which he calls Divine. These Assertions certainly will sound very odd­ly in the Ears of such as are absolute strangers to them; Let us reflect a little on them.

And (1.) I ask if this one Substance be the same with the Substance of the Universe, or a Substance different from it? The latter our Author will not say; For it would over turn his whole Hy­pothesis. But then, if this one Sub­stance be the same with the Substance of the Universe, I ask in what sense is it one, and in what sense hath it Cogitation and Extention? Hath it a singular individual Oneness distinct from the particular Be­ings of the Universe? hath it a Cogita­tion and Extention peculiar to it self, and different from the Extentions and Cogi­tations of particular Beings? This our Author will not say, neither indeed can he. For it is plain that all the Substance of the Universe is (to speak in his own dia­lect) actually and particularly modify'd, and that there is no Cogitation or Exten­tion, but that of particular Beings, whence it evidently follows, that the one Sub­stance he so much talks of, with its Attri­butes of Extention and Cogitation, are nothing else but general and abstract Ideas formed by the mind, and which hath no real existence without it.

(2.) Our Authors Assertion that all particular Beings are not Substances but [Page 243] Mods of the Divine Substance is very senseless. For (1) Pray what are the Mods of a Substance but the Substance it self modify'd? Or the Substance put in such or such a dress, and must it cease to be a Substance because it hath got a particular dress: I doubt all Spinoza's Mathematical Quirks will perswade but a very few; That Men, Beasts, Trees, Stones, great Mountains are not substan­ces, but Modes. (2) Modes are acci­dental to a substance, and do not con­stitute its essence, and therefore though all the particular Modes of a substance were quite destroyed or Annihilate, yet we Conceive very well that the sub­stance might Exist still: But on supposi­tion that all the particular Beings of the Universe were Annihilate, I would fain know what would become of Spinoz­a's Divine substance. (3) From our Au­thors Doctrine of Modes, it follows, that not only Insects, Flees, Speeders, Lice, and Venemous beasts, Toades, Serpents Vipers, but also that all the Criminal and Villanous cogitations of the wickedest Creatures; the Incestuous, Murtherers, perjured, &c, are Modes of the Divine substance. Whether Spinoza [Page 244] or his favourites will think this an ab­surdity I cannot tell: Only I am sure these are no very Beautyful dresses for the Divine substance to be in.

There is yet a specious pretence made use of, to identifie and confound GOD and Nature; And it is this, GOD is in­finite in Power, And therefore all con­ceivable Power must be Really, and Actually Lodged in him, and possessed by him: For if a Power did Actually exist, which were not his, his Power would be limited, and so it would not be Infinit, And consequently the Power of Nature must be Actually the Pow­er of GOD, or the Power of GOD must be actually finite, since a Power is gran­ted to be actually existing, that is not his. This reasoning is wholly founded on a very gross misapprehension of the Deity, & such a misapprehension as hath been the source of all Spinoza's errours. GOD is a self sufficient, and self happy Being,Si ex rei ve­ritate definiisset Causam fui (id [...]st deum) per id quod Se Solo vel, Sui Solius Idea si­bi sufficit, Ex hac unâ defini­tione omnia ejus Monstra Capita truneata fuis­sent; vidisset Deum a natura distinctissimum: agnovisset re­rum essentias ad essentiam sive na­turam Dei, ejus­{que} perfectionem, non spectare: De­um posse illis carere: si statu­tae sint, & Ex­istant, non nisi ex liberalitate entis summi, cui indifferentes, imo nihil erant, statutas & po­sitas esse: Hinc agnovisset in illo ente Libertatem, agnovisset & sufficientiam ad statuendum & ponendum alia entia libera. poiret Foun­damenta Athe­ismi subversa Pag: 732. he needs nothing for his perfection, Glo­ry, and Blessedness, but his own Essence. He was Infinite in all perfections before the creatures were, and by the [Page 245] Creation of the World he hath received no accessions but the Arbitrary pleasure of see­ing his own Excellencies mani­fested and displayed without himself. It is the not attending to, or rather blotting out these Natural and Genuine Notions of a Deity, that hath led Spinoza into all his fatal mistakes. The Truth is, it is the Opinion that I oppose, that limites and reproaches the Power of GOD; For it seems very strange to grant that the Power of GOD is infinite, and yet to deny that this infinite Power can com­municate, in a Finite Measure, Power and Activity to particu­lar Beings: Infinit Power can never be exhausted, and therefore I cannot see but if it pleased, it might be eternally communicating new Powers and Activities without any Diminution of it, or Disparag­ment to it, nay not to be [Page 246] able to do this, would be very disagreeable to it, and a re­presenting of it, as Weakness. And besides, this communicat­ed Power may still be said to be the Power of GOD; And that, 1, Because it is Origi­nally from Him, and by His Donation. And, 2, Because it is subordinate to Him, and under His Conduct, and the influences of His Good Providence. And herein I think the famous Malbranche hath sadly faultred, and hath made too near ap­proaches to Spinozism, when he denys the Activity of Second causes, and as­serts that they are only occasional ones, and that at the presence of them GOD works immediatly and by Himself. So for instance, the fire doth not burn, but GOD at the presence of the Fire; The Sun doth not enlighten the World, but GOD at the presence of the Sun doth it. This conceit is very involved, and at­tended with terrible consequences, and insurmountable difficulties. The Author grants that GOD communicats Being to the Creatures, and a Being distinct from His own. Now if he can, and does [Page 247] actually communicat Being to them, I cannot see but he can and doth com­municat force and activity to them likewise.Aecon Divine Tom 1. c. 6. a num. 9 ad finem. cogit: rational. edit, 2, per to [...] ­um All the reasons that make for the one, will as effectually make for the o­ther. Such as desire to see a full and sa­tisfieing confutation, both of this Authors principles as to this particular, and of the whole Athiestical System of Spinoza, may consult the Books to which I refer in the Margent.

I cannot tell if all will justifie my in­sisting so long on these things; But if what I have premised before my En­trance on them, together with the con­sideration that Spinozism is like to be the prevailing Atheism, and that un­wary Youth may be in danger to be in­fected with it, be not enough to make my Apologie, I shall allow my self to be condemned.

2, Another false apprehension con­cerning GOD is, when Men conceive of Him, as an Arbitrary Omnipotent Will, That acts as if He were not essentially Good and Just, Pure and True. I have already declared in what sense arbitra­riness may be ascribed unto GOD. It was Arbitrary or indifferent to [Page 248] Him to have issued out of Himself, by the Production of Na­tures, Essences, Beings, Truths and Goodnesses different from himself; it was arbitrary to him, by what sorts of Natures and Beings he should represent his own excellencies, whether by these already established or by others. But on supposition that he willed to act without himself, he could not but Act suitable to the infinite perfections of his Nature. To do otherwayes is not Ar­bitrary to him. GOD must act in a man­ner worthy of himself, that is, as becomes a most luminous, most good, most Happy and Glorious Essence: But a great many have conceived of GOD under the Notion of an Arbitrary and Powerful Will, which is not determined in its actings by the goodness and Right­eousness, the truth and purity, and o­ther lovely qualities of his Nature. This thought in my opinion greatly sullies the Beauty of the Deity, and if I mistake not, hath been the source of several very dangerous errors in Divinity. I shall only add on this head the notable words of a greatIntel. System Cap: 4: Num: 9. Author; ‘Knowledge and Power alone will not make a God: [Page 249] For GOD is Generally Conceived by all to be a most Venerable, and most desireable Being: whereas an omniscient, and omnipotent, Arbitrary Deity, that hath nothing of Benignity or Morality in its Na­ture, to Measure and Regulate its will, as it could not be truely August and Vene­rable, according to that Maxime, Sine bonitate nulla Majestas, i. e. There can be no Majesty without Goodness; so neither could it be desireable, it being that which could only be feared and dreaded, but not have any firm Faith or Confidence placed in it.’ This brings to my mind a pas­sage of the Pious and learned Smith in his select Discourses Pag: 149. which this occasion makes very Seasonable to insert. ‘GOD himself, sayeth he, from whom all Law takes its rise and Emanation, is not Exlex and without all Law, nor, in a sober sence, above it: Neither are the primi­tive rules of his oeconomy in this world, the sole results of an Absolute will, but the sacred decrees of reason & Goodness. I cannot think GOD to be so unbounded in his Legislative Power, that he can make any thing Law, both for his own dispensation and our observance, that we may sometime imagine, we cannot [Page 250] indeed say that GOD was absolutely de­termined from any Law within himself to make us; But I think we may safely say, when he had once determined to make us, he could neither make us sin­ful, seeing he had no Idea nor Shaddow of evil within himself, nor lay up these dreadful Fates within our natures, or set them over us, that might Arcana in­spiratione (as some are pleased to phrase it) secretly work our Ruin, and silently carry us on, making use of our own na­tural infirmity, to eternal misery. Nei­ther could he design to make his Crea­tures Miserable that so he might shew himself just. These are rather the by­wayes of Cruel and Ambitious men, that seek their own advantage in the mis­chiefs of other men, and contrive their own rise by their ruines: This is not Divine Justice, but the Cruelty of dege­nerated men.’

III. To imitate and conform un­to the Divine Perfections is truly to know God.III. Parents are with very special care to inculcate on their Children, that to know God is to imitate and to repre­sent him. For then we truly know God when we See and feel him delineated on our Souls, and [Page 251] are made partakers of the Divine Nature 2 Pet: 1.4. that is, when we are merciful Matt: 5.48. as our Father in Heaven is merciful; when we are Holy, 1 Pet: 1.15. as God who hath called us is holy, when we Purify our selves 1 Joh. 3.3. as he is pure hence the Apostle exhorts his Ephefians to be followersEph. 5.1. of God as dear Children. Then we are the children of God indeed, when we are his Living Images, when his Divine excellencies are transcribed on our hearts, and appear in our lives. We must be conform to the perfections of God, either by imitating them, or by re­ceiving impressions from them. His Good­ness, Purity, Justice, Veracity, and Wisdom we must imitate, by being good and pure, and just, and true, and wise our selves: His Eternity, Independency, Omni­science, Omnipotence, immutability, we must receive due Impressions from; We must be to these as the Wax to the Seal, that is, they must have a suitable and cor­respondent influence on us. His Eternity must incline us to Adoration, his Sove­raign Independency to Humility and Sub­jection, his Omniscience to Reverential and Circumspect Carriages, his Omnipotence to Trust and Dependance, his immutabi­lity to Constancy and Perseverance in [Page 252] well doing. When we are thus conform unto God, then we know him savingly and to purpose; and such a knowledge as this I doubt not our Saviour designed to recommend in that excellent passage,John. 17.3. This is Life Eternal to know thee the on­ly true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. To be sure he meant not an airy, notional and speculative Knowledge, how sublime and elevated soever it may be: The very Devils, I doubt not, may excel in this sort of knowledge; For theyJames 2.19. believe, and consequently they know, and yet they have no Interest in Life Eternal; and consequently the knowledge here intended, must be such as transforms into the likeness of God, and conforms unto Jesus Christ: It is a knowledge that is Operative and Vital that doth not meerly float in the Head, but descends into the Heart, and influences the Life; and this knowledge is said to be Life Eternal, because it disposes and qualifies for it, introduces to it, and even blesses the Soul wherein it is with the very first fruits and fortastes of it. For he that knows God at this rate doth in a great measure possess him already, and in whatsoever measure we possess [Page 253] him, we do in so far partake of Eternal Life. Now God dwells and lives in, and graciously manifests himself to such as are conform unto him, that is, unto all merciful, pure, righteous, and cha­ritable Souls.

The literal and notional knowledge of God, which consists either in Criti­cisms on the Words, Names, and Terms that concern him, or in speculative Ideas of him begot in our Minds by the exer­cise and activity of our Reason and Fa­culties, is barren, dry, and insipid; but that knowledge of God which is opera­tive and transforming, experimental and sensible, is sweet and savoury: The former puffeth up, the latter edifyeth, The former is very lyable to Errors and Mistakes, and no wonder, it being the issue of corrupted and partial rea­son; The latter is true and certain, it be­ing an emanation from the Father of Lights, from him who is the living source of Truth and Knowledge; That conver­ses only with the rind and bark, This communicates the Marrow and Sub­stance, and admits purifyed minds to Taste and see that the Lord is Gracious. I perswade my self that God (as all Divine [Page 252] [...] [Page 253] [...] [Page 254] things) is better known by Sensation then by Speculation. The more we Love, and Obey, and practice; the more and more excellently we know God, God is Love saith St. John, and He that dwelleth in Love, dwelleth in God, and God in him. The nearer we are to any person, and the more intimatly we converse with him, the more clearly we see him, and the better we know him; whereas things that are at a vast distance from us, we either see not at all, or but very dimly: And such as we have no Intimacy or Familiarity with, we do but very super­ficially know. Now Love doth very nearly unite us unto God; as the passage just now cited may fully assure us, it states us in his presence, carries us, as it were into his bosome, and admits us into the dearest Converses with him, and by means of this inestimable ad­vantage, we obtain clearer discoveries of him, we see his Divine Beauties, we feel his living transforming Opera­tions; so that as the Apostle2 Cor: 3 18, hath it, We with open face beholding as in a glass the Glory of the Lord, &c. I confess, I do ex­treamly wonder, how any can doubt, that holy and obedient Souls, whose [Page 255] Hearts the flames of Divine Love, have defecated and purified from dross and corruption, are vouchsafed more pecu­liar manifestations of God than others who are not in the same happy circum­stances, and that the knowledge which devout and hallowed Minds have of God is nothing different from that which the wicked and even Devils have of him, especially if these words of our Saviour be seriously ponderedJohn. 14.2 [...]. He that hath my Commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me, and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him and will manifest my self unto him.

In the mean time I do not deny but the Speculative Knowledge of God and Di­vine things is very useful, providing it be founded on true, and genuine, and solid notions, and when it meets with good Inclinations. This is as it were the Outward Court of Divinity, which may and doth lead into the Inner, yea even into the Holy of Holies: For I doubt not but the Proselytes of the Gate among the Jews, when they were once admit­ted into the outer Court of the Temple, had earnest desires to be vouchsafed the Honour and Advantages of the Inner, [Page 256] and even to know the secrets of the Ho­ly of Holies, and accordingly in due time their desires were gratified: For after the coming of the Messias, the middle Wall of Partition was broken down, and they were admitted to the same Privi­ledges with the Proselytes of Righteousness; even so when persons of good Inclinati­ons are admitted to the true speculative knowledge of God, it may and doth excite in them earnest desires after near­er approaches unto God, and not con­tent with the airy and barren notions of Divine things, ardently seek to see and feel and taste them in their Beauty, Ef­ficacy and Sweetness, and to be sure, the Father of Lights who is conscious of these sincere and ardent Desires, will not fail to shine2 cor: 4.6. into their hearts, and make Light to spring up to them in the midst of darkness, He will let them see His Beauty, and taste His Joyes; and feel His Living Operations within them; when Persons who have been all their Lifetime confin'd to a dark dungeon, hear such as come to visit them, deduce the Glorious Beauty, the warming, en­lightning, and refreshing influences of the Sun, these discourses beget in them [Page 257] The speculative Knowledge of the Sun, which resembles the speculative know­ledge of Divine things. Now this know­ledge which these persons have already of the Sun (if they are not wholy in­sensible of their miserable state, and in­fatuate) cannot but mightily incline them to desire to leave their Dungeon, and to know by experience what they already know by speculation, and ac­cordingly if they actually abandon and come out of their Dungeon, and open their Eyes, the Sun will actually en­lighten, Cherish, and refresh them, whereby they shall have a more excel­lent knowledge of it, then that which they formerly had, and this is that which resembles the living, and expe­rimental Knowledge of GOD and Di­vine Things, which infinitly excells that sort of knowledge which we have either by Information from others, or by the meer exercise of our own faculties. From all which we see what the use of the speculative Knowledge of GOD & Divine Things is, namely to lead us into a better & more Noble kind of Know­ledge, that, to wit, which is living and experimental, and which fills our Souls [Page 258] with Marrow and fatness, and when we serve our selves of it to this excellent purpose, we make the best improvement of it that it is capable of; But if we stick closs to it, and desire to advance no fur­ther, if we rest satisfied with the empty and dry notions of Divine things, and think out selves Happy enough when we possess these, this speculative knowledge proves then very prejudicial, if not fatal to us, becomes a source of pride, pre­sumption, and vain glory, and leaves the Soul destitute of the reality, life and Substance of Divine Things.

IV. In teaching Children the true knowledge of GOD,IV. The know­ledge of GOD in­cludes the Know­ledge of the ever Blessed Trinity, what must be in­culcated on Chil­dren with respect to it. Parents and other Instructers must acquaint them with these great and Venerable Myste­ries which are revealed in Holy Scripture concerning him, and in order to prepare and dispose their minds for the reception and entertain­ment of these things, it will be very proper to represent unto them, that the Divine Nature is infinite, and therefore vastly above the comprehen­sion of finite and limited capacities; And [Page 259] consequently whatever discoveries the Blessed God vouchsafes to make of him­self, though we cannot fully comprehend, yet it is our duty to believe and credit them; For since God knows things of himself, that we Men cannot know, and since what he knows of himself, he truely knows, and since in fine, all the Reve­lation that he makes of the secrets of his Divine Nature are agreeable and con­form to his Knowledge, that is infal­libly true and certain, there is all the reason in the Werld, that upon his tes­timony we should without Scruple, or hesitation receive and entertain [...]hem.

Having thus disposed them to be­lieve what they cannot fully compre­hend, afterwards the Parents and others concern'd may proceed to particu­larize these sacred Mysteries especially the two Famous Ones, I mean that of the Trinity, and that of the Incarnation; This latter I shall just now treat of in the en­suing Section: Here only I shall direct Parents what to do to, and inculcate on their Children with Respect to the Holy Trinity, and the Advices I think proper on this Head, are these that follow.

1. That they set before them these passages of Scripture in which this Ve­nerable [Page 260] Mysterie is most expresly assert­ed, such as that of St. John, 1 E­pist: 5. There are three that bear record in Heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these Three are One. And that other which enjoyns Baptism to be administredMatt: 28.19. in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. And in fine 2 Cor: 13.14. The conclusive Benedicti­on of St. Paul The Grace of the Lord Je­sus Christ, and the love of God, and the com­munion of the Holy Ghost be with you all. F [...]om all which, and a great many more that may be added, we are fully assured that there is in the One Divine Na­ture a Sacred and Inviolable Tri­nity.

2ly. That they guard them against all false, injurious, and unbecoming Apprehensions of this great Mystery; That is, that they do not conceive the three adotable Persons to differ & to be distinguished from one another after the same manner that three individuals of Mankind are diff [...]renced; For this were plainly to establish a Tritheism, or three Gods, which would destroy the Unity of the Divine Essence, and therefore that they be taught to consider the Fa­ther as the Eternal, Essential, necessary [Page 261] and independent O [...]iginal, and Source of infinite Glories, and Perfections; Hence he isJ [...]m: 1.17. called the Father of Lights. The Son as the Co-Eternal and Co-Essential, necessary and living Image, Idea or Re­presentation of the Father, wherein he sees his own Divine Beauties, Glori­ously and Amiably Displayed and Re­flected, and therefore he is said to be the Brightness of his Fathers Glory, and theHeb: 1.3. express Image of his Person. The Holy Ghost, as the equally Eternal, Essential, and living Love of the Father and the Son, issuing and proceeding from both, GOD is Love John. 4.16. all this is necessary in the Divine Nature: We cannot form a true and just Idea of an infinitly perfect Being without conceiving of him after this manner,Haec est una, necessaria, digna­que DEO occupa­tio, atque cum ejus summae majestatis clesitudine propor­tionata, ut nempe seipsum sibi repre­sentet, se amet, atque plene in sui notitia & comer­cio secum delicie­tur Cogitat: Ra­tional: Edit: 2. pag: 240. this gives an account of the Essential Hapiness of GOD, and of what was his Glorious Occu­pation in his pure Eternity before the Creatures had a Being, namely he, by an in­finit and Divine Ardour sought himself in himself; that is, in his Essential Image, in which he gloriously repre­sented [Page 262] himself to himself, loved himself Infinitely, and was transcendently, and Immensly delighted in the Knowledge of himself, and in the inexpressibly delicious Commu­nion of himself to himself, But this I have else whereJust Meas­ures part 2. at large deduced.

3ly. That they oblidge them seriously to remember, that the Adorable Trinity is incomprehensible, this Mystery is such a vast Abyss of ineffable wonders and secrets, there is such a fullness of Glories and Perfecti­ons in it, that no created Minds can fa­thom it: It is infinitly above the Sphere of all Human and Angelical Penetra­tion, nothing can discover any glimpses of it, but its own Divine Light, as no light can make us sensible of the Sun but it self.

4ly. That they teach them to im­prove aright the incomprehensibleness of the Adorable Trinitie. Now the improvements they ought to make of it are such as these; 1. Not to think, when they have got some discoveries of this great Mystery, that they are already arrived at the bottom of its unmeasurable [Page 263] depths, but to believe that there still re­main new Secrets and new Glories to be discovered concerning it, and that GOD when he pleases can reveal them; For his infinite Essence is able to Furnish and present to Created Minds, new Scenes of fresh Glories, and unexperi­enced Delights throughout all Eternity, without ever being in danger to exhaust his Superabundant Fullness. 2. N [...]t to attempt by the vain speculations of their narow and scanty reason, to pry into, or discover the Divine Secrets of this Mystery: This were as absurd as it would be to endeavour to contain the Ocean in a Nut shell; For the little span of our Reason, is as disproporti­oned to the incomprehensible Trinity, as a shell is to a vast Ocean. No forraign light, such as is that of Human Reason, can enter into this Mysterious Abyss. And besides, that which by Reason of its Supereminent, and exuberant per­fections, is incomprehensible, is not the object of Rational Inquiries, but of Devote Adoration, as shall be afterward noted. (3.) The consideration of the Glorious Trinity,Qod intellec­tus noster percipit se non posse capere ob Rei perfection­em summam, id disponit mentem, ut non conetur ex Curiositate suis propriis speculati­onibus, & intel­lectus sui Opera­tionibus adhaerere, idque convincit mentem de sua imperfectione, co­ram perfectissimo Ente; Ʋnde mens non sibi haeret, non seipsam seipsâ occupat, sed fer­tur extra se in objectum illud in­incomprehensible, ut ab illo capiatur & regatur, pront lubet Enti illi de eà disponere. Co­git: Ration: Edit: 2. pag. 231. under the View of being Incomprehensible, [Page 264] should convince the Mind of its own imperfection and emptiness, and thereby dis­pose it not to cleave to it self, not to seek its Light, Perfec­tion, and Happiness within it self, but rather to disclaime it self, and turn towards that Incomprehensible and most Perfect Object, that he may fill it with his Light and Graces, Love and Joys, and take it under his Special Ma­nagement and Conduct, and dispose of it as it shall seem good to him. When we view our selves in the presence of a Being, whose Glo­ries, Plentitude, and perfec­tions are incomprehensible, because they are Infinit, as it should on the one hand be­get in us a very profound sense of our own nothingness, our great poverty wants and indigence, so on the other, it should excite us in the most absolute, and unreserved manner that is possible for us, to surren­der [Page 265] and offer up our Souls to that Blessed One, who can Beautifie, Enrich, and per­fect them, who can at once both enlarge and fill up all our Capacities, that is, by Himself satisfie our vast and restless de­sires, gloriously enlighten our understand­ings, and become within us a source of solid, substantial and everliving Joves. 4ly. The incomprehensibleness of the Ever Blessed Trinity should oblidge us to mu­tual forbearance, and not to treat one another roughly or uncharitably, though our thoughts and expressions a­bout it be not in all points the same. If another shall entertain thoughts of this mystery,Praeterea quod incomprehensible est, id sie mentem meam disponit, ut si proximus meus, non easdem eâ de re habeat cogitati­ones, nec eisdem verbis sese expri­mat, illum tole­rem, reputans eti­am me rem non concipere, & illum forte aliquod in illa perspicere quod ego non perspicio; & vi­cissim, me aliquid concipere quod ille non concipit, & u­trobique neutrum rei Majestatem at­tingere; inde uter­que socium ferre & amplecti, uter­que socium horta­ri, ut in se, inque suis speculationi­bus, In activitate sui intellectus, in sufficientia sui ip­sorum non haere­ant, sed sese sub­misse tradant Deo immenso, ut de utroque disponat ad lubitum. Notandum enim, hunc esse verum usum recurrendi ad rei cujus­dam incomprehensibi­litatem, nempe, cum ex eo sequitur in nobis amor & reverentia erga rem perfectissimam & humilis oum proximo agendi mod­us, unde uterque as­ponatur ad sui ipsorum abnegationem, praeter­missionem & iraditi­onem Deo. idem ibi­dem. and use expressions concerning it, that differ from mine, yet providing that he acknow­ledge and adore it, I should tolerate him, and not present­ly fly in his face, & give him ill names, because he thinks not and speaks not as I do; For I should consider, that neither I my self do fully comprehend the thing, no more than he doth, and that as on the one hand he may see [Page 266] something that I do not, so on the other I may appre­hend something of it that he doth not, and yet that both of us are very far from reaching the grandour, and Majes­ty, and glory of the mystery, which should incline us to for­bear one another, to treat one another charitably, to exhort one another not to rest in our selves, not to trust to our own speculations, to the acti­vity of our own understand­ings, to our own sufficiency, but to abandon and resigne our selves to the conduct and influence of the infinitly Good GOD, that he may dipose of us as he shall think fit: For in effect then we improve the incomprehensibleness of the Trinity aright, when from the consideration of it, there spring up in us an ardent Love, and a profound rever­ence towards it, and Humble, and Affable, Meek and Con­descending Carriages towards [Page 267] our Neighbour, whence both of us are disposed to the denyal and disclaiming of self, and to resignation unto GOD. The truth is since the Blessed Trinity is confessed­ly incomprehensible, it is our duty ra­ther silently and Devoutly to Adore it, than curiously to pry unto it, rather to offer up our minds to be illuminated concerning it from its divine Light, than to endeavour to dive into the se­crets of it, by the glimmerings of our scanty reason; rather modestly to con­fess our ignorance and imperfection, than Magisterialy to dictate unto others, and to establish our own apprehensions as the just Standard of the Truths that concern it.

5ly. Parents should with special care acquaint their Children with, and seri­ously inculcate on them the respective du­ties they owe to the Father, Son and Holy Ghost: This is to teach them the prac­tical knowledge of the Trinitie, which is infinitly more advantagious for their Souls, then to fill their heads with vain and Airie Speculations concerning it. [Page 268] ‘What will it avail thee,Quid prodest tibi, alta de Tri­nitate disputare, si careas humili­tate, unde displi­ceas Trinitati? vere alta verba non faciunt sanc­tum & justum sed virtuosa vita ef­ficit DEO Char­um. De Imit: Christi. Cap. 1. saith the Divine A Kempis, to be able to dispute sub­tilly concerning the Tri­nity, if thou want Humi­lity, without which thou art disagreeable to the Tri­nity; For doubtless sublime and high flown words, do not make any person Holy, but a Vertuous and Un­blameable Life renders us very dear to GOD.’ The great care of Parents should be to teach their Children dutyful and be­coming Carriages towards the Holy Tri­nity, and to assure them that tho their knowledges of it be never so exquisite and profound, yet it will be of no ac­count or value as long as their disposi­tions and conversations are disagreeable and unsuitable to it. Now what these duties in particular are which all owe to the Father, Sun, and Holy Ghost; I have alreadySect: 15. at large declared, when I directed parents what to do to their Children, with regard to the Baptis­mal Covenant, so that it were super­fluous here to resume them: Though [Page 269] in the mean time it will be very season­able for Parents on this occasion, to re­new the memory of these important duties, and to Reinforce the practice of them on the Children from this con­sideration; Namely, that without the conscientious discharging of them, they will be found false and Hypocritical Votaries of the Father, Son, and Ho­ly Ghost, and their knowledge of the Holy Trinity will prove but a dry and empty, an ineffectual and fruitless notion, such as will come to no other account but to Aggravate and highten their condemnation. I desire that what the excellent Author of the following letter hath to this purpose § 48. May be seriously pondered.

6ly. They are further to recommend unto them, that they do with all pos­sible earnestness study to imitate and re­present the Holy Trinity, to do which is both their great duty and great Hap­piness. Now then we Imitate the Holy Trinity: (1) When having wholly abandoned creatures and corruptions, sin and vanity, and turned away our desires from every thing that is not GOD, [...] mighty and vehe­ment [Page 270] Ardours aspire after the Light and Joyes of GOD, as these truely noble and only Beatifying Objects for which our Souls were made, and without which they cannot be happy; and when being sensible that our languid and fainter ardencies are vastly disproporti­oned unto the Glorious objects we breath after, we surrender our desires unto the Father of our Spirits, beseeching him that he would impregnat them, that he would inlarge and amplify them, and by hts vivacious influences and impressions, make them such as will be agreeable to, and worthy of himself, and his Divine Light and joyes. (2) when in disregard of our own sorry speculations and reasonings, and the little glimmerings of light that may come to us from the activity of our minds, we offer up our understandings unto the Eternal word, or Son of GOD to be enlightned by him who is the Light Joh: 1.4. and V: 9. of men, and the true Light that enlightneth every man that cometh into the World. (3) and when we can calmly and sweetly acquiesee, and constantly delight our selves in, and be fully satisfyed with the Love and Joyes, and Fruition of [Page 271] GOD, as our compleat happinefs, when we can say with the Royal PsalmistPsal: 119 57. Thou art my portion O LORD; That is, I desire, I seek nothing O Soveraign Goodness, but thee, I am infinitly plea­sed with the sole Enjoyment of Thee, Thou and Thou only can give full quiet, and inexpressible Satisfaction to my o­therwayes restless & unsatiable desires: I say, when we carrie at this rate, then we imitate the Holy Trinity, and when in consequence of these ardent Desires, and pious Surrenders, the Divine Light hath actually invested our Souls, wrought on them, chased away their darkness and corruption, hath cleansed and pu­rifyd them, and so converted and con­secrated them into living Temples; Rom: 5.5. And when, in fine, the Love of GOD is shed abroad in our Hearts, when its pure flames do warm and solace, and fill us with ineffable Jovs, we become Living Images of the Holy Trinity. Now that thus to imitate and represent the Holy Trinity is our great Duty, is very plain; For what greater duty can there be than to desire and love GOD, to be enlightned by him, and conformed to him, and to Delight, Rejoyce, and [Page 272] Acquiesce in him. This is in effect the Marrow and Substance of all Religion,Ecquid homini, miserrimo vermi­culo, dignius, ho­norabilius, & foe­licius quam nobil­issima haeece occu­patio DEI, quae est seipsum in sui notitia, & repre­sentatione, atque amore perfecte oc­cupare omnes de­licias, omnem ac­quiescentiam in boc invenire? Num plenius, gloriosius, foelicius aliquid inveniet homo, quam si se si suum intellectum, si su­um amorem si suos omnes affectustra dat illi studio & occupationi, quae ipsae DEI sunt de­liciae, perfectio, fae­licitas, beatitudo, paradisus. Cogit: Ration: Edit: 2. pag: 241. and that it is our greatest Happiness is equally evident, because it is the Happiness of GOD himself; For the essential Happiness of GOD consists in this, name­ly that he infinitly desires himself and with infinite Sa­tisfaction finds himself in himself, is Gloriously Enlighten­ed with the Brightness of his essential Excellencies, which most Illustriously, and most Amiably shine in his Increat­ed and Co-Eter [...]l Image, where he sees his own Ador­able Beauties, and Loves them Infinitly, and most de­lightfully Acquiesces in him­self, and by the Communi­cations which he makes of himself to himsel, feels the Purest, the Fullest, the Nobl­est, the most Ravishing and Ineffable Transports and Joys. This is the Happiness for which poor Men was design­ed; For he was made after the Likeness of the Holy Trinity: [Page 273] Gen: 1. And to this Happiness GOD hath been most lovingly Inviteing him, ever since he forefeited it by sin; And the only way to recover it, is a Serious and daily Care to imitate and represent the Holy Trinity, in manner Just now re­commended. ‘O Sacred and Ador­able Trinity, the great Pattern of our Duties, and the Divine Source of our Felicities! What greater Honour, what greater Advantages; What greater Pleasure than to be imployed as thou art, and to partake with thee, so far as Created Minds are capable of it, in the Joys of thy pure Eterni­ty? How Infinitly Reasonable is it, that we should wholly Devote and and consecrate all our Faculties and Powers, our Capacities and Affecti­ons to an Exercise so Divine, and so Elevated, as is that of Desiring, Knowing, and Loving Thee, of De­lighting and Acquiescing in Thee? It is Thou, O Eternal Father, that hast planted these Noble and Gener­ous Desires in us, to the end they might be carryed towards, and cen­ter in thy Blessed Self; and after that we, by allowing them to pursue and [Page 274] fix on Creatures, and vanities and limited things, had dulled and con­tracted them, It's thou that invigo­rats and dilats them, that hightens and improves them; And when thou hast breathed into them an infi­nite vivacity and restlessness, it is thou again that cools and calms them, that satiats and quiets them, by pre­senting unto them proportionable & satisfying Objects, the Light of thy Son, and Joys of thy Spirit. O Sun of Righteousness! O Light of the World! arise and shine: O shine with Bright­ness and with Power on our dark minds, and chase away these Clouds of corruption and sin, that intercept the amiable and delightful views of thy Beauty, and when, O Spirit of Love! By thy Grace we are qualifi­ed and fitted to receive thy grateful Impressions, to feel & to taste thy inef­fable joyes, O transforme our Souls in­to pure flames of Love, that we may breath, and think, and speak, and live on nothing but Love, and that be­ing swallowed up with this Divine and delicious Passion, we may forget all things else, and be at leasure only for thee, & be ever Mounting up towards [Page 275] thee, on these nimble Wings where­with Thy Almighty Love doth fur­nish us, till in end we lose our selves in the vast abyss of thy Love, and thereby truely find our happiness and Glory, and all things. Amen.’

7ly. And in fine, it will be fit on this occasion, expresly to advise Parents that they inculcate on their Children, that one great designe amongst others, why GOD hath revealed the Sacred and Venerable Mystery of the Trinity, or why he hath manifested himself as Fa­ther, Son and Holy Ghost, is, to let us understand how he is affected towards us, and how we ought to be affected towards him, and towards one another; Thus 1st. When we consider GOD the Father, as on the one hand, we are fully assured that he is not only the Father of our LORD JESƲS CHRIST, but also the common Father of Mankind, and that as it was out of Fa­therly Love that he first Created us, and still preserves us, so he carries alwayes towards us the Bowels and tenderness of a Father, and plentifully provides for us what is necessary to the happiness and wellfare both of Souls and Bodies; so on the other, we are convinced that we [Page 276] ought to look on one another as Bre­thren in him, and fellow Members, and consequently, that we ought tender­ly to care for, and dearly to Love one another; and that all of us are obliged to be subject to our Common Father in sincere Love, and true filial obedience. 2ly. When we consider the Son of GOD, which he is, not only in respect of his E­ternal Generation, but also as he hath assumed our human nature, and united it personally to himself, we are assured that GOD is become our Brother, by whose prevailing Intercession the Love and Fa­vour and good will of GOD is procured for us, and the way to him, And con­sequently into Eternal Life and Glory, made manifest; and in whose Holy Life, conduct, and Doctrine, while he con­versed on Earth, a Noble pattern is set before us, instructing us how we ought to lead Lives worthy of the Children of GOD, and therefore that is our great and indispensible duty, to believe and conform to the Doctrine, to trace the foot-steps, and imitate the Life of our elder Brother, and to use all possible indeavours to oblige all others our bre­thren to do the samc, that so all of us [Page 277] may be fellow Heirs with him in the Heavenly Inheritances. 3ly. And when we consider the Holy Spirit, that vital and uniting Love (by which the Father com­placentially acquiesces & rejoyces in his Son) that Divine and Almighty prin­cipal that breaths Life, and Love, and Beauty, Order, Harmony, and Uni­ty into all things, the great Sanctifier of Souls, we are assured 1st. That as the Father and the Son areJohn. 12:30. one, so GOD would have all his Children, all that he will admit to the Communication of His Graces and Glories, to be acted by the same Spirit, to be one in Love, to be of the same mind, to beActs. 4.32. of one heart, and of one Soul. 2ly And in order to fit and qualifie men to be ad­mitted to this blessed communion, he would have all these corrupt Passions, and vitious inclinations that are con­trary to love and Unity, such as pride, malice, hatred, anger, wrath, bitterness, revenge, covetousness, and the like, to be Mortified, Crucified, and killed, by the Power and energy of this Holy Spirit; and that to this end, he hathLuk: 11.13. promis­ed his Spirit to all that seek him; and that therefore it is our duty ardently to pray [Page 278] for him, chearfully to submit to his o­perations, and by his gracious assistance to put on Bowels of mercies, humbleness of mind, Col: 3. [...]2.13.14. Kindness, Meekness, long suffering, and above all things Charity which is the bond of perfectness.

V. The Illuminati­on of the Holy Spirit, necessary to teach us the knowledge of God and divine things say­ingly: Encouragements to expect it; and the wayes how to at­tain to it briefly laid down.V. In fine, that I may shut up this particular in the last place I shall en­joyn Parents to inform and press on their Children, that in order to acquire the true knowledge of GOD, and of all Divine things, they must have1 Joh. 2.20. an Ʋnction from the Holy one; that is, they must be taught by the Spirit, and therefore that they ought not to rest in what they know of GOD, and the things of GOD, by reading Books or by Information from others, or by their own dry and jejune specu­lations, though all these, as hath been al­ready intimated, may be very useful; but that in order to attain that vital and practical knowledge of GOD and his things, that I lately spoke of, they must Ascend to the source of all lights, and Truths, and Realities. Divine things, before we can discover their Beauty, [Page 279] or feel their efficacie, must be seen in a Divine Light. The Natural man, sayeth St. Paul, 1 Cr: 2:14. that is, he that hath nothing in him but his corrupted reason and fa­culties, and the shaddowie, and often­times false light that the exercise of these affords, cannot know the things of the Spirit of GOD; know them speculatively and no­tionally, as the Devils do, he may, but know them Divinely, so as to be trans­formed by them, and conformed to them, he cannot; The reason is plain, because they are Spiritually discerned, that is, they are truely and savingly known by the Illumination of the Holy Spirit only. Hence all good Souls are saidJohn 6.45. to be taught of GOD, which to be sure im­ports a more immediate operation of GOD in teaching, than furnishing us with the outward means of instruction, such as Books and the discourses of men, one great designe of which is to direct us unto, and oblige us to desire the in­ward, Spiritual and Divine teaching: And that this is the priviledge of all faithfull and sincere Christians, St. John 1 Joh. 2.27. assures us in those words; The anointing which ye have received abideth in you. &c. To restrict this, (as some [Page 280] great men do) to the Apostles and first Christsans, is no less unreasonable than it is injurious, as depriving us of the greatest blessing in the World, namely, the teaching of the Spirit, and to say that this passage imports no more than the receiving of the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as the power of working of Miracles, speak­ing with Tongues, &c. Or the be­nefit of these, that is the evidence or confirmation of the truths of the Gospel, is too jejune a comment, and an offer­ing of downright violence to the Text; For it is certain that all true Christians in every age are anointed with the same Spirit that the Holy JESUS himself was, otherwise they are not true Christians; For the very import of that Worthy Name is to be anointed, that is to be led, taught, Governed, and Sanctified by the Holy Spirit.Rom: 2.9. If any man sayeth St. Paul, hath not the Spirit of CHRIST, he is none of his; Besides, I would fain ask these who deny that any other light is necessary in order to know GOD and Divine things savingly, but that of Rea­son assisted by outward Revelation, what tolerable sence they will put on the De­vout [Page 281] and ardent breathings of the Psal­mist in his great Psalm, Open my Eyes, Psam. 119 teach me Thy Statutes, give me understanding, and the like, which he repeats at every turn? To be sure the Psalmist had as great and as many advantages as others can pretend to, he had the benefite of a Writen Law, and the Ministry of ex­traordinary Prophets, and no doubt had as good natural faculties as his Neighbours, and yet he saw the neces­sity of another Light in order to be Divinly instructed. This great Truth is acknowledged and recommended byDr. Scot Christ: Life. a person of as great & clear a reason as any; ‘Besides, saith he, the external Reve­lation of the Spirit (that is the declara­tion which he hath given us of the mind and will of GOD in the Holy Scripture,Pag: 625. and the Miraculous evidences by which he sealed and attested it) there is also an Internal one, which consists in impressing that external Light and evidence of Scripture upon our understandings, whereby we are inabled more clearly to apprehend, and more effectually to believe it, and a little after, alas! our minds are na­turally so vain and stupid, so giddy, [Page 282] Listless, and inadvertent, especially in Spiritual things which are abstract from common sence, as that, did not the holy Spirit frequently present importunately Ʋrge, and thereby fix them on our minds, our knowledge of them would be so confused, and our belief so wavering, and un­stable; As that they would never have any prevailing influence on our wills and affections. So that our be­lief and knowledge of Divine things, so far forth as they are saving and effec­tual to our renovation, are the fruits and product of this Internal Illumina­tion of the Spirit.’

The Truth is, They who reproach and discredit the Illuminating Influences of the Holy Spirit as unnecessary and phan­tastical, do great prejudice to the Souls of Men, by diverting them from the aspiring after that blessed Light, which not only gives clearer and more ami­able discoveries of Divine Things, but also communicats the Marrow, Reality and Substance of them, for they who are Divinely taught, not only know GOD, for instance, but real­ly possess Him, not only know Hu­mility, [Page 283] Meekenss, Patience,Faelix quem ve­ritas per se docet, non per figuras & voces transeuntes sed sicuti se habet. O veritas DEƲS, fac me unum tecum in perpetua charitate. Taedet me saepe multa legere & audire. In te est totum quod vo­lo & desidero. Ta­ceant omnes doctores; sileant universae Cre­aturae in conspectu tuo. Tu mihì loquere solus. De Imitat: Cap. 3. Charity, &c. But have them really seated in their Souls. Hence sayeth the devout a Kempis. Happy is the man whom the Truth doth teach by it self (by its Luminous Presence and Operations) not by dark figures and words that quickly vanish, but as it is in it self. O GOD who art the Truth make me one with thee in everlasting Charity, it is often tedious to me to read and to hear many things: In Thee is all that I would have and can desire. Let all the Doctors hold their peace, let all Crea­tures be silent in Thy sight, speak Thou alone unto me.

Having thus declared the necessity of the Illumination of the Holy Spirit, in order to know GOD and [...]ivine Things savingly, it will be needful in the next place, that I tell Parents what they must with all possible seriousness, recom­mend to their Children, to the end they [Page 284] may receive the Holy Spirit and be taught by him. But before the Parents proceed to tell them what to do on this Occasion, it will be very proper to suggest two things to their Consideration, for their Incouragement. (1.) That to be taught by the Holy Spirit, may be the Happiness of all; For none are exclud­ed from it, but these who by a wretch­ed carelesness in seeking it, or willful opposition to it do exclude themselves. The Promise is general, He will give his Holy Spirit to them that seek him, that is, to every one without exception of any, but of such as make themselves uncapable of him, by resisting, grieving, and quenching him. The Promises of GOD, as they are generous, so they are sincere, He truely means as he speaks, so that none need fear that they are secretly or fatally excepted from sharing in the Blessings promised. To all that heartily perform the Condition, the Promises shall be ef­fectually fullfilled, and none are depriv­ed of the Blessing, but such as by a will­ful continuance in sin, and pertinacious resistance of Grace refuse to accept of it. (2.) That this benign Spirit doth prevent all our endeavours and desires, and by [Page 285] his Gracious Influences and Motions doth awaken and quicken us, and inspire us with Strength, whereby we are en­abled to prepare for him a Lasting and Permanent Residence in our Souls; For when we have listened unto, and com­plyed with these inward Calls and Mo­tions, he comes and takes possession of us, and dwells in us as in his living Tem­ples, and then it is that we are Divinely Illuminated & Taught: Of this the Holy Scriptures doth assure us.Prov: 8.4. and 1.23. Ʋnto you, O men I call, & my voice is to the sons of men — turn at my reproof: These are the preventing Calls of the Holy Spirit which quicken, Excite and Strengthen us; And if we o­bey these loving Opportunities, and improve the Strength communicated unto us, for these ends and purposes for which it was designed, that is, in turning away from sin, in abandoning, renounc­ing and crucifying our lusts and corrup­tions, and yeelding our selves unto God, we are assured of more liberal Effusions, & consequently of a more intimate & a­biding Presence of the Holy Spirit; whereby we shall be Divinely taught and instructed; For so it follows, — Behold I will pour out my Spirit unto you, I will [Page 286] make known my Words unto you. So that we see the pretence of weakness and in­ability is fully taken away; For the Holy Spirit solicits, excites and moves us, and secretly inspires us with a migh­ty Force: And why should we complain of weakness that hath so powerful an Assistant? And who is so Gracious as to make the first attacque on us? For if he did not this, not a good thought, not a pious Motion would ever spring up in out dark and corrupt hearts: And fur­ther, here is a great Incouragement to Diligence and Fidelity afforded us, For the more Faithfully we correspond unto the Motions and Calls of the Holy Spi­rit, and the more Conscientiously we improve the Strength communicated unto us by his preventing Influences, the more full possession he gets of us, and the more plentifully he imparts his Light, and Joys, and Graces unto us. Ʋnto every one that hath, Mat: 25.29. that is, that hath made a good use of, and diligently improven the preventing Graces of the Holy Spirit, shall be given, and he shall have abundance. His Diligence and Fi­delity shall be rewarded with great and more plentiful measures of them.

Now in Order to receive the Holy Spirit, so as he may become the blessed Inhabitant of our Souls, and Divinely il­luminate and teach us, we must,

1st. Empty our Souls of all corrupt lusts and passions, and of every motion and inclination that are disagreeable to him; For the Holy Spirit cannot dwell in un­holy Hearts; he may indeed, and ac­tually doth visite wicked men with the gracious designes of awakening them out of their sinful slumbers, urging and importuning them to their duties, and assisting in the discharge of them, but take up his residence in them, and abide with them he cannot: For what fellowship can light have with darkness? How incongruous as well as imposible is it, that the Spi­rit of purities and joyes, of love and peace, of Unity and Harmony, of sweetness and benignity, should be strictly united to, familiarly converse with, and constantly dwell in Souls, that are sensual and Earthly, Wrathful and Furious, Revengful and Malicious, Jar­ring and Uneasie, Sour, Disordered, and Melancholly: These things are contra­ry the one to the other, and cannot pos­sibly sort together. So much is intima­ted [Page 288] by the sayings of the Jewish Doctors, Spiritus Sanctus non requiescit super animum turbidum; The Holy Spirit doth not rest on a discomposed mind. And, pietas inducit Spi­ritum Sanctum; Godliness invites the Holy Spirit. So that for one under the power of his lusts, and that is a slave to his vi­cious passions, that cherrishes and indul­ges the vilest inclinations, and takes no care to purifie his inward man; for such an one as this I say to pretend to the Communion of the Holy Spirit is a unreasonable vanity. A Soul in this state is a subject immediatly capable of, yea is actually under Influences from a­nother Spirit, evenEph: 2.4. The Spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. Cor­rupt nature is the devils element, and its passions and inclinations (hightned and improven by his diabolical inspira­tions) are the engines that he makes use of to push it foreward to all kinds of vil­lanies.2 Pet: 2.21. St. Peter tells us that they were Holy Men that were moved by the Holy Ghost. Its only in a pure Mind that this Hea­venly Guest doth lodge. The secret of the LORD, sayth Solomon, Prov: 3.32. is with the Righ­teous. And to be sure, the Presence and Operations of the Holy Spirit in the [Page 289] Souls of men are a principal secret of his, and to be experimentally acquaint­ed with it, is the priviledge only of the Righteous. Now it will be very necessary to inculcat betimes on Children, that as their continuance in corrupt na­ture, and their gratifying its Passions and inclinations, puts and keeps them under the power, and slavery, and in­fluences of the devil; so their hearty a­bandoning and crucifying all their viti­ous appetites and affections, and empty­ing their Souls of them, doth dispose and prepare them for the reception of the Holy Spirit, and of all his blessed fruits and attendants: For the sence of this will both beget in them on early a­version to the hinderances of so great a good, and readily incline them to love these dispositions and practices that qualifie them for it.

(2) We must Ardently, Infinitly and Humbly Pray for the Holy Spi [...]it; This our Saviour Himself Prescrives us as a necessary mean of obtaining him, whoLuke 11.1 assures us that our Heavenly Father will give His Holy Spirit to them that ask him; And it evidently supposes that which I just now recommended: For the truth [Page 290] is, he only can Pray for the Holy Spirit who Crucifies his lusts, and forsakes his sins; for to Pray for the Holy Spirit, and yet to continue in sin, is as absurd as it would be, to desire the Light and influences of the Sun, and yet shut up our selves within a dark Dungeon whither its Beams could not have access: For as the thick Walls of the Dungeon hin­der the Influences of the Sun from him that is shut up within, so a wilful con­tinuance in sin resists the Holy Spirit, and hinder his gracious operations: but when the heart is emptied of corruption and lust, and turned from all vain, undue and sinful objects, the desire is naturally carried towards GOD, his Light and grace; such a Soul is in the true Dispo­sition of Praying for the Holy Spirit, and can Pray in a right manner; For we must carefully remember that our Prayers for the Holy Spirit must be due­ly qualified, that is, they must (1) be Ardent and intense, not faint and languid; there must be in the Soul a hungering Matt. 5. and thristing after Righteousness, that is vehement and Ardent desires, and these do naturally spring up in an heart that is emptyed of its Corruptions, as when [Page 291] the Stomach is purged of all ill humours the appetite becomes sharp and kee [...]. A soul that is deeply sensible of its wants will pant Psal: 42.1. after GOD, as the chased heart doth after the cooling Streams. (2) They must be instant and urging, not seldom and intermitted. What we know both to be very valuable in it self and indispensably necessary unto us, we con­tent not our selves with once seeking it, but we continue our Solicitations for it. Now if any thing in the World be such, to be sure the Holy Spirit is, and therefore it is our duty to pray for him without ceas­ing, which a Soul emptied of sin & self-wil, will not fail to do; For it feels its wants: And one that is deeply sensible of his ne­cessities, not only prays fervently, but prays importunatly. (3.) They must be humble, that is, our prayers must issue from a heart that truely feels its poverty, blindness, and misery, that is purged of pride and self-conceit, that intertains mean thoughts of it self, that doth not pretend to merit, but runs to mercy, in a word, that disposes one to carry as the Publican Luke. 18.1 [...]. did, who stood afar off, would not so much as lift up his eyes to Heaven, smote on his breast, and cryed GOD be [Page 229] merciful to me a sinner. He that prays for the Holy Spirit in such a disposition cannot miss him; For GOD hath pro­misedHumilis tui cognitio, certior via est ad Deum, quam profunda scientiae inquisi­tio De imit: Chr: lib: 1. cap: 3. to give his Grace to the humble. The humble knowledge of thy self, saith the a Kempis, is a surer way to GOD, than profound and la­borious inquiries after learning. When we know our selves truely, we know that we are poor and miserable, blind and naked, we know that we are great sinners; and imperfect creatures, destitute of good, and disaffected to God, empty nothings, dust and ashes, and such a knowledge a this of ones self, cannot but dispose to humility, and hu­mility is a Noble Ingredient in Prayer.

(3.) In order to be Illuminated and ought by the Holy Spirit, we must care­fully listen to his voice, & correspond to his mo­tions, and faithfully improve his graces al­ready bestowed on us; If we do not carry towards him after this manner, we can­not justly hope either that he will teach us, or though he did, that we could pro­fit by his teaching, For

(1) If we do not listen to his voice, [Page 293] how is it possible for him to teach us? a Scholar that will not give ear to the instructtions of his Master, can never be­come learned, or be a good proficient. To attempt the teaching of such as are listless, and inadvertent, and that de­liberatly turn away their ears, would be to lose time and labour; they that are in this disposition cannot profit by the travels of either GOD or Man; For though he call, yet will they not answer,Prov: 1.20. &c. though he give counsels, they will not entertain them, though he deliver his mind to them in all the strains of love and endearments, and with the most awakening circumstances, yet they will turn a deaf ear to the voice of this Hea­venly Charmer. Hear sayeth the Wis­dom of GOD to the souls of men;Prov: 8.6. For I will speak of excellent things, and the opening of my lips shall be right things, clearly intimating that in order to be taught by the Holy Spirit, and to re­ceive from him the knowledge of Di­vine things, we must carefully listen to his voice, our attention must be close and recollected, and therefore we must Piously retire and withdraw from all these objects and exercises that [Page 294] are apt to distract and divert us. Now as a Scholar, if, when his Master is speaking and using endeavours to in­struct him, he should suffer his attention to be broken and scattered by carelessness, by playing and unseasonably talking with his Comerads, or otherwayes, can­not hear the voice of his Teacher, nor be benefited by him; So neither can we hear the Voice of the Holy Spirit, nor receive any profit from his Loving Cares to instruct us, as long as our minds are distracted, and our attention diverted by the cares and concerns of the World, by the tumults of our unruly passions, by inordinatly pleasing our sensuality, and indulging our selves the liberty of speculating vainly. His gentle Voice is heard only in Silence and Recollection, when the Mind is Serious and Indistur­bed, our passions hush't, and the World secluded.

But here we are to remark, that the Holy Spirit speaks to us both Outward­ly and Inwardly. Outwardly, when by his gracious Care, Appointment, and Direction, some Objects are presented to our outward Senses that may put us in mind of our Duties, and move and o­blige [Page 295] us to the performance of them, that as so many streams, though distant, may lead us to the very source of Life, and Light and Joyes, and that in fine, by working on our Senses and inferiour Faculties, may excite and awaken the Diviner and more Noble Ones. For the Truth is, Mankind, since their degene­racie and aversion from GOD, are so sunk into flesh and sense, are become so gross and stupid, and so insensible to these things that are purely Spiritual, and so incapable of the exercise of the Diviner Faculties, that it is necessary their outward man he attacqued, and their Inferiour Powers, their senses and imagination wrought on, that by means of these they may be made to turn In­ward, and listen to that Divine Voice that speaks within them, and resign themselves unto its Conduct and influ­ences.

Now these Objects by which the Holy Spirit speaks to us from without. Are (1.) And espe­cially the Scriptures The Holy Scrip­ture, as it is the great Outward Mean, by which we are instructed in the Knowledge of GOD, and Di­vine Things, shall be considered under another Head. or the [Page 296] Word of GOD; For these Divine Oracles are dispensed to us by2 Tim: 3.16. his inspiration, and therefore when we read or hear them, we may justly think that it is his good Spirit that speaks to us by them, informing us of the Mind and Will of GOD, acquainting us with our Duties, and calling upon us to Obedience: And doubtless he never fails to second the se­rious Perusal of these sacred Records with inward motions, and furnishes all well disposed Hearts, both with Light to understand, and with Strength to prac­tise the great and essential Duties that are there recom [...]ended. (2.) The Works of GOD, These as they are Beautiful, Harmonious, Orderly and Fertil, are peculiarly the products of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of GOD, saith MosesGen: 1.2. moved upon the face of the Waters, and communicated Beauty, Harmony, Order, Fertility and all other delight­full and agreeable Qualitys to the Crea­tures, which were designed to be the accessary or bodily happiness of Man, and though since the entrance of sin, the Glory of the Creation is sadly Eclipsed, yet there still remain very visible Impressions of the Divine [Page 297] excellencies, and by these we may believe that the Holy Spirit speaks to us, and calls on us to Ascend towards, and to contemplate, Adore, and love the Blessed Original of Bounty, Harmony, and delights. There is no Speech nor lan­guage saveth the Psalmist; Psal: 19.3. speaking of the works of GOD, where their voice is not heard: These are the Universal Preachers, and speak in a Language in­telligible to all mankind. Though the languages of the different Nations of the World are generally unknown to one a­nother, Yet the dialect of the Creatures is understood by all, and certainly when a Holy Soul views the works of GOD with the pious designes of considering that Infinite Goodness, Power and Wis­dom which so Illustriously shine in them, and of exciting suitable affections to­wards the Blessed Creator, we need not doubt but the good Spirit readily inter­poses, clears and enlightens his mind, hightens his thoughts, suggests seasonable reflections, and warms his heart with such devout fervors, as in end will make him quite dissolve into raptures of Ador­ation and Love; And this we may ob­serve to have been very often the Royal [Page 298] Psalmists case when he ingaged in the serious contemplation of the works of GOD, see Psalms 104 throughout. 3, The Dispensations of Divine providence; For these, whither they be adverse or prosperous have a voice, the former call upon us to abandon our sins, the later to the practice of Piety and virtue, the for­mer are chastisements for, and disswasives from our wicked actions; the latter ob­ligations and incouragements to fidelity and gratitude; in these dispensations that are afflicting, we feel the bitter fruits of our own follies; in such as are prosper­ous we do in some sort tast the Goodness of GOD, not but that GOD is Good, even when by the direction of his provi­dence afflictions befall us, because he Graciously designes our wellfare and ad­vantage by them; But then these afflic­tions are not positive emanations from him. (For that most Blessed and ever Happy Nature, that is essentially Love and joyes, hath in it no miseries or sorrows, and consequently cannot be the source whence they should issue,) but they then are the natural and necessar­ry consequences of our sins, which he either suspends or lets fall according as [Page 299] in his infinite Wisdom he shall judge meet: So that when any calamities do befall us, we need not doubt but the Good Spirit doth bespeak us by them, and that it is our duty to labour to un­derstand their Language; Hence the Prophet Micah. Mic: 6.9. Exhort the Jews to hear the Rod, and who had appointed it, intimating both that the Rod had a voice, and that they ought carefully to notice what it spoke, and to comply with the designes of GOD in it. St. Paul tells the Idolatrous Lycaonians,Acts. 14.17. That GOD left not himself without Witnefs, even among the Heathen Nations, in that he did them good, and gave them Rain from Heaven, and Fruitful seasons, filling their Heart with food and gladness; Whereby is plainly enough insinuated, that when GOD by his providence dispenses good things to men, he doth thereby testifie his Gracious inclinations towards them, and designs by his favours to win them to love, obedience, and gratitude: This is certainly the Language of such providences and it becomes our duty seriously to consider it, and to comply with the Intendments of it. We find that the Israelits being de­fective [Page 300] herein, that is, for not Consider­ing, and not Improving aright the ma­nifold Expressions of the Divine Bounty, areIsa: 63.10. said to vex the Holy Spirit. Which is evidence enough, that the Dispensa­tions of the Divine Providence, are one sort of these outward Objects by which the Holy Spirit speaks unto us, and which he never fails to accompany with his Gracious Influences, in all Honest, Sincere and Upright Hearts, enabling them to understand the meaning of his Voice, and to obey it, and thereby ef­fectually advancing the great Work of their Salvation.

Now I doubt not all will be convinced, how necessary it is to give Children such Views as these of the Word, and Works, and Providences of GOD; For this will conciliat their awful Reverence and suit­able Carriages towards these great Ob­jects: This will dispose them to listen to that Blessed Voice that speaks in and by them, and to receive becoming Impres­sions from them, whereby they will be­come excellent Means of promoving the great Concerns of their Soul, and all their Spiritual Interests.

But then further, The Holy Spirit [Page 301] speaks Inwardly and Immediatly to the Soul. How this is done an admirable PersonLu­miere nèc en Tene­bres. part. 1. Lettre 1. by Ant: Bourig­ni [...]n. gives a short, but I think, very satisfy­ing Account God is a Spirit, sayeth the Author, The Soul is a Spirit and they con­verse with one another in Spirit, not by Words, but by Spiritual Notices, which however are more intelligible than the most eloquent Strains in the World. GOD makes Himself to be heard by the Soul, by inward Motions which it perceives and comprehends proportionably as it is voided and emptied of Earthly Ideas, and the more that the faculties of the Soul cease their own operations, so much the more sensible and more intelligible are the Motions of GOD to it. These immediat Communications of GOD with the Souls of Men are de­nyed and derided by a great many; But that the Father of Spirits should have no converse with out Spirits, but by the In­tervention only of outward and forreign Objects, may justly seem strange; Espe­cially when we are so often told in Holy Scripture, that we are the Temples of the Holy Ghost, and that GOD dwells in all good Men: And why the Holy Spirit's speaking inwardly to the Souls of Men, his Illuminating, Teaching and Work­ing in them immediatly, should be treated [Page 302] in ridicule, and be made a subject of drollerie and jest, I know no reason but that men are so sunk into earthlyness and carnality, that they have quite lost all Sense and Relish of Divine and Spiritual Things, and therefore think fit to deny what by reason of their indisposition and listlessness they ean have no experience of.

But that our thoughts of this impor­tant particular may be distinct and clear, we must consi [...]er that the Holy Spirit speaks to two sorts of Persons. (1.) To such as are in a state of sin and impenitency, These he solicits and importunes to re­turn by inward Motions and Impressions, by suggesting good Thoughts, and prompting to pious resolutions, by checks and Controlls, by conviction of sin and duty, sometimes by frights and terrours, and other whiles by Love and Endear­ments. Thus he is said to stand at the door and knock, Reve 3.20. and when any, by the strength wherewith he hath already in­spired them, do sincerely abandon and foresake their sins, turn to GOD, and absolutely resign themselves to his Conduct, and Operations, then they are said to hear his Voiee and open the door, and accordingly he enters in, and takes [Page 303] Possession of them, and if they continue Faithful to him, and do not return again to folly, Psal: 85.8. he will continue to carry on to Perfection, that which he hath graci­ously begun. On the other hand when, notwithstanding all his Loving Sollicita­tions, men do still cherish and cleave to their lusts, and persevere in a state of sin, they are then said toActs 7.51. resist the Holy Ghost, whereby their condition becomes very deplorable, and their Conversion very difficult; For the more Men resist the Importunitys, and stiffle the Motions of the Holy Spirit, the stronger do the chains of their corruption and servitude become. Every new act of sin gives if a degree of strength, and consequently puts a new obstacle in the way of Conver­sion; And when sin is turned into an in­veterate and rooted habit (which by reiterated Commissions and long conti­nuance it is) then it becomes a nature, and is as difficultly altered as Nature is; Can the Ethiopian change his collour? Or the Leopard his spots? Then may you also do Good who are accustomed to do evil. Jer: 13.23. So that in this case the Conversion of Men becomes morally impossible, for though the Mercies and Graces of GOD do never [Page 304] fail, and though the Holy [...]pirit continues his Sollicitations, yet when men, by a long and willful continuance in sin, have so hardened themselves, that they be­come stupid and wholly insensible to the Divine calls and Voice, then the Holy Spirit bandons them to their own conduct; But my people, sayeth GOD by the Royal Prophet,Psal: 81.11.12. would not hearken to my Voice, and Israel would none of me, so I gave them up to their own hearts lusts, and they walked in their own counsels.

This weighty Consideration should o­blidge Parents with all possible serious­ness, to recommend to their Children, that they fail not betimes to listen to the Calls and Voice of the Holy Spirit, and that they be infinitly ender of resisting his gracious importunities. This good Spirit begins very soon to attacque young Hearts, that he may win them to the Love of GOD, and engage them to Re­member their Creator in the dayes of their youth: And O happy! Yea, thrice hap­py they who comply with these early Motions, and who do not listen to the fly and cunning insinuations of a tempt­ing Devil, a flattering World and a de­ceaving flesh! O how easie and delight­ful [Page 305] would Conversion to GOD, and the Obedience of his Commands be, if we gave ear to the first Calls of the Divine Grace, and did set about the work of our Salvation, while our hearts are tender & flexible, & before we have contracted vitious habits; whereas if we neglect & delay it, & follow the swing of corrupt nature, & the conduct of the wicked World, and listen to the fallacious proposals of the great enemy of our Souls, as our Conversion will be­come extreamly difficult, yea and next to impossible, so if ever we shall be pre­vailed with heartily to engage in it, it will be infallibly attended with most piercing Sorrows and Agonies, with Fears and Anxieties, Horrours and Tremblings, with Doubts and uncer­tainties, and a thousand other racking and bitter Ingredients. But the Obli­gations to an early Piety together with its manifold Advantages, and several other particulars that concern it, shall be else whereJust Mea­sure. Part 2. deduced at large.

2. He speaks to such as are in a state of purity, that is, to such as by his power­ful Operations haveGal. 3.24 crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts, are 1 Thes. 5 23.. sanctified in [Page 306] Soul, Body and Spirit, &2 Cor: 7.1. cleansed from all filthiness. These are indeed the Tem­ples of the Holy Ghost, wherein he hath actually taken up his Residence, with these he entertains a most amicable and delightfull Converse; he speaks to them Peace and Consolations: He will speak PeacePsal: 85.5. to his people, and to his Saints. He speaks in them; Because ye are Sons, God hath sent Gal: 4:6: forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying Abba Father. He inspires their Prayers with devout and Filial affections, andRom: 8:26: makes intercessions for them with sighs and groans that eannot be uttered, He guides and mannages them. The Sons of God Rom: 8:14: are led by the Spirit of God. He makes his blessed fruits, Righteousness, Peace, Joy, and Divine Love, more and more to abound in them, he confirms them in Goodness, perswades them to Perseverance, & seals them to the day of Eph: 4:30. Redemption.

The duties of such as are in this state, with respect to the Holy Spirit, are tenderly to cherish, and entertain him to preserve his Temples pure and clean, to reject with the greatest abhorrance all these motions that are contrary to his; [Page 307] constantly and obediently to follow his Conduct; For otherwayes, if they that are in this State shall turn remiss and ne­gligent, and intertain motions, and al­low themselves in practices that are dis­agreeable and offensive to him, they will become guilty of grieving the holy Spi­rit Eph: 4 30: which is an horrid instance of in­gratitude, & a most disingenuous return to the love, and condescendency of that Blessed ONE, Who hath vouchsafed to become the Inhabitant of their Souls, and would abide with them for ever. These beginnings of infidelity must be watched against with infinite Care, lest in the end, they become total Apostats from the Divine Light and Grace,Heb: 6.1, 4, 5, 6. and thereby fall into that dreadful state, which is called a doing despite unto the holy Spirit. Heb: 10 29.

These great Truths must with respect to Children be improven. (1.) By en­couraging them to endeavour & aspire after a State of purity by self denyal, and crucifixion of their lusts and apetites, and corrupt nature, from the consider­ation that when they have arrived at it, the holy Spirit will dwell in them, illu­minat and teach them, fill them with [Page 308] his Graces, communicat unto them his Joys and Consolations, and guide and direct them, till in end by his gracious and special Care, they be safely landed in the Regions of Perfect and un­changeable Purity.

(2.) By oblidging them, when the holy Spirit hath in any measure taken possession of them, to be infinitly fear­ful of doing any thing that may be grievous and unacceptable to him, lest he be provoked to abandon them, and they fall under the Conduct of the Spi­rit that worketh in the children of disobedience. But to proceed,

(2.) To the next point of our Direc­tion, if we would be taught and illumi­nated by the holy Spirit, we must faith­fully improve the Graces already bestowed on us, we must turn what we know into practice; if we are Faithful in a little, more shall be intrusted to us; But if we hide our Talents by negligence and mis­improvements, we cannot justly hop [...] that more shall be committed to our management.Omnes censamur nobis deesse gratiam; sed justius forsitan ipsa quaeritu [...]redge [...] sibi nonnullos deesse. S. Bernard. We are all apt to pretend [Page 309] that Grace fails us, but in effect we fail it, by not co-operating with it, and not employing the strength it communicates to us in dischargeing the duties of Reli­gion, and the practices of a holy life. To what end should the holy Spirit be­stow more Light and Grace on us, when we are not faithful to what we have al­ready received. This were certainly to increase both our sin and misery; for the more Light and Grace we have, if we cross and contradict it in our lives and practices, our sin will be the more aggra­vated, and our misery the greater. He that knoweth his Masters Luk: 12 [...]7, will and doth it not, shall be beaten with many stripes. The Holy Spirit never fails to communicate to us so much Grace and Light as we are capable of, and our present circumstan­ces do require, and if we conscientious­ly improve the Measures already receiv­ed, new Additions shall still be made to them, and so we shall be alwayes growing2 Pet: 3 18: in the Grace and Knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, till in end we be filled with all the fullness of God.

And these are the Particulars which we must put in practice, in order to re­ceive the Holy Spirit, and to be Illu­minated and taught by him; And though they are successively delivered, yet they must be joyntly practised, that is, we must Purify our Hearts, Pray for the Spirit, hear his voice, and im­prove his G [...]aces, altogether, without needing to suppose that any considerable distances of time must necessarly inter­veen between the discharging of the se­veral duties: For the Truth is, they are subservient to, and do dispose for one another, & are so interwoven in the pra­ctice, that they cannot be well separated.

And now I hope, I have sufficiently acquainted Parents with what Measures they should take in teaching their Chil­dren the true knowledge of GOD. I have the longer insisted on this particular; not only because I looked on it as very momentuous and weighty: But also, because I was apprehensive, That this part of the Education of Youth is very superficially, and triflingly managed. May the good GOD incline Parents ef­fectually to direct, and Children dili­gently to practise what shall be piously recommended to them.

[Page]§. XX. Thus I have finished a part of my Directions. 'Tis plain that he particulars insisted on in them are of highest Concern. And therefore I ear­nestly intreat all such as would success­fully promove the Concerns of a Christi­an Education, not to content themselves with a slight and Transient perusal of these Things, but Consider them serio [...]sly and frequently, digest them solidly, and La­bour to Experience the force and Efficacy of them in their own hearts, that so they may be qualified to speak of them feeleng­ly and with power, to dispense them pru­dently and with care, as the Capacities of these under their inspection will allow, and convenient seasons shall determine. And I perswade my self that by follow­ing the Measures here set down, in an humble Dependance on the Divine Bles­sing and Grace; they shall soon reap the joyfull fruits of their Pious Diligence and Endeavours.

1. The simple propo­sition of it at first re­com­mended1. I Judge it convenient that Parents do at first only sim­ply propose this blessed Mystery to the Consideration of Young Ones, telling them, that the Eternal Word, or Son of GOD became Man, being by a Su­pernatural and Divine Power Con­ceived in the Womb of an Holy Vir­gin, who never knew Man, that He affumed our Humane Nature in a state of Imperfection, weakness, and mortality, and did actually feel and experience its inclinations, and ne­cessities, and all the temptations to which it is exposed; And yet that in the midst of so many disadvanta­geous and embarassing Circumstan­ces, and though frequently assaulted by the inclinations of our Mortality, and fiercely attaked by the powers of darkness▪ he still retained his Purity and Innocence without ever having [Page 313] committed the least sin, in thought, word, or deed, and that so he ever continued to be the Holy and immacu­late Lamb of GOD.

(2) I would recommend,(2) That the Passages of Holy Scripture, which evince the forego­ing Truths be made familiar un­to them. That they point at these pas­sages of Holy Scripture, which do assure us of the Truth of the foregoing particulars, and Imprint them on the hearts and Memories of their Chil­dren. And (1.) That the Son of GOD became Man, these Pas­sages do Sufficiently verify. The word was made Flesh Joh. 1.4. and dwelt among us. When the Gal: 4.4. fulness of time was come, God sent forth his Son made of a Woman. And1 Tim: 3:16. great is the Mystery of Godliness: GOD was manifest in the Flesh.

(2) To convince them that he was con­ceived by a Divine Power, in the Womb of a pure Virgine, without the concurrence of Man, and that in due time he was Born of her, a tender, though an Heavenly Babe, and therefore that he was treated in the same manner that other Infants in the like circumstances use to be, to convince them, I say, of all this, it will be necessary to acquaint [Page 314] them very particularly with the History of the Conception and Nativity, as it is at large Recorded by Saint Luke, the former, Chap: 1. from Verse 26, to the 39, and the latter Chapter 2. through­out. 3. That the Son of GOD assum­ed the Humane Nature in a State of Im­perfection, weakness, and Mortality, a great many passages do evince, such as Christ Jesus Phil: 2.6, 7, &c: being in the Form of GOD, made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a Servant, and was made in the likeness of Men: and being found in fashion as a man, He Humbled himself, and became Obedient unto Death, even the Death of the Cross. For as much then, at the Heb: 2.14.17. Chil­dren are partakers of Flesh and Blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same, wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his Brethren. 4. That he had experience of the Inclinations, ne­cessities, and temptations of our Mortal Humanity; And yet, that he never committed sin, but continued alwayes spotless and Innocent, the Holy Scrip­tures do also aboundantly demonstrate. For we have not a High Priest (sayeth the Apostle to the HebrewsHeb: 4:15. which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, [Page 315] but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin, who 1 Pet. 2 22. did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. I do not pretend to direct unto all the passages that assert and prove the Truth of the mentioned particulars, but only to touch on a few of the most obvious and urgent; In the mean time it is fit that by the application of these and the like pas­sages the minds of Young Ones be root­ed and established in these great and im­portant Doctrines of our Religion, and so guarded against being infected by the contrary Errours.

It will be necessary to caution them very seriously against the bold and pro­phane adventures of the corrupted rea­son of Man,3 That the bold intrusi­ons of corrup­ted rea­son be duely guard­ed a­gainst. that would by its own li­mited glimmering and deceitful light, enter and pry into this vast Abyss of Di­vine and Mysterious secrets. And the most effectual way, I suppose, to do this, will be, by telling them, That this Myste­ry is above the narrow Sphere and com­prehension of Reason; That no hight can penetrate into, and discover the depths of Divine things, but what is it self Divine, That the subtile and teme­rarious inquiries, that have been made [Page 316] by reason into the nature of the Hypo­statical Union, that Sacred tye which U­nites the two Natures, the Divine and Humane, in the person of the ever Bles­sed Jesus, have sullied and darkned rhis Amiable Mystery, but could never un­fold and illustrate it, that it is their du­ty to acquiesce in the simpler and plain declarations of the Holy Scriptures con­cerning it, and not curiously to endea­vour by the activity of their own minds to comprehend and Fathome it, That the design which the Blessed GOD had in acquainting us with this Mystery, was not to entertain our speculations, but to oblige us to the Love and admiration of, and gratititude to that wonderful and condescending Goodness thar vou­chsafed to approach us so near as to visit us in our own Nature, and speak to us through a Vail of flesh like our own; And in fine, if we would know this Mysterie in a saving manner, that then the true way of attaining to this sort of know­ledge of it is, by the exercise of a burn­ing Love, by an universal and sincere obedience, and by an humble Oblation of our Souls in pure and ardent desires unto him, who is the true Light, and in [Page 317] whom are hid the Treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge, and he will not fail to impart it to us, as we are assured from his own WordsSt. Jo. 14.21. he that hath my Commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: And he that loveth me, shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest my self to him. To be sure the good and merci­ful Jesus, will be ready to reveal him­self, to manifest and disclose his secrets to us, so far as it will be necessary for our good, when he sees that we desire the knowledge of them, not to gratifie our curiosity, but to inflame our love, not to fill our heads with notions and speculations, but our hearts with Pious and devout affections.

(4.) In the next place, let them be inform'd,(4.) That the incarnation must be traced up to its en­dearing original and source, which is Love, and that in this view it ought to be with all possible Serious­ness commended unto them. in the most pathetick & taking manner that can be, of what was the source & spring of this so surpassing a favour, so singular & so endearing a con­descendency. Oh! What was it that did oblidge the Son of GOD to become man! The brightness of the Fathers Glory to Vail himself under a cloud of Flesh! The Immortal to [Page 318] put on Mortality! Him that was in the Form of GOD, to take on him the form of a Servant! The fulness of the Deity to feel the necessities of frail Hu­manity! And the terror of Devils, to put himself in a condition of being tempted by them! What was it, I say, That obliged the Son of GOD thus to empty, and to disfigure himself, Thus to appear without forme or comlyness? Isaia. [...]3.2. Why, it was pure, gratuitous, and undeser­ed Love towards lost and forelorn Man­kind. 'Tis true, the sin and misery of Man was the occasion of this marvellous condescendency, as we may learn from what is said in Ezekiel, Ezekiel 16 5 6. [...]. which, tho it have a peculiar reguard to the Jews, Yet it is applicable to the state of Mankind in general. None Eye pitied thee, and when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own Blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy Blood, live; Yea I said unto thee when thou wast in thy Blood, live. The wretched and lamentable estate, into which man had plunged himself, gave occasion to the exercise of this Love, but it was not a necessitate occasion, GOD might have left man to perish in his sin and th [...] [...] [...]proach to his [Page 319] goodness. For since man had abused the the Graces vouchsafed him in his Crea­tion, and by a free and voluntary re­volt (notwithstanding all the gracious endeavours, that GOD used to prevent his fall) had turned away from GOD towards himself and the Creatures, GOD might have very Justly abandon­ed him, and never have taken any more noticc of him especially considering that the Eternal & unchangeable Rule which GOD hath established in his dealing with Man, is, That he should give unto him according to his choice and works. Now since man had voluntarly chosen sin and separation from GOD, it was just with GOD to let him have his choice, that is, abandon him to sin, and the consequences of it. Neither was the re­covery of Man neeessary to GOD, in order to prosecute his design of having creatures to whom he might communi­cate his fulness, and with whom he might Eternally delight himself: For it was easie for him to accomplish this de­sign by raising up of new myriades of free and intelligent Creatures in the room of Man, which might be the ob­jects of his bounty and delight. But in the mean time, the Blessed Jesus our elder [Page 320] Brother being on the one hand sensibly touched with the offence done to GOD his Father, and on the other, deeply resenting the miseries of his Brethren, the Children of Men, and from a prin­ciple of ardent Zeal for the Divine Glo­ry, desiring that GOD should be again Loved, Obeyed, and Glorified by Man, did present himself unto GOD, and mediated for man, and in the strains of a most eloquent and disinteressed Love pleaded with his Eternal and offended Father, that he would pardon the sin of man, renew and reinforce the offer of his Light and Grace, and put man under his Care and Conduct, professing how willing he was to do for man what ever might tend to his recovery and Salvati­on, though it were to lay down his very life. Upon these infinitly Meritorious, and Charitable Addresses and Intercessions of the Son of GOD, to which nothing could be denyed, GOD was prevailed with to resume thoughts of Love towards man, to pass by his demerit, and cast a favourable eye upon him, and to do and give whatever might contribute to the restoration of him, and because the Incarnation of his Son was the great [Page 32] mean that remain'd to be put in Execu­tion in order to remedy and cure the Maladies of Man, to reclaim him from sin, and restore him to his Primitive happiness, He out of His Boundless and overflowing Goodness consented to it, and therefore we are told by St. John. 3.16.17. That GOD so loved the World, that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have Everlasting Life, That He sent His Son into the World, not to condemn the World, but that the World through him might be saved. O what noble heights, what generous & surprizing Excesses, what endearing sin­gularities of Love are discoverable here! This Generous and sympathizing Love, was the Source and procuring Cause of this Mysterious Incarnation, which, though it was ignominious and degrad­ing to the Son of GOD, yet it was infi­nitly advantageous to man, and indis­pensibly necessary in order to his Hap­piness and Salvation.

5.5: That the great ends of the Incarnation, are next to be insisted on, together with a de­claration of the [...]eighty and very important Truths that necessarly re­sult from the Con­sideration of these ends. After this let them be acquainted with the great design of this Blessed Incarnation, or, what it was that the Son of God aimed [Page 322] at in assuming our frail Humanity; And this the Sacred Oracles do very ex­presly determine, Name­ly, The restoring man to his Primitive Happiness, and in order thereto, the rooting out of sin and Corruption, and the implanting of Holiness and Purity.

The Original and Primitive Happi­ness of Man (considering it at present as to the most essential and chief Ingre­dients of it, and with respect to the Soul) consisted in the compleat and perfect Fruition of the Luminous and delightful Presence of God shining in the Soul, and filling it with Vital and Solid, Substantial and permanent, with infinitly refreshful & ineffable Joys & Satisfactions; This Feli­city Man forfeited by his Apostacy from God, & thereby became a dark & for­lorn, destitute & polluted Creature, void, of all Goodness, actually lying under the dreadful consequences of sin, and expo­sed to the Eternal Duration of them, if the Love of GOD in Christ did not in­terpose. Now that the Son of GOD in being incarnat, designed the Restitution of Man to his Primitive State of Bless and [Page 323] Glory, we are assured by himself, when he tells usJohn 3.7. That he was sent into the World; that the world (the Children of Men, the Inhabitants of this lower World) through Him might be saved. ThatMat: 18 11. He came to seek and to save that which was lost, That is, Man, who had wandred from GOD, the only Source of Bless, and lost and be wildred himself in an eager and vain pursuit of happiness in himself and the Creatures. Now it is plain, That to save Man, is to restore him to the Bea­tifick Fruition of the Presence of GOD, which he had forfeited; For, till he ar­rive at this, he cannot be properly said to be saved; And as he advanees towards it, so proportionablie his Salvation ad­vances. And therefore when our LORD sayes that He came to save man, it is all one as to tell us, that he came to restore him to his Primitive Bless. But it is im­possible that Man can be capable of the immediat Fruition of this Bless, while in a state of Corruption and sin, and destitute of Rectitude and Purity; For Light can have no fellowship with dark­ness, GOD cannot dwell in, nor com­municat the pure Emanations of his [Page 324] Light and Love to a Soul that is habitu­ally impute and polluted, and disaffect­ed to him; Or on supposition that he did display his amiable Rayes in such a Soul, they would be so far from being an hap­piness to it, that in effect, by reason of its indisposition, and disconformity to Divine Things, they would be a plague and terrour to it. And therefore as the Son of GOD came to restore Man to his Primitive happiness, so he came to qualifie and prepare him for it, by ex­terminating sin, and introducing Purity and Innocence into his Soul. The Account which the Angel gives to Daniel Dan. 9. of the design of the Incar­nation of the Son of GOD, doth fully verifie this, which was in short, to finish Trangression, to make an end of sin, & to make Reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in Everlasting Righteousness. To this same purpose, is that of St. Paul, Tit: 2.14. He gave Himself for us, that He might Redeem us from all iniquity, and purifie unto Himself a peculiar people Zealous of Good Works. This is also the Beloved Disciples account of it, for this purpose (saith he)1 Ep. 3.8. Was the Son of GOD manifested, that he might destroy [Page 325] the works of the devil; That is, All sin and Corruption, all sorts of Impurities, whether of the flesh or of the Spirit, all inordinate Lusts and Passions, all wicked acts and habits, which are called the works of the devil, because he was the first Author and Source of them, practises them himself, and sollicites all that he can to the practice of them. These works which the devil had seduced Mankind to love, & do, & whereby he had defiled and corrupted the Humane Nature, and ren­dred it unsuitable to GOD, these works, I say, the Son of GOD, being sent in the Likeness of sinfull flesh, Rom. 8 3. came to root out and destroy, and to make man par­taker of a Divine Nature and Inclinations, and so fit and prepare him for the Bea­tifick Vision and Fruition of GOD. From this great and weighty Truth, there do naturally issue two very edifie­ing and instructive inferences, which can never be enough inculcated on the hearts of Children.

1. One is, That then the Son of GOD came not into the World, with design to countenance or give any indulgence unto sin, No, He came as we have heard, to [Page 326] make an end of it, to finish it, and to destroy it; He came not to palliat and cloak it, but to discover and expose it in its own black and horrid forms; Not to lessen the Obligations to disclaim and hate it, but to increase and heighten them. The Compassionat Jesus will be mercifull to the Sinner, when he turns a sincere Pe­nitent, but he will never be reconciled to the sin; And therefore let none per­niciously imagine, that because they are or may fancie themselves to be the Chil­dren of GOD, the Elect or Pardoned and justi­fied persons, therefore that sin is more tol­lerable in them, then in the impenitent and Unbelievers, or that GOD hates it less in them than he doth in others. Cer­tainly this were to reproach and blas­pheme the holyness of GOD, as if he did not hate sin as sin; Doubtless, wherever it is, it carries in it an equal contrariety to the purity of his Essence, and when he sees it in any of his Chil­dren, he cannot choose but hate it the more, because it is committed against a clearer Light, more endearing instances of Love, greater Obligations and Advan­tages, and a longer Experience of the [Page 327] sweetnesses of Religion than others have, so that to take encouragement to sin from the Mercies of the Gospel, is visibly to turn the Grace of GOD into wanton­ness, and to contradict, and as much as in them lyes, to defeat the great design of the Incarnation of the Son of GOD.

2. The other inference is, That the Son of GOD came not to procure Heaven, but to such only as should be qualified and prepared for it. He designs it not pro­miscuously for all, without any regard to their Dispositions. No certainly; For Heaven is a State of Purity, of Light, of Love and of Divine Joys, and none are capable of the enjoyments of it, but such as have attained to a Pure and Spi­ritual and Divine temper of Soul. It is true, all would be Infinitly welcome to partake in the Happyness of Heaven, if all were qualified for it. None are fatal­ly excluded from it. GOD the ever Blessed Father of Mankind design'd it as the Portion and Inheritance of all his Children; And therefore he hath indued them with great and Noble Faculties, to fit them for so great and so Divine an enjoyment. The Truth is these vast [Page 328] and immortal desires after an Infinite good that are naturally seated, and do burn in the Hearts of all Men, do necessarly suppose both that all Men are capable of an infinit good, and that an Infinit good was designed for all as their Hap­piness and Bless; For to say that all men do desire an Infinit good, and yet to deny that they have capacities for it, or to allow that they have desires after it, and Capacities for it, and yet to affirm that GOD hath absolutly determined that in the far greatest part of them, these desires should never be satisfied, nor these Capacitys fill'd with the Objects, for the Fruition of which, these desires and Capacities were implanted by GOD in man, are thoughts so absurd and inconsistent, so unworthy of that GOD, who is Essential, Infinit, and most Communicative Love and Goodness, so dishonourable to his Wis­dom, Truth and Justice, And, if they did practically obtain, so suppres­sive of our desires, and so great discou­ragements to our hopes, and endeavours after happiness, that none who impartial­ly consider things, can seriously admit of them. It is certain, that if all Man­kind [Page 329] had continued in Innocence and Purity, and the love of GOD, all with­out exception, had been actually ad­mitted into the fruition of the Bless and Glories of Eternity. But now that they are become degenerat & sinful Creatures, and have contracted Dispositions contra­ry to GOD and Divine things, it is not possible that they can be admitted into the presence of GOD, and the par­ticipation of his joys, until what is Car­nal and Earthly, impure and perverse in them be perfectly done away; until their disaffectedness and aversion to God be removed, their vitious habits rooted out, and a temper agreeable to Divine things introduced in their Souls. Whence it is evident, that one of the greatest services we can do to the Souls of Young Ones, is, with all the diligence we are capable of, to Imprint very early on their Hearts this most important and most fundamental Truth, & to acquaint them with these passages of Scripture that press and recommend it, such as are these that tell us, that they Ma: 5.8. are only the pure in heart that shall see GOD. That without Purificati­on no Man shall see Heb: 12.14. the Lord. That 2 Cor. 6.14. righ­teousness can have no Communion with unrigh­teousness, [Page 330] nor light with darkness. That 1 Joh: [...].7. if we walk in the Light as GOD is in the Light, we shall have fellowship one with ano­ther. That 1 Joh: 3.23. if we would be like him, and see him as he is, we must purifie our selves as he is pure. That the unrighteous shall 1 Cor: 6.9. not inherit the Kingdom of GOD. That Rev: 21.27. any thing that defileth shall in no wayes enter into the new Jerusalem. That they only who have Psal: 24.24. Pure hearts, and clean hands shall ascend into the Hill of the LORD, and stand in His Holy place. That GOD Psal: 5.4.5. hath not plea­sure in wickedness, neither shall evil dwell with him, that the Foolish shall not stand in his sight, and that he hateth all the workers of iniquity.

These and many the like passages do very solidly prove, that Heaven is design­ed to be the portion only of Purified and Holy Souls. And this Doctrine, if young Ones were seriously trained up under the impressions of it, could not choose but have very excellent and singular influ­ences on their hearts and lives, and pre­vent their falling into a great many per­nicious mistakes, which are the source of Spiritual negligence and carelesness, & the grounds of false & presumptuous hopes of Heaven; Particulary it would

[Page 331]1. Convince them of the indispensible necessity of Holiness, That it is no arbi­trary or indifferent thing, but an essential pre-requisite, in order to partake in the Felicities of the other world; For in effect Holyness is the health & good temper of the Soul, by which it is put in an imme­diat capacity of enjoying & relishing the pleasures of Heaven; And indeed with­out it, Heaven cannot be a state of Hap­piness to any: For a Soul that is habitu­ally impure, earthly and sensual, hath given such a wretched turn and byass to its faculties, that nothing can savour with it, but what suits its perverse dispo­sitions, that is, nothing but what is Car­nal and earthly; and though such a Soul were admitted into Heaven, yet it would be miserable and unhappy still, because there is nothing in that Blessed place that could gratifie its corrupted appetites. The enjoyments of Heaven are pure and Spiritual and Sublime; And these to be sure cannot give satisfaction and content­ment to a Soul that is corrupt, and sunk into earthlyness and sensuality, and is under the power of vile Lusts and affec­tions, but rather would torment, and [Page 332] plague it, and that because of the con­trariety and aversion that is in its temp­er to GOD and Divine things; For, as the light of the Sun, which affords vast pleasure and delight to a sound and vi­gorous eye, is infinitly uneasie and trou­blesome to an eye that is tender and dis­tempered, Even so the Light and Joys of GOD, which to a pure and well dis­posed Soul are unmeasurably satisfying, and the sources of Eternal and Glorious delights, do unspeakably frighten and disquiet a perverted and defiled Soul.

2. This Doctrine will let them see that no vain and presumptuous relyances on the Merits and Satisfaction of our Blessed Saviour, no imaginary pretences of being the peculiar and bosome favo­rites of Heaven, no perswasion that we are pardoned persons, and the adopted Children of GOD, can excuse the want of Real and Inherent Purity, for the Holy GOD will owne none for his Favorites, neither will he adopt any as his Chil­dren, but suchRom: 8.29. as are conformed unto the Image of his Son; That is, such as by the powerful Operations of the Divine Grace, in the Exercise of an [Page 333] universal self Denyal, and severe Mor­tification have attained to a State of Pu­rity. Nor are any pardoned so as to have a Title to Eternal Life, but they only who heartilyActs 3.19. repent, and are sincerely Converted, who forsake their sins, and reform their Hearts and Lives. And it is a horrid and profane abuse of the Merits of our dear Redeemer, to look upon them only as appologies for our habitual impurities, and as a cloak to pal­liat our beloved wickedness, and to hope that on the account of them, we shall be charmed into Heaven, though sin and lust live in us, and we continue to gratify all the appetites of the old man, when in the mean time, we are assured by1 Joh: 3.5. one who understood well the de­signs of his incarnation, That he was ma­nifested to take away our sins, and that by really implanting in our Souls an everlast­ing Righteousness, and thereby to conform us unto GOD, and to dispose us for the Fruition of the Pleasures that are at his Right hand for ever more.

3. From this moreover they may be taught very easily to deduce, that the Pu­rifying of their Souls, ought to be their [Page 334] great and principal Work, while they are in this World. We see that it is not possible for us to be admitted into Hea­ven, that is, to enjoy the glorious Pre­sence and Communications of GOD in the other World, as long as we are im­pure and corrupt; And therefore, The great Business of our Lives, must be vi­gorously to labour to arrive at a State of Purity and Agreeablenes [...] to GOD. And this Blessed State we can never at­tain to, if we do not constantly impor­tune, and entirely resign our selves unto the Influences and Operations of the Di­vine Grace, and by the Mighty Assist­ances of it, strenuously contend to cru­cify corrupt nature, to resist and check all its appetites and inclinations, to root out our vitious habits, and watchfully to prevent the contracting of new ones, that so our Souls, being emptied of sin and self and corruption, may be filled with the Fruits of the Holy Spirit, with these Graces that are the true Ornaments of our immortal part, and which make us agreeable to GOD, as having Christ formed in us. This is the greatest Concern, this is the one thing needful, that we must [Page 335] be travelling about as long as we are in the state of tryal. The sooner we en­gage in it, the better it will be for us, and the longer we delay, the less inclin­ed we shall be to enter upon it, and the more hard and difficult we shall find our work to be. This, it is the indispensable duty of the Instructers of Youth, to make all under their care very sensible of; And in order thereto, to remind them, that they are the off-spring of sin­ful Parents, that they came into this World, with degenerat and defiled natures, prone to evil, and disaffected to Good, that they began very early to give indications of their degeneracy and corruption, and have sinn'd against the Will and Laws, the Light and Love of GOD their Father, against the motions & importunities of the Holy Spirit their Sanctifier, and against the Blood and Wounds, the Grace and Merits of their dear Redeemer, and that therefore they must nail their old Man to the cross, That is, check and oppose and control it in all its desires, and with Fervour and Perseverance, implore the healing Efficacies of the Divine Grace, for the [Page 336] restoration of their Souls. That they must begin this Work with all the speed imaginable, by devoting the Prime and Flower and Vigour of their years into it, and continue it without weariness and interruption, as long as they are in this World. And the more effectually to perswade them to it, it will not be im­proper to represent unto them, that this is the design of that solemn Injunction2 Cor: 7.1, of the Apostle, Having therefore all these Promises (namely these mentioned in the 16 and 18 verses of the preceeding chapter, whereby GOD assures us that he will gloriously inhabit our Souls as his living Temples, and fill all our Ca­pacities with his Light and Joyes, treat us as his dear Children, and bestow u­pon us the noble Inheritances he hath prepared for us) let us (to the end we may be capable of such ineffable Favours) cleanse our selves from all filthiness of the flesh (from the grosser and more visible im­purities, such as are drunkenness, gluttony, furnication, adultery, in a word, all bodi­ly and brutal lusts and excesses) and (not only so, but also from all) filthiness of the spirit, from pride and self love, from [Page 337] Covetousness and Injustice, from Malice and Envy, from Lying & Hypocrisie, from Bitterness and Revenge, and the like more Spiritual and more Diabolical Vices) perfecting Holieness in the fear of GOD.

4. Infine, This Doctrine will dispose them to undergo with cheerfulness and pleasure whatever may tend to the promov­all & perfection of the work of their Purificati­on, how disagreeable & unacceptable so­ever it may be to the palat and relish of their Old Man; For when once Young Ones are truely in Love with Heaven, that is in Effect, with GOD, whose Light and Joyes and Communications do constitute Heaven, they cannot choose but be in Love with Purity, which pre­pares and qualifies them to partake in the Bliss of it, and being in Love with Purity they will consequently to be sure, Love whatever may contribute to dis­possess and rid their Souls of all vitious Defilements, and to re-implant in them that Purity and Rectitude of temper which they so highly and so justly value, and therefore Self denyal and Mortifi­cation the Cross and Afflictions, Peniten­tiall Sorrowings and Spiritual Desolati­ons, [Page 338] and in one word all the Difficulties and roughnesses of the Narrow way that leadeth unto Life, though they be unsa­vory to the gust of the Old-Man, yet they are very agreeable to these Souls that are in Love with Purity, as being well assured that they have a singular influence on the rooting out and de­struction of their Corrupt Natures; Just as a Patient that is very Fond of his Health will, with a deal of Cheerfull­ness, submitt to the cures that are pre­scribed him by a skillfull and charitable Phycitian, though they be made of very bitter and sharp ingredients. But this Matter will afterwards fall under consideration.

6. The Measures which the Redeemer did take, in order to accom­plish these Ends must be declared, and they are reduced to four Geneal Heads.6. Having thus ac­quainted them with the Ends of the Incarnation of the Son of God, and with the Consequences that naturally issue from the Consideration of them, it will will be ne­cessary to let them moreover under­stand what the Blessed Measures were which our Redeemer did take, in order to Com­pass the Gracious Design of Restoring Man to [Page 339] his forefeited Purity and Bliss. And these we shall find to be such as were most worthy of Infinite Wisdom and Love, and most proper and accommodat to procure the Recovery of Lost Mankind. The Charitable and Compassionat Lover of Souls; left nothing on his Part undone, that was necessary for at­taining an End so infinitely dear to Him as the Salvation of his Brethren; So that if any of them fall short of Happiness, the fault must entirely ly at their own doors. Now the Means which our Mercifull Redeemer imployed in Pro­secution of this General and Charitable Design are comprehended under these four heads. 1. His Merits. 2. His Doctrine. 3. His Example. 4. His Effi­cacy. And these I shall at some length insist on, and endeavour to give true and Genuine Accompts of, being very sensible that the Knowledge, of them is of vast Consequence, and that it is infinitly hazardous to give Young Ones false or maimed Representations of them; And therefore it is extreamly the interest of all Instructors of Youth, to be duely informed concerning them, that thereby they may be capable to im­part [Page 340] to all under their Care, such n [...]redge [...] tices of these great things, as will mo [...]redge [...] effectually engage them, to become ea [...]redge [...] ly Votaries to the Holy Jesus, for from a right Information of what the Re­deemer did in order to recover Man­kind, naturally issues the Knowledge of these Duties, to which all that would partake in his Redemption, are indis­pensibly obliged. And so I begin with the

First. His Merites, what he hath Merited, and how is particulurly deduced in some great and designal Instances. First, His Merites, Man having by his Voluntary and disin­genous Revolt, and Apostacy from GOD, rendred himself unwor­thy of His Favour, and forfeited his Light and Grace, and thereby having become a corrupt and defil'd Creature, it was not possible that he could either Merite or even Desire the Recovery of his forefeited Bliss, for good Desires cannot spring out of a Soul that is wholly void of GOD; neither can a Rebel and sinfull Creature merite; and therefore in order to restore Man to the Favour of God, and to recover unto Man that Light and Grace, which by his sin he [Page 341] had forefeited, and without which he could not be saved. It was necessary that One Infinitly Worthy in Himself, and infinitly dear to God, should inter­pose with God in the behalf of Man. And accordingly the Holy Jesus, the Son of God, and the Son of Man in one Mysterious Person, being to uhed on the one Hand with a wonderfull Zeal for God His Father, & on the other with incomparable Charity for His Brethren, the Children of Men, and vehemently desiring that God should be again Glo­rified and Honoured, Loved and O­beyed by Men, and that Men should be made partakers of the Joyes and Happiness of God, became the1 Tim: 2.5. Mediator between God and Man, and so pleaded with God for Men, and presented Him­self to be their Saviour, professing how infinitly willing He was to do whatever was necessary to turn them to the Love of God, from self & sin & Creatures, & thereby to bring them to Bliss and Glo­ry, thô it were even to lay aside his Glo­ry, for some time, and put on the Veil of their Mortal Nature, and plunge himself in their Miseries. Now to be sure the Addresses presented to GOD by [Page 342] dear a Person, and in such moving Strains, that were attended with a Zeal so ardent, and a Charity so vast, could not choose but be infinitly meritorious in themselves, and most agreeable to him, and to which he would refuse no­thing, and thereupon God for the Sake of His well Beloved Son, granted Man the pardon of his Sin, renewed the Of­fers of Light and Grace, in order to pu­rifie and cleanse his Soul, and afforded him all the Means and Assistances that were necessary to engage and enable him to return to the Love of God, and so to restore him to the Happiness and Bliss which he had lost; And moreover when these Rebel Creatures Men, had generally abused these Favours, and by their continued Resistances of the Holy Spirit, and their love of self and Crea­tures had rendred the Means that were afforded them fruitless,Isa. 5.2.3 4. &c. When they had sunk themselves into Flesh and sense and had contracted more inveterat ha­bits of wickedness, and thereby had run into a new score of Guilt and Demerite, then the great and final Remedy must be put in Execution. And accordingly when the Gal. 4.4. Fullness of Time was come, God [Page 343] sent forth his Son made ef a Woman, and so the Brightness of the Fathers Glory was put under the Cloud of our frail Huma­nity, And became a Man of Sorrows, Isa. 53 3. and acquainted with Grief. And in this Low and Abject State, into which his Inef­fable Charity to Mankind had plunged Him, He united the Infinite Merites of His Divine Person to all that He did and said and suffered, and particularly to that Unparalel'd Instance of Love and Condescendency, I mean the satisfacto­ry Oblation, which He made of Him­self upon the Cross, and by all He me­rited and procured for Man an Aug­mentation or Superabundance of Light of Grace and Glory, and the most ef­fectual Means of Recovering and Sav­ing Him that lay hid in the Treasures of Unsearchable Wisdom and Love. And so the Remedy was more then Pro­portioned to the Disease, and where Rom: 5:20. Sin had abounded, Grace did much more abound. Behold now the inexhausted Source of all sufficient and Glorious Merites, the Incarnat Jesus Living, and Speaking, Doing and Suffering, Dying and Sacri­ficing Himself in the flames of a Pure Disinteressed and Impartial Love unto [Page 344] God, and in all graciously interceeding for Man! Behold the Blessed Conduit through which and for whose sake, all Good things are conveyed to us!

Bu [...] here it will be necessary to de­clare in some particular and eminent Instances, What these Blessings are, which the Holy Jesus hath merited for Man­kind, and then, because our old Man will be apt to abuse these Merites, to skulk and shelter it self under the covert of them, and-so to secure it self from Crucifixion and Death, we must give an Account of the Manner how he hath merited, and by discussing this, we shall come to understand what these Solid Grounds are, on which we may build our belief of having an interest in the Merites and Purchase of the Redeemer, both these I shall pursue jointly.

1 The first Blissing I shall mention is Pardon, by which GOD passes over the Guilt and Demerit of the Sins of Men, and in consequence of this bestows on them such good things as their present circumstances will admitt of, and gives them a right and Tittle to other and greater Blissings, providing that they Faithfully perform the Conditions that [Page 145] are necessary in order to be qualified & disposed for the Enjoyment of them, and that we ow this favour to the Me­rits of the Redeemer; we are frequently assured by St. paul. In whom (that is in Christ,) we have Eph. 1, 7. Redemption through his Blood, the forgiveness of Sins, according to the Riches of his Grace, Cap: 4.32. and elsewhere he exorts us to forgive one a­nother, as GOD for Christs sake hath for­given us. But that our apprehensions of this Matter may be clear and satisfy­ing we must seriously consider, that Pardon is either General or particular. The General Pardon respects the whole World, and it is that by which GOD passes over the Demerit of the Sin of Mankind in the bulk, so as to admitt them to partake in the common Effects of his bounty, to make unto them General offers of his Grace and Salvation, and to afford them the Means of both in such Measures and wayes as their sever­al necessities and dispositions do require, and as he in his Infinit Wisdom sees are most likely to have influence upon them. Of this pardon the Apostle e­vidently speaks in these words,2 Cor: 5, 19. GOD was in Christ reconeiling the World to himself, [Page 146] not imputing their Trespasses: It is undeny­ably certain that any discoveries of the Divine bounty towards sinfull and cri­minal Creatures, such as th [...]se the A­postle mentionsActs 14, 17, giving Rain from Heaven and fruitfull Seasons, and filling the Hearts of Men with Food and Gladness, and much more the actual collating of the offers and means of Grace and Salva­tion, must necessarly suppose reconcili­ation and Pardon in some sort; For to say that GOD gives the Communicati­ons of his goodness to men, and yet is in no sense reconciled to them, nor hath Pardoned them, is very absurd and in­consistent. Now this General Pardon hath been absolutely merited, and with­out any regard to any thing done or to be done by Men. But then we are to Remember that this Pardon doth not give any a Tittle or immediat right to Eternal Life, for if Men continue impenitent and unreformed, they will be certainly Damned for all this. The consequence of this Pardon, as hath been already intimated, is the bestowing on Men the common Effects of GODS Goodness, and the Offers and Means of Grace and Salvation, as also a right to [Page 347] be admitted to Repentance, providing they speedily and seriously ingage in it while the time of Tryal is continued, and the day of Grace lasts, for if once that Blissed Period be over, their right to be admitted to Repentance will cease for ever.

The particular Pardon respects parti­cular persons, and it is that by which GOD passes over and remits the guilt and demerit of all their by past Sins, and treats with them, as if they had never Sinned, of which we have a remarkable instance in the parable of the ProdigalLuke 15.20, 21, 22, 23, 24. and the consequences of this Pardon are that GOD bestows on them that are thus Pardoned his Holy Spirit and Divine Graces, Operats in them, Puri­fies, Enlightens, and Regenerats them, takes up his Residence in their Souls, owns them as his Children, declares them Immediatly Capable of Eternal Life, gives them a right to inherit it, to­gether with the joyfull foretastes of it, and in end actually and fully collates it upon them. Now that we may know the Manner how this Pardon is merited, we most view it in the Offer and in the Application of it. The Offer of it is absolute [Page 348] and General, and is one of the Blessings entaild on the World in consequence of the General Pardon. Hence it is that Our LORD informesLuk. 244 7, his Disciples, that Repentance and Remission of Sins must be preached in his Name (that is, the Of­fer of it, being merited and procured by him, must be made and published) among all Nations beginning at Jerusalem. But the Application of it is Conditional and limited to such only as shall be sound within the Tearms upon which it is granted, and what these Tearms and Conditions areActs 3 1 [...], St. Peter doth in few words inform us, repent ye and be Converted that your Sins may be Blotted out, which in effect imports, that all who would be thus Pardoned, must unfeigned­ly and for ever abandon all their Sins, turn heartily to GOD, make ingenu­ous, unreserved & irrevocable surrenders of themselves unto him, to his conduct and operations, his light and Grace, ne­ver return again to folly, never follow nor fulfill the Lusts and inclinations of the Old Man, out check & resist them, de­clare a perpetual warfare against the Devil, the World, and Flesh, without e­ver resolving to make any truce with [Page 349] them, and cleave faithfully to God unto the very Death; All this must ne­cessarly be included in Repenting and be­ing Converted, and it is they only that are thus penitent and converted, that shall partake in this pardon, and the Blessed Consequences of it.

11. The next favour I shall take no­tice of i [...] Grace, by which I understand these mighty & powerfull, these quick­ning and illuminating influences, which GOD for CHRIST's sake vou­chafes to Man that is disabled and dark­ned by Sin, in order to heal and cure the Soul, to root out its im­purities, to restore it to its primitive purity and beauty, and so to prepare it for a living Temple unto GOD to the end he may inhabit it, and fill it with his Light and Joyes, when we Rom: 5, 6, were yet without strength or weak, at a fit time CHRIST Dyed for the ungodly, name­ly to merit and procure for them Grace and Strength, Courage and Force to rise up out of that state of Darkness & Death into which Sin had plunged them: These Graces are of two sorts; For there are 1. the Graces of Prevention, and these are they that powerfully ex­cite [Page 350] and awaken Men out off their Fa­tal Slumbers, that lovingly importune and sollicit them, that diligently knock and call at the Door of their Hearts, that beget good motions and raise up good thoughts in them, that give them transient discoveries of the Beauty and excellencies of Divine things, and all with design to oblidge them to forsake Sin, and to win and engage them to the Love of GOD. It is visible enough that these preventing Graces are merit­ed absolutley, and without any con­dition to be performed by Man, for the truth is untill man be prevented by the Divine Grace he is in an utter inca­pacity to think or do any good, and consequently unable to furnish any con­dition. No good motion, no serious desire after GOD would ever spring up in the corrupt and depraved Hearts of men, if the John [...], 5. Light did not first shine in their Darkness, and by its secret and powerfull touches excite and awaken them. But 2. There are the Graces of correspondence, which are given unto Men in consequence of their correspond­ing to the preventing calls of GOD, and they consist in receiving more full [Page 351] and more permanent measures of the Divine Light and Influences, and in a more inward and more opera­tive Manner; For now the Di­vine Grace doth no longer knock and call without, but the door being open'd it enters into the heart, takes possession of it, works in it in an admirable manner, chases away its darkness and corrupti­ons, carries on its Gracious Operations, till in the end the Soul be purified, and become Light in the Lord, and be unit­ed to Him in Purity and Love. 'Tis plain these Graces are merited conditio­nally, it is true, they are promised and offered to all, if they faithfully comply with the Importunities and Sollicitations of Preventing Grace, that is; upon con­dition that they do not resist its Opera­tions, by taking part with the Lusts and Inclinations of the Old Man, but that they open the Door, and admit it to enter in and take possession of their Souls, and operat in them; For then it exerts its mighty Power and Efficacie, and makes the Soul more and more to abound in the Fruits of Righteousness So Our Lord assures usMath. 25, 29. That To Him that hath, That is, to him that hath improven [Page 352] well the Talents of preventing Grace, by faithfull Obedience to its Calls, and diligent using of the Strength commu­nicated by it, More Grace shall be given, and he shall have abundance.

III. Another Instance of the Good Things merited by the Adorable Re­deemer in favours of Mankind, which indeed is the very Summ and Comple­ment of all Blessings, and Good things, and that which they all resolve, and center in, is Eternal Life, that is a State of Endless, most Perfect, and Ever in­creasing Light and Joy, in the Imme­diat Vision and Fruition of God. This was Originally design'd for Man in his Creation, for therefore GOD made Man in His Own Image, and after His Own Likeness, that he might converse with him, and make him Eternally happie, by the Communications of his own Bless and Glory; And doubtless had all Mankind continued in the Love of God, during a certain time of Tryal, which it was neeessary that all free and intelli­gent Creatures should have allowed them in order to attain to a State of habitual and confirmed Goodness and Vertue, they had all without (exception [Page 353] of any been put in actual possession of it; But this Happiness they fore­feited by their Apostacy and Sin, and the Doors of the Everlasting Kingdom were shut upon them, and so they were to wander for ever as miserable Exiles, in a state of Banishment from the Heavenly Pa­radice, from the Presence of GOD, & from His Divine Joyes; But the Blessed Jesus taking Compassion of them, did interpose, and by the Merits of his Prevailing Intercessi­ons, procured the opening of these Doors again, And GOD for His Sake hath granted to re-admit into this Inheritance of Light and Glory, all that will imitat His Life. Hence we are told by the Apostle,Rom [...] 6.23. That Eternal Life is the Gift of GOD, through Jesus Christ our Lord: Now because all will be ready to pretend to Eternal Life, supposing that it hath been purchassed for them, and that they have nothing to do, but [Page 554] to believe this, and so to take Possession of it, it will be necessary, in order to prevent Peoples flatter­ing themselves with ungrounded, vain, and illusive Hopes of it, that we declare how Our Mercifull Re­deemer hath merited it, and though this may be easily deduced from what we have already written, yet that it may be the better remarked we shall make Application of it to the Matter in hand, and so we shall consider Eternal Life both in th [...] Offer, and in the actual collation of it. The Offer of Eternal Life neces­sarly includes both the Offer of the Means of it, and a Declaration of the way that leads to it, and this Offer is merited absolutely, and it is made unto Men antecedently to any Endeavours of theirs, and giv­en as an Encouragement and Mo­tive to engage all in the eager Pur­suit of Eternal Life, by a faithfull Use of the Means, and by constant [Page 355] Walking in the Way that lead to it, and so it is a general Offer, For since Eternal Life was Originally designed for all, and all have the natural Capacities of it, and since the Blessed GOD hath said,1 Tim 2.4. That He wills all Men should be saved, It must necessarly follow that none can be excluded from it, but that the Offer some way or other must be made to all. And accordingly the Holy JESUS, when He was in the World, published the Offers of Eternal Life, or as the Apostles phrase,Eph. 2 17 Came and Preached Peace to them that were afar off, and to them that were nigh, and mournfully com­plains of the JewsJohn 5.4. That they would not come unto Him, that the [...] might have Life. Namely, that Eternal Life which He had merited for them, and was now graciously of­fering unto them all; And after His Resurrection, when He gave Com­mission to His Disciples, He com­manded [Page 356] them,Math: 28, 19 & Mark 16.15. To go into all the World, to teach all Nations, and to Preach the Gospel, (which contains the Offers of Eternal Life,) to eve­ry Creature, that is, to all Men, who are called Creatures, by way of Eminence, as being the more ex­cellent and Divine Sort of Creatures. And moreover these Offers of Eter­nal Life; as they are general, so they are ingenuous, that is, they are tendered to all with a sincere and hearty Design, that all would accept of them, and partake in the Blessings offered: ForJohn. 3.17 GOD sent not His Son into the World to con­demn the World, but that the World through him might be saved, and therefore not with design that Men upon their refusing to accept of the Offer of these things that were ne­ver truly intended for them, might become the more Criminal, and undergo a severer Vengeance. Such thoughts as these are capable to fill [Page 357] these that understand them with Horrour and Trembling, and do necessarly choke all the Notions that we have of that GOD, who is essentially Love and Goodness, and who hath solemnly declared,2 Pet. 3.9., That he is not willing that any should perish, and hath Ez [...]ch: 33.11: even sworn that He hath no pleasure in the Death of the Wicked.

As to the actual Collation of E­ternal Life, it cannot be denyed, but it is conditionally merited, that is, Eternal Life shall never be con­ferred on any, but such as shall perform certain Conditions, the Performance whereof is necessary in Order to Qualifie and dispose Men for the Enjoyment of it. And what these Conditions are, the Sacred O­racles do fully & frequently inform us in the General, & very often they are expressed by Faith, John 3.16. or Believ­ing in the Name of the Son of GOD. But that by this Believing is not, [Page 358] meant an empty Perswasion that Christ hath died for us, or a pre­sumptuous Relyance in his Merits and Satisfaction, and thereupon en­tertaining our selves with confident Hopes of Heaven, even though during our whole Life, our villa­nous Inclinations, and vitious prac­tices should continue, the other Terms by which these Conditions are declared, do evidently demon­strate, such as are these that tell us, thatMatt: 5, 8 They are only the pure in heart, that shall see GOD, That we Mat: 5 26, 30 must pluck out our Right Eyes, and cut off our Right hands, rather than that our whole Body should be cast into Hell fire, That is, That we ought to part with all that is dear unto us and Crucifie and Disclaim our most beloved Inclinations, rather than forefeit the Glories of Eternity, and undergo the Miseries of Ever­lasting punishment. That we mustMat: 7, 14. Walk in the strait gate, & narrow [Page 359] Way, if we would inherit Eternal Life, That none but theyMat: 7.21 who do the Will of GOD, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. That it is,Rev: 21.14. They who do his Commandments that shall have a Right to eat of the Tree of Life, That is, by the Practice of, and growing in all manner of Christian Graces and Virtues that 2 Pet 2.1.5.6.7.8.9.10.11. an En­trance shall be ministred unto us a­boundantly into the Everlasting King­dom of Our LORD JESUS CHRIST, and a thousand other the like In­stances.

IV. A fourth Blessing procured for Man, by the Merites of the Ever blessed Redeemer is a Time of Tryal, that is, a time in which GOD visites him with His Grace, excites and awakens him out of his Slum­bers, invites him to Repentance, makes unto him the Offers of Par­don, of the Increase of Light and Grace, of Eternal Life, and Glory, upon the Terms and in the [Page 360] Methods already mentioned; in a word, a time wherein GODDeut. 30.15.19. sets before Man Life and Death, Blessing and Cursing, and furnishes him with the Means and Assistances that are necessary to direct & inable him to choose the better Part, and to conti­nue faithful to the end. It is called a time of Tryal or Probation, because in it GOD proves Man, and having prevented him by his Grace, and ac­quainted him on the one hand with his Duty and Happiness, and on the other, with his Sin and Danger, and continuing still to excite and quicken him to his Duty, by the Inward and powerfull Motions and influences of his Good Spirit: Tryes what Choice Man will make, and whether having by the Direction and Assistances of Divine Grace, made a Good Choice, he will perse­vere in it, and will not be diverted from it, by all the Solicitations that may be used with him to quite and abandon it.

Man in the State of Innocence had a Time of Tryal allotted him, in which GOD was to present unto Man his Divine Light and Joyes; and Man was voluntarly, and of free Choice to offer up and unite his Faculties of Desire, Understand­ing, and Love to the Divine Objects that were presented to his Soul, and as Man did continue and repeat these free and generous surrenders of his faculties to the light and joyes of GOD; So GOD would have continued and increased his light & joyes in the Soul of Man, till in the End by continuall & vigorous Repetitions of these Acts of surren­der on Man's part, and by continu­all augmentations of Light and Grace on GOD'S, Man would have attain'd to a state of habitual and confirmed Goodness, from which it would be no more possible for him to fall away.

But alace! Man did not persevere [Page 362] in his Fidelity, but began by de­grees to decline, and in end made total Apostacy from GOD, to self and the creatures, and lost all his Priviledges, and particularly fore­feited the great Advantage of being in a time of Tryal, and so came to be without GOD, and without Hope in the World. But the Blessed JESUS as He merited for Man, the restora­tion of his other forfeited Priviled­ges, so he procured the renual of his time of Tryal, in which GOD doth again present unto him, the Offers of his Light and Grace, af­foords him the Opportunities of Repentance, and the Means of Working out his Salvation, and re­quires from him the faithfull and constant Improvement of these Ad­vantages, in order to be qualified for a joyfull Admission into the Bless and Glories of Eternity; This Time of Tryal is called byIsai: [...]1.2. the Prophet, The acceptable Year of the [Page 363] LORD, which Our Adorable Re­deemer came graciously to Proclaim to the World, and to teach both by his Example and his Precepts, not to squander and triffle away the Precious Moments of this time, ei­ther in doing nothing or doing wic­kedly; And accordingly St. Paul exhorts,2 Cor. 6.1, 2. His Corrinthians, not to receive the Grace of GOD in vain, be­cause that now was the accepted Time, now was the day of Salvation, that is, Now was that favourable Time wherein GOD would accept of their Repentance and Amendment, wherein they would have the Means of Salvation affoorded them, and wherein they by the Aids of his Grace, might happily finish the Great Work, fot which they were sent into the World, namely, the Saving of their Souls. It was in this Sense, that St. Irenaeus under­stood the Words of the Prophet, [Page 364] when he tells uslib. 2, cap. 38. adver. Haeres. that by the acceptable year of the LORD, Annus autem Dom­mini acceptabilis, tempus hoc in quo vocantur ab eo hi qui credunt ei, & acceptabiles fiunt DEO, hoc est, omne ab adventu ejus tempus usque ad consummationem. ‘is meant that time in which they who believe in the Lord Jesus are call­ed by him, & are made acceptable to GOD, that is, all the time from his coming in the Flesh to the end of the World.’

Now though the time of Tryal was after the Incarnation of the Son GOD, published in a more singular manner, and with more advantagi­ous circumstances than formerly it had been, yet it is certain that it commenced than when Adam was driven out of Pradice, and entered upon the state of Penitence and Mortification, so that ever since, that Period Adam and his Postetity en­joyed the Advantages of a time of [Page 369] Tryal, in which GOD never failed to call upon them to turn and live in various Methods, and by different Means, such as He [...]n His Infinite Wisdom, and Goodness saw most suited and proportion'd to their se­veral Circumstances, forActs 14:17 he did not leave himself without witness in any of the Nations of the VVorld.

Now with respect to the World in general, the time of Tryal began with Adams being chased out of Pa­radice, and continues to the end of the World, and it is plain that in this view the time of Tryal is abso­lutely merited; for God for Christs sake hath unconditionally granted that Mankind should during all this time be in a state of Tryal, and should have in their several Gene­rations Pardon, Grace, and Salvati­on offered unto them. And O how happy would it be for them, if in every Age they would leriously lis­ten [Page 396] to and comply with the love­ing calls of GOD, by which he in­vites them to return to their duty and happiness.

But with respect to Men in parti­cular, every mans Lifetime is his time of Tryal, and this is either lengthened or shortened according as GOD sees that men make either a good or a bad use of their time, This truth the Holy Scriptures as­sert with all the evidence that we can possibly desire, as appears from these very numerous passages, where­in long life is promised to the Obedi­ent, and GOD threatens the Wick­ed and impenitent with the shorten­ing of their dayes, thus as the Wick­ed the Psalmist assures us,Plal: 55, 23 that bloody and deceitfull Men shall not live out half their dayes, and Solomon encourages to obedience from this considerarion, that long Life attends it,Prov: [...].12. My Son, sayeth he, forget not my, [Page 367] Law, but let thine Heart keep my Commandments; For length of dayes and long life, Prov: 10, 27. and Peace shall they add unto thee, And elsewhere (c) he layes it down as a certain and infallible Apinorisme, that, the fear of the Lord prolongeth days, but that the Years of the Wicked shall be shortened. Such as desire more proofes may peruse the excellent Book of Deuteronomy, where they will find this conside­ration in every other Chapter very vigorously urged upon the Israelites as a great encouragement to obedi­ence, from all which we may justly conclude that the lengthening of our Lifetime, and consequently of the time of our Tryal is Conditionaly merited, so that according as we be­have in improving our time, either well or ill we may lengthen or shor­ten our days, live longer, die soon­er. And it will be very necessary that this be incalculated be times on the [Page 368] Hearts of Young Ones to the end they may be ingadged very early in a virtuous and Holy course of Life, and be deterred from these destructive and running vices which will hasten their Death, and deprive them of the precious oportunities of preparing for the joyes of Heaven.

And further it will be very seas­onable to let them understand on this Head that, as our Lifetime with re­gard to GOD is a time of Probation or Tryal, that is a time wherein he tryes what choice men will make so with regard to men themselves, it is a time of Penitence, that is a time in which they must cheerfully un­dergo all these penitential severities all these exercises of self denyall and Mortification, all these crosses and Tribulations that will be neces­sary for Crucifying and Rooting out their old Man, and preventing in them the growth of, and purifying [Page 369] them from all Earthly inclinations and affections. And to convince them of this, Let it be seriously re­presented to them, that this Peni­tence was imposed upon Adam, and in him on all Mankind, when he was chased from Paradice, and commandedGen: 3.18. [...]9. To earn his Bread with the sweat of his Brow, and to eat of it in sorrow all the dayes of his Life: And that this was the most effectu­al course to awaken and preserve in Man a due Sense of his Sin, to oblige him to hate it and turn from it, to make him more watchful and circumspect, and to wean his Heart from the creatures which were the baits made use of by the Devil to betray him into disobedience a­gainst his Creator and Benefactor: For though it be commonly thought that the turning Man out off Para­dice, was simply an act of Severity and Justice; Yet certainly it was also an Act of great Goodness and Mercy: [Page 370] For since these Beautiful and agree­able Creatures that were in that Blessed Place, became temptations to Man even in his Innocent State, how much stronger temptations would they have been to him when fallen and degenerat, and after he had contracted a fatal byass to­wards them; So that we have good ground to affirm, that if GOD had continued Man amidst the Delights of Paradice, and preserved the Crea­tures in their Primitive and Origi­nal Glory, Man would have become so enamured of them, as in end quit to loss all sense of the Deity, and so, while in these Circumstances, his Recovery would have been ren­dered utterly impossible, whence it evidently follows that it was profit­able; Yea, and even necessary in or­der to the Salvation of Man, that he should be banished Paradice, and be made to taste the bitter fruits and consequences of his Sin; And [Page 371] from the whole, these two very e­difying Inferrences may be easily deduced, and recommended to the consideration of Youth.

1. One is, That since all Men are fallen and corrupted Creatures, none of them can pretend exempti­on from this Penitence; And there­fore all of them ought to be con­tent to undergo with Chearfulness, yea even with Gratitude, all the hardships and inconveniencies, all the pains and uneasiness that may befall them while they are travel­ing in this their pilgrimage, in or­der to regain their forefeited Para­dice, knowing that all these things are dispensed unto them, by the Wise Conduct of that Benign Pro­vidence that watches over them, and designs their Benefit and Ad­vantage, even in the bitterest Cups it puts in their Hands.

2. The other is, That since this Life is a State of Penitence, there­fore [Page 372] it is highly criminal for us to studiously search our Ease and Pleasures here, to indulge our ape­tites, and pamper our flesh, and do all we can to turn our real state of Banishment into an imaginary Para­dice, and so invert the Order the Good and Wise GOD hath establi­shed, who calls us to Suffer here, that we may Reign hereafter, to Die here, that we may Live hereafter: Alas! how incongrous is it for us to Laugh and Sing, where we should Weep and Lament, to gratifie our sensual Inclinarions where we are obliged to check and crucifie them, to take our Ease and Recreations, where we ought to Toil and La­bour, to Eat and Drink to Excess, where we are called to Fast and Pray, to grasp eagerly at Praises and Commendations, where we should imbrace the Dung-hill, and be con­tent with Reproach and Disgrace, to desire Pomp and Plenty, whe [...]e [Page 373] it is our Duty to be content with Poverty and a Mean Portion? Let us not mistake it, neither Nobility of Birth, nor Greatness of Fortune, no Hight of Preferment, no Attain­ments of Learning, nor any Advan­ces we may fancy to have made in Virtue, ought to excuse us from undergoing these Penitential Suffer­ings, if we heartily design Heaven­wards. But I proceed,

Secondly, To the Doc­trine of our Blessed Sa­viour,Secondly, The Doctrine of the Son of GOD considered as a Mean to advance the Designs of His Incarnation. Four Particulars insisted on concern­ing it in that View. which, I told, was another of the Means He imployed in Order to prosecute the Gracious Designs of His Incarnation: To wit, The seeking and Saving that which was lost. Wretched Man­kind, notwithstanding all the Care the Bles­sed GOD had used by different [Page 374] Methods and Means to secure them in Love and Obedience to Him, yet in end became brutishly ignor­ant of GOD and their Duty, of their True Happiness, and of the only Way that leads to it. For the Gentils, neglecting to follow these Divine Impressions that were made upon their Minds, and to obey the Dictats of the Law writen on their Hearts, Rom: 2 15. did hold theRom: 1.18. Truth in unrighteousness; That is, They kept it prisoner, they choked and supprest it, and hindered the Effi­cacie of it from appearing in their Lives. AndRom: 1.21. When they knew GOD they glorified Him not as GOD, neither were thankful but became vain in their Reasonings, and their foolish Heart was darkned. Whereupon, being in a state of darkness, and having no other guide to direct them, but their deprived and cor­rupted Reason, they first began to entertain absurd and derogatorie [Page 375] Conceits of the Deity, and in end turn'dRom: 1 22, 23. down right Idolaters, and made total defection from GOD; And then beingRom: 24 25, 26. & 5. justly abandoned by GOD, who never turns away from His Creatures, until they have first turned away from Him, and following the swing of their de­prived inclinations, without any positive Influence of GOD upon their wills, they fell into the vilest and most unnatural immoralities. And the Jews on the other Hand, who enjoyed the Advantages of a written Law, and the excellent Ser­mons of Divinely inspired Prophets, and had both these attested and re­commended to them through seve­ral Generations, by a Succession of a great many extraordinary and mi­raculous Appearances of the Divine Power amongst them, though espe­cially after their return from the Babylonish Captivity. They still owned the True GOD, yet they [Page 386] lost the true and genuine Notions ofPsal: 50.21. his Nature and Perfections, and forgetting the Spiritual Imports and Designs of the positive Institu­tions that were enjoyned them, their Worship dwindled away into dry and heartless, outward and superfi­cial performances, without Devotion and without Sincerity, And though they pretended to retain a Venera­tion for the Moral Law; Yet, the Truth is, it was only for the Letter of it, for they became wholly Strangers to the true Meaning of it, and to the Extent of its Obligations, and by their false and corrupt glos­sings on it, they reconciled it to their lusts: And so, as our LORD tells them,Ma [...]: 15.6 They made the Com­mandments of GOD of none effect, by their traditions.

Whereupon the Blessed GOD commiserating that woeful state of ignorance and mistake, into which Mankind, both Jews and Gentiles, [Page 387] had fallen, He graciously conde­scended to send the Son of His Love to Teach and to Instruct them, and this Charitable Embassy, He, the Adorable Lover of Souls, chearful­ly accepted of, and came towards Mankind, and that not in a State of dazling Majesty and Glory, as once He had appeared on Mount Sinai, but covered with a vail of Mortal flesh, whereby He suited His Appearance to their circumstan­ces and capacitys, and so being in­vested with Authority, and quali­fied with a Fulness of the Holy Spi­rit, He very Faithfully discharged the Trust that was committed to Him, and delivered to the World, the Noblest and most Excellent Doctrine that ever was heard in it, and it is with this Doctrine, with these Heavenly Truths that dropt from the Sacred Lips of the Son of GOD, that Youth ought to be com­monly and diligently acquainted. [Page 388] And that this may be done with the greatest Exactness that may be, I wou'd advise the Instructers of Youth to inform them; I. Of the Manner of His Teaching. II. Of the Nature of the Doctrine He taught. III. Of the Particulars of it. IV. Of its Suiteableness to advance the Designs of His Incarnation.

I. The Manner of His Teach­ing.I. As to the Manner of this Teach­ing, Let them understand, that the Holy Jesus came not with flights of Humane Rhetorick, nor with Dis­courses Elaborat, according to the methods of the Pagan Orators. A­lace! These poor vanitys did not sute the Gravity and Seriousness of His Design nor were necessary to set off His Heavenly Doctrines; For His Design was not to tickle the fancies of Men with airie flowrishes, nor to perswade them (as St. Paul 1 Cor: 2.4. hath it) With the intising words of Man's wisdom, but by the simple and undisguised Proposal of Solid and [Page 389] Amiable Truths to enlighten their Understandings, and gain their Af­fections, and engage their Practice; And these Truths thus simply pro­posed, were ever accompanied with a Divine Hight, and a Mighty Ef­ficacie,Luke 4.32. which wrought very powerfully & sensibly in all humble and well disposed Hearts; For it was not by the force of Humane E­loquence, nor by Demonstrations taken from the Topicks of Rhetorick and Logick, that he intended to gain upon his Hearers, but by the De­monstrations 1 Cor: 2.4. of the Spirit and of Power. And as for His Doctrines, they had in them such Innate Beau­ty and Acceptableness, and were attended, as said is, with such Light and Power, inwardly operat­ing on the Souls of such as would listen to them, that they needed not the artificial dress and paint of words to recommend them. Nei­ther indeed was it proper that He [Page 390] the Eternal Wisdom, should regulat His Conduct according to the in­ventions and dictats of weak and foolish Men, especially considering that He came with Design to expose and disg [...]ace the fashions and cus­toms of the wicked and degenerat World, as being the results of cor­ruption and vanity, and to teach and introduce a Plainness and Sim­plicity in every thing that might check and control its pride and self love: And in fine, to beget in His Followers a Spirit, and Maxims contrary to that Spirit, and these Maxims that did obtain and prevail in it. But in the mean time, a Soul that is capable to discern and relish Divine Things, will discover in the plain Discourses of our Saviour, Strains of Rhetorick that excel in Perswa­siveness and Efficacie, the Eloquence and Oratorie that the World is fond of, as much as the hight of the Sun, when in its Meridian Glory, excels [Page 391] in Light, and warmth the fainter twincklings of the distant Starrs; Though on the other hand it is true that a Heart, which, by being ha­bituated to the Mods and Wayes of speaking that the Learned and Eloquent are wont to admire, is become carnally delicat, cannot be touched with any thing but what is set off with Quaintness and Accura­cie, and will not notice so much the Matter, how Heavenly and Di­vine so ever it may be, as the plea­sing dress in which it is put. Now from the whole it evidently follows, 1. That we ought not to examine the Discourses of our Blessed Savi­our, or of those that are acted by His Spirit, according to the Rules of Humane Arts and Sciences, or to conclude of their Excellency from their Conformity or Disconformity to these; Alace! vain Men are apt to imagin that what things they have bigg thoughts of, GOD ought [Page 392] to account of them at the same rate, whereas in effect, as our LORD tells us,Luke 16.15. These things that are high­ly esteemed amongst Men, are an abo­mination in the sight of GOD. 2. That it is an impious vanity to attempt to come to the true and solid Un­derstanding of our Saviour's Dis­courses, by considering in what Sen­ses the Words and Phrases used by Him, are taken in Humane Authors, who thought and spoke and wrote according to the spirit of the corrupt world, as if forsooth they must have had the same Ideas and Thoughts that the Lamb of GOD had, when He uttered these Words; For I think it is abundantly evident, that though we may discern a lameness and co­incidency in their words, yet if we do not discover the like in their Ideas, we cannot Justly conclude that we have the Mind of CHRIST, when we think we have got the true sense of our Classick Authors; [Page 393] And I suppose it will be hard to say that Aristotle and Homer had the same Ideas and Designs that our Sa­viour had, when they happened to use the same Words in their Writ­tings, that He did in His Heavenly Discourses. Not that I deny but Critical Observations are of very great use, and even necessary; For instance, in the translation of the Sacred Writtings, from the Origi­nal Languages into other Tongues, and for discovering some superfi­cial truths, concerning Histories, Customes, and such other Circum­stances. However, it is very cer­tain that Humility and Purity of Heart, and Fervent Prayers for the Holy Spirit, together with a sincere disposition to Obedience, are the only Keys that can unlock Our SAVIOUR's Discourses, and lead us to the Living and Solid Un­derstanding of them. Such as would see this Matter Piously and Accuratly discussed and cleared, [Page 394] may consult the Writtings to which I referrOecon Divin: Tom 4 Cap: 4 de erud: P: 180. in the Margent. But we will be obliged more particularly to insist on this, when we come to recommend the Holy Scriptures in general▪ and to declare with what Views we are to peruse Them, and what are the true Means of arriv­ing at the solid Understanding of Them. 3. That it is a disparageing of Divine Truth, to put it in an af­fected and pompous dress of Words and Phrases. The gaudie attire of an harlot doth not sute the Modesty of a Grave and Chast Virgine. Error and falshood have need of some ad­ventitious ornaments to set them off, but Truth needs nothing to commend it to all Candid and Ho­nest Hearts, but its own Nature, Beauty, and Comliness. Mean while we must take care that under pretence of keeping at a distance from the inticeing words of Mans Wisdom, we do not degenerat into a [Page 395] mean flatness, and affect such sordid wayes of speaking, such absurd compa­risons and similitudes, as are capable to beget in us any other passions, rather than Gravity, Reverence, and Devotion. Though our Blessed Saviour put His Dis­courses in a plain and simple Dress, yet He used no forms of speaking that were mean and abject. All His Phrases and Parables were grave and sober, and well choosen, & excellently accommo­dat to convey the Heavenly Doctrines He delivered into the Hearts of all that were well disposed, so that we are told,Luke 4.22. His Hearers wondered at the Gracious Words that proceeded out of His mouth.

From all it appears how great a Fa­vour we do to Youth, when we teach them not to despise plainness and sim­plicity of Stile, but rather highly to love and value it, and to nauseat towering and affected Rhetorications, as being visibly the offspring of pride and vain glory, and designed as much to set off the Writer or Speaker, as the Truths that he pretends to recommend; For by this means we dispose them to fall in love with, and to prize the Discourses and Writings of Divinely inspired [Page 396] Persons, and not to quarrel with them, though they do not find them to be so rigidly coherent, so methodically di­gested, nor put in such florid dresses, as those composures are, that are fram­ed according to the rules of Humane Arts and Sciences, and so we guard them against one of the common pre­judices that prophane and Atheistical minds entertain against the Sacred Writ­tings. For these Gentlemen do cavil at and reproach the inspired Volumn, because they find it is not written after the manner that Humane Composures are, as if foresooth the Blessed GOD Himself were obliged to conform to the measures that the blind and corrup­ted reason of Man invits and prescribes? VVhereas we are expresly1 Cor: 2.20. assured, that he doth not regard the wisdom and maxims of the World, but rather contradicts them, and in His admir­able Conduct, choosesVers: 27.28. things that in the opinion and esteem of the World, are Weak and Foolish, Base, and De­spised, to accomplish and bring to pass His Gracious Designs.

[Page 397]II. The Nature of the Doct­trine which the Holy Jesus de­livered unto the World,II. The Nature of the Christian Doctrine, mani­fested in some of its Essential Cha­racters. fol­lows next to be considered. Just Views of the Christian Doctrine, will not only ex­ceedingly recommend it to all serious and sincere Souls, but also furnish them with a Test or Touchstone, whereby to difference that which is True and Genuine from what is false and spurious, for many things are obtruded on the World as the Doc­trines of Christ, which in effect are no­thing else but the products of byassed and corrupt heads and hearts, and which seem to have no other tendencie, but to gratifie the lusts and vanitie, and to advance the interest of carnal & designing men: Of this sort are vast numbers of the Heads treated of in the Systems of Divinity, that are published by the divided and Eternally contend­ing factions that distract Christendom, but which however the unthinking Vo­taries of the respective Parties, do swal­low down without scruple, as if they were infallible Oracles, as the Truths [Page 398] of GOD, and Gospel Truths, and discover more Zeal in affecting these Imaginary Truths, than they do in behalf of the Great and Essential, and commonly acknowledged Doctrines of Christiani­ty; Whence it appears how necessary it is, that the Youth be timeously ac­quainted with such Representations of the Christian Doctrine, as will at once both Endear it to them, and Secure them against mistaking these things for it, which have none of its true and dis­tinguishing Characters. Now I suppose that the most profitable, as well as the e [...]siest way to account for the Nature of the Doctrine of Jesus Christ, will be to deduce some of its Essential Properties. Such as are these that so low,

1. And the first I mention is its Di­vinity. The Doctrines of the Gospel are not the products of Humane Wit and Contrivance: No, they are owing to a Divine Original It was GOD Him­self that did speak and Preach to the World by Jesus Christ: GOD asHeb: 1.1, 2. the Author to the Hebrews hath it, who at sundry times, and diverse manners spake in time past to the Fathers by the Prophets, hath in these last dayes spoken unto us by His Son. [Page 399] The Sacred Humanity of the Holy JESUS was but the Organ by which the Divine Will and Secrets were made known and communicated to blind and bewildred Mankind, it was GOD Himself that did influence, manage, and direct it, so that all the words that were uttered by this Great, this [...]mi­nent, and Incomparable Prophet, were indeed the Words of GOD, all the Truths that He preached, were unquestionably Divine, as issuing from a Divine Source, even from the Eternal Wisdom; This Himself frequently assures us of, telling us,John 7.16. My Doctrine is not mine, but His that sent Me, And else whereIohn 8.26. But He that sent Me is True, and I speak to the World those Things that I have heard of Him. The Doctrines that He delivered, were not the Fruits of His Laborious Re­searches into the accurat Composures of the Rabbies, nor the Consequences of His Reasoning and Speculations, or of His Converses with the Learned Sages of that Age; No; but they were the immediat Dictats of thatIsa: 61.1. adore­able Spirit, That anointed Him to speak glad Tydings to the Meek. Now to be sure the serious Inculcating the Divinity of our [Page 400] Saviour's Doctrine on the Hearts of Young Ones, the careful and frequent representing unto them, that the Words spoken by Him, were the Words of GOD Himself, and that they are still to be received as such, cannot choose but be very beneficial unto them; For the Natural Result of this will be 1. To beget in them a Great Love to it, and a Just Veneration for it; For they will be easily sensible that what is certainly Divine, merits that the highest Value should be put upon it: The Doctrine which they believe to come from GOD, needs nothing else to recommend it to them, but that it is His; This is inducement enough to engage their Love and Regard; For whatever derives from the source of Light and Love, cannot but be very Lovely and agreeable. And when they are thus gained to bear a great Love to, and to have a high Esteem for the Doctrine of the Holy Jesus, it will dis­pose them to obey it, and conform un­to it: It was the Royal Psalmist's viewing the Word or Law of GOD as Divine; That is, as coming from GOD, and bearing the Mark and Impressions [Page 401] of His Wisdom and Goodness, of His Righteousness and Purity, that made Him vent Himself in these Affectionat Strains concerning it, that run all a­longst that Heavenly Summary of His Devotions, I mean the 119 Psalm, and particularly in that Rapturous Passage of it,Psal. 119.97: O how love I thy Law? it is my Meditation all the day. 2. To engage them to Address the Blessed Author of this Doctrine, in order to understand it solidly and savingly, for the Author of a Doctrine is, He that can best explain it, and declare the Import of the words by which he hath those to exp [...]ess it, as if inquiry were made into the mean­ing of ones words: It is certain, that none can more satisfyingly determine what sense ought to be put on them, than he who uttered them, because he is supposed to have been conscious of the Ideas and Thoughts that He had when He spoke them; So, if we would understand the meaning of these words which the Organs of the Spirit of GOD have used in delivering His Will to Mankind, it is only this same Divine Spirit, who actuated and inspired them, that can give us the solid and perfect [Page 402] Sense of the words by which they im­parted the Truths of Religion. Thus I am sure the Apostle reasons,1 Cor: 2.11. For What Man, saith He, knoweth the things of Man, save the Spirit of Man which is in him? even so the Things of GOD knoweth no Man, but the Spirit of GOD. Now since a great many of the Things of GOD are in the holy Scriptures exhibited to us in a form of words, it is evident that none else can unfold the Meaning of them, but that Blessed Spirit who Acted, In­spired, and directed the Minds of those who wrote or uttered them.Do: Mon: Mystery of God­liness. Cap 3 Num: 2. Pag: 3 There is, saith a Learned and Judicious Author, such a Venerable Obscurity in the Mistery of Godliness, that all the Knowledge of Nature and Geometry, can never reach the depth of it, or relish the Excellency of it, nor all the skill of Tongues rightly interpret it, unless the true Interpreter and great Mystagogus, the Spirit of GOD Himself vouchsafe the open­ing of it unto us, and set it on so home in our Ʋnderstandings, that it begets Faith in our Hearts. 'Tis true indeed, Men by their skill in Languages, and the industry of their Minds, and other Natural Ac­complishments and Exercises, may in the perusal of the Letter of the Gospel, [Page 403] come to understand some notional and speculative Veritys concerning the Chri­stian Doctrine; But the Knowledge that is attained this way, is lame and imperfect, dry and superficial, fruit­less and ineffectual. There is such a depth and fulness of sense couched under the Sacred Words, that the Animal Man with all his Sagacity cannot penetrat in­to; When one that is eminently Wise and solid speaks, we are apt to imagine that there is a certain profoundness of sense lodged in his Words, which o­thers of lower Capacitys will not reach, unless this Sage Person vouchsafe more at length to explain his Mind; How much more ought we to conclude thus with regard to the Words which that Divine Spirit, who searches all things, even the deep things of GOD, utters by His Or­gans; To be sure we may justly con­ceive that these contain such a Subli­mity or Amplitude of Meanin [...] that a Natural & unassisted Understanding is not capable to fathom. And I sup­pose the Psalmist had some such View as this, when he said, I have Psal: 119.96. seen an end, or the Extent of all Perfection, but thy Com­mandment is exceeding Broad. The width [Page 404] and amplitude of Thy Command­ments is infinit,Ham: in Loe: as a Learned Critick Paraphrases the Letter Clause. But further, as the Natural Man by the ex­ercise of all his Critical Skill on Sacred Words, cannot reach the depth of their Sense, so neither can he see the Beauty and Excellency, nor relish the Sweet­ness, nor feel the Efficacies, nor possess the Realities which these Words were designed to convey into all Honest and well disposed Minds: It is only from the Living Son of Light and Realities, that this Favour ought to be expected, and to it all Holy Souls have had their Recourse, in order to be made capable to understand savingly the Things of GOD, of which the Psalmist is a per­petual Instance throughout his Devoti­ons, Make me Psal: 119.27. to understand the Way of Thy Precepts, and frequently else where to the same purpose, as hath been al­ready once and again remarked. From all it appears, how necessary it is to oblige the Youth very early to address their Heavenly Father for his Holy Spirit, that by his Sacred Influences and Operations, they may come right­ly to understand, and inwardly possess [Page 405] the marrow and substance of Divine Doctrines. But I proceed to

2. Another Propertie of the Doctrine of the Son of GOD, and it is its Simplicity. The Holy Jesus came not to deliver to the World a system of Metaphysicks, or to entertain Men with these nice and Airie subtilities that the Learned are so Fond of, no, his Bussiness was with sincere and simple Hearts, and His Doctrine was suited to their Exigencies and Capacities. It was plain, and sim­ple, and familiar, and very obvious to all that did or will yet listen to it, with humble and docil Hearts, and with holy Purposes of Obedience; For that good Spirit that ever accompanies it, will not fail to open the Minds of such as are in those Dispositions, and make them to understand it, and guide them in it. And it is in this regard that it is said,Psal: 19.7. To make Wise the simple: The Gospel Doctrine is not a strain of soaring and intricat thoughts, intended to puzle and perplex and confound the Under­standings of Men, but a system of plain and easie Truths and Duties, and Beau­tified with a great many grave and ve­nerable Misterys, which exceedingly [Page 406] recommend it, and the whole excel­lently calculated for the Instruction and Direction of the Humble and Sincere, whither Learned or Idiots. I confess indeed, that since this Heavenly Doc­trine hath by the endeavours of the Learned, been digested into Systems of Divinity, as they are called, it hath altered its aspect, and lost its lovely Shapes, its Simplicity is spoiled, and its Misterys prophaned, by suiting them to the Barbarisms of the Schools, its Truths are subtilized out of the view and reach of the Simple, and its Duties rendered unintelligible and impracticable, by slie and cunning distinctions invented by the Old Man, and intended to secure his lusts, and to excuse from walking in the Narrow Way, pointed out by the precepts of the Gospel. So that now Divinity is become a thorny and puzl­ing Science, a Theater of Controversies, and a Ball of Contention, tossed be­tween the angrie and irreconcilable Sects. Under pretence of resolving dif­ficultys, they have multiplied them in­finitly, and in stead of illustrating, they have darkned and intangled things o­therwayes in themselves very clear. [Page 407] The Learned by this way of procedure, seem to have foregot the Conduct and Maxims of the Blessed JESUS; ‘For he,Theo: de lae Criox: pag. 40. as a Heavenly Soul well re­marks, despised to appear in the World, in the quality of a subtile Philosopher, an Eloquent Orator, a lofty Disputer, a great and fam'd Doctor, and of one considerable and recommended by the Reputati­on of Learning and Wisdom, He contented himself to converse among Men in Humility and Truth, in Simplicity and Meekness, pointing with all possible plainness at the Way of Truth, by a Life fruitful in Vir­tues and Miracles. Notwithstand­ing, as He was in effect the Wisdom of GOD the Father, the LORD of Sciences, the Creator and Inspirer of the Prophets, He might easily, if He had thought fit, have imployed the subtilitys of all the Sciences and discovered their most hidden Secrets, with all the Advantages and Lusture of a vast and profound spirit, and so have procured Himself Honour. But so far was it from this, that He choose to speak the Truth after so [Page 408] simple a manner, that well near all looked on Him, not only as a mean Person and unlearned, but also as a mad man and a fool; And, which is yet worse, as a blasphemer: And thus He carryed with design to ma­nifest unto us the true and simple way which we ought to hold, and how much it is our duty to avoid the magnifying of our selves, and being puffed up under pretext either of Wisdom or of Science?’ It will be evident unto all who seriously consider the Life and Doctrine of our Saviour, that this observe is solidly founded. But alace! this Admirable Conduct of His is now inverted, and Men think fitt to stear their course by other mea­sures then He did. It were extreamly to be wished, that these celebrated Au­thors, who have imployed so much of their time in composing Systems of Di­vinity, had spent it in exemplifying to the World the Life and Power of the Gospel Doctrine, and that in stead of digesting it into accurrat and methodi­cal Treatises, they had digested their own Hearts and Lives according to the Divine Maxims of it; For certainly a [Page 409] vast number of Holy Examples, would have benefited the World more than a prodigious multitude of Theological Books.

But when I assert that Simplicity is one of the Characters of the Doctrine of the Blessed JESUS, I intend not to ex­clude Mysteries from it; Certainly He delivered a great many misterious Truths in His Heavenly Discourses: But then these are proposed with so great simplicity, that none who are truely serious, and duely qualified to entertain them, are barred access to them. They Mat: 11.27. are indeed hid from the Wise and Prudent, but are revealed unto Babes. GOD will open Ps: 119.18. the eyes of the Humble and simple Hearted to see these won­derful Things. And tho they are not allowed a full comprehension of them, none perhaps are capable of it while in this mortal and hampered state, yet they are made solidly to understand so much of them as is necessary to en­gage them to Love and Obedience. Things of this Nature are no disadvan­tage to the Doctrine of our Saviour, but rather an high Commendation of it, for as one wellD. More Myst: of Godli­ness. Cap. 1. N: 2. observes, The ob­scurity [Page 410] and abstruseness of a Mysterie, makes it not only more solemn and venerable to these to whom it is communicated, but hides it also from their eyes, who are not worthie to par­take thereof. I shall only take occasion here passingly to observe, that it had been very happy for the Christian World, that Men had acquiesced in the plain and simple Declarations of the Gospel, concerning Mysterious Truths, and that the Learned had not mingled with them their own strange and forraign I­deas, under pretext of Illustration. The Issue of these Adventures hath been fatal, and hath imbroild'd the World, and filled the Church with endless Animosities and Contentions. Mysteries are the Secrets of GOD, and it is He only that can disclose and ac­count for them, and until He vouchsafe to do this, which is a Favour that He will be sure to grant unto all that are disposed to receive it, when he thinks fit, and in such Measures as he will see necessary for their Edification and Comfort, it would be more our ad­vantage to rest satisfied with the Decla­rations already made ab [...]ut them in the Scriptures, and believe them in [Page 411] simplicity, tho our understandings can­not reach them, rather than to adopt as unquestionable Articles of Faith, the Decisions of the weak and fallable, and byassed understandings of Men.

But to return to our design, from the consideration of the simplicity of our Saviours Doctrine, Parents and In­structors of Youth may take occasion to engage them. 1. To love plain and simple Doctrines, and not to despise things easie and obvious, providing they be Edifying and Instructive, and tend to the promoveal of solid and substantial Piety. The Gospel was to the 1 Cor: 1.23. Jews a stumbling block, and to the Greeks foolish­ness; And it was so, no doubt, because they did not find in it, the high flown and airie strains of their Rabbinical and Philosophick Learning, and because it cros­sed these vain and frothie Notions, that they had drunk in at the Schools. The Doctrine of the Cross appeared mean and contemptible in their Eyes, they thought it a degrading of their Understandings, to notice such follies as they fancied the unlearned Apostles presented to them. There are still (even in the Christian World) but too [Page 412] many vainly nice and delicat Spirits, who nauseat the simplicity of the Chri­stian Doctrine, and think it too low an entertainment for such refin'd and elevated Minds as they imagine them­selves to have, and therefore they read with greater appetit, and more relish the Pagan Morality, than the Discourses of our Saviour and His Apostles, and va­lue the Odes of Horace more than the Psalms of David. The former contain a set of thoughts that sute better the delicacie, shall I say, or rather the va­nity and blindness of their spirits, than these Heavenly Truths that the latter recommends. It will be very expedi­ent be times to gard the Youth against this peece of prophane want [...]nness, which prevails but too much in our age, and to take care that their 2 Cor: 11.3. minds be not corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 2. To inform them that they ought to read the simple Doctrines of the Gospel, with simple Hearts, That is, Not only with sincere and guiltless, docile and humble Hearts but also with Hearts void of corrupt byasses and prejudices, with Hearts not ma­naged and governed by the dict [...]ts of [Page 413] carnal wisdom and subtilities. Our Redeemer hath informed usMat: 18.3. That His Followers must become as little Chil­dren, and consequently must have the plain and simple Hearts of Children. And certainly these Child like Dispositions, will more qualifie one to understand solidly the Christian Doctrine, than all the Wisdom and Learning of the World, purity and simplicity of Heart do invite the Holy Spirit, and prepare for Divine Illumination. Nothing hath more effectually contributed to ranverse the designs of the Gospel, than that Men have adventured to gloss and comment on the sacred Truths of it, with hearts prepossessed with false no­tions, loaded with guileful subtilities and distinctions, and under the domi­nion of pride and self-love, of carnal interest and faction; For by this means the Christian Doctrine, which was in­tended to extirpat and root out the vicious and corrupt inclinations of Men, hath been so moulded and fashioned, as fairly to comply with them and flatter them, and to make Men ima­gine that they are Christians good e­nough, tho they do not truely observe [Page 414] one precept of their holy Religion, and that they are secured of Heaven without taking one right pace in the Way that leads to it, for when the Old Man will needs play the Commentator, we may be sure he will take care so to represent the Gospel Doctrines, as they may not prove verie uneasie to his dear Off spring, I mean his deceitful lusts.

3. A third Property of the Doctrine of the Son of GOD, is its Spirituality; I [...] is a Doctrine that is suted to our Spi­ritual part, to the Inner Man, or in St. Peters 1 Pet. 3.4. Phrase, The hidden Man of the Heart 'Twas this, as being the more valuable and nobler Part of us, that the Holy Jesus intended, especially, and in the fi [...]st place to Redress and Reform, to rescue from the powers of darkness, and the impurities of vice, and to beautifie and adorn with Divine Graces and Accomplishments, and that in order to the full and perfect Restor­ation of our whole Man. 'Tis here where he fixes His Throne, and estab­lishes His Kingdom. The Kingdom of GOD is within Luke 17.21. you: And such as is this Kingdom, such also are the Laws by which it is managed and governed, [Page 415] That is, They are Spiritual and Internal. If we take a view of the Doctrines of our Blessed Saviour, we shall quickly discover, that they all, and particular­ly the preceptive Part of them, have a continual regard to the Heart, and calculated for the Regulation of the Motions of the Inner Man, and reach unto our most hidden and retired Thoughts and Inclinations. Not but our LORD hath also establish [...]d Laws concerning the Outward man, for regu­lating its deportments, this he hath certainly done, but then Laws are given to the Outward man, as it is supposed, to be in conjunction with, and influenced by the Inward, so that they are the Motions and Affections of the Inward Man that are regarded, when any thing is forbidden or commanded to the Out­ward; And, the performances and ab­stinences of the Outward man, if sepa­rated from the correspondent and sute­able Motions in the Inward, are of no value in the sight of GOD; For tho, for instance, one should Pray and Praise vocally never so often, tho he should read the holy Scriptures, tho he should Fast, and give Alms; Yet, if [Page 416] he Prayes and Praises without the In­ward Devotion of the Heart, if he reads without sincere resolutions to Obey, if he Fasts without Penitential Contrition, and gives Alms without Charity and Compassion; All this is of no account with the Searcher of Hearts. Further, Tho one does not actually take away the Life of his Neighbour, tho he ab­stain from grosser practices of unclean­ness, yet as long as he retains rancor and malice in his Heart, and inwardly cherishes impure and villanous inclina­tions, his outward abstinences do not clear him from guilt, he is still for all this before GOD, reputed a murtherer and unclean. Hence it is, that St. Paul Rom. 7.14. tells us, That the Law of GOD is Spiri­tual; For even then when it seems only to command or forbid the Actions of the outward man, they are the dispositi­ons and affections of the Heart, that are principally regarded, and the actions of the outward man only in consequence of, and as they are united with these. Indeed it is our outward man alone that falls under the jurisdiction of the Sove­raigns of the World, and it is to it a­lone, that they can give Laws, be­cause it is only for the Deportments of [Page 417] it, that they can call us to an acount; But it is the Prerogative of the King of Saints, to give Laws to the hidden Man of the Heart, and he both can and will reckon with us for whatever is transact­ed there, tho never with so much se­crecy, because all things Heb 4.13. are naked and opened unto the Eyes of Him with whom we have to do; And as Himself tells those of Thyatira, in his Epistle to them,Rev 2.23. All the Churches shall know that it is He who searcheth the Reins.

Now from this Consideration, that the Doctrine of our Blessed Saviour is Spiritual, and design'd especially for the Regulation of the Inward Man, let these two things be seriously recommended to the Youth.

1. That they make it their principal and daily care, to conform their Spiri­tual Part unto it; Let them be exhort­ed by all means to endeavour that the Gospel Law be, as it were, writen on the Tables Pro: 3.3. of their Hearts, and that every thought be captivated to the Obedience 2 Cor: 10.6. of Christ. Let them be very early taught to dislike and check every inclination, every motion that controls this Heaven­ly Doctrine, and that without a living and universal Submission of the Inward [Page 418] Man, to the Laws and Government of Jesus Christ, they cannot pass for his true Subjects, nor can His Kingdom be set up within them. Let them be told that the Spiritual Laws of this Adorable Soveraign, are not all obeyed, but by affectionat complyance and conformi­ty of our Spiritual Part thereto. 'Tis this that the Saints prayed for, Incline my Psal: 119.36. Heart unto thy Testimonies, and that they practised, I have bid thy Word in my Heart, that I might not Idid ver: 11. sin against Thee. They who have the charge of Children, can do them no better Office, than as soon as possibly they can, to engage their Hearts to their Redeemer, and to take occasion at every turn, to let them see what stress is laid in Religion on the surrender of the Inward Man, and how little account our LORD makes of any other presents we pretend to give Him while we keep back this, which leads me to enjoyn.

2. That they be carefully informed, that the Performances of the outward man, when they are not accompanied with the Affections of the Inward, cannot be acceptable to their Saviour, how speci­ous so ever they may appear in the [Page 419] eyes of the World. These are but triffling and superficial services, and come not up to the designs of a Spiritu­al Law, which requires the Inward and Vital Conformity of the Heart, with­out which they are but lean oblations, and sacrifices without Life, that disho­nour their Redeemer, and set Him off with the dead carkass of obedience. These meerly outward exercises, can never be sufficiently enough exposed and disgraced to Young Ones; And yet it is very often the misfortune of their Education, that they are very early taught to put too great a value on these shaddowary appearances of Piety; Their Instructors commonly are satisfied, if they can get them to discharge the visible part of their duty, to read the Holy Scriptures, for in­stance, and to pray vocally, without taking care to engage their Hearts, which cannot but prove a ver [...] unhap­py introduction to the Christian Life. But,

4. I affirm that the Doctrine of our Blessed Saviour is Practical; This is a very remarkable property of it, and ought not to be slightly passed over: Great [Page 420] Care must be taken to imprint it very deeply on the Hearts of the Youth, as being a Matter of unspeakable Conse­quence. Certainly it hath proven very fatal to Religion and the Souls of Men, that this View of the Christian Doctrine hath been so lamentably eclipsed under very wretched and delusive pretences. It will, I perswade my self, be beyond controversie with all, who have consi­dered the Doctrine of our ever Blessed Redeemer, as it is represented to us in the Gospels, without being byassed by the guileful and confounding infusions of the contentious divinity, that it was not his intention to entertain Mankind with subtile speculations, or to fill their heads with air and notion, and such embarassing stuffs as the Schools have fished out of the Holy Scriptures, have cannonized for Divine Truths, and im­posed as Articles of Faith, and to be re­ceived, under pain of damnation, as the infallible Oracles of GOD, which, in effect, are generally nothing else but the spurious issue of dark and prejudi­cat minds. It is plain our Blessed Lord had no such thing as this in His View; He came for far more Noble Purposes, [Page 421] He came to reform the World, and to root out vice and sin, to introduce a Living Piety, and a Solid Vertue, to discover unto Mankind the Way to E­ternal Life, and to oblige them to walk in it. And in order to accomplish these worthie Ends, so becoming His Wis­dom and His Charity, He gave the most excellent Rules, the most winning Motives, and the most powerful As­sistances for Holy Living that ever the World heard of. He constantly taught Men, That Luk 15. Per totum. a hearty Repentance, and a sincere Conversion, was the assured way to Pardon and Forgiveness: That self deny­al and bearing the Cross, were the most effectual Methods of getting ridMat: 16.24. of their lusts and passions; That bringing forth of much Fruit, That is, Abounding in the Practice of all Christian Graces, was the true and acceptable manner of Glo­rifying their Heavenly Father John 15.8.. That in order to attain the Happiness of Hea­ven, they must do the Will of GOD, Mat: 7.13.21. and travel in the Narrow Way. That the most certain and undeceiving evidence of Love to Him. Is John 14.15. keeping His Commandments. These are as so many infallible Maximes in the Religion of [Page 422] the Holy Jesus, and such as shall never be evacuated to the end of the World: This is the summ of His Doctrine, and nothing can be more evident than that it aimes at Practice all alongs. He tells His Disciples, in a passage of His Di­vine SermonMat: 6.17. on the Mount, That He came not to destroy the Law, but to fill it up, or perfect it, That is, He came not to discharge Men from any part of their Duty, to give any libertys to sin, to call Men to lesser measures of Purity or Perfection, than the Jews of old were obliged to; No, to be sure, it is the very contrair, He came to assert and reinforce with new Sanctions, the Au­thority of the Divine Law, as it con­tains the Eternal Rules of Righteous­ness, to rescue it from the false and de­ceitful comments of the Scribes and Pha­risees, to introduce into it new precepts that were not known under the former Dispensations; Such as is, for instance, the Imitation of Him as our Pattern, which, to be sure, could not be obli­gatory before his Appearance in our mortal nature, and giving us an Ex­ample. In a word, He came to put it in a Gospel Dress and Mould, and there­by [Page 423] to raise us up to the highest pitches of Perfection and Purity that Humane Nature is capable of in this State of frailty and imperfection. And at the close of this admirable Sermon, where­in He gives the summarie of our holy Religion, He shuts up all in these words Whosoever heareth these Sayings of mine, and doth them, Mat: 7.24. I will liken him to a Wise Man that built his House upon a Rock; Which is an intimation plain enough, that the Doctrines he had been preach­ing to them were Practical, and that it was the Reformation of the Hearts and Lives of Men, that he intended in all that he delivered. In effect, our LORD did but very seldom insist on points of Speculation, in His Discourses to His Disciples or the People, and these of this Nature that He touched on, were such as presently resolved into Practice. As for instance, when He had informed the Woman of Samaria, Jo: 4.24. That GOD is a Spirit, which is a Point of Theorie, He presently makes a practical improvement of it, telling her, That they who Worship Him, must Worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. In short, I dare undertake, that our [Page 424] LORD never delivered any Head of Doctrine that was purely Speculative, and went no further, but that all the Truths He recommended to His Hear­ers, were such as issued either into a Rule of Holy Living, or a Motive to inforce it.

Now, The Consequences that natu­rally result from what hath been said on this Head, are very Momentuous, and the Youth must be obliged care­fully to Note and Remember them. They are these,

1. Since the Doctrine of our Blessed Saviour is Practical, it evidently fol­lows, That He intends it should be Obeyed. I cannot imagine what other End the Delivering Doctrines of this Nature to the World, can be rationally supposed to aim at but this. Is it only that they might be known? Alas! The most part of People stop here, and go no further; They think they do enough, if they attain to the Knowledge of their Duty. But our LORD tells us, That if our Knowledge do not issue into O­bedience, it will, serve us in little stead; If ye know these things, happy are ye Jo: 13.17. if you do them: Nay, He moreover [Page 425] assures us, That He who knoweth his Master's Will, Luke 12 47. and doth it not, shall be beaten with many stripes. So far will the knowledge of our duty be from con­tributing any thing effectually to our Happiness, that it will really aggravat our misery, when it is not improven into Practice. Or shall we say, That the end of such Doctrine is to inform Men of their Duty, and thereby to convince them of their weakness and unability to Obey, That upon this Conviction, they may have recourse to another for Righteousness. Now, how specious soever this pretence may ap­pear to be, yet without doubt, it is one of the shameful subterfuges of the old man, one of these false and pernicious glosses that he hath found out, in order to evacuat and disannul the Precepts of the Gospel, that they may not prove un­easie to his lusts, and that he may have some imaginarie grounds to flatter himself with hopes of Heaven. St. Paul indeed sayes, That Rom: 3.20. by the Law is the knowledge of sin; And certainly, giving Laws and Rules of Life, prohibitions of sin, and Precepts of Duty, do evi­dently suppose, that there are disorders [Page 426] to be redressed, and a want of Recti­tude that must be reintroduced, and hence the same Apostle teaches, That the Law was 1 Tim: 1.9. not made for the Righteous, but for the lawless and disobedient, and else where, That Gal: 3.19. it was added because of transgressions; For had Man continued Innocent, doubtsess he had been under no other Law but that of Love; But be­coming a degenerat Creature, and hav­ing fallen into darkness and disorders, and lost the right Path, it was necessary that the wayes by which he strayed from the Great and Original Law of his Creation, should be pointed out to him, and that he should be taught how to return to it again; In a word, That a Law should be given him, acquaint­ing him with his sin and his Duty. Let it be granted then, that one design of a Law under every Dispensation, is to in­form us of our miscarriages, and to let us see what we ought to be. But what of this? must we stick here? no to be sure; For these Notices that are given us by the Law, were intended not only to let us see, What we ought to be, but also what indispensibly we must be, and accordingly, St Paul expresly teaches, [Page 427] Rom: 8.4. That the Righteousness of the Law is fulfilled in them that believe, I say, fulfilled in them reallie and inherentlie, by having it written in their Hearts, and copied out in their Lives, or by the living conformity of their whole Man to it, so that They do no more walk after the flesh, but after the Spirit. But how is this done? not indeed by the Law it self; For it, as such, only informs Men of their sin and Duty, but furnishes them with no strength; Neither by any power in Man, for he is but corruption and weakness, but only by the Powerful Grace of Jesus Christ manifested in the Gospel, and which alwayes accompa­nies the Doctrines of it; For the Gos­pel Law is not a dead letter, or a naked declaration of sin and duty, but is u­nited to the Spirit and Force of our Redeemer; Which, when admitted into the Heart, transcribes there in living and real Characters the outward letter of the Gospel. Hence Christians are saidRom: 6.14. to be not under the Law, but under Grace; That is, not under a weak inefficacious Pedagogie, such as was that of Moses, but under the Gospel Dis­pensation, which is the Ministration of [Page 428] the Spirit, 2 Cor: 3.8. And furnishes with power and ability to fulfil all that it requires; Wherefore we must not look on the Precepts of our Holy Religion, meer­ly as evidences or indications of the disorders of our minds, but also as Cures impregnated with a Divine Ver­tue for redressing them, and must deal by them as a languishing Patient would do by the Remedies prescribed to him by a Skilful and Charitable Physician; That is, We must apply them, which we do, when we put them in practice; For a sincere and persevering Obedience is the very Application that is intend­ed, and such as will infallibly issue in our Cure.

But let it be moreover granted that the Law, and even the Gospel it self, doth convince us of our inability to Obey. But what then? doth not the Gospel also convince us of theEph: 1.19. ex­ceeding Greatness of the Power of that Grace which exerts its force in them that believe? 'Tis true indeed, we are fallen and corrupted Creatures, and are be­come both disaffected and unable to do good, but then the Divine Grace merit­ed for us by Jesus Christ, and offered [Page 429] to us in the Gospel, relieves our weak­ness; And, when it hath got access in­to our So [...]ls, operats there by an Almighty Efficacie, and fulfils in us 2 Thes 1.11. all the good pleasure of his Goodness, and the Work of Faith with Power. So that now we have no ground to pretend our in­ability, and thereby to excuse our selves from obeying the Precepts of our Holy Religion, but rather it is our duty to take courage, and to believe with St. Paul, thatPhil: 4 13. we can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth us. In fine, we shall heartily grant, that we must have recourse to another for Righteousness; For it is very certain, that the righteousness which we spin out of our own bowels, and is meerly the effect of our own natural abilities and endeavours, without the Operati­ons of Divine Grace, is of no value, cannot render us agreeable to GOD, nor qualifie us for being admitted into His presence; In this Sense it is very true, ThatIsa: 64.6. all our Righteousnesses are as filthy rags; So that it is indispensably necessarie that we seek for Righteous­ness in another, even in Him who is the LORD our Righteousness, who hath [Page 430] brought in everlasting Righteousness, and who of GOD is made unto us Righteousness and Sanctification 1 Cor: 1.30.; But then we must not think that the Righteousness which we receive from Him is a Righteous­ness entirely without us, we must not conceive of it as a plaister to cover our sores, or as an apologie for our wick­edness and vicious dispositions, so that for its sake, tho we be otherwayes in­herently and habitually impure and unholy, we become immediatly cap­able of entering upon the Inheritance of the Saints in Light. Certainly to enter­tain such thoughts as these, is disho­nourable to our Holy Religion, and to teach them for Truths, would be sadly to misrepresent and pervert the Designs of the Gospel. Without doubt, that Righteousness which the Holy Je­sus communicats to His Members, is a Real, a Living, and Inward Righ­teousness; 'Tis their Participation of the Divine Nature, 'tis Christ formed in them, and vitally delineated on their Souls, so that the same mind Phil: 2.5., the same Holy Dispositions, and Tem­per, these same Divine Graces, that were eminently in Him, are by the [Page 431] Operations of His holy Spirit, derived and transfused into their Inner Man, whereby they come to be Rom: 8 29, conformed to the Image of the Son of GOD, and are made Psal: 45.13. glorious within, and become immediatly qualified for the Divinest Enjoyments. Now a sincere and con­stant obedience to the Precepts of the Gospel, is the great mean which the Divine Wisdom hath appointed, in order to introduce this Righteousness into the Souls of Men; And from the whole it is, I think, sufficiently evident, That our blessed LORD in delivering the Doctrines of our Religion to the World, intended that they should be obeyed, and that to fix on any other design, to the exclusion of this that I have been insisting on, is to render these Rules of Holy Living useless, and to represent them as vain, impertinent, and superfluous.

2. Since our Blessed Lord in deli­vering the Christian Doctrine to the World, intended that the excellent Precept of it should be obeyed, it evi­dently follows, That Obedience to them is not impossible or impracticable. It were to be sure very absurd, Yea, even [Page 432] blasphemous to ass [...]rt, that our Mer­ciful Redeemer, who sufficiently un­derstood the Infirmitys and weakness of M [...]nkind, and who came to deliver them from the uneasie yoke of Jewish ceremonies on the one hand, and from the savage and inhumane rites of Gen­tilism on the other, should himself bind unsupportable burdens on his Follow­ers, and prescribe them tasks that they were not able to perform. Indeed were Men left to themselves, and if Obedi­ence to the Precepts of the Gospel were r [...]q [...]ired of them, in virtue of their na­tural abilities, now in this state of de­generacie and corruption, where the power of vicious habits is so great, and the baits of manifold temptations so cunningly managed by the great ad­versarie of Souls, then they might just­ly cry out, That it is impossible to obey; But it is n [...]t so, we are under the Gospel, which is the new Law of Grace, and which gives both the Will and the Deed, and which Commands only, because it gives power to obey. Our LORD ha [...]h abundantly provided a­gainst all our Infirmities; His power­ful Grace prevents all our endeavours, [Page 433] assists us in endeavouring, yea and ef­fectually works in us, and if we con­tinue faithful to it, will prosperously carry on what it hath begun, and at last crown all with Perfection and Glo­ry. He assuresMat: 28.20. all his Followers, all who unfeignedly resign themselves to his Grace and Conduct; That he will be alwayes with them even unto the end of the World, by his Almighty Spirit, and Divine Operations; And therefore, thô of our selves, and without him Jo: 15.5. we can do no nothing, yet with him we can do all things. Let us suppose that the Du­ties enjoyned us are very hard, and even impossible, when we consider only our own strength, yet if we were certain, that on our earnest Addresses, an Al­mighty Power would interpose, and relieve us, and take the task off our hands, or inspire us with a force which would vastly exceed the difficulties we are to undergo, then our duties, in stead of being hard or impossible, ought to appear pleasant and delight­ful to us. Thus it is in the present case; Our LORD hath promised, That Luke 11.13. our Heavenly Father will give his holy Spirit to them that ask him; And when we are [Page 434] assured, on our humble Prayers, for the Aids and Interposal of so Divine and Powerful an Assistant, why should any duties frighten us, or seem impossible to us? And therefore our LORD had very good reason to recommend the Precepts of the Gospel to his Followers,Mat: 11.29. as an easie Yoke and a light burden, to which also his beloved Disciple St. John gives his Suffrage, telling us, from his own Experience no doubt, That1 Jo: 5.3. His Commandments are not griev­ous. 'Tis true our Flesh and Blood, our lusts, and corrupt inclinations, will be ready enough to fly in the face of these excellent Precepts, as severe and rigorous impositions. But we must re­member, that they were not intended to gratify our lusts and vicious appetites, but to root them out, to overcome and defeat them, by obliging us constantly and resolutely to check, & by all means Resist them, and by all means to endeavour to get our selves rid of them, as being the distempers of our Souls, the hinderances of our Peace, and the certain obstructions of our Eternal Hap­piness; And thô the Receipts that are prescribed to us, in order to redress our fatal distempers, may be very harsh [Page 435] and uneasie in the application, yet the view we have of the Permanent, Last­ing, and perfect Health to which we shall be infallibly restored, by the con­stant use of them, ought entirely to re­concile us to them, especially consider­ing that the pains which we suffer in applying the Remedies that are pre­scribed us, ought to be accounted Plea­sures, when compared with the conti­nual rackings of our inveterat diseases, which, without being cured, would infallibly issue in our death and perdi­tion; And that moreover the Mighty and Charitable Physician, that orders the Methods of our Cure, will him­self furnish us with Strength to undergo them, and Minister such Cordials as will wonderfullie mitigat and sweeten all the uneasiness that we meet with in them. To be short, since our Bles­sed Redeemer hath made obedience to the Preeepts of the Gospel, to be as it were the very Essence of his Faithful Followers, the certain Evidence of true Love to him, and the only undeceiv­ing Mark and Character, that distin­guishes them from the hypocritical and hollow hearted, telling them at every time, If ye Jo: 14.15.21. love me keep my Command­ments. [Page 436] He that hath my Commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me. If ye continue Jo: 2.30. in my Word, That is, In the Obedience and Practice of it, then are ye my Disciples indeed. And to the same purpose else where, Ye are Jo: 15.14. my Friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. And since in fine, he expresly as­sures us,Mat: 7.21. That they only who do the Will of his Father, That is, who obey the Precepts of the Gospel, which in­ded are so many Declarations of what GOD will have us to do, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, it is to a demon­stration evident that to assert, that it is impossible to obey the Precepts of the Christian Religion, is all one as to assert, that it is impossible to be a good Chri­stian, or to be saved.

And now I shall take occasion here with all the earnestness that is possible for me, to obtest such as have the ma­nagement of Youth; That, if they have any Tenderness and Concern for their Souls, they would take care to train them up in this View of the Chri­stian Doctrine. Let it be timeously represented to them, that the Doctrine of the Gospel is Practical, that it was [Page 433] intended for the reforming and regu­lating of their Hearts and Lives, that a sincere obedience to it, is the Test of a true Disciple of Jesus Christ, and the only ass [...]red Way to Eternal Life; That this Obedience is not only very possible, but by the Mighty Assistances of Grace, Easie and Delightful; That it is the old man that would represent it as impracticable, and suggest Principles that will excuse the continual breaches of it, and in the mean time pretend to secure Peace with GOD, and an Inte­rest in Heaven, that the vicious habits which obstinat and persevering sinners have contracted, do make difficulties in it, and yet that the rudder strugles which such, if ever they design to be Happy, must resolve to graple with for sometime, in turning the tide of their corrupt natures, and combating their lusts and passions according to the Measures of the Gospel, will happily over, and issue in a joyful Victorie, and will be abundantly recompensed by that blessed Serenitie of Mind, and these well grounded Hopes of the Glo­ries of another World, that will un­questionably succeed them; That an [Page 438] early and cordial engaging in it, would prevent these many disadvantages and uneasinesses that must infallibly attend longer delays. Let them be very seri­ously cautioned against these soft and flattering doctrines, which either direct­ly or by plain and necessarie conse­quence, do evacuat and disanul this holy Obedience, as so many poyson­ous and destructive infusions. Alas! to many of this sort are abroad in the World, and by a sad fate, they have got the reputation to be considered as the principal and most valuable points of the Christian Religion, thô in effect they are the bane and plagues of it, have so ruin'd and disfigured it, that even the very knowledge of the nature and designs of it, is no more retain'd by too too many who still pretend to profess it, and to be very Zealous for the Interests of it. However, these ima­ginarie Truths, are very early dropt into the Hearts of Young Ones, and recommended to them as Articles of Faith, and they take such root in them, and so grow up with them, that to speak to them in their riper years, of a Gos­pel Law, that indispensably obliges [Page 439] them to Obedience, as the condition of their Salvation, would be to scanda­lize and offend them, thô nothing can be plainer than that almost every page in the New Testament, do bear constant Testimonies unto this great Truth. O that it would please the Father of Lights, to dissipat these thick clouds of ignorance and woeful prejudices that darken the minds of Men, That He would retrive pure and primitive Chri­stianitie, rid the World of these sooth­ing schems of divinity that are calcu­lated for the interests of the old man, and restore to His Church these Happy and long'd for Dayes, wherein such open, plain, and express Declarations as these, Blessed are Psalm 119.1. the Ʋndefiled in the way, who walk in the Law of the LORD. And they were Luk: 1.6. both Righteous before GOD, walking in all the Commandments of the LORD blameless. Be [...]e perfect Mat: 5.48. even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect; And innumerable others to the same purpose, shall no more under pretence of invincible infirmity, and through mistaken apprehensions of the Mercies of GOD, and the Merits of our Savi­our be commented away into a consistencie [Page 440] with the lusts and corruptions of Men. But I advance,

5. To another Property of the Doc­trine of the Holy Jesus, and the last that I shall mention, it is the Efficacie of it. This is what Himself hath taught us to believe concerning it. The Jo: 6.63. Words that I speak unto [...]ou, they are Spirit, and they are Life; That is, Words accom­panied with a Spiritual and Living Ver­tue; Not bare words or empty sounds, but Words of a penetrating Force, of an operative and vital Energie; And which, when they have got entrance into a sincere and simple Heart, pro­duce very precious and lovely Effects in it, And hence it is, That Mat: 13.19. the Word of the Kingdom, That is, the Doc­trine of the Gospel, so called, because it treats so much of Heaven, that Ever­lasting Inheritance and Kingdom of the Saints, and directs to the true Way how to come to the Possession of it, is compared to Seed, for as Seed hath a secret and powerful Vertue in it, which, when it is cast into a proper Soil, dis­plays it self, & shoots forth into plentiful Variety of useful Grain; So the Doc­trine of the Blessed Jesus, when it is [Page 441] received into the honest and good Heart, as St. Luke hath it,Luke 8.15. beareth Fruit, and bringeth Mat: forth, some an hundered fold, some sixtie, and some thirtie; That is, It exerts its living Efficacie and Force in the Soul, and springs up there into a delightful Variety of Divine and Heavenly Graces, whereby the Inward Man becomes as the Garden of Eden, or as a Field that abounds with different sorts of Fragrant and Lovely Flowers. This is what the Experience of holy Souls in all Ages hath sufficiently veri­fied; For, as many Saints as have ever been, so many Witnesses have we of the powerful Force and Vertue of the Word of GOD. How solemnly doth the Royal Psalmist celebrat the Mighty Efficacies of it? The Law of the LORD Psal: 19.7.8. is perfect, converting the Soul; The Testimo­nies of the LORD is sure, making Wise the simple. The Statutes of the LORD are Right, rejoycing the Heart; The Commandments of the LORD are Pure, enlightning the Eyes. And as to the Doctrine of the Gospel in particular, St. Paul assures us, That Rom: 1.16: it is the Power of GOD unto Salvation. To the same purpose may be adduced that rapturous acknowledgement of St. Peter, [Page 442] LORD Jo: 6.68. to whom shall we go, thou hast the Words of Eternal Life: That is, Words, which not only teach that there is an Eternal Life, and discover the certain way to it, but which also, by their Divine Energie and powerful Operati­ons, plant the solid Principles, and be­get the happie Beginnings of it in the Souls of Men, and nourish them up, and dispose and prepare them for the full and perfect Fruition of it; For, as hath been alreadie noted, the Holy Spirit is even united to the Words of Jesus Christ, and communicats to them Power and Facunditie, so that his Doc­trine is not a drie and barren, a dead and lifeless letter, but Force and Life and fruitfulness, and operats mightily in the Hearts of all who duely receive and entertain it. And hence, To all such as truely believe, it becomes the Principle of Re­generation; Born again saith St. Peter 1 Pet: 1.23. not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of GOD, which liveth and abid­eth for ever. Psxal: 119.54 A spring of relieving Cordials in the day of tribulation, (c) This is my comfort in my affliction: A vivifying Effica­cie that raises up the Soul from its dead­ness, I [...]ill never foreget Psal: 119.93. thy Precepts, [Page 443] for with them thou hast quickned me. Coun­sellors that minister sound Advices un­der perplexing difficulties, Thy Testimo­nies Psal: 119.24. are the Men of my counsel; And I understand more than Psal: 119.100. the Ancients, be­cause I keep thy Precepts. A Luminarie that enlightens the dark mind, and furnishes it with solid Wisdom, The entrance of thy Verse 1 [...]0. Words giveth Light, it giveth Ʋn­derstanding unto the simple, and to give no more Instances, a Faithful Guide that secures the Traveller from wandering; Thy Word is a Lamp unto my feet, and a Light unto my path Verse 105..

But we must remember, That as Seed, thô it be very excellent in its kind, yet it cannot prosper, if it be cast into an improper Soil; If for instance it be dropt by the way side, fall amongst thorns, or stonie ground; So the Words of the Holy Jesus, that incorruptible Seed of Divine Graces, cannot fructifie, will not put forth their Force and Efficacie in the hearts of such as will still retain their lusts, & indulge all the appetites of their old man. And accordingly our LORD informs us in His ExplicationMat: 13.22. of the Parable of the Sower, That the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness [Page 444] of riches choke the Word, and it becometh unfruitful. Certainly the Doctrine of the Gospel produces its wonderful Ef­fects, and prospers only in simple and guileless Souls, that meekly yield to the Remonstrances of it, that heartily believe the good Things it promises, and the threatnings it denounces; And in a word, that receive it with full and peremptorie Resolutions of Obedience. It is in vain for us to expect that we shall feel the Divine Efficacies of it on any other terms, or imagine that it will spring up within us into Christian Graces, while we choke and stiffle it by the weeds and thorns of our indulged lusts and vicious inclinations. And in effect, as long as we only admitt it His­torically and notionally into our Heads, and not practically also into our Hearts; The fruits that will follow upon it, will be none other but a pharisaical pride and self conceit, and a disdainful con­tempt of others rash judgement and un­charitable censuring, hypocrisie and presumption, a disputacious temper, and endless wrangling about triffles, a frothy chat and talking of Religious Matters, and a formal practising the Externals [Page 445] of Piety, without any thing of the Life and Power.

Now what hath been said on this Head, may be improven into very use­ful Consequences, and which the Youth, not without their great Benefit, ought to be obliged to take notice of; As,

1. From this a fair opportunity is afforded to induce them very highlie to value the Doctrine of Jesus Christ. The Efficacie of it in producing such noble and lovely Effects as we have instanced in, is a sufficient Document of its singu­lar Excellencie, and consequently a just ground of puting a very great E­steem upon it; For the Power and Vertue of Things do extreamly recom­mend them, and more especially when their Vertue is such as discovers it self in very notable and useful Operations. O the mighty Force and Power of the Words of Jesus! How marvellous do they operat on the Souls of Men! They are a Divine Panacea, a Remedie whose Medicinal Efficacie reaches unto all the distempers of the Inward Man: For by these dead Souls are raised up and quickned into a Divine Life, hard Hearts are softened into a Penitential [Page 446] Contrition, the troubled in Spirit eas­ed and solaced, the faint and timorous made bold and couragious, the weak and feeble corroborated, the ignorant instructed, the wandering reduced, the doubtful resolved, the defiled purified, the decayed Souls restored, the health­ful nourished, the hungrie satisfied, and the wearie refreshed; Boisterous passi­ons hush't and calm'd, and immode­rat appetites checked and mortified; And in one word, the new Creature formed. It was the Experience which the Saints have had of a Power and Vertue in the Sacred Oracles that ope­rated after so noble and excellent a manner as this, that made them pay such singular Deferences to the Word of GOD, and to express the Value they had for it in emphatical and rapturous Terms. The Royal Psalmist, after that he had taken a view of some of the precious Fruits which these Divine Words produce in the Souls of Men, tells us,Psal: 19.10. That they are more to be desired than Gold, yea, than much fine Gold, sweet­er also than the Honey and the Honey-comb. And in his great Psalm, as on the one hand he doth from his own Experience, [Page 447] furnish us with a great many instan­ces of the Power and Energie of the Testimonies and Word of GOD; so for this Reason on the other; He doth with most devout Eloquence and vari­ety of very pathetick and warm Ex­pressions, represent the incomparable Value He hath put upon them. All this so evidently appears from every Verse, that it is needless to quot par­ticular Passages to evince the Truth of it.

2. To the end that the Youth may speedily attain to the Experience and Sense of the mighty Efficacie of the Christian Doctrine in their own Hearts, let it be seriously recommended to them, To beware of whatever may choke it, and hinder it from displaying its Force and Vertue. We learn from the Parable of the Sower, That there are several grounds in which the Seed of Divine Truths doth not prosper, to be sure the fault is in the soil, and not in the Seed, for it is one and the same good Seed that is sowen in all; So when the Word of the Kingdom doth not fructi­fie in the Hearts of Men, 'tis certain that this must be imputed to the bad­ness [Page 448] of their dispositions, and to their allowing the weeds of lusts, and carnal and earthly affections to spring up and grow within them. And therefore let the Youth be directed to check the first buddings of corruption, and to pluck up as it were by the roots, these choking weeds, as soon as they begin to appear. Let them be exhorted in the words of St. Peter, 1 Pet: 2.1, 2. To lay aside all malice and all guile, and hypocrisies, and en­vies, and all evil speakings, and as new born Babes to drink in the sincere Milk of the Word, that they may grow thereby. And from this Passage let occasion be taken to tell them, that as long as they in­dulge and gratifie their lusts and passi­ons, and by so doing nourish and strengthen their old man, it is not pos­sible, that the Milk of the Word, That is, the Doctrine of the Gospel, which is the Aliment and Food of our Spiritual Life, can nourish and give Vigor to our Souls▪ or advance them in Christi­an Profession; For as poison, when one takes it often, will hinder the whole­somest and most agreeable Nourish­ment from doing any good to the Bo­dy, so carnal and earthly affections, [Page 449] inordinat and vicious appetites and pas­sions, which indeed are poisonous and destructive to our better part; Will, when entertained in the Heart, hinder that the Divinest and most Saving Doc­trine shall not Benefit the Soul.

3. Since the Doctrine of Jesus Christ is Efficacious in the Hearts of all who due­ly receive it; Let the Youth be fre­quently directed to Enquire whither it hath exerted its Force and Power in them, and in order to determine of this aright, let them be taught to take their Measures from the Appearances of the ge­nuine and native Fruits of it in their own Hearts and Lives. It is doubtless from these that we can have the most cer­tain and infallible Marks of its Success and Fertility; For as when we have sowen Wheat or some such other Grain, and when we see that it hath sprung up and ripened into a plentiful Cropt, and is of the same Nature and Useful­ness with the Grain that was sowen, we justly conclude that it hath put forth its Seminal Vertue, and prospered; But on the other Hand, when, after we have cast good Grain into our Field, we discover nothing of that same Na­ture [Page 450] with what was sowen to grow up, nothing but Thistles and thorns, and the like noxious and useless weeds, we do on good Grounds resolve, that the Seed was cast into a soil that was not capable to nourish it, and consequent­ly, that it was not in circumstances to exert its fertilizing Efficacie. Just so, when the Doctrine of the Gospel, which, as we have before remarked, our Saviour compares to Seed, hath by some means or other been scattered or sowen in our Hearts, and when we ob­serve that it hath sprung up within us, into all sorts of Christian Graces and Vertues, such as Penitencie, Humility, Self-denyal, Contempt of the World, Purity, Heavenly mindedness, Pati­ence, Meekness and Temperance, Cha­rity, Benignitie and Peaceableness, and such like, we may very confidently assure our selves, that it hath been Efficacious and Successful in us; For these are the Blessed Fruits which the Christian Doctrine was designed to pro­duce, and for this purpose it is, as hath been already often asserted and verified; It is, I say, impregnated with a Divine and Mighty Force, and thereby it becomes in all sincere Hearts, the Liv­ing [Page 451] Principle of all Holy and Gracious, both Dispositions and Practices, so that where-ever the Fruits of the Spirit, and the Works of Righteousness are truely found, there the Efficacie of the Doc­trine of the Son of GOD must be pre­supposed as the Principle and Cause. But when this Heavenly Doctrine is dispensed, and nothing follows upon it, among those to whom it is preached, but a formal piety, & a barren professi­on, nothing but the works of the flesh, nothing but base born lusts & passions, covetousness and earthly mindedness, hatred & malice, envie and bitter zeal, strife and animosity, jars and divisions, we may securely determine, that how specious soever the pretences of such to Religion may be, yet in effect, the Gospel hath never appeared in them in its Power.

III.III. An useful Method recommen­ded for instructing the Youth in the Particulars of the Christian Religion. The Nature of the Christian Doctrine being thus represented to the Youth, and by the display of its Lovely Qualities, having effectually recommended it to their Esteem and Affecti­on, and so the Foundation of their [Page 452] puting it in practice being happily laid, it follows next, that great care be ta­ken to acquaint them with the Particulars of it. Hitherto they have bad occasion to behold it only in the Gross, to see some of its admirable Properties, to notice its excellent Tendencies and De­signs; But it is moreover indispensably necessary, that the several parts of it be exposed to their View, that so through the Blessing of GOD on the Pious Endeavours of Instructors, they may come by degrees to be fully and particularly informed in the Great Truths and Duties of it; And that this part of the Task may be done success­fully, I would recommend the follow­ing Advices to their Overseers.

1. In order to acquaint the Youth with the Doctrines of the Son of GOD in particular, we must be careful that we do not fetch it from the discourses and writings of Men, who are not only con­fessedly Fallible, but also too too com­monly partial and byassed, and influ­enced by their passions and prejudices. To be sure, their Systems and Com­mentaries, their Confessions of Faith, and Catechisms, are generally too [Page 453] muddy Sources to give us any solid Grounds of hoping that the Truths of our Religion, could issue from them Pure and Undisguised. These sorts of Composures are infinitly variable, and put on different Faces, according to the different Humours, Opinions, and In­terests of the several Parties; But the Doctrine of Jesus Christ is ever the same, and changes not. In works of this Nature, some things are obtruded on the World, as the Doctrines of the Son of GOD, that indeed are none of His, and some things that are His, are so disfigured and misrepresented, that they cannot be owned as such: Things of the vastest Importance, are either quit omitted, or carelesly touched on, and things of very small or no moment in Religion vehemently urged, as if they were the great Essentials of it. However, so high a Value is put on Confessions and Catechisms, by the Votaries of the different Parties, that to contradict or reject any Article or Proposition in them, is construed to be as Piacular, and is as warmly resented, as if the Truths of the Bible were thus treated; And I have been often surpriz­ed, [Page 454] to hear Passages quoted out of them for the Establishment of Truth, and refutation of Error, with no less Assurance, than if they were the Sacred and Infallible Oracles of GOD. This is one of the unhappy consequences of a mismanaged Education: People are taught from their Infancy to pay a vast deall of Deference to this sort of Per­formances, they are made to look on them as the Standard and Measure of Truth and Error, and thô ones thoughts be never so agreeable to the Holy Scriptures, yet if they clash with these confessional Decisions, he must resolve presently to commence Heretick and to be loaded with all the ill names in the World. In the mean time, it is not denyed but Confessions of Faith, and specially Catechisms, are of excellent use for the Instruction of Youth, they are so certainly, when they are the Com­posures of Wise and Good Men, of Men that are Sober and Moderat, Im­partial and Peaceable, and who regard the Concerns of Christianity in general, more than the petty Interests and Ho­nour of Sects in particular. When they are such as urge and explain the [Page 455] great and necessarie Truths of Religi­on, and do not enervat and darken them by guileful and flattering com­ments, when they do not obtrude on the beliefs of Christians, airie and un­certain speculations as articles of Faith, and when less weighty matters are not set on the same level, nor made to be of the same necessity with the Essential and indispensable Truths and Duties of the Gospel. However, I say it is not from these, and especially as they are now a dayes ordered, that we must derive the Christian Doctrines for the Information of Youth: No sure, we must for this end go to a Diviner Source, even to the Holy Scriptures, which the blessed GOD hath consign'd to His Church, as the Authentick Records of His Will, and are by the unanimous Consent of all Christians acknowledged as such. But,

2. Thô the whole Scripture in gene­ral, be in a large Sense the Doctrine of Jesus Christ, because it was He, as He is the Eternal Word, who spoke by the Mouths of all the Holy Prophets, yet they are the Writtings of the New Testament, which contain these Doc­trines [Page 454] [...] [Page 455] [...] [Page 456] that strictly and properly are His, and more especially the four Evangelists, in which an account is given us of these Gracious Words which proceed out of His own Mouth: Certainly all Christians owe a peculiar Veneration unto these Doc­trines which the Son of GOD Himself delivered, while He dwelt in mortal flesh. It is in His Heavenly Discourses, which these Faithful Witnesses of His have recorded, that he acquaints the World with the Nature of that Excel­lent Religion, that He came to pub­lish in it. 'Tis in these that the great and fundamental Articles of Faith, the necessarie and indispensable Rules of Duty are laid down, that by very En­dearing Motives He invites Men to be­come His Disciples, and encourages His Followers to a persevering Fidelity, and that He declares what will be the sad fare of the incorrigible and unfaith­ful. In short, we must not imagine that this great and incomparable Pro­phet, the Head and Chief of all the Prophets, He who was so singular a Person, and so singularly accomplish­ed, He who was Invested with so extraordinarie an Authority, and so eminently acquainted with the Counsels [Page 457] and Designs of GOD, did deliver His Will imperfectly to the World, or o­mitted any thing that was necessarie for Men, either to believe or do, in order to be Eternally Happy: No sure, for, during the course of His Ministerie on Earth, He gave a full and perfect System of the Christian Religion; That is, Of whatever was absolutely and indis­pensably necessarie to constitute a true Christian: So that whatever Truths or Duties the Holy Apostles, or any other truely Illuminated Persons have after­wards communicated to the World, must not be look'd on as Additions to the Essence of Christianity, but are ei­ther Enlargements on & a Prosecution of the same Things that were delivered by the Son of GOD Himself, Deduc­tions from them, and a suting and applying them to the different States and Circumstances that Mankind may be in, or Discoveries and Explications of some Misteries and Divine Secrets, which thô they may be very singularly Useful, yet are not necessarie to our being Christians; From all it is plain, That in order to inform the Youth of the Doctrines of the Son of GOD in particular, a peculiar Regard must be [Page 458] had to His own Heavenly Discourses: It is from what the Blessed Author of our Religion hath Himself delivered and taught, that we are all in Reason to learn the Truths and Duties of it.

3. Having thus condescended on the Source whence the Christian Doctrines must be drawn for the Instruction of Youth, I would in the next place re­commend to such as are obliged to O­versee them, that they take care to Ac­quaint them with the Parables of our Blessed Saviour. These are full of Heavenly Instructions, and by a Sacred Artifice, do convey the most important Things, with Ease and Pleasure into the mean­est Capacities. They are very accom­modat to engage the attention of Young Ones, because they are put in an His­torical Dress; For Discourses of this Nature, Youth is wont to be much delighted with, and do easily retain: 'Tis true the Truths and Duties of our Religion are there under a Vail, but such as may be easily penetrated. Our LORD Himself hath explained a great many of them, some are obvious and plain enough in themselves; And as to [Page 459] these that are more dark, a careful Attention unto the Circumstances in which they were delivered, will deter­mine a serious, well disposed and intel­ligent Reader, to put a solid and use­ful Meaning upon them. Let these Divine Parables, in the same Order in which they are Recorded in the Evan­gelists, one after another, and yet but one at once, be at some set times fixed on, and by way of Question and Answer, be made familiar unto the Youth, if this, or some such other Method, that the Discretion and Piety of their In­structors will suggest on this Head, be taken, and insisted on as long as it will be thought needful, and if the whole be managed in so serious and winning a Manner, as will bespeak and engage their Affections; I am very con­fident, that in a short time a great ma­ny very excellent, important and use­ful Particulars of the Christian Doctrine will be happily dropt into their Hearts.

4. Since the Gospel of St. John con­tains more of the Doctrinal Discourses of out Blessed Saviour, than any other of the Gospels; Since his pen runs in so rapturous and seraphick a Strain, and [Page 460] yet simple and undisguised, since the Matters that he hath recorded are Great and Noble, Sublime and Elevated, and yet necessarie, solid and instructive; Since they are the sweet Things, and as it were, the Flowers and Honey Comb of our Religion that he treats of; Such as, the Divinity of our Blessed Redeemer, the Dignity of His Person, the Excellency of His Merits, the Riches and Power of His Grace, the exceeding Greatness of His Love, the Noble Pri­viledges entail'd on all His Faithful Fol­lowers, the precious Promises that are made to them, the Consolations pro­vided for them, the Badge and Cha­racter by which they are known, Obe­dience to the great Commandment of Love, their most essential and indispensable Obligation, Conformitie to, and Imitati­on of their LORD and Master: And in fine, The Glory to which they shall be advanced in the other World; It will not, I am sure, seem strange, if I moreover enj [...]yn, in order to acquaint the Youth with the Particulars of the Christian Doctrine, that they be oblig­ed to a frequent and serious perusal of this Book, that they converse with it, until [Page 461] every Period of it be not only fixed in their Memories, but also imprinted on their Hearts, that they read it, and meditat on it, until it be digested as it were, into their Marrow and Substance, till it spring up within them, into Life and Practice, Love and Obedience. It is certain that the Ancients expressed a peculiar Esteem and Veneration for this Gospel, I shall adduce only in Confirmation of this, that known Pas­sage of St. Augustine, in his Harmony of the Evangelists. ‘St. John (saith he) was particularly pitched on to repre­sent the Divinity of Jesus Christ; And whereas the other three do in some sort walk on Earth with Jesus Christ as Man, and record the Acti­ons of His Mortal Life, St. John on the contrarie mounts up as an Eagle above the clouds of humane infir­mity, and advances To farr as to dis­cover the Eternal Word, GOD equal to GOD, in the Bosome of the Father, without that his Eyes were dazled with the Lustre of that Glory. He insists more than the other, in declar­ing the Instructions of the Son of GOD, and principally these that [Page 462] are the most Sublime; And where­as the other Evangelists represent par­ticularly these Actions of our Savi­our, in which he gives us a Model for regulating our manners, and for the Conduct of our Lives. John on the other Hand, having resolved to supply what the other had omitted, applyed himself more especially to deliver the more Spiritual Truths. And it is very remarkable, (adds the same Father) That this Evangelist who speaks more Sublimely than the o­ther three, is he who also recom­mends unto us more frequently and more vigorously the Love of our Brethren. And as it is he who chiefly represents Jesus Christ as GOD, so also it is he only, who represents Him to us in a profound Humility, Washing the feet of His Dis [...] ciples, to teach us that we ought to grow more and more in Humility, proportionably as we make Ad­vances in the Diviner sort of Know­ledge.’

5. Our Blessed Saviour's Divine and incomparable Sermon on the Mount, recorded in the 5, 6, and 7. [Page 463] Chapters of St. Matthew, is an Abrige­ment of the Christian Doctrine; It contains the great and essential Precepts of the Gospel. It informs us of these Conditions, the performance whereof is required of us, in order to obtain Salvation by Jesus Christ. To be short, in this admirable Sermon the Gospel Law is published to all the World: And therefore it is absolutely necessarie, that the Youth be instructed in all the Particulars of it: And it is sad to observe, that in Educating them in the Christian Religion, so little regard is had to these Great Things, which the Authority of our Redeemer hath ren­dered Sacred, Necessarie, and Indis­pensable. Things of very small mo­ment, the peculiar Principles and O­pinions of this, and that and the other Partie are with Zeal and Diligence in­culcat on them, according as it is their Lot to fall under the Conduct of the Respective Votaries, whereas the indis­putable Maxims of Christianitie are ei­ther little noticed, or at least, not urged with the like Favour. I am of the mind, that if what our LORD hath delivered in the mentioned Chapters [Page 464] of St. Matthew, were digested into a plain and easie Catechism, and put in the hands of the Youth, it would without doubt much more effectually serve the Interests of their Souls, than these that they are commonly obliged to make use of, in some of which are scarcely so much as one of the great Precepts recommended in this Sermon, can be discovered from the beginning to the end, and what Truths are in them are so hideously embarassed, darkened, and disfigured by the Speculations and Dialect of the Schools, which are a­dopted into them, that I am fully perswaded, that in stead of contribut­ing to the advancement of the Youth, in the true and solid Knowledge of GOD and JESUS CHRIST, and of their Duty as Christians, they are real­ly very great hinderances to it.

6. But after all, It will, I doubt not, be judged very expedient, and even necessarie, that the most noted and most essential Points of the Christian Doctrine be more specially inculcated on the Youth, that they may have them still in their View, and regard them as Sacred and Inviolable Maxims or A­phorisms, [Page 465] whereby to regular their Hearts and Lives. The great and foundamental Heads of Christianitie are not very numerous, they may be reduced to a narrower compass than is commonly imagined; And these to the best of my thoughts, are pitched on in the following Instances, which are of such Importance and Moment, that too much pains cannot be taken to urge them on these in whose favours we are tending our best Advances.

1. And the first I shall mention is that wherewith our LORD began the Ex­ercise of His Ministrie among the Sons of Men,A view of the most noted and es­sential Heads of Christian Doctrine, that ought to be inculcated on the Youth. I mean the Doctrine of Repent­tance, which is our Entrance on the Christian Life, Repent (saith he)Mat. 4.17. for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Now this Repentance consists not meerly in a sorrowing or grieving for sin, but in a peremptorie and present disclaiming and foresaking it, and in actual and unfeigned turning of the Heart towards GOD, with full and sincere Purposes of undergoing and practising whatever may contribute [Page 466] to kil and destroy the root of sin in us. This is the very same with what out our Saviour else whereMat: 18.3. calls Conversi­on, except ye be converted, and become as little Children, ye cannot enter into the King­dom of Heaven. And when the peni­tent converted Soul hath through the mightie Operations of the Spirit morti­fied the deeds of the bodie, corrupted the old man, and attained to a State of ha­bitual Purity, then he enters on that which is properly and distinctly the State of Regeneration, wherein one is truely born of GOD, partakes of His Nature, and bears His Image, is Ani­mated, Illuminated and Solaced, In­fluenced, Acted and Directed by Him. This is the very top of Christian Per­fection, the highest pitches of it that are attainable in this Life, and to which alas they are infinitly rare, who do truely aspire, and fewer yet who do effectually arrive at them.

2. A second essential Head of Chri­stian Doctrine I give, is that of Believing in Jesus Christ. GOD gaveJo: 3.16.his only be­gotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting Life. We find that a great dale of stress is [Page 467] laid on this point, our LORD doth very often insist on it, and represents it as comprehending the whole Duty of a Christian. But then we must take care that we do not form to our selves false or maimed notions of it. Believ­ing in Jesus Christ, consists in the affecti­onat, vigorous and lively Actings of our Souls towards Him, and that suteablie to the se­veral Views which the Gospel obliges us to have of Him; Or, in a just Correspondence to these different Relations which He bears to us as our Bedeemer, and hence more parti­cularly, out believing in Him, is our Owning and accepting of Him as our Master and Leader, and so our becoming prac­tically His Disciples and Followers: It is a trustful and entire Surrender of our Souls to His Conduct and Instruction, as He is the Eternal Word, and the Light and Teacher of the Inner Man; It is an Eyeing of Him as our Pattern; And in con­sequence hereof, a readie and univer­sal Imitation of Him as such, and Walk­ing as He Walked: It is an Addressing Him as a Physician and Healer, and therefore it includes our beartie consenting, to under­go the Methods, which He prescribes for the Cure and Restoration of our lapsed [Page 468] Natures. An Acknowledging Him as our Lord and Soveraign, which necessarly obliges to an unfeigned Subjection to His Laws, evidencing it self by a faithful and persevering Obedience, and then to an unsollicitous Dependance on Him for His Protection and Divine Force, in order to combat successfully against our ghostlie enemies, and to get the victorie over them. It is a viewing of Him as our High Priest, offering up Him­self for our sakes, in the flames of an immense and most disinteressed love, a sacrifice both infinitly meritorious and exemplarie; And thereupon, a Recurring unto GOD through Him un­der the deep and penitential sense of the guilt and filth and power of sin, for Pardon and Mercie, and for Grace to conform to our suffering Jesus, by the sacrificing of our selves to Him in the practice of a daily self denyal, and mortification of our old man, and in Acts of the most fervent Love and gracefulest Acknowledgements that we can be capable of It is in fine a looking to Him as our Victorious and Triumphant Conquerour, now exalted in Glory, and holding in His Hand the noble Prize, [Page 469] & assuring us, that if we trace His Foot­steps, He will infallibly confer it on us. Whence ought indispensably to follow, our resolute engaging in the Spiritual Warfare, and our living on the yet invisible Glories He hath procured for us, and promised to us, in a generous contempt of the deceitful promises wherewith the world, the devil, or our flesh would flatter us, joyfully hoping that upon our persevering fi­delity, till we have run out our Race, and fought the Good Fight, we shall be admitted into the full and endless Fru­ition of them. Certainly this is the Import of Believing in Jesus Christ, and this is that Faith on which Eternal Life is entail'd, for this that is here prescrib­ed, is that Faith which purifies the Heart, Acts 15.9. which worketh Gal: 5.6. by Love, and which Jo: 5.4. overcometh the world. It is in­deed a very comprehensive Dutie, all others are virtually included in it, and spring up from it, as from their Root and Source. But to imagine that all its Vertue or Usefulness con­sists in that one particular, and single Acts of Relying on the Merits of our Re­deemer, to the exclusion of all others, [Page 470] which however are as essential to it, and by Divine Establishment as neces­sary, in order to obtain Pardon and Grace and Salvation, and so sub [...]illy to prescind and separat it from its self, is sadly to misrepresent it, and to de­ceive our selves; For this is to give Men ground to fancy that they have the whole, when they have at best but a part, and such a part too, as when it is separat from the rest, is but a vain and hypocritical presumption, and can never entitle any to the Favour of GOD, and the Glories of Eternity.

3. The Christian Beatitudes set down at the entrance of our LORD's Dis­course on the Mount, are the third mo­mentuous and weighty Head of the Gospel Doctrine that I instance in, and which I would have recommended to the Y [...]uth, as so many precious & inva­luable Jewels. O how great and noble things are povertie of Spirit, Penitential Mourning. Meekness, an hungring and thirsting after Righteousness, Mercifulness, Puritie of Heart, Peaceableness, and a patient bear­ing of persecution for Righteousness sake! These are the sure and undeceiving Characters of a true Disclple of Jesus; [Page 471] These are both the Ornaments that beautifie and recommend, and the prime Ingredients that constitute and form a sincere Christian. 'Tis from these that we must take our Measures, whereby to know the Truth of our Christianity, and to determine justly of the Goodness and badness of our E­state, with regard to GOD and Eter­nity; For it is certain that proportion­ably, as these Graces are more or less, or not at all discoverable in us, so ac­cordingly we may safely conclude, that we are more or less, or not at all Christians. These Marks of our Sin­cerity in Religion, and of our Interests in the Promises of the Gospel, which the blind and flattering self love of Men have set up, are lubricous and illusive, they do but sow pillows under our Arms, and make us groundlesly presume that we are assured of Heaven, thô we want these Dispositions that must qualifie and prepare us for it. But the Marks which Truth it self hath established are certain and infallible, and cannot deceive us, and they are these that we must search for in our Hearts, in order to be assured of our [Page 472] Title to the peculiar Favours of GOD and the Glories of the other World; we may learn what stress they bear in the Christian Religion, and what Va­lue our Lord puts on them, from these precious and endearing Promises which He hath annexed to each of them in particular. To be sure, they must not be mean and contemptible things, things of small moment and concern, that the Holy Jesus so solemnly recom­mends, and puts in a dress, that at once evinces, both how necessarie and how excellent they are; And yet it is surprizing to see that they are so little no­ticed in these Formularies that are com­posed for the Instruction of Youth. I need not tell any serious and thinking persons, that these great Things of our Religion, are more proper to season Young Hearts, and more calculated to beget in them a Christian Tem­per and Disposition, than the urging on them, and explaining to them the peculiar Speculations and Sentiments, the passions and prejudices of a partie, which very often are of that make and genius, that in stead of introducing and cherishing-in them a Temper and [Page 473] Frame becoming the Gospel, do really stiffle and choke it, by their being nou­rished up in a blind and pertinacions zeal for some things, in favours where­of thay are taught to sacrifice and trample on such as are more weightie and more indispensable.

4. The fourth Point I mention is, that great and fundamental Lesson of our Religion, the Learning and Practi­sing whereof is so essential to our being Christians, that it is in vain for us to pretend to be of that Number, while we are strangers to it. What I am at is set down in that notted Passage of the Gospel,Luke 9.23. If any Man will come after Me, let him deny bimself, and take up his cross daily and follow me. These are the memorable Words of the Blessed Jesus, wherein He declares what the Terms are, which all that would become His Followers, and inherit the Glorious Priviledges that He hath merited for them, must resolve to accept of and comform unto. They are so punctually recorded by the Evangelists, and so often inculcated, sometimes in the very same Expression, and at other times, in equivalent Terms, that doubtless [Page 474] they considered them, as containing one of the most essential Maxims of the Gospel, and indeed it is not possible to give a more Just, a more Genuine, and a more perfect Idea of a Christian, than that which is exhibited to us in this Passage, If any Man will come after Me, That is, whoever will own Me as his Master and Teacher, and be­come my Disciple, I shall acquaint him before hand with what he must in­dispensably resolve to do: The first and great Lesson I set before him, and which he must effectually learn and practise, is this, Let him deny himself, That is, he must renounce and despise, foresake, and hate all that is vicious and depraved in him, thô never so dear and valuable in his Eyes, all the lusts and passions, the appetites and inclinations of his old man, all his own wisdom and strength, and all the false appearances of Religion, Righteous­ness and Vertue, that are meerly the products of his own lapsed faculties and activitie, without the Intervention of the Operations of Divine Grace. In a word, all that naturally issue from his own Heart, as it is originally [Page 475] polluted and impure, darkened and weakened, ignorant and foolish, which certainly is so corrupt a source that no­thing can come from it but what ought to be the object of hatred and contempt, and can merit no other treatment but Crucifixion and Death, Take up his cross daily, That is, resolutely and cheer­fully imbrace all these Means that can contribute to root out and destroy our vicious and depraved inclinations, kill and crucifie the flesh, with all its affections and lusts: Now among these Means are reckoned not only these outward tribulations and calami­ties, which the blessed GOD in His wise Providence shall think fit to dispense, and all these pious and discreet Severi­ties which a fervent Devotion, that generously aspires after victorie over the flesh, may oblige one to inflict on him­self, but also, and specially these inter­nal and daily struglings which we have with out corruptions, these continual resistances and oppositions that we must make against the Attempts and Efforts of the old man, these resolute control­lings of the first appearances of our pas­sions, these generous refusals to comply [Page 476] with the violent cravings of our inordinate appetites, these vigorous and stub­born endeavours to break the forces, and to turn the tyde and current of our inveterat habits, these constant Watch­ings in order to discover the temptati­ons of Satan, to defeat his artifices, and to reject his cunning and sly insinuati­ons. And moreover, all these desolati­ons of Soul, that we meet with in the course of our Spiritual Warfare, these bitter and piercing reflexions that are suggested to us, these uneasie and dis­quieting impressions that are made on our minds, under the view and sense of sin, and feeling the power and work­ings of the old man, all these we must undergo with courage and patience, as making a part, and a principal part too of the Cross. And therefore, as a very good Man writes in an excellent Book, ‘They err and that very grosly,Errant proinde & vebementer errant, qui aliam crucem ignorant quam tri­bulationes & aerum­nas mundanas, nes­cientes internam paenitentiam & morti­ficationem carnis esse veram illam crucem, quam post Christum quotidie bajulare de heamus. Arndius de vero Christianis­mo. lib. 1 cap. 4. pag. 22. who imagine that there is no other Cross but worldly tribulations and calamities, being ig­norant that internal pe­nitence, and the mor­tification of the flesh; [Page 477] are that true Cross which after the Example of Christ, we are obliged daily to bear. And follow Me.’ That is, He must set Me be­fore him as his Pattern, & conform to the copie that I have given him, trace my Foot­steps & walk as I walked, be content to meet with the same treat­ment from the World that I meet with from it, suffer as I have done, be animated and influenced by the same Spirit that I was, practise the same Ver­tues that I did, have the same Gracious Dispositions and Inclinations that I had, while I tabernacled in mortal flesh. And now from this brief account of the import of these Words, is it not plain enough that they contain the verie Marrow and Substance of the Doctrine of the Gospel, as it is practical? And is it not very reasonable, that since this is the first Lesson that our Lord obliged His Disciples to learn, the Youth should be very early acquainted with it? And ought not these Words to have had a place alloted them in our Catechisms, and to have been turned into one of [Page 478] these Questions and Answers that are intended for the instruction of such as are of weaker Capacities? Are there not things of vastly less moment, much more Dark and Abstruse, and more dis­proportion'd to the understandings of Children insisted on in them? I heartily wish, that in our Eagerness for Reform­ing, the redressing of this deplorable omissi­on, may not escape the Consideration of these who are very Zealous, for rectify­ing abu [...]es o [...] infinitly less consequence, and less Dangerous to the Souls of Men.

5. That Summarie of the Law, and ProphetsMat. 22 37, 38. &c. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy Soul, and with all thy mind, and thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self, is the fifth Capital point, that I recommend to be with the greatest care & diligence that is possible inculcated on the youth, as being the great design of all Religion, as that wherein all the other duties do Center and terminat, and that which is the very Soul and Life and beautie of them, which puts a value on them, and without which they cannot be ac­c [...]ptable. All the advantages that the Gospel furnishes us with all ought to be [Page 479] made use of, in order to engage young hearts to pursue and aspire with all the ardencie imaginable after the love of GOD, and of all his Creatures in him, and for his sake. Now under this bles­sed Dispensation, the great Precept of Love to GOD and Man, is Reinforced, with a great many new Endearments and Motives; Such as, the suprizing Mani­festations of the Love and good will of GOD in the Redemption of the World. The Condescendencie & Sufferings, the Melting Charitie & Compassions of the Son of GOD, the Graces, Assistences, and Consolations of the Holy Spirit, the publications of Pardon and Reconciliati­ons and the evident promises of E­ternal Life; All which, when seriously considered, ought inviolably to ob­lige us, both to make all the re­turns of Love to GOD that are possible for us, and to imitat in our Carriages towards Man, the Methods of merci­f [...]lness ond Condescendencie of Benigni­ty and Good will, that are exemplified to us in the Gospel Dispensation. And as Love is now Reinforced by new, and more winning obligations, so moreover the views of it are more enlarged, both [Page 480] with regard to GOD and Man; Cer­tainly the more GOD is known the more He is or ought to be Loved; For everie new discoverie of his perfecti­ons, is as it were an exhibition of a new beauty, and carries alongs with it a new Endearment. Now it is evident, that under the Gospel, God hath more ful­lie manifested himself, than under fore­going Oeconomies, and consequently hath afforded a more Ample Field for the ex­ercise of our Love, which indispensably binds us to more enlarged effusions of it. And when we understand that GOD was in Christ, reconciling the World to himself, that he hath commanded the offers of His Grace and Pardon to be published to every Creature, and that he hath so Solemny protested, that he is not willing, that any of the Children of Men should perish, but that all should come to the knowledge of the Truth, repent and be saved; how can we find it in our hearts, to shut out any from the enfluences of our Cha­rity, or confine the Bowels of our Mer­cies to a few? When we learn that our Dear Redeemer forgave his very Ene­mies, and hath commanded us to Love ours, how dare we pretend to be His [Page 481] Disciples, when we neither imitate His Example, nor obey His Precept in this Great and Capital particular? But yet further, now under the Gospel, the neces­sity of having the Divine Grace of Love im­printed in our Souls, and of Vigorously Exercising it both towards GOD and Man is more fully asserted: Our Lord, we see, recommends it as the summ and substance of the Law and the Prophets, and in effect all other duties are but different appearances of Love, And without that it Animate and Breath in them, they are but poor and lean performances, empty and useless shews of Religion. And as Love is the fulfilling of the Law, so it filleth almost every page of the Gospel, and all the Writings of the Apostles; As One well observes, That when they speak of Faith, it is of none other Faith then that which worketh by Love. The Holy Jesus hath established it as the Motto and Cog­nizance, the Badge and Character of his Disciples; A New Commandment, saith he, I give unto you, that you love one another, as [...]redge [...] have loved you that you also love one anothe [...]redge [...] By this shall all Men know, that you are [...]redge [...] Disciples, if ye love one another. This [...]redge [...] repeats again and again, and urges [...]redge [...] [Page 482] all his Disciples, with such a warmth and concern, as sufficiently Evinces how vastly important it is, and what great weight it bears in the Christian Religion. and to engage them the more to nottice and obey it, He commends it to them as hisJo: 15 12. Own Commandment. This is my Commandment, that ye love one another, as I ha [...]e loved you. ‘As if he had said, I am your dear Redeemer, he that hath given very singular evi­dences of love to you, he that hath done, and yet will do great things for you, I justly expect that you will have a very tender regard to what I do more especially require of you, now this is my Peculiar injunction, That you love one another, as I have loved you. This is the Precept that I have examplified unto you all my Life long, and which I am shortly to write to you with my precious Blood. Thi is my great Commandment, and I will own none for my Followers, but such as will obey it, This is a sure Test of your Sincerity, and a certain evidence of your love to me. And whatever other Precepts of mine you observe, yet if you Neglect this, I cannot but account you Hypo­crites. [Page 483] I am your Head & as such I bear a very dear love to you, and as su [...]h I enj [...]yne you, being you are my Members, that you have a mutual and sincere love for one another, ac­cording as I have loved you; For o­therwise you cannot have a living Union with me, and with one ano­ther, nor partake in my peculiar in­fluences and Consolations, I intend that you shall live with me, and with one another in an eternal Hermo­ni [...] and Union in the Regions of Bliss, and you must be trained up too, and fitt [...]d for this on Earth, by the Exer­cise of a servent and unfeigned love, both to me as your Head, and to one another, as fellow Members of the same Body; Since it is not possible that they who live and dye under the power of the Black and Horrid Dispo­sitions of Malice and Hatred, Wrath and Anger, Bitterness and Revenge, can unite to that Blessed Societie, the Members whereof are Cemented together by a pure and Reciprocal Love.’

And if these things be so, then, that I may note this by the way, what melan­choly [Page 484] and Damping reflections, may the present state of the Christian world Suggest to us! For where are they that give obedience to this great Commandment of the Redeemer! where can we remark any vestiges of Christian Love? do not the verie contrarie dispositions visibly be­wary themselves in the faces and in all the carriages of such as would be account­ed the followers of Jesus? What are these Jars and Divisions, these heats and animosities, these mutual Hatreds and Persecutions, Warrs, and Blood-shed, Unjustices, and Oppressions, that are a­mong Christians, but plain and undeny­able indications, that Charitie bath wax­ed cold? What are these numerous Sects in Religion, that everlastingly wrangle and Dispute with one another, that Ca­lumniat and Revile, that Bite and De­vour, that Crucifie and Damn one a­nother, that Sacrifice the great Command­ment, and trample on the most Sacred Dictats of it, in favours of their beloved interests and Opinions, what are these, I say, but so many evident Degenera­cies from the Spirit of Unity and Love.

I confess it surprizes to a degree that cannot be well expressed, that they who [Page 485] Read the books of the New Testament do not sufficiently observe of what mo­ment and consequence the keeping of the great Commandement of love is, & how that these doubtfull and uncertain speculations which often very falsly get the name of the truths of GOD are but triffles in comparison of it. And what a wretched mistake it is to imagine that Tything, Mat. 23.23. Luke: 4.42. Mint & Cummin, the scrupulous observing some lesser things, will com­pensat the neglect of the weightier mat­ers, such as mercy and the love of GOD, which our Lord so often and so Vehemently inculcats, and his Apostles after him, in imitation of him, and as being acted by the same Spirit that he was, press on Christians, in so urgent and Pathetick a strain, as convincingly demonstrats, the Sense they had of their importance and Necessitie. S. Paul, after that he had exhorted his Colossians Col: 3, 14. to the practice of a great many excellent Gra­ces, in end he recommends Love to them, as the Crown and Glory, and perfection of all, and above these things, saith he, put on Charitie, which is the Bond of Perfectness. This is it which ac­complishes and illuminats, and gives [Page 486] the Final and perfecting Stroke to all o­ther Vertues. And elsewhere he assures usCol: 13 that tho' we could deliver our selves with all the Advantages of Ange­lick eloquence, tho' we had the gift of foretelling Future events, and could Fa­thom the D [...]p [...]hs of all Mysteries, tho' we were Master of all the Subtilities of the Sciences, and had Faith to a degree that were Mi [...]aculous, tho' we did Ex­haust our Goods in Alms-Deeds, and expose our Bodies to the rudest Treat­ments for the sake of Religion, yet if we were destitute of the Divine Grace of Love, we are nothing in the account of GOD; All our other accomplisments, and our performance, how Glorious soever they may appear, either to our selves or to others, will serve us in no stead. I were needless to quote passages to this purp [...]se out of St. John, since Love is the great Theme that he insists on. I wish with all my heart, that the angrie Factions in Religion, would more Serious­ly study his fi st Epistle, an [...] more im­partially practise the Sacred injunctions of it, but that it is Sadly to be feared, that Passion and interest, and Corrupt Byasses, have so blinded and perverted [Page 487] the understanding of Men, that they cannot solidly discern the meaning and Tendencie of his Seraphick Aphorisms concerning love. In the mean time, I cannot omitt, taking notice of that remarkable passage of his1 Epist. 2.16. GOD is love, and he that dwelleth love, dwel­leth in GOD, and GOD in him: From that Idea, which he here gives of the Divine Nature, telling us that GOD is love, it manifestly appears, how indis­pensably Necessarie. It is that our Souls be beautified with the Excellent Orna­ment of Love, because while we are void of it we are absolutely incapable of the Beatifi [...]k Fruition of GOD, or of having Communion with him; For it is impos­sible, that these Souls who are filled with the direful and Rancorous passions of Hatred and Revenge, Envie and Dis­content, can unite with that Amiable Bee­ing, that is Essentially love and sweetness and Benignitie; No sure, they are only these who dwell in love, that is, to whom love is, as it were their very Element, who Live & Breath and Walk in it, and in whom it lodges as the Habitual and prevailing Temper and Disposition of their Souls; Who dwel in GOD, and GOD [Page 488] in them, that is, are admitted to a near and intimat access unto GOD, and to partake immediatly in his Lights and Joyes.

But we must take great care that we do not imagine that these Sacred Twins the love of GOD and Man, may be separated from one another in our prac­tices; certainly to entertain such a thought were grosly to impose on our selves; for there is such a strict and necessary union between these two, that where the one is, there the other is also, and where the one is not, there the other cannot be. And hence it is that St. John makes them mu­tual Evidences of one another. The love of our Fellow men & Christians he esta­blishes as a certain mark whereby to de­termine, whether one truly loves GOD; John 12 Eph: 4.12. If we love one another, GOD dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us; So that if any should pretend to have a great love to GOD, and a mighty zeal for his Glory, and Honour, his Interests and Cause, and in the mean time bewray a great deal of ill Nature and spite, of ha­tred and resentment against his Fellow Creatures and Brethren, he Deceives him­self; For as the same Apostle assures [Page 489] us1. Eph. 4.20. If a man say, I love GOD, and hateth his brother, he is a lyar. And on the other hand, if we would know whether we love our brethren sincerelie or no, the surest way, he tells us, to be resolved of this is, by knowing or examining whe­ther we truly love GOD; By this we know, saith he,1. Eph. 5.2. that we love the Chil­dren of GOD, when we love GOD and keep His Commandments; For otherwise it is verie possible for us to do a great many acts of Love to our Brethren, which may flow from base and mean and sordid principles, such as self love, vain glory, Views of Relation, Gallantrie, good Nature, and the like. But certainly our love to them before it can be deem'd sincere and genuine, must issue from a Nobler source, even from the love of GOD, For if it does not spring from this divine Root, it is, but an Animal and Mercenarie Affection, and incapable to exert in their favours these generous and disinterested, these lasting and parma­nent acts, which charity that never falls, and that seeketh not her own, is so valuable and so remarkable, for.

Here it is verie seriouslie to be con­sidered, that as true love to Man is in its [Page 490] Original an Efflux from our love to God, so in its exercise it is a practicai imita­tion of that love which God bears to his Creatures. Now that which God loves in his Creatures is himself, that is, the Image & Resemblance of his own Ami­able Perfections. He loves them as they bear the impressions and characters of His Power, Wisdom and Goodness, his Life, Beautie and Felicitie. And in con­formity hereunto, that which holy souls love in the Creatures is God appearing to them in the Beautifull Reflexes of his own infinit Excellencies. As he loves these most who do most perfectly re­semble him, so also do they. And as, tho his tender Psal: 25.14. Mercies are over his works; Yet his Psal: 25.14. Secrets, his peculiar Communications, are with the Righteous, and with them that fear him. Accordingly their love keeps the same measures; for tho' they are readieGal. 6.10. to do good unto all men, yet they have pecullar tendernesses for those of the Houshold of Faith. As he, when his Creatures turn away from him, and sin, doth out of his great love to them use all possible endeavours to re­claim them, so likewise their love pushes thee to do the same. And indeed one of [Page 491] the highest and most Genuine expressions of charity to our Neighbours is, to do all that is possible for us to recover him from his fall, and to bring him back to the Love of GOD; And as his Love inclines him to be Merciful & Patient, and slow to anger, condescending and readie to for­give; so theirs also is of the same Genius, and disposes them to Transcribe the co­pie that his Love sets before them. They put onCol: 3.3.14. Bowels of Mercies, Kindness, Humbleness of mind, Meekness and Long suffer­ing, they forbear and forgive one another. And thus as to all other instances of Love,Eph: 5:1: they are followers of God as dear Children, For that pure flame which their Heaven­ly Father hath kindled in their hearts, first mounts up to himself, and then in him and for his sake, sallies out to the Creatures, in a Just conformitie to that love which himself exerciseth towards them.

In fine, as under the Christian dispen­sation, the precept of love is Reinforced by new motives, as the views of it are more enlarged, & the necessity of obey­ing it more fully asserted, so moreover the methods of attaining it, are more plainly discovered. We are here to rememher that [Page 492] love to man is, as hath been alreadie remarked, an Emanation from the love of GOD, and consequently, when once the love of GOD is introduced into the Soul, charity to man necessarly issues from it, and grows up with it. Now the methods which the Gospel prescribes, in order to attain to the Love of GOD, or for introducing it unto the Soul, are the cleansing our hearts from all impure and Forreign loves, the riding them of self and Creatures, the crucifying in them all these lusts and turning them from these objects and occasions that divert them from and incapacitat them for the entertaining so noble a passion, or in short, the sincere and daily practise of that self denyall, that was recommended under the fore­going Head. The Love of GOD is a pure and Heavenly flame, and cannot mingle with Corruption and filthiness, and therefore if we would have it seise on us, and to burn brightly within our breasts, we must diligently labour to purge our hearts from all Defilements, and as we advance in purity, so propor­tionally will the Love of GOD grow up & prosper in our Souls. Further the love of GOD is the end of our Creation, it [Page 493] was for the intertaining of it, that our Souls were made, and therefore it is Just, that they should be wholie and un­reservedly consecrated to it; Divine love is Jealous, and will not admit of Rival­rie or competition. And hence it is that onr Lord tells us;1 Matt. 6.24. we cannot serve God and Mammon; And his beloved Disciple enjoyns not to love the World, John 2.15. nei­ther the things of the World. And the reas­on by which he enforces his Exhortation is, if any man love the World, the love of the Father is not in him. Whence it appears, that our Souls, to the end the Love of GOD may have place in them, must be disunited from all these objects, with­out us, that would engross our affections, and turn our hearts away from the only and Soveraignly amiable obj [...]ct.

It will not, I humbly think, be un­seasonable to suggest here, that they who give us the fullest and most Sublime accounts of the Nature of Divine love, and explain with greatest exactness, the means and ways prescribed in the Gospel for at­taining to it, are such as have from their own experience, created of the Mystick Divinitie, and they who Generously a­spire after the Nobler Heights of Devo­tion [Page 494] (and certainly it is the dutie of all sincere Christians so to do, that is, to advance2 Epistle, 3.18: in grace, and to grow Eph: 4.15. up in conformitie to him, which is the head, even Chrest) ought in my Opinion to converse with their Writings, some of which, such as T: Akempi [...], his Christian Patern, Arn­dius his Books of true Christianitie, are suted to the meanest capacities. It is true, I know, that this Divinity does not agree to the Pallat and relish of all. Many are even frightned at the very Name of it, imagining that it teaches nothing, but the Measures of a Plantastick Devo­tion, and some have not scrupled to cen­sure these higher strains of Love, which pure minds have attained to, and spoke off, these more singular Operations of the Divine Grace that they have felt, and those more special Communications of himself, that God hath vouchafed them, as the ravings of cloystered Melancholi­ans, and even to compare them to the Notions of Bedlaemites This prophane Ban­ter, when it comes from such as pretend to any measures of seriousness, is, I am apt to think, undoubtedly owing to their being unacquainted with, or not having duely considered the Nature of it, and [Page 495] therefore. I suppose, it will not be un­profitable, nor yet altogether a digressi­on from my main design, if I here briefly state the trve notion of this Divinity; For it is not sit, that the Youth be trained up un­der prejudices, against that which other­wise might excellently contribute to advance them in a solid and serious pietie and Devotion. And I chose to take my account of it from another, and one who verie well understood it.

We shall not need, saith heTheolo­gie du caeur au preface. to be surprized, that the Mystick Divinity, being, as indeed it is, the scourge of vain occupations and unprofitable distractions and an infallible Counterpoyson against the Pelagian and Sounian Heresies, and all kinds of Dangerous errors, should so verie much displease both the vainly Learned, and the Disciples of Pelagius and Socinus. But that persons otherwise, both Orthodox and Pious, should suffer themselvis to be prejudicat against it, is assuredly what they would be extreamly astonished at, were it not that their By­asses, are the effect of ignorance and mis­take; For they have formed to them­selves, a false and Chimerial Idea of this Divine Theologie, and they do not [Page 496] consider, that it is nothing else but the purest knowledge, and the purest love of God, or the Ʋnion of the Soul with God, so far as it is attainable in this Life. And even to conceive justly of it it is the most per­fect Essence of the Christian Religion, and no Soul shall ever [...]trive at the Beatifick vision of GOD, that does not possess the substance of it.

There are who fancie that the Mystick Divinity is nothing else but the Typical or Allegorieal explications of holy Scripture, and it is upon this score that they make it the object of their disdain. But what­ever may be said in favours of the Divine way of interpreting the Scriptures Alle­gorically, it is not however in this that the Mystick Divinity consists. This that we now consider, is the symbolical or figura­tive Theologie, and it is a huge mis­take to think that it is the Mystick. It is indeed true that Allegorical interpre­tations do some times bear the name of Mystick, to wit, when the subject matter of them is of that Nature, but verie improperly when it is not so.

Others imagine that the Mystick Divini­ty consists in I know not what ridculous efforts to put one's self in an extasie, or [Page 497] not to exert any acts of the mind, and to think on nothing. Or in a multitude of odd visions, wild speculations, and Extravagant terms and expressions which signifie nothing, and I cannot tell how many chimeras of this nature, all which are as far removed from the Mystick Di­vinity as Heaven is from Earth.

But the true Mystick Divinity being quite another thing, to the end we may have a Just Idea of it, it will be convenient to remark, that it may be taken in two different significations. The first is when we give it a more limited and narrow sense and then, it is only the union of the Soul with GOD, without considering the ways that have served as means to arrive at it. The other sense is more large and comprehensive and includes also the internal ways, by which the Soul can attain to this Divine Ʋnion.

Now as there are two principal fa­culties in the Soul, namely the Ʋnder­standing and the Will, and as one may at­tain to the Divine Union by the one & the other of these ways, so the Mystick Divinite, taken in its more comprehen­sive signification, is divided into two different kinds, whereof each hath a re­gard [Page 498] to one of these ways.

The first is Extraodinarie; It is that of the way of the Ʋnderstanding which consists in this that God making its ac­tivite to cease, operats in it by the Su­pernatural ways of Raptures and Extasie and by intellectual visions, which doubt­less ought not to be either dispised or rejected, when they come truly from God, seing we have so many examples of them in holy Scripture. But then all the Mystick Divines are agreed that this sort of Mystick Divinity is infinitly rare, and that one ought never to desire it, and if one hath a great propension towards it; he is thereby exposed to a thousand dangers, and to a thousand Diabolick illusions.

The other sort of Mystick, Divinity that I mean which regards the way of the will, consists in emptying the heart of the esteem and love of created things and of self, to the end it may be intirely devoted unto God, and may love nothing but Him alone, and the fulfilling of his Divine will, in Consequence whereof God uniting himself to the Soul, fills it with his Divinest love, communicats to it his purest lights. And this is the [Page 499] Mystical Divinitie, proportioned to the Capacity, and to the use of all Men. And would to GOD, that all would make it their business to study it well.

It is called Mystick, that is to say, hidden and secret, not only because the Divine Union is made inwardly in the secret Recesses of purified Hearts; But also, because the Wordly Learn­ed understand nothing of these Di­vine Internal Communications of the Wisdom and of the Spirit of GOD. This is what Jesus Christ, and S. Paul do inform us of, when they speak concerning the Sacred Theologie. He that loveth Me, John 14, 21, 23. saith the Son of GOD, shall be loved of My Father, and I wlil love him; and will manifest my self unto him. If any one love Me, he will keep My words, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make Our abode with him. Blessed Matt: 5.8. are the pure in heart, for they shall see GOD. We Preach, saith S. Paul,1 Cor 2, 7, 8, 11.14. the wisdom of GOD in a mysterie, even the hidden [Page 500] wisdom, which none of the Sages of the world knew, and which one cannot know, but by the Spirit of GOD, which the Animal Man cannot receive, nor com­prehend, for it is foolishness unti him, and a matter of Jeer and Scorn:

It is moreover termed Mystick or hidden, because it can not be demon­strated to any person in a way of rea­soning, and that we cannot prove, or make others Comprehend the reality and the Truths of it by any Ideas. It is the very same here, as in all mat­ters of Experience: One cannot, for in­stance, prove by reasoning to a person who never saw the Sun, that it is a brightly shinning Luminarie, nor give him an Idea of what its light is: We cannot by any Demonstration make one, who had never tasted any sweet thing, understand what sweet­ness is; Just so we cannot make any Body comprehend the lights of this Divine Science, and its force, but only by remitting such as would learn it to Experience, and to the [Page 501] Faithful practice of these means which are proposed in it, in order to attain to the possession of it, which indeed is inseparable from the living Know­ledge of what it is, who as before we come to this possession of it, we can have no true Idea of what its Terms signifie, which is also the rea­son why the ignorant do say, that it is but a heap of words, which signifie nothing, even as the terms of light, and colours are words which signi­fie nothing to such as are blind.

From this brief account of the Mys­tick Divinity, I hope, it appears that it is not a Scheme of Airie and Phan­tastick pretences, but that it contains and Urges the most Essential Maximes of Christianity, and divots to the true and certain Methods of attaining to that which is the end of all Regilion, I mean, the pure Love of GOD; But to Evince this yet further, I shall Subjoin another passage out of a great Devotionist of the passed Age, which will both illustrat yet more and recom­mend [Page 476] this Heavenly Theologie. It consists, saith he, in knowing GOD and contemplating him, in dying to self, and to all things in order to be united to him, and to live in him. And this comes to pass, when the Soul of Man, in a generous disdain of all things, Soares above them, and by a Renuciation of all the Crea­tures which might prove hinderances to it in this Noble pursute, takes no thought of enjoying any thing but GOD, and desires nothing but to be united to him by Love, and to please him. And hence it is, that this Uni­on in which we make the Mystical Divinitie more especially to consist, cannot be obtain'd until that one hath first rooted out all the Vices, plant­ed the Divine vertues in their place, and calmed the tumult of the passions which trouble the internal eye, and put the Soul out of a capacity to see GOD; For as GOD is a most pure Spirit, so he cannot be seen or Con­templated [Page 503] but by pure minds. But when the heart is purified from its Vices, it can without difficultie raise up it self to GOD, as to its true Ori­ginal, and it is as Natural for a Soul in this state to Sally towards its Cre­ator, as it is for a flame to mount upwards.

It is easie to infer from this, that in order to attain to this Union of the Soul of Man, with the Spirit of GOD, neither Books, nor Doctors, nor Subtility o [...] Spirit are Necessary; For there is no need here of great la­bour or great study, God alone being as it were the Master who teaches this divine Science, or who Comunicats this Gift to purified Souls, and especially to the Humble, according as our Lord assures us in that Solemn Eleva­tion of his Soul to his Eternal Fath­er,Matt. 11.25. I thank thee, O Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and pru­dent, and hast revealed them to Babes, [Page 504] that is, to the Humble and Simple. This Science how Sublime soever it is, is yet common, both to the learned and unlearned; And even it often comes to pass, that they who know nothing, and are very simple, do nevertheless make greater advances in it; because their affections, which are not engaged in the Curiositie of Sciences, Being more easily drawn towards GOD, they acquire an Ex­perimental knowledge of Divine things, that is much greater and far beyond that of several persons who by study and labour have attain'd to a high degree of knowledge. The reason is, that the Mystick Divinitie, not consisting in Theorie, nor in in­tellectual Speculations, Subtilitie of Spirit is not needful to it, but puritie of heart, and a pure love to GOD, that is, a love disingaged from Crea­tures, and which Exercises it self, in a daily self denyall, and Renunciati­on of all things, whereby it becomes [Page 505] more and more pure and Desecated.

But thô this incomparable Science, and this Union with GOD, may be­come thus common to all, this doth not however diminish the esteem that one ought to have for it; For tho we have affirmed that it may be common to all, yet it doth not fol­low that it is so in very deed, since unhappily there are so few who aspire after this Blessed State; And so few who arrive at it. Notwithstand­ing it is certain that it metits rather to be the object of our Researches than all other things; For when one hath once attained to this state of Union, he sees no more any thing, neither in Heaven nor on Earth that he can desire, and as long as he is at a distance from it he shall find no­thing in the world that is capable to give Him satisfaction.

In effect, what is more noble or more excellent than this Union with GOD, or this Mystick Divinitie, [Page 506] which is the pledge of future Glorie, and a prelude to that inaffable Joy which the Blessed Ones above do in­herit. This Divine Science ought to have the first place among all others; For whereas the other Sciences are purely Humane, this hath no other Object but GOD himself, in the con­templation of whom it is wholly im­ployed. The effects of other Sciences are so little profitable, and continue for so short a time, that they end with the life of him who hath consumed the most part of his years in acquir­ing them. But the Mystick Divinity fills the Soul with abundance of Spirituall good things, and makes it to drink in the source of the Divine Essence, where when one hath once drunk, as the Scripture speaksJohn 4 14. he shal thirst no more. It brings alongs with it so great advantages to man, that it reforms & renews him intirely both without and within. It communicats such excellent graces to the Interiour, that [Page 507] the Soul seeing it self surrounded with all sorts of riches, it believes that it is in a state where it hath want of nothing. Thus he.

What I have here declared con­cerning the Love of GOD and man, and the methods prescribed in the Gospel for attaining them, is visibly of such importance, that I need use no further reasonings to urge the neces­sity of inculcating these great things timously & diligently on the youth; for it is certain that to beget the love of GOD in their hearts, to advance them to higher and higher measures of it, and to keep them in it, ought to be the chief and principal stope, and butt of all our endeavours with regaird to them. Whatever we re­commend to them that doth not tend to lead them to this soveraign end, and to turn their hearts and desires more and more towards the Author of their Beeings, and Source of their happiness, must undoubt­edly [Page 508] be of very little value.

6th. Another weighty point I mention is, that great Rule of Mo­ralityMatt. 7.12. All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them. This Maxime, to which the Light of Nature it self bears witness, our Lord adopts into the Gospell-Law, and Recommends it to all his followers as another Summarie of the Law and the Pro: phets, in so far as they teach our duty to man. And it is certain that we ought not to neglect to allow it a place among those Earlier Instruc­tions which we give the Youth. I do not at all doubt but the not in­deavouring to Root this Maxime in their Hearts while they are Young, and not obliging them betimes to live according to it, may be one great cause of these abominable In­justices and Oppressions, that a­bound even in the Christian World, to the shame and Reproach of our [Page 509] holy Religion; For there are a great many, who pretend still to retain a mighty Zeal for the Honour of God, for his Interests and Cause, who yet make no scruple to Trample on all the Dictats of this great Rule of Christian Justice, and Imagine that their Piety is sound and entire e­nough, tho it be attended with this very Essential Defect. So do to o­thers as we would be done by, is no more Regarded by the Religious Factions, than if it made no part of the Christian Religion, or, then if it were some little petty Circum­stance that ought to be dispensed with, when their Interests oblige them to take other measures.

The Palpable and almost Univer­sal Disconformity of men in their dealings with one another to this great Rule, is, amongst a great many other things, one full Evi­dence of the Degeneracie of Christi­ans, and abundantly Evinces, that [Page 510] the spirit of our Religion is sadly De­cayed, for this, if it did prevail, would dispose us to deal with others as we would be dealt by, whereas now scarce any Vestiges of conforming to this Sacred Aphorism can be dis­cerned. Without doubt one excel­lent mean to Retrieve the Practice of it would be, to train up the Youth under a deep Sence of the Importance of it, and to teach them betimes to Square their carriages towards o­thers according to it.

In the mean time we are carefully to remember, that in order to Prac­tise this Maxime as we ought, the Love of God must Regulat the Ex­ercise of it, for this is that noble principle which directs to the most generous and purest Measures in dealing by others. 'Tis it that will give us the truest and most ge­nuine Comentarie on this precept of our Redeemer, and teach us to ob­serve it both in the most extensive [Page 511] and in the most excellent manner, whereas corrupt Nature, being a blind and partial, and selfish prin­ciple, will incline either not to ob­serve it at all, or dictat very falsly or imperfectly concerning it. The Love of God illuminats the Soul in which it dwels, and inspires it with Just and Charitable inclinations, and as it knows the Measures which the Gospel Prescribes in dealing by o­thers, so it very Faithfully Accom­modats it self thereto. He that is A­nimated by Divine Charitie, states himself in the Condition of others, and gives every body the same Treat­ment that he would expect from them, if he were in their Case. He Rejoyces Rom: 12.15 with them that Rejoyce, and weeps with them that weep. He Remembers them that are Heb. 13:2. in Bonds as Bound with them, and them which suffer Adversity; As being himself also in the Body; And consequentlie Lyable to the same Calamities with [Page 512] others. He bewails the impenitent, reproves the Sinner, Instructs the Ignorant, comforts the Dejected, supports the Weak, Relieves the ne­cessitous, visits the Sick, or in Jobs words,Job. 29.12, 13, 15, 16. He delivers the poor that cry­yeth, and the Fatherless, & him that hath none to help him. The blessings of such as are readie to perish come upon him, He causes the Widows heart to sing for joy. He is eyes to the blind, and feet to the Lame. In a word, he en­deavours as far as is possible to have the same Sense of the Miseries of Men, that they have themselves, and Administers according to his Abilitie, the assistances that are propper to their Respective conditions, as if the case were his own. And as he this labours to feel and relieve the Exi­gencies of the several cases of Men, so moreover he views himself as cloathed with the several Relations, in which others do stand with Respect to him, and carries to them as duti­fully, [Page 513] and bears their infirmities with as much tenderness and pity, as he could wish they should do him; If he stood so related to them.

7. A seventh important particular I mention, is that Solemn Gospel in­vitation, Come Mat: 11.28, 29, 30. unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you Rest. Take my Yoke upon you, and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart; And you shall find rest unto your Souls; For My Yoke is easie, and My burden is Light. Some of the foregoing Heads of Christian Doctrine, did present us with A­bridgments of the Law and the Pro­phets, & now in these words is Exhi­bited a compend of the Gospel, for here we have the Gracious Calls that it gives, The Precious Promisses it makes, the Excellent Terms it Pro­poses, and in fine, these Terms Re­commended from their being very Easie, and Agreeable, and the whole contained in a few plain Sen­tences, so that it would seem it had [Page 514] been intended as a compendious Me­morial of the Christian Religion, such as would not burden the Memorie nor puzle the understanding, and which by the endearing sweetness of its strain, is very accomodat to catch the heart. and engage the affections. And therefore very suted to the Ca­pacities of the Youth, and most proper to season their minds, and which Consequently ought to be made Fa­miliar to them, and its import Fre­quently urged on them.

Come unto Me all ye that labour & are heavy Laden, this is the Sum and Substance of the Gospel Calls. Here our Blessed Redeemer doth with a great deal of Tenderness and affecti­on invite all that labour and are havie laden, that is, such as toil and disquit themselves in vain and la­borious pursutes after Satisfaction in created things and pleasures, such as are burdened with uneasie and vex­ing cares, such as penitently groan [Page 515] under the sense & weight of the guilt and power and impurities of sin, and vehemently long for deliverance, such I say, the Holy Jesus invites to come unto him, that is, to enter into his Schooll, to become his Disciples, to Resign themselves to his Con­duct and Instructions, to learn the Lessons he sets before them, to sub­mit to his cures, to depend on his Grace and Merits, and in a word, to carry sutably to all these Relations which he bears as their Redeemer. And all that are in these Dispositions he assures that he will give them rest, that is, he will satisfie their desires, solace their sorrows, Relieve them of their Burdens, heal their distemp­ers, cleanse them from filthiness, deliver them from their slavery, procure and apply their pardon, and finally advance them to a state of endless and perfect happiness; And this is again the marrow and sub­stance of the great Promises of the [Page 516] Gospel. And as to the Terms of it, they were Figurativly and more generally expressed by the Phrase of coming unto him; But we have them more distinctly and more particular­ly set down in these words, Take my Yock upon you, and learn of Me, that is, obey my precepts, and set me before as your Patern, Transcribe the Divine vertues I exemplifie unto you, and especially conform to me in the Graces of Humility and Meek­ness, on which I put so dear value, and whereof I give you a Lively and continual Copie in all my Carriages: Our Lord calls his Commandments a Yoke, because they Check and Re­strain our corrupt inclinations, and oblige us to make constant and per­severeing Resistances unto them, as also to endeavour to attain these gra­cious dispositions which suppose and require the expulsion and crucifixion of the vicious habits and tendencies of our degenerat natures. But then [Page 517] he tells that the task which he pre­scribes his Disciples are light and easie. Certainly they are so to all those ge­nerous Souls who are invigorated by the Love of Jesus, and assisted by his grace, and such all his Faithful fol­lowers are; For tho the precepts and Counsel of the Gospel be hard and severe sayings to flesh and Blood, because they urge the extermination and death of the Old Man, yet this Heroick passion will render all the uneasinesses that appear in them agreeable and pleasant, and make those in whom it lodges cheerfully to leap over all difficulties.

From this it is undenyably Evi­dent, that to Represent the Gospell as an absolute promise or Covenant, which hath in it no conditions at all to be performed on our part, or to establish such conditions of it as plainly exclude the necessity of obey­ing the precepts of our Redeemer, and of the imitation of his Life, is sadly [Page 518] to impose on, and delude the Souls of men. Such wild and deceitful accounts of the Gospel, as these are contradicted by every other page of the new Testament, and are visibly contrivances in favour of the Old Man; For our corrupt Natures love extreamly to be flattered, and that the way to Heaven be made smooth, and Easie, and so wide that one may walk in it without being obliged to do violence to his Lusts: And a­gainst these pernicious infusions the Youth ought to be carefully garded, as against so many dangerous Rocks, on which, if they are not aware of them, they may split and perish.

8. In fine, the great Promisses of the Gospel, and the opposite Threat­enings, shall be the last Capital point of Christian Doctrine, that I would offer as one of the principal things in which the Youth ought to be in­structed betimes, for these are very capable to work on their Hopes and [Page 519] Fears, to engage them in an earlie Pietie, and to excite them to diligence and Fervour: Now the Promisses that I intend, are especially these two.

1. The Promise of the Holy Spirit, which we have set down in these re­markable words of our Blessed Savi­ourLuk: 11 1 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good Gifts unto your Chil­dren: How much more will your Heaven­ly FATHER give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? It is the Preroga­tive of the Gospel Oeconomie, that it is the Aministration of the Spirit, and and it is the Priviledge of all sincere Christians, not in one only, but in e­verie Age, to have this promise made good to them, that is, truly to Re­ceive the Holy Ghost, which becomes in them a Living Source, or principle of puritie, and Healing of Life and Power, of Wisdom and Counsel, of Joys and Consolations, and in a word of all Divine and Heavenly Graces, which therefore are called in Holy [Page 520] Scripture, the Fruits of the Spirit. But this hath formerly been insisted on at large. I shall only say at pre­sent, that it will be Necessarie, very earlie to point out this promise to the Youth, and to enduce them as soon as may be, by Humble and Fervent Prayers to address their Heavenly FATHER for his Good Spirit, that He may come to Animat and quick­en, to renew and Sanctifie their Souls, and in end inhabit them for ever, as His Living Temples, telling them with all, which is the opposite threatning, that as long as they are not under the influences and conduct of this blessed and adorable Spirit, they must Necessarily be under the power and slaverie and black inspirations of the Spirit of darkness and Corruption, that Spirit whichEph: 2.2. worketh in the Children of Disobedience, and who when he gets any in his clutches, will do all that is possible for him, to keep them under his Dominion, till [Page 521] he have made them as Miserable as himself.

2. The other is the promise of E­ternal Life; It is the Glorie and Ex­cellencie of the Gospel, that by it, Life and Immortality are brought to Light. It doth not give its Votaries, Assureances of Pomp and Grandeur, of Plenty and Fulness, of Honour and Preferment, & of all these accommo­dations and Conveniencies that are Grateful to flesh and blood, Nay it tells them plainlie, that in the World Joh: 16 33, they shall have Tribulation, and that they must bear their Cross dailly. It calls them away from the Love desire of, and teaches them to Tram­ple on, and despise these poor and shaddowie vanities, these mean and sordid Satisfactions, that are so taking with the Carnal eye. But then it give them a joyful prospect of infi­nitly more Excellent things, things muchmore worthy of their pursutes and affections, it entertains them [Page 522] with the blessed Hope of the never failing Glories of the other World. Now the precious Promises of Eter­nal Life, are the Foundation of this Hope, and with these the Discourses of our Redeemer do abound. I shal only fix on two passage, one is,Matt: 25.34 Then shal the King say to them on His Right Hand, Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you, from the foundation of the World. The other we have in one of the Petiti­ons of our Lords solemn Prayer, Joh. 17:24 Fa­ther, I will that they also whom thou hast given Me be with Me where I am, that they may behold My Glory which Thou hast given Me. It is certain, that the infor­ming the Youth of the great and Ex­cellent promises that concern the o­ther World, ought to make a part of their earlier instructions: The Glories and Felicities of Heaven must be o­pened unto them, according to the views which the holy Scriptures gve of them; They must be frequentl [...] and [Page 523] seriously told, that it was for these Noble and Divine Enjoyments, that they were Originally designed, that the reason why they were sent into this World, was, that by a penitenti­al, self denyed, and holy Life, they may at last come to be Qualified to enter on the possession of this undefil'd inheritance; that unless they be clean­sed from Earthly and Carnal Affecti­ons and Inclinations, and have attain­ed to Pure and Spiritual dispositions, they are not capable of relishing the pleasures of this Blessed state, that they ought often and affectionatlie to Meditat on them, and fetch En­couragements from them, in order to despise the World, to Fight & Wrestle against their Corruptions, to resist Temptations; And in fine, to prese­vere with Fidelitie, and patience in the Christian Race.

The opposit Threatning is recorded in these Words of our Saviour,Mat 25 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left, [Page 524] depart from me ye cursed into ever­lasting Fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels. Whence occasion must be taken to represent to the Youth the horrour and Frightfulness of the state of the damned, and how that every word in this dreadfull Period [...] speaks Trembling and Terrour to all impe­nitent and incorrigible Sinners, who here get the designation of Cursed, that is, such as by their wilfull con­tinuance in Sin are destitute of all true goodness, of all that is Righte­ous, Pure, and Holy, and filled with all unrighteousness, darkness, and disorders, and therefore are rend­rd unsuitable to the Pure and Lumi­nous Nature of GOD, and become the Objects of his just aversion and dislike, and consequently cannot be admitted into the Beatifick vision, nor unite with the Society of the Bles­sed, but must continue at a distance from it for ever. Now to be obliged to depart from the presence of a Friend [Page 525] or Relation, whom we dearly Love, and who is verie comfortable and useful to us, cannot but be very un­easie, but to be separated from the only Source of Bliss and Glory, of Life, and Light, and Joy, how in­finitely sinking must it be? Especial­lie considering that the place into which the Departure must be, is a state not of ease, but of pains and Torments, and those not light and tolerable, but sharp & exquisit, repre­sented here under the direful Emblem of dwelling in the midst of a scorch­ing Fire, and to be endured, not for a short time, but for ever, and that in the Company of the most unaccep­table and accursed Creatures, the De­vil and his Angels.

Though Hell and the Nature of its Torments will fall in elswhere to be treated of in Prosecution of the design I have in hand, yet on this occasion I desire that the two or three following particulars concerning it [Page 526] may be Seriously Remarked.

1. That when one hath his lot in this Dreadfull place, it is the Conse­quence of his own Choice, the Rule ac­cording to which the Righteous and Good God, hath Determined to pro­ceed in his dealings with free creatures is to give everie one of them according to his works and choice. He sets life and death, Blessing and cursing before them, and commands them to choose for themselves. He will never violent their wills, nor constrain them to obe­dience. He makes use of no other force with them, but that kind, and sweet and agreeable One of his Love and Grace, and the Blessed & Benign methods which they dictat; For to use such a force as would either abso­lutely destroy or Render useless their libertie, would be evidently to con­tradict and subvert the designs that he hath on free creatures, which is to receive a free, and cheerfull and Voluntarie love and obedience from [Page 527] them, that he might delight himself with them, and make the fullest and most abundant communications of his Light and Joys unto them. Indeed because he knows the strength and byasses of the corruptions and lusts of men, and the force and cunning of the powers of darkness, which make continual oppositions unto them, he leaves no mean Unessayed to oblige them to choose the better part, and Graciously Ministers unto them the assistances of his Almightie Spirit, with which if they join issue, they will quickly be Enabled gloriously to de­feat and triumph over all their ene­mies, so that it may on good grounds be said what more could (a) he have done to his vineyard, in a consistency with his Justice, and with the decla­rations he hath made of the methods of his procedure with free and in­telligent creatures, that he hath not al­readie done. But then if men wilfully continue to neglect His calls, & refuse [Page 528] his offers, to slight his warnings, and resist his Spirit, he gives them up to their lusts, and leaves them to follow their own counsels and choice. It is true, none will own that he makes choice of damnation, but it is certain that he who chuses the way, chuses also the end to which it leads, and therefore he that deliberatly chuses a sinfull vicious and an impenitent life, doth in effect chuse damnation; For this latter is as necessarlie a conse­quence of the former, as being burnt inevitably follows upon ones casting himself into the fire, nay the one fol­owes much more necessarly than the other; For GOD can by his power Suspend the efficacie and force of the fire, but it is absolutely impossible, that he can unite with polluted and defiled Souls, whol run away from, and hate his Light and Purity, and have no dispoitions to receive or relish the communications of his love. It is plain, then that ones being cast [Page 529] into Hell, is entirely owing to his own choice: All the damned might, had they been Faithfull to the Grace of GOD, have evited the miseries that they must endure; There were no hidden fates hanging over their heads, that inevitably determined them to make this sad choice, they did it freely and of their own accord, and in a sturdy opposition to all the lov­ing remonstrances of Heaven, to imagine such eternal decisions as do particularly, personally, and irrever­sibly doom the far greatest part of Mankind to Damnation, and do leave them, tho they are in a state of Tryal, and have the means of Grace and Salvation offered unto them, not the least possibility of escaping the Bottomless Pit, is, if the Doc­trine were followed up to its direct, its genuine and Native, its most ne­cessary and most immediat Conse­quences, down right to subvert and overthrow all Religion, to dishon­our, [Page 530] misrepresent, and Blaspheme the Divine Perfections, to dishearten all Endeavours against Sin, and to Lessen the horror Men ought to have at it, to stiffle Prayers and Devotions, and to Nourish a Wretched careless­ness about ones Spiritual concerns, and for my own part, next to the actual feeling of the Torments of Damna­tion, I know nothing that is more capable to Beget in ones Soul the most Tragical Convulsions, to fill it with the most direful thoughts, with the blackest and most Melan­cholly apprehensions, than believing, that sin and hell and damnation have been before all Worlds, and unchang­ably alloted vast Numbers or Men as their portion for ever, and it is so especially, it one should begin to I­magine what is, very possibly and even natural for him to do, consider­ing the paucity of those whose Fates are said to be more favourable, to I­magine I say, that himself is under [Page 531] the influence of this terrible destiny, whose invincible force necessarily and Infallibly determines all his acti­ons, even the Minutest of them, so as they may fit him for that woful end to which he was designed Myri­ades of Ages before he was Born, and which no Prayers, no Tears, no Endeavours can ever avert. ‘O GOD! who in thy self are Sove­raign and Essential Love, and the Incomparable Lover of Souls, all which are thy Off-spring, and made capable of thy Bliss and Glories; Since it had not been possible for men to have entertained such disad­vantagious thought of thee, and to have so Reproached that Impartial Justice, and infinit Goodness, which delights in Opportunities of Com­municating it self, if they had not first in a great measure forgotten, and become ignorant of what Thou art, and what are Thy Gracious de­signs upon the Children of Men. [Page 532] Hast thou not often and Solemnly protested, that Thou hast no plea­sure in the death of a sinner, and that thou wills not that any should Perish? And are not thy Protestations sincere and ingenuous? most certainly they are. Thou hast not any secret reserve in thy Bosome that cross and con­tradict the declarations which thou hast made of thy Divine Will to the World, Thou art Deut: 32 4. a God of truth and without iniquity, thy work is per­fect, and all thy wayes are Judgement, just and right art Thou. Thou doest not stand in need of the sly distinc­tions and vain subtilities invented by the dark and corrupt Understand­ings of men to Justifie thy Proce­dures, they are so fair and Candid, that thou appeals even to the Reas­on of Mankind it self,Ezek: 18.25 29. concern­ing the Equity and Justice of them. O Soveraign and Overflowing Ful­ness! Why shouldst thou seclude a­ny from partaking in the Communi­cations [Page 533] of thy Love? Is it because thou hast not enough to give, or art not willing to give? How dishon­ourable are such apprehensions to thy Majesty! can Infinit Fulness be ever exhausted? or Essential Good­ness incline not to Communicat it self to Creatures which it hath en­dued with vast Capacities of receiv­ing? Or, shall we say, that the Sins and Damnation of thy Creatures were necessary to thee, in Order to the Manifestation of the Glory of thine Attributes, that thou hast E­stablished the former as means to the Latter, and determined that all sorts of Villanies and abominations which thou abhors infinitly, and by which thou art highly dishonour­ed, which thou strictly forbids, and severely threatens, should be committed, to the end thou might­est have the pleasure of punishing, and taking Vengance on them? O forbid that we should think so in­juriously [Page 534] of thy Soveraignly Ami­able Essence, all whose Decrees are like it self, and the Sources of Or­der and Harmony, Beautie and Fe­licity, Perfection and Reality to thy Creatures; For Thou art Light 1. Jo: 1.5. and in thee is no darkness at all. and therefore whatever issues from thee, thy Councils, thy Decrees, and thy Works, are the Off-spring of Light, and most Resemble their Lovely, Original? And why should we not think that a state of Innocency and Purity is a Theater more suited to the display of thy Divine Perfections, than a state of sin, of defilements, of disorders, and Confusions, of miseries and darkness? Especially when we are assured, that Thou Lam: 3.33. dost not A­flict willingly the Children of Men, and that in thy Infinite mercy thou art at a great deal of pains to dis­swade and Reclaim men from these courses that will necessarily involve [Page 535] them in Ruine and Perdition, and most Lovingly foretells what will be the fatal Consequences of their Disobedience and impenitency, to the end they may Reform and so prevent their being punished, all which are convincing Evidences, that thou dost not desire, and much less procure the Opportunities of manifesting thy Justice in the Eter­nal Torments of thy Creatures. O Rid the World of that darkness and ignorance, of these prejudices and false Notions, that have disposed men to Conceive dishonourably of Thee, and to fully the Beauty and Loveliness of thy designs and proce­dures, by injurious and unbecom­ing Representations, and open their eyes to see, that such apprehensi­ons of thy Majesty as import a ma­levolent aspect on thy Creatures are as inconsistent with thy Sacred Oracles, as they are with thy Gra­cious Nature and Decrees: And in [Page 536] thy great goodness preserve all these sincere and well meaning Souls, who have had the Misfortune to be Educated in a high Esteem of these Ominous Doctrines, and have been taught to look on them as Truths wherein thy honour is much concerned, from the hurtfull influ­ences that they are Capable to have on their hearts and Lives.’

2. The other thing I would have Remarked is, that Men put a Cheat on their Souls, if they should hope that they can Escape the miseries of the other World, when they go out of this life, carrying the very principles and Causes of Damnation in their Bosoms, I mean when they live and dy in a state of Impenitencie, and under the power of Corruption, when their vicious habits and deprav­ed inclinations, their Earthliness and Sensualitie, their Pride and Self Love, their Malicious and Revengeful Dis­positions continue to be still Lively [Page 537] and vigorous in them, without hav­ing ever used any serious Endeavours to get them Mortified and expelled their Souls, for these are the true causes of Damnation, and do Natu­rally and necessarily plung Men in­to that dreadful state. Hell is the only Element that is suted to Souls of these Dispositions, and to ima­gine that the merits and Righteous­ness of the Redeemer will procure the Pardon and Salvation of such is deplorable to Mistake the designs of his coming into the World, which were first to destroy by his power and Grace the Works of the Devil in the Souls of Men, and by so doing to Qualifie them for the Enjoyments of Heaven.

3. Tho the Fear of Hell and Dam­nation be not so Noble and Generous a principle of Religion, as the Love of GOD is, yet it is here commonly that Pietie takes it use,Prov: 1.7. and therefore it is very necessary that the [Page 538] Miseries of the Damned be seriously Represented to the Youth, to the end they may have their due effects upon them, that is, beget in them a deep Hatred of Sin, and engage them to abandon these Inclinations and Dis­positions, the Consequences whereof are so Fatal and Terrible. And propor­tionallie as they advance in Religion, and Experience the Joyes and sweet­nesses of it, the other nobler princi­ple will take place, and give more filial and Diviner formes to their obedience and devotions.

Thus I have pitched on these great and capital points of the Christian doctrine, which ought more especially to be imparted and recommended to the youth. And I have not contented my self barely to relate them, but that I might prevent the mistakes that are commonly intertain'd con­cerning them, I have in some Meas­ures explained them, and to the best of my understanding, I have given just [Page 539] and true representations of them Now I shall proceed to the.

IV And last particular, that I pro­mised to consider under this Head, Namely, the suitableness of the Doc­trine of the Son of GOD, in order to advance the design of his Incarnation, which, as we have already declared, was the Restoration of Man to his Primitive Bliss and Glorie, or the making him immed [...]tly Capable of the Fruition of GOD, his Soveraign Happiness and End. Now the Christi­an Doctrine is admirablie fitted for promoving this great design, both by way of Direction and Motive. All the Precepts of the Gospel are so many Excellent Directions, which clearly point out to us, everie step of the way to Bliss, and in following them faithfully, we will in end Hap­pily arrive at our desired Haven, They are not Arbitrarie Impositions, meerly intended for the Tryal of our Obedience, but Excellent and Whole­some [Page 540] remedies contrived by the Di­vine Wisdom to answer the Necessi­ties of our Lapsed Natures, and de­sign'd for their Restoration and Healing. Each one of 'em hath in it a great deal of of Reason and Good­ness, and secret Vertue, and which, when duly applyed, will effectually work the cure, they are all calculated either to remove the Hinderances of our Happiness, or to implant in us these Dispositions that Qualifie us for it. Now the Hinderances of our Happiness, are our Flesh and Blood and corrupt Nature, our Lusts and Passions, the Pleasures, Riches, Hon­ours, and customes of the World, the Temptations and Devices of the De­vil, and therefore the Precepts that enjoyn Self-denyal, bearing the Cross, contempt of the World, the Cruci­fixion of our Lusts, and resisting the Devil, are visibly suted to take these Hinderances out of the way. One the other hand, Puritie and Humi­lity, [Page 541] Meekness and Charitie, and the love of God, and the other Christian graces that must subsist in the other World, are the Dispositions that qua­lifie us for bliss, whence it will fol­low that the precepts which urge them on us in this veiw, and require that we be endowed with them, are Singularly Accommodat to beget them in us.

And as the Christian Doctrine is thus Excellently suted to advance the designs of the Incarnation by way of Direction, it is so also by way of Mo­tive. For it furnishes such powerful Considerations to urge and press the following its Directions, that it would seem impossible the force of them could be resisted by any that are at the Pains, seriouslie to look unto them. And as its Directions are con­tain'd in its Precepts, so its Motives are Exhibited to us on the one hand in great and precious Promises, and on the other in dreadful Threatnings, [Page 542] which Lovingly foretell what will be the Deplorable Fate of such as Neglect to obey; Tho' also all these Gracious Declarations of the Love of GOD to Mankind, all the surprizing Condescendencies of the blessed JE­SUS in his Life and Death, which the Gospel informs us of, may and ought to be improven into Motives to gain us to the practice of the Ex­cellent Precepts of our Religion, and even these verie Precepts, considering that they require nothing of us, but what is infinitly our interest that we should do, are in themselves mightie and verie enforcing Perswa­sives to oblidge us to order our hearts and Lives according to them.

The suitableness of the Doctrine of the Son of GOD to advance the de­signs of his Incarnation is of it self so evident, and the particulars that hitherto have been declared concern­ing this Sacred Doctrine do so fully Demonstrat it, that I shall not need [Page 543] to insist on it at more length, only I would have this improvement made of it with regard to the Youth, name­ly, that when any Doctrines are ob­truded on them, as being the Doctrins of the Son of GOD, and when they cannot descern a sutableness and ten­dencie in them to advance the blessed design we have spoke of, they have very good reason to suspect that they are none of His. The great and pe­culiar Character of all the Doctrines that he delivered, is, that they have in them an admirable fitness to carry on and promove these gracious de­signes, which oblieged him to assume our Mortality, and when it sufficient­ly appears that this Mark is wanting in any Doctrines, it is a very just pre­judice against them, if not a plain dis­coverie of their falshood, Or at least, that they are of no great moment in the Christian Religion. And if the truth and value of some of these doc­trines, that severals do Fondly enter­tain [Page 544] were examined according to this measure, I perswade my self, that a great many of them would fall to the ground, either as wholly false or very useless. But now it is time that I pro­ceed to the consideration of the

Third Great Mean which our glorious Redeemer hath imployed in order to carry on the designes of his Incar­nation,Tbirdlie, The ex­ample of our Re­deemer, as the great mean of car­rying on the designs of his Incarnation, is insisted on, and recommended. and that is his Ex­ample. Now tho this most weighty and important par­ticular be one of the chief and principal things which the Intructors of Youth ought to re­gard in their endeavours to educate them in the Christian Religion, yet unfortunately, it so falls out, that scarce any notice is taken of it in prosecuting that affair. For the illu­sive and self flattering views, that Men have got of the designs of the Gospel, and of the Nature of that Re­demption which is published therein, [Page 545] have so fatallie imposed on, and by­assed their understandings and Judge­ments, that they can see no necessity of insisting on, and Recommending this great point; Though the truth is, it contains the most Essential du­ties of our Religion, and urges them on us with a new Force, and in Cir­cumstances that are very Endearing. 'Tis the Example of our ever Blessed Redeemer that will furnish us with the truest and most genuine Commen­taries on his Heavenly Doctrines; For in it we have as it were a New or Second Edition of these excellent Pre­cepts and Divine Graces, that he de­livered and Recommended in his ad­mirable Sermons, set off with the ad­vantages of verie Lovely and Instruc­tive Cuts and Figures, which not on­ly help us to Conceive a Right of the import of his Sacred injunctions, but also powerfully engadge us to conform unto them. In effect the Christian Graces are so Exquisitly cut [Page 546] out and shaped, and set before us in so lively and taking a manner, in the Life and Death of the holy Jesus, that if we keep our Eyes seriously fixed on him, it will not be possible for us either to mistake the Nature, or omit the Practise of them. In short it is this Blessed Example which acquanits us with these great things, the living and vital practise whereof is what Essentially constituts a sincere Christian, what peculiarly characte­rizes the True Followers of the Lamb, and distinguishes them from the rest of the World. And therefore it is un­denyably Evident, that to set before the Youth the Example of their dear Redeemer, to Explain and Re­commend it to them, and to initiat them as soon as is possible, into the imitation of it, ought to be Consider­ed as one of the principal Concerns of a Christian Education; And since it is so, I should think that my Ma­nagement of the Province I have [Page 547] undertaken would be very imper­fect and defective, if I had either quit omitted Treating of it, or but Superficially and slightly touched it.

And that I may Contribut the best Assistance I can to Parents and Instructers of Youth for Dis­charging this part of their Task Succesfully, I think, it will be ne­cessary to Observe the following Method. I. To Evince that our Blessed Saviour hath given an Ex­ample or Copie which all his Fol­lowers are obliged to Transcribe and imitat. II. To deduce in some particular instances the great things that he hath Exemplified unto them and to which he doth more especi­ally require their Conformity. III. To declare the necessity on the one hand of his giving such an Example, and on the other of their conform­ing to, and imitating it. And in fine, from the discussion of these [Page 548] particulars, to oblige them to no­tice, both the Admirable Wisdom of fixing on this mean, and how powerfully it Conduces to promove the designs of the Incarnation.

1. It will be necessary to make it appear to the Youth,1 That the [...]crip­tur [...] of GOD hath given an example for our initiation is Evinced, and the pretences, that would excuse from conforming to it, Refused. that the Holy Jesus hath given an Example, which all that will become his Vo­taries and followers must resolve to Transcribe and I­mitat. When once we have solidly Evinced that he hath given an Example, the obligation to i­mitat it Naturally followes; For an Example, Especially that of a Master or Teacher, such as certain­ly the example of Our LORD must be, on Supposition that he hath given any, is not intended that we should nakedly Specular and com­mend it, but that we should im­itat and Copie it. Now the ho­ly Scriptures, not only frequently [Page 549] and fully assert that our Redeemer hath given us an example, but also proposes it for our imitation, and Strictly and Solemnly require our conformitie thereto. Some notable passages to this purpose must be ad­duced; I begin with what our Lord himself hath taught us concerning the matter. He is indeed full and frequent, and express upon the Head; Learn of Me, saith heMat: 11.29. For I am Meek and lowly in heart, where it is plain, that he would have his Disciples to eye him as their Patern, and to learn the Divine Lessons that he Teaches them by his own Example, not in a meerly Notional and Speculative manner, but by a Living and Practical Imi­tation. The same is also plainly e­nough implyed in the frequent in­junctions, which he gives to follow him. He that taketh Mat 38, not his Cross, and followeth after Me, is not worthy of Me. 'Tis true the word [Page 550] in the Original which is Translated here to follow, doth not strictly sig­nifie to conform to a Patern; There is indeed another word which prop­perly hath that meaning, and where­of St. Paul makes use in this same affair, of which afterwards. How­ever, to follow, both in this passage, and in a great many more, is im­ployed to represent the duty of a Disciple, and consequently neces­sarily includes Imitation, for to be a Disciple, especially in the Gospel Sense, imports an obligation to Trace the footsteps of a Master, and to conform to his Practices and Example, his temper and Disposi­tions to his state and Circumstances; That this is so, is abundantly evi­dent from those words of our Savi­our, in St. John Jo: 12 26. If any Man serve Me, let him follow Me, Which cer­tainly import more than simple obe­dience to his commands, that was sufficiently intimated in the former [Page 551] Clause, If any Man will serve Me, and therefore the latter Period, let him follow Me, must moreover im­ply an obligation to Imitation and conformity, to view him as a Pa­tern, and to suite ones self thereto in all this. Another convincing proof, of this we have in that other famous passage of this same Evan­gelist Jo: 8.12. He that followeth Me, shall not walk in darkness, where it can­not be denyed, but imitation and conformity are intended. But to proceed, our dear Redeemer, that he might effectually instruct his Disciples in this great point, and sensibly convince them, that he would have them to look on him as their Patern, and conform to him as such, he doth in a Sollemn man­ner wash their feet Jo: 13, 5.6.7. &c. And having ended this Task, and set before them a surprizing instance of Hu­mility and Condescendence, he ac­quaints them with the meaning and [Page 552] design of this Action of his in these remarkable wordsJo. 13.13.14.15. Ye call Me Master and Lord, and ye say well, for so I am. If I then be your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you ought also to wash one anothers feet, for I have given you do Example, that you should do as I have done. Now tho what our Lord doth here Ex­emplify and recommend to them, be one of the chief and principal Graces, yet we must not think that the force and obligation of what was said and done at this occasion, must be confined to that patricular alone, no sure, it ought in all reas­on to be extended to whatever else our Redeemer hath done as our Pa­tern, And thus, as the Holy Jesus himself, by express and frequent Declarations hath assured us that he is our great Exemplar, and that he requires our inviolable confor­mity to him in that view, so also His Apostles, who well understood [Page 553] their Masters intentions, do very Pathetically insist on and urge the same. He that saith he abideth in him, as St. John hath it1 Jo 2, 6. ought himself also so to walk, even as he walk­ed. He hath left us an example, saith St. Peter1. Peter 2.21. that we should follow his steps. The great Apostle commands his Thessalomans1. [...]hess: 1.6. for having be­come followers of the Lord. The word implyed in the Original is that which strictly imports Imitation or conforming to a Patern. The same Emphatical word we meet with in that exhortation of his to the Corin­thians; Be ye followers, 1. Cor: 11.1 or imi­tators of me, even as I also am of Christ. The holy Jesus is the Prince and Arhetypal Exemplar, all others are only in so far imitable as they are conformed to him.

These passages, without needing to add any more, do sufficiently Es­tablish the Truth which we were obliged to Evince. In effect the [Page 554] Son of GOD appeareth in the like­ness of sinful Flesh, not only that he might Propitiat and Merit, but also that he might give an example; For if he had not had this in his prospect, considering the incompar­able Excellencie, and Supereminent dignity of his Divine Person, he might, it would seem, have Dis­patched his Meritorious and Propi­tiatorie work in a short time. But because he would in his own prac­tice leave a Living patern of that Excellent Religion which he deli­vered to the World, therefore he chused not only to take our Nature upon him in a state of Frailtie and Mortalitie, and exposed to all sorts of sufferings, and Temptations, and discouragements, but also to con­tinue in this afflicted state for a tract of many years, both that he might exemplifie unto lost mankind the methods and means of recovering the love and fruition of God, and [Page 555] Encourage to the practice of them, and that by having experience of their Miseries and Temptations, he might Graciously pity them, and Minister seasonably to their releif. The Devout Arndius, who Zealous­lie urges the Imitation of our blessed Saviour, without derogating any thing from his infinit Merits, gives us his thoughts concerning the sub­ject we are treating of in these words. ‘Least, saith he, we should Erroneously believe that Christianitie consists in words only,Itaque ne errore se­ducti, Christianismum, verba tantum, non rem esse crederemus, exta­ret{que} vivum exemplar hominis novi, statuit nobis ob oculos Deus fi­liam suum, non tantum ut Lytrum & Media­torem, sed ut Specu­lum vera pietatis. De vero Christian: Lib: 1 Cap: 11. P. 55. and not in realities, and that we might have a living Ex­emplar of the new Man, God hath set before our eyes his own Son, not only as a ransome and Mediator, but as a Mir­rour of true pietie also.’ A late learned Writer, who tho the scheme which he gives of the new [Page 556] Covenant, when he represents it as absolute and unconditional, seems plainly enough to evacuat the ne­cessity of any endeavours on our part to conform to the example of our Redeemer, yet hath verie fortunatly dropt the following period in fa­vours of what we are asserting. ‘Ever since the fatal lapse of the first Man,Scilicit hoc post protoplasti fatalem lapsum mundo hacte­nui defuerat, hominem habere, qui intactus vitijs, quafi viva spi­ra [...]s{que} Lex in medio fratrum suorum ver­saretur. Eum nobis in Christo Deus exhi­buit Dulce est sancti­ [...]atis amatori ejus ac­curatissimam delinea­tionem in scripta Dei lege contemplari, sed delineatio ista, quid nisi pictura est? Ac­cura [...]a quidem illa na­tivis{que} expressa colo­ribus, sed pictura ta­men, sine carne & succo sina vi [...]a & mo­tu. Quanto ergo dul­cius, eandem sanctita­tem, quae in lege de­picta est, quasi vivam & animatam in Chris­to cernere. Witsuis in Oecon. Fud: Lib: 3. Cap. 12. P. 477. saith he, the World till now had been destitut of the great advantages of hav­ing one in it, who being Holy, Harmless, Unde­filed, and without Sin, might Sojourn among, and converse with his Brethren, and be as a Vital and Breathing Law to them, such an one GOD hath Exhibited to us in Jesus Christ. It is very agreeable to a lov­er of purity, to view it [Page 557] most exactly Delineated in the writen Law of GOD. But however what is this Delineation, but a picture, it is indeed an accurat one and Ex­pressed in native colours, but yet a picture still, without flesh and Blood, Life and Motion. How infinitly more pleasing must it be to see that same Sanctitie, which is pourtryed in the Law, as it were Animated, and alive in Jesus Christ.’

The whole of this matter I find solidlie accounted for. and plainly deduced in few words by a Judici­ous and worthy AuthorOecon: D [...]vin. Tom. 5 Cap. 2. Page, 20. whom I had once and again occasion to mention. And because the passage is put to my design, I think it worth my while to Translate and insert it here. ‘If saith he, Jesus Christ had appeared to the World in such a Glorious Body as he did to Adam, [Page 558] or in that same Body, but covered with a cloud, he could not have conversed with Men, nor accom­plish among them, the design which he had undertaken. And if he had conversed with them, without feeling any thing of their Calamities and disadvantages, ei­ther Bodily or Spiritual, his being among them in these Circumstanc­es, would have been so far from animating them to the imitation of him, that this disproportion would have extreamly discouraged them. It was necessary therefore that he should feel our sorrows and suffer­ings, our infirmities and Tempta­tions, and the Violence and force of the inclinations of lapsed nature to the end that he might combat and overcome them, and encour­age us to do the like, and that all sorts of Tempted Persons, might find in him their Maladies born, conquered and heal'd, and that [Page 559] none might Fancie a Dispensation from Combating them under the pretence of infirmitie, and that in fine, himself might know by Ex­perience how he ought to propor­tion his Mighty Assistances, and Compassions to the temptations of men, after having had tryal of their Violence.’

But because our old man, our Flesh and Blood, our lusts and corrupt in­clinations will be ready to suggest pretences and grounds whereby to excite us from the imitation of our Redeemer, and so betray us to abandon the great mean which our Heavenly Father hath granted us in Order to fit and prepare us for be­ing Readmitted into our forefeited Bless; It will not be amiss here briefly to take some of the most spe­cious of them out of the way. that so the Youth may receive no pre­judice by them.

One of these pretences is our Re­deemer, [Page 560] some will say, was GOD, and therefore to pretend to imitat what he did, and suffered in our Humanitie, may Justly seem great Arrogance and Presumption. There is indeed here, an appear­ance and shew of Humilitie, but it is false and illusive, that Humi­litie that would exeem from the performance of the great and Fun­damental duties of our Religion can never be true and Genuine. It is true our Redeemer was GOD, But that Nature which suffered and did wrestle, was not God, it was of the same Make and Constitution with Ours, Frail, Mortal, and Sensible. Doth not the Scripture assure us, That He took part Heb: 2.14. of our Flesh and Blood, that in all things Ibid: 1.17. He was made like unto his Brethren. That he was touched Heb: 4, [...]5. with the feelings of our infirmities, and tempted in all points like as we are. And though He was in the form of GOD. P [...]il: 2.6.7. yet [Page 561] did He not take on Him the form of a Servant? And put himself in a state, wherein he was obliged to o­bey? And the more to encourage us to the imitation of him, and to con­vince us of the possibilitie of so do­ing, did he not Empty Himself, and lay aside his Glory? Did he not put Himself in our Circumstances, and felt our Miseries and Weaknes­ses? Was he not assaulted by our Temptations? And in a word, did He not approach us as near as was possible for Him, without becom­ing actually Criminal and Guilty? And after all this, dar we say, that His being GOD, is ground enough to excuse us from conforming to that Amiable Patern, which he, during his abode in our Mortal na­ture, hath set before us, and so to Palliat our wretched sloath and Cowardice.

However, some will yet say, and it is another pretence, our Redeemer [Page 562] as Man was personallie United to the Divine Nature, and therefore as Man he had assistances that none other can pretend to, or hope for. That God was thus United to our Saviour as Man is most certain, but then this Union did not change the Nature of his Humanity, he was still verie Man, and even a Frail, and Mortal Man, and as such his Faculties and actions were truelie Humane. When the Scriptures spake of Him in his state of Exina­nition and Mortality, they do not represent Him as having an Hu­mane Nature, with all these ad­vantages that Flesh and Blood are Fond off, but in a state of Depres­sion, Languor and infirmities. The Prophet Isaiah gives us this account of himJsa: 53 2, 3. He hath no form nor comeliness, and when we shall see Him there is no beautie that we should, desire him. He is despised and rejec­ed of Men. And in one of the [Page 563] Prophetical PsalmsPsal: 22 6. He is brought in speaking thus of himself, I am a Worm and no Man, a reproach of Men, and despised of the People. So that his being united to the Deitie, did not exeem him from these Weaknesses and infirmities, that were Consequential to the assuming the Humane Nature in a state of Mortalitie.

It is moreover true, that the Spi­rit of the Divinitie did by his pre­sence, influences and communica­tions Fortifie, the Humanity of Je­sus C [...]rist; But then it is also true, that that same GOD, who assisted, and gave force and power to the Humane Nature of our Redeemer, and who is alwayes equallie great and Almightie, doth also present himself to Man for his assistance, and will, when once He heartily engages, and Faithfullie continues in this blessed imitation, Triumph­antlie carrie him through all the [Page 564] steps of it, and enable him to Sur­mount all the difficulties that he may meet with in his way. Our Lord hath assured us, that our Heaven­ly Father will give His holy Spirit to them that ask Him. That same Divine Spirit, that Spirit of Might and Power that rested on, that acted and influenced the Humanity of Jesus Christ, will be derived to all his Faithful followers, to all who sincerely endeavour to imitat and Transciribe the pattern that he hath set before them, and wil inspire them with Resolution, Courage and strength to Graple with all the Oppositions and Temptations, the difficulties and disadvantages where­with they may be assaulted in Trac­ing the footsteps of their dear Re­deemer. In effect there is a Divine force that ever accompanies the imi­tation of Jesus Christ; And they who devote themselves to it, will ex­perience that it is so indeed to their [Page 565] infinit satisfaction and comfort, so much, I think, himself intimats in that known passage of HisJohn 8 12. I am the light of the World; He that followeth Me, shall not walk in dark­ness, but shall have the Light of Life. A living Light shall be Communi­cated unto him who seriously stu­dies conformitie to the Son of God; a light that hath Life and Efficacie in it, that not only illuminats and Warms, but Fortifies and Corro­borats. A faint ineffiacious light cannot issue from the Sun of Righte­ousness, the Luminous Emanations of the Eternal Word, give Vigour and Sprightliness to those Souls, in­to which they are admitted. So that upon the whole we may be fully satisfied, that there is no just reason why we should be discour­aged from the imitation of our Sa­viour, for want of Divine assistances to carry us on in it. The mercifull GOD, to be sure, will never enjoyn [Page 566] us any Tasks, but what he will af­ford us Grace to perform.

I shall not now enter upon the discussion of the false and deceitful Schemes which some give us of the Gospel, whereby this Imitation is either rendred useless, or Men dis­heartned from it, or self flattering pretences suggested to them, which suffer them not to see any necessity of attempting it. I hope, I have sufficiently guarded against them alreadie, and therefore I proceed to the next particular.

11. Which is to deduce in some instances, 11. A deduc­tion of the par­ticulars which the holy Jesus hath Exemplifi­ed unto us, and our Obligation to conform unto them Evinced and urged. the great things which our Redeemer hath Ex­emplified unto us. And to which he doth more Especi­ally require our conformitie. And now I imagine that I am entring into a pleasant Garden set round with a Numerous varietie of flow­ers, Plants, and Trees, each [Page 567] whereof hath its own peculiar sweet­ness and Beautie, Vertue, and efficacie; And when I approach one of them, I discover in it, such a relieving Fra­grancie, so delicat a relish, such live­ly Coloures, that I begin to think none of the rest can compare with it, and yet when I come towards another, I find equal Excellencies in it, with the addition, only of an agreeable change; And so passing alongs them all severallie, I alwayes meet with a fresh intertainment, for I see a new Beautie, I taste a new sweetness, I feel a new Efficacie in each, and yet I am still in doubt, to which I shall give the preference, the qualities of each of 'Em are so singularly useful and Valueable. Such as this is the Divine Pattern which we are to Survey in its particulars. The life of the holy Jesus is as it were set round with the flowers of most Amiable Graces, whereof each hath its peculiar Excellencies and useful­ness. [Page 568] When we take a view of one of them, we think there is none that can parallel it, and yet the discoverie of another, furnishes us with equal Satisfaction and pleasure, so that it is hard to determine, which it is that must have the Prehemi­nence, so incomparable is the dig­nity that appears in each. O thrice happie we, if by a constant and de­vote imitation of them, we had got them Transplanted into our Souls. Then we might on good Grounds expect that our Beloved would Cant. 4.16. come into his Garden, and eat His pleasant Fruits. It is true the Graces Exemplified by our bles­sed Saviour, will not appear under so lovely an aspect to the carnal eye; Such as are under the power and Dominion of their corrupt na­tures, and deeply sunk into the Animal Life, will be apt to look on them as folly and abjectness of Spi­rit, as inconsistent with their honour [Page 569] and Happiness, as rough and un­pleasant Exercises, but this is no Dishonour to them, no more than it disparages a well ordered and well furnished Garden, that a Swine will take greater pleasure in a Dung­hill, than amidst all its delightful flowers. The conversation of our Redeemer, was a Theater on which nothing was ever acted, but conti­nual Scenes of the purest Vertues, or shall I compare it to an Elaborat and well written Book, every Period whereof, is Sententious and Mar­rowy, full of rich and Divine mean­ings, delivering the soundest advices, and the wisest Maximes, prescrib­ing the most effectual remedies, and the Soveraignest Antidotes. It is in this view, that some devote minds have stil'd our Saviour, the Book of Life. Now this is the Garden, in which the Youth should be obliged often to take their walks, this is the Theater that they ought to [Page 570] frequent, and in fine, this is the Book that they must read with a se­rious Devotion, and with Peremp­torie Resolutions to listen to its Counsels, to follow its Directions, and to apply its Cures.

But now we will adventure to approach this admirable pattern, and view it in its particulars. ‘O Jesu! the Loader and Crowner Heb: 12 2. of our Faith, Who, as our Triumphant Captain, has gone before us in the way to Bliss and Glory, command­ing us to follow thee, Vouchafe, we beseech thee, to let us see thy footsteps, to acquaint us with these blessed Paths, which by thine own example, thou hast Consecrated for our Imitation, and inspire us with courage and force to travel in them. We look unto thee, O great and ori­ginal Exemplar, with pious inten­tions to learn of thee, and to con­form unto thee. O be pleased to discover unto us these Amiable [Page 571] Graces, which shone so Conspicu­ously in thy Life, and in thy Death, and grant us the Grace to Trans­cribe them in our hearts and lives, and not content our selves with meerly Speculating them, or talk­ing of them.’

We are to take care, that we do not imagine, that these things, which the holy Jesus as our pattern hath in­tended for our imitation, are limit­ed to a few, only of his actions; For it is certain that in all he did and suffered from his assuming, the Humane Nature in a state of Mor­talitie, till he reassumed his Glory at the right Hand of his Father, Bearing only his miraculous opera­tions, which come not within the rank of imitable instances of obedi­ence, he gave us an Example, that we should follow his steps: But then we do not affirm, that all his acti­ons and sufferings were meerly Ex­emplarie, and no more. This is one [Page 572] of the Sacralegious assertions of the Socinians, whereby they prophanly derogat from the honour and dig­nity of our adorable Redeemer, and which therefore we must reject with dislike and detestation. The truth is, as the notions which Socinus and his followers have of the person of Jesus Christ, and of the Methods which he hath taken to accomplish the Remption of the World, are generally perpetual mistakes, and the native off-spring of proud reason, nourished and blown up, with the Airie-quirks of Critical Learning, so the accounts which they give us, even of his Example, whereof they talk so much, are but Lame and defective. Lean and Superficial; For they speak nothing of that Di­vine and mighty force, which ever accompanies it, and which power­fullie Exerts it self in all who reso­lutely apply themselves to the imi­tation of it. And their affected [Page 573] ignorance of the greatness of that corruption, which hath so deeply infected and defil'd fallen Mankind, doth incapacitat them to see the ex­tent either of it, or of our confor­mitie to it, and the Grounds and Necessitie of both.

We are to have a twofold view of the actions and sufferings of our Redeemer. One is, that they are infinitly Meritorious; For it is im­possible that so glorious, so extra­ordinary, and so Divine a Person, one so singularly dear to God, and so incomparably jealous for his Glo­ry, so vastly Charitable to Man­kind, and so vehemently desirous of their Salvation, and whose boundless and infathomable Love obliged him, in order to effectuat their Recovery, to debase himself to a degree that both amazes, and furnishes matter of praise and ado­ration to Saints and Angels, it is impossible, I say, that he could do [Page 574] and suffer without Meriting infinitly. And in this view, all his actions and sufferings are an unexhausted Source of precious and unvaluable Merits, and therefore, of pardon, Grace and Glory, and of all the means that lead to the fruition of it, in a word, of all the good things to be enjoyed either in time or eter­nitie. We have spoke of them al­ready in this prospect, and shal re­sume them again with intention to declare, how full and firm the grounds of our Faith, Hope and Consolations are, what powerful in­citments we have to love and obe­dience, what Obligation to Praise and Gratitude, what Encourage­ments to prayer, and how ineffably Glorious the provisions must be which these infinite Merits have procured for us.

The other view which we are to have of the actions and sufferings of the holy Jesus is, that they are [Page 575] Exemplary, and consequently design­ed for our Imitation. And this ought by no means to be separated from them. For, as shall after­wards be fully evinced, it is by con­forming to them as they are Ex­emplary, that we shall partake in their blessed fruits and procurements, as they are Meritorious, They have been certainly very unhappy in their inventions, either who, on the one hand establish such a notion of the Merites and Satisfaction of our Savi­our as plainly Cancels his Example, and the necessity of imitating it, and who on the other so insist on his Example, as to take no notice of his Merites. Both are doubt­les to be avoided, as most danger­ous and fatal infusions. Having thus cleared our way, we shall con­sider.

First what our Redeemer hath exemplified to us in his Life. And now we begin to open the Book of [Page 576] Life, out of which the Divinest Counsels, and most worthy of our acceptation will be presented to us. Now we enter upon the Thea­ter, where we shall see the Lovliest Scences acted, and to which it is our duty carefully to attend, that we may learn to re-act them with easiness and accuracie. Now we are unlocking the Garden, in which we shall have occasion to view the beautifull Flowers, that is, the Heavenly Graces and practices of the Son of GOD, the several kinds whereof we must diligently Labour to plant in our own hearts. And the

1. I shal take nottice of, is his Contempt of the World. His holy Life was a perpetual and uninter­rupted instance of this. How light­ly did he set by all these things which Flesh and Blood are so fond of! How generously did he trample on what ever corrupt hearts do so ambitiously court, pursue with such [Page 577] eager Researches, and hug and Em­brace with so much passion! he dis­regarded and abandon'd honours and Greatness, Pomp and Splendor, Riches and affluence, Profits and Pleasures, Accomodations and Conveniencies. When he was to assume our mortal Nature, he did not pitch on a great Queen or Prin­cess, one that made a figure, and was remarkable in the World, that was under the protection of the Mighty, attended with a Splendid Retinue, and rich in possessions to be his mother, but he chose a poor Virgin, and for the protector of his Infancie he took not a King or Po­tentat, but a mean helpless Carpen­ter. And when he was to be brought forth into the World, he did not, as he might easily have done make magnificent preparations for Solem­nizing his Nativity, no stately Pa­laces, no Glorious Furniture, no numerous and Splendid attendants, [Page 578] no delicat entertainments were pro­vided for his Reception. His dis­regarded Mother, either not being allowed, or not finding place in the InnLuk 2.7. was obliged to Retire to a Stable, and there was delivered of the Prince of Glory in mean and des­pised Circumstances. And thus his first appearance on Earth was in a state of Destitution and Indigence, and in a direct opposition to the Spi­rit and Customes and inclinations of the World. ‘Look well, saith Arudius, into his Life and Doctrine,Intuere mihi ipsi­us vitam & Doc­trinam, nec nego­bis nihil ipso & mundo esse dissimi­liu [...]: iliud prae sepe, illud Stabu­lum, illae cunae, an non speculum, sunt contemptus rerum Mundana rum Lib: 1. c. 14. p. 80. and it will not be possible for you to deny, that any thing can be at a greater odds than his Conduct, and that of the World, are not the stable in which he was born, and the Manger wherein he was Cradled a mirrour of the contempt of [Page 579] Worldly things?’ And as he ad­vanced in years, he still more and more discovered his disesteem of all these things that flatter and in­veigle the covetous, the delicat and ambitious. He affected not vast Inheritances, nor grasped at the op­pertunities of gain: So far was it from this, that tho he was Lord of all, yet would he possess nothing. Foxes have holes, saith He,Luk: 9.58. and the Birds of the Air have Nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head. He chose, while in this World, to live in a state of Poverty and meanness. Though he was Rich, saith St. Paul2 Cor: 8.1. yet for our sakes he became poor.

He courted not the smiles of the Great, nor the Protection of the Mighty, nor insinuated himself into the Friendship of their Favorites, that he might procure their Recom­mendations. He had an inviting opportunity to make his Court [Page 580] with Herod, who, as the Gospel tells usLuk: 23 8. was desireous to have seen him of a long Season, but he made no use of that advantage. This great man got not a sight of Him, till he was drag'd before his Tribunal as a Criminal. And tho one would think that in such a Junc­ture his own interest might have obliged him to have said or done something in order to gain the Prin­ces Favour, yet he thought fit to disappoint both his expectation in working no Miracle, and his curi­osity, by making no return to his Questions. And the result was that Herod and his men of War set him at nought Luk: 23 11. and mocked him. O how different are the Maximes of the holy Jesus from those of the world! the paths that he trod in, and the measures by which he governed himself, are not such as Flesh and Blood dictat or are pleased with.

He aspired not after Crowns and [Page 581] Scepters, nor hunted for dignities and preferments, or Lucrative and honourable places, it is true he was a King, but his Jo: 18.36. Kingdom was not of this World, and therefore when he perceivedJo: 8.15. that the People would needs make him a King, He retired into a Mountain himself alone. He did not take our nature upon him, with intention to reign in it in its state of Mortality. He came into it, upon a more Noble and Charitable design, namely, to Recover his lost and bewildred Brethren the Children of Men, and to let them see, in his own practice, the ways that will infallibly lead to a Glorious Immortality.

He chased not applause and Po­pularity, acted no vain glorious and Ostentive Scenes to procure him­self Reputation, and to get praises, I receive not honour from Men, saith heJo: 5.41. It was not their approbati­on and esteem, their Hosanna's [Page 582] and Panegyricks that he aimed at in his appearances among them. And to the same purpose elsewhereJo: 8.50. I seek not mine own Glory. He court­ed not the Airie Plaudites of the multitude, nor laid a project to get himself commended, and to be well spoken off. And therefore very often, when he wrought mi­raculous cures; He charged the Person to whom he did the favour, saying, see Matt: 8.4. thou tell no Man. One Reason of which injunction is very Piously asserted to be,Cur ergo Jussit cum tacere: ut instrueret nos o [...]nam gloriam devitare, & in mi­rificis actibus maile abscondi, quantum in nohis est, quam pro­palari Dionys: Carth us in loc. to teach us, not to be desirous of vain glory, and in doing our most Laudable actions to chuse rather to ly unobserved, than to be proclaimed and pointed at. Our Blessed Lord did for a great many years Pass his Life in silence and obscu­ritie. For tho he had alwayes the power of working miracles, and [Page 583] might have Preached on the Divin­est Subjects with the greatest ad­vantages, as is evident from this, that even from his Childhood Luke 2.40. he was filled with Wisdom, and the Grace of GOD was with him, and that be­ing but twelve years old, he made such sage returns to the Questions of the DoctorsIbid. Ver: 46, 47. that all who heard were astonished at his Under­standing and Answers. Yet he con­cealed himself, and after that one notable appearance of his in the Temple, he continued in Subjecti­on to his Parents, and lived with them hidden, and unobserved till the thirtieth year of his Age, when in obedience to his Fathers Com­mandment, he was obliged to enter on the publict Execution of his Of­fice, and to pursue the designs for which he was sent into the World. This Conduct of his is very oppo­sit to the Spirit of Vanity and Os­tentation; For they who are acted [Page 584] by that Spirit, cannot endure, if they have any notable accomplish­ments, or but fancy that they have them, they cannot endure, I say, to lurk and ly by unnoticed, but will readily catch all opportunities to set themselves off, to publish their parts, and make Parades, and by so doing, to engage as many as they can to admire and commend them.

He despised the Vain Learning and Wisdom of the World. For we must not fancie that the holy Jesus had his head filled with Metaphysi­cal subtilties and Speculations, with numerous Distinctions, and accurat Definitions, framed according to Rules of Art, that he studied Criti­cally to acquaint himself with the several Systems and Schemes of Phi­losophie, and with the other Sciences that the learned put such a Value on, or that he considered either them, or the Methods Prescribed for acquiring them, as the true ways [Page 585] and means to perfect his understand­ing, and to attain to the solid know­ledge of either natural or Divine things. To form to our selves such an Idea of our Redeemer, were ve­ry grosly to mistake him; For he design'dly put a slight on these vani­ties, knowing verie well how na­turallie they tended to blow up Men with pride and presumption, and a conceit of their own sufficiencie, and what vast prejudices they had done their Souls by immoderatly applying themselves to the pursute of knowledge, falslie so called, and by Methods which left the Grand and original evils of the inward Man, uncured and unremoved. For on the one hand, the Greeks by their pretended researches after Wisdom, became vain in their Rea­sonings, and the Jewish Rabbies on the other by their Criticks and fabulous Traditions misunderstood the Sa­cred Oracles, and made the Com­mandments [Page 586] of GOD of none effect, and both turned irreconcilable and Vi­rulent Enemies to that true and Di­vine Philosophie, which the Son of GOD brought into the World, and published by the preaching of the Gospel, a Philosophie which teaches the noblest Wisdom, and that uner­ringly conducts to the true and on­ly happiness. And the means which it prescribes in order to attain to the solid knowledge of the Heaven­ly matters it treats off; and which the blessed Jesus himself did ever Exemplifie and recommend, are self denyal, and Simplicitie, Purity and Humilitie, and fervent Prayers, is­suing from an Heart surrendered to GOD, in vacuitie and emptiness. These are the Keys that unlock all the Mysteries of this Sacred Phi­losophie.

Thus we see that our dear Re­deemer was, throughout all His Life, a continual instance of the [Page 587] most eminent contempt of the World, and of all these things in it, which Pure, Blind, and mistaken Mortals, do so Vehemently desire, and so eagerlie Pursue. But for what end was all this? was it only to furnish us matter of Meditation? or that we might take occasion from it, to commend our blessed Saviour with­out needing to proceed to the imi­tation of Him? or shall we say that he did it in our stead, with inten­tion to discharge us from doing the like? Or, in fine, that it is suffi­cient for us to reap the Merites of his contemning the World, tho we never conform to him in so doing? though these are verie ridiculous and illusive pretences, yet they are the plain Language, if not of the Speculations and belief, yet most certainly of the Practices of too ma­ny who bear the Name of Christ; For their Conversations are the ve­ry reverse of his. H [...] despised the [Page 588] World, and they value it highly, he would not choose a state of Pompe and Grandeur, of fulness and Plen­ty, and they pursue it with all their might. He possessed nothing, and they Grasp at all things, he affected not the favour of the great, and they play the Parasites. He avoid­ed dignities and preferments, and they ambitiously covet them. He sought not his own Glory in any thing, and they aim at theirs in every thing He slighted the Wisdom of the World, and they honour and esteem it, and vigourously labour to compass it, so th [...]t it would seem that Christians do not any more consider their Re­deemer as their Pattern, and that they are become insensible of their obligations to conform to him as such.

But some perhaps may imagine that tho' carrying at this rate, was necessary to our Redeemer in the quality which he bore, yet it is not [Page 589] necessary for us to carry so, and will in order to evince the no necessity, of conforming to his Example, in these instances, be ready to say more over, that many have had rich and affluent fortunes, and were surroun­ed with Pomp and Grandeur, have been the favorits of the great, bore honourable stations and preferments lived in the midst of applauses and commendations, were eminently Learned, and yet notwithstanding have been solidly Vertuous, and did not decline from the Christian Life and Spirit. It is our ignorance and partiallitie to our Lusts and corruptions that make us think and talk at this rate. It was necessarie that our Redeemer should live in the circumstances that we have de­clared, that thereby he might the more effectually convince us how necessary it was, that we should live as he did. The truth is, what­ever accounts we give of the neces­sity [Page 590] of his contemning the World, that do not include our indispens­able obligation to conform to him therein, cannot chuse but be false and Destructive; For tho absolut­ly speaking, the Son of GOD was under no necessitie to become the Redeemer of Mankind, yet after that his boundless, and immerited Love engaged him to undertake the work of our Redemption, and in order thereto, to assume our na­ture in a state of Frailtie and Temp­tations, as on the one hand it was necessary that he should despise that he would have us to despise, and teach us by his own practice what these things are which hinder our happiness, which turn us from the Love of GOD, and give nourish­ment and vigour to our Lusts and corruptions, so on the other, it is unquestionably our duty to look unto him as our Pattern, and come as near the Copie that he hath given [Page 591] us as possibly we can.

Now that these things which our Redeemer did avoid and despise, are of this nature, that is, that they nourish and confirm our Lusts, and turn us from the love of GOD, and consequently are effectual hinder­ances of our happiness, the Scrip­ture declarations concerning them, do abundantly Evince; For as to Riches and great Possessions, and their ordinarie attendants, Pompe, Mag­nificence and State, and the rest, our Lord tells usMatt. 6.24. that we cannot serve GOD and Mammon, and upon the discoverie which the rich Man in the Gospel made of his Temper and Inclinations, and of the fatal effects which his great possession had on him, he takes occasion to deliver this Maxime to his DisciplesMat: 19 23. Verily I say unto you, that rich Men shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. And in St. Luke, he so­lemnly denounces a Woe to the rich [Page 592] Luk: 6.24. telling them, that they had re­ceived their Consolations, that is, that they were to look for no more com­forts and delights after this mortal Life is over, but that then they must enter on a state of eternal mi­serie and dissatisfaction, or as others render the original word, that they put a stop to, or hinder their partak­ing in these Consolations that are solid and permanent. And we know how deplorable one of our Saviours Divine ParablesLuk: 16 19. represents his fate to have been, who was cloathed in Purple and fine Linen, and faired sumptuously everie day. To this pur­pose is that passage of St. John 2. John 2.25. wherein he exhorts the Christians not to love the World, nor the things of the World, the Riches, Pomps, and vanities, the Profits, Pleasures, and dignities of it, assuring them, that the Love of these things, is in­consistent with the love of GOD.

And that praise and applause are [Page 593] of this same dangerous and hurtful tendency, is very plain from these words of our Saviour to the Jewes John 5.44. How can ye believe, which receive Honour one of another? That is, as long as you retain your ambitious Dispositions, and desire the praises of Men, and love to hear your selves commended and applauded, it is not possible that you will become my Disciples, for I teach and oblige all my followers to be humble, and to avoid and despise whatever Mi­nisters to Ambition, Pride, and vain Glory, and elsewhere we are told that tho many of the Jewish Rulers were convinced in their Consciences, that Jesus was the Messias John 12 42.43. yet because they loved the praise of Men, they did not confess him, nor became effectually His Disciples. They would not generously forfeit the esteem and commendations of Men, which so much Gratified their Pride and Vanity, that they might [Page 594] embrace the Humilitie of JESUS CHRIST. The praises and esteem of Men do strangely cherish and support our Self-love, and heighten and improve these bigg thoughts which we are apt to entertain of our selves, and therefore a true Disciple Jesus will disregard and contemn them. Hence A. Kempis piously ad­vises, that we should love to be unknown, and to be had in no reput.Ama nesciri & pronihilo reputa [...]i. De imit. Christ.

And as to the Sciences and Learning of the World, that they ought not to claim exemption from being among the number of these things that are prejudicial to our Spiritual concerns will sufficiently appear, if we seri­ously consider. 1. That they fur­nish continual Temptation to Pride and self conceit. St. Paul tells us2. [...]or: 1. that knowledge puffeth up; And our Saviour remarks of the Jewish Doctors [...] 23 That they loved to be [Page 595] called of Men Rabbi, Rabbi; Their vain Learning did blow them up with such a huge conceit of their own worth and accomplishments that they imagined they might just­ly pretend to deferences and honour, and they were wonderfully pleased, when Respective Titles and Com­pellations were given them. 2. That they rob the minds of Men of that simplicity, that is necessary to dispose them to understand and in­tertain the Truths and Mysteries of the Gospel, and solidly to practise its Precepts. As to the Mysteries and Truths of it, our Lord informs usMat. 11.25. That they are hide from the Wise and Prudent. And the Learned by their Subtilties and Distinctions, can put such Glosses on its Precepts, as that they shall not interfere with their Lusts. 3. That in our Labo­rious and eager Studies to attain them, they do so imploy our Thoughts, so engross our Affections, and so ex­haust [Page 596] our Time, that there is visible danger of being diverted from the soveraign Object of our Love and Desires, and from attending to, and complying with his Voice and Calls, his Motion and Suggestions; For, in effect, as the Author I not long since mentionedOe con Divin. Tom 5 C. 2. p. 48. Observes, ‘God doth little notice the Matter of those Objects that alienat and e­strange us from him. It is all one to him, whether it be Silver and Gold, or Meat and Drink, or Wo­men or Books, or the sensual Ideas of Pleasure, or speculative Ideas. What Flesh and Blood are to a lustful person, and what Silver and Gold are to the Covetous, the very same are Chimerical I­deas or a Librarie to the Learn­ed, excepting only that this latter kind of Idols. I mean our specula­tive Ideas, is more pernicious than the former, because it imposes on us with more specious Preten­ces, [Page 597] appears to us as if it were Divine, is held for the true Way of going to God, and even by some Learned Men, is taken for the Contemplation of God, and of his Substance, with which they imagine that they are allowed to converse, whereas indeed they do but entertain themselves with their own Reveries.’

These, and a great many more of the same Nature, are the too com­mon Attendants of the Learning and Wisdom of the World; But then, if Human Sciences could be separated from these Inconveniencies which certainly is extreamly difficult to be done, one might innocently enough make them the Matter of his Recre­ation now and then, especially when he looks into them, not with inten­tion to gratifie a vain curiosity, or to get a Reputation and a great Name, but with the pious and cha­ritable Designs of doing Good to [Page 578] such as stand in need of Relief this way; For such is the Genius of the World at present, that there is no access to vast Numbers of Men, but by the way of Reasoning and Speculation, and it is a signal Art of Charity, in such as are qualified for doing it, to endeavour the reducing them to Christian Simplicity and the Mortification of vain Curiosity, which is the Method that the Gos­pel and the Example of our Saviour recommend unto us, to endeavour I say, the reducing them in a way suited to their Gust and Relish. And there is good Ground to think, that one Reason why God, who is willing that all should come to the Knowledge of the Truth, and there­fore graciously condescends to fur­nish Means proportioned to the Dispositions and Capacities of each one, did raise up the Learned St. Paul that he might be Instrumental to convert the Philosophers of his [Page 599] time, by accosting them in their own Dialect and Methods. And hence himself tells usRom. 1.14. That he is debitor both to the Greeks and Barba­rians, both to the Wise and the Unwise. The Station and Charge with which he was invested, did oblige him to become 1 Cor. 9.22. all things to all Men, that he might gain some. And according­ly, we find him endeavouring to re­claim the Learned Athenians from their Idolatries and SuperstitionsActs 17 22, 23 &c. by Reasonings founded on the solid­est Principles of Philosophie. And indeed, since Atheists, Deists, and Li­bertines, imploy their Wit and Learn­ing to dishonour and reproach Reli­gion, it is but Just that they should be beat back with their own wea­pons, and be made sensible that the Cause of God and Religion hath in­finitly the Advantage on its side, and that all the sorrie Oppositions that they make unto it, are but so many evidences of the darkness of [Page 600] their minds, of their partiality to their lusts, and of their having a­bandoned the most universal and most Sacred Dictats of Right Rea­son. Tho in the mean time I am fully satisfied, that as the gross mis­carriages of those who profess to believe that there is a God, and who own the Christian Religion, their living as if there were no God, and their continual disregard to all the Precepts of the Gospel, have o­pened the sluces to Atheism, Theism, and Libertinism, so the most effec­tual way to recover such as are in­fected with these evils, would be, that Christians, and particularly, such as set up for Defenders of the Christian Cause, did themselves exactly lead their Lives according to the Rules of their excellent Reli­gion, and were truely Devout and Serious, Humble and Self-de­nyed, Just and Charitable, Pure and Sober. This would be of greater Force to convince and reduce the [Page 601] wittie Gentile-men, than all the Reasonings in the World. Living Instances of Piety, and a Conversa­tion that is a just Transcript of the great Maximes of Christianity, have in them such Demonstrations of the Being of a GOD, and the certainty of Religion, as cannot be evaded by Tricks and Sophistry.

These and the like Pious and Cha­ritable Motives, may justifie one's looking into Humane Sciences. But then we must be infinitly care­ful to guard against these very dan­gerous dispositions, and base ends, that will be apt to insinuat and gain ground upon us, both in the pur­sute and possession of them. And the Truth is, when we seriously con­sider, how vastly uncertain, or false, or useless they are in most things, how exceedingly they distract our Minds, and divert them from their true Objects; That is, From GOD and Divine Things; How short our time is, and how [Page 602] many of these precious Hours that were given us, in order to prepare and fit our Souls for the Bliss and Glories of the other World, are ex­hausted in acquiring them. How much our having our Heads filled with absurd and ludicrous Ideas, indisposes us for the admission of these Truths, which are Solid and Real and Satisfying, and how all these vanities about which we have spent so much time and travel, will disappear and evanish for ever, or become absolutely unprofitable at our entrance upon Eternity. And when, in fine, we call to mind what St. Augustine hath long since said of them. The unlearned arise and take Heaven by force:S [...]gunt indocti & Coelum rapiunt, & nos cum doctrinis no­siris, sine corde, ecce ubi voluntamur in carne & sanguine. Confess. lib. 8 cap. 8. And behold we with all our Learning are so stupid as to continue wallowing in Flesh and Blood. I say, when we seriously and in cold Blood consider these things, [Page 603] they cannot choose but convince us, how much it is our Interest to mor­tifie our vain curiosity, and not to allow our selves to be insatiably carried out after these things, which for the most part have but the Name of Sciences, and no more.

It is true indeed, some have been Rich and Great, and Favoured and Applauded, and Learned, and yet have been very sincere Christians. But then it is very certain, that such Instances are infinitly rare. Not ma­ny Wise Men 1 Cor. 1.26. after the flesh, saith St. Paul, not many Mighty, not many Noble are called; That is, are wrought on and converted by the Gospel, and lead Lives according to the Maxims of the Christian Re­ligion. There are but very few who can retain Poverty of Spirit, Temperance, and Heavenly Minded­ness in the midst of Riches, Pomp, and Splendour, and be Humble and Self-Denyed, when Applauded and [Page 604] Learned. An honoured Hu­mility, Magna prorsus & rara virtus humilitas honorata Bernard. in Ado Dom. Ho 4 saith St. Bernard, is indeed a great Vertue but very seldom to be seen. Now it is plain, that a few singular In­stances cannot be a sufficient Foun­dation whereon to build a general Rule, nor evince that all persons can retain their Innocence in such Circumstances as we have menti­oned. It is possible there may be one now and then who shall be Proof against Drunkenness, thô he have plenty of the Delicatest Liquors in his offer, and another who shall not violat his Chastity, thô he be in Company with a Pro­stitute, and assaulted by her catch­ing insinuations. But it will not follow that all others may safely ad­venture on these or the like Temp­tations, for certainly such as are Conscious of their own Weakness, and whose Experience hath taught them what these Things or Circum­stances [Page 605] are, the Possession or Pre­sence whereof do inevitably involve them in sin, are indispensably oblig­ed to keep out of their way, or a­bandon and renounce them. It is without doubt on this Principle that the Injunction which our LORD gave to the Rich Youth in the Gos­pel is grounded,Mat. 19.21. If thou wilt be Perfect, that is, become a true Chri­stian go and sell all that thou hast, and give to the Poor, and thou shalt have Treasure in Heaven, and come and follow me. It were very absurd to imagine, as some do, that this was said only to try him or to discover to him the latent hypocrisie of his heart, without any intention to o­blige him actually to forsake all that he had, or as the Romanists af­firm, that it is only a Counsel of Per­fection left to our choice and discre­tion, and which one may omitt without any hazard of his Salvati­on, One, say they, may laudably e­nough [Page 606] practise it, and so do a Work of Supererogation, but also he may forbear the Practice of it, & yet not forfeit his Interest in Heaven. To state the Matter thus, is treacher­ously to betray the Souls of Men. It is indeed a Counsel of Perfection, but it is such a Counsel, as then in­dispensably obliged the Rich Youth, and still obliges all in his Circum­stances and Dispositions strictly to follow it; For it is evident that our Lord doth here propose the Terms which we must resolve to accept of, in order to become his true Dis­ciples, and to partake in the Glo­rious Priviledges that are entailed on all such, and these are, To forsake all and follow him. Now this may be done either Inwardly in Heart and Affection only, or out­wardly and in very Deed also, by actually abandoning and parting with all that one hath, and follow­ing the Lord Jesus in a State of Po­verty [Page 607] and Meanness. It is the com­mon acknowledgement that to do this is the Duty of Christians in times of Persecution, when they are called publickly to confess and ad­here to their Saviour, not with the loss of their Goods only, but of their Lives too. But certainly to confine the doing of it to such Jun­ctures as these, which may but sel­dom happen, and to deny that it is obligatory at all times, is a very dangerous mistake, for undoubted­ly, when one finds by Experience, that notwithstanding all his Care and Watchfulness, his Riches and Possessions prove continuall Snares and Temptations to him, that they distract his thoughts and engross his affections, that they stiffle his Love to GOD, and his Charity to Man, that by Means of them his Devoti­ons become flat and languid, and his Soul more and more defilled, with covetous desires and veking [Page 608] cares, it is his Duty generously and cheerfully to forsake all, and so to rid himself of the hinderances both of his Perfection and Salvation. And that this was the case with this Young Man, the Issue makes evi­dent; For we are toldM [...]t. 19.22. that when he heard what our LORD required of him, He went away sorrowful, for he had great Possessions. The holy Jesus who knew John 2.25. what was in Man, saw his inward temper and disposi­tion, and that his heart was glewed to his Riches, and therefore he pre­scribes to him at once both the Re­medie of his Covetousness, and the Means of arriving at that Perfection to which he came to call Men by the Gospel, by Enjoining to forsake all and follow Him. For our predo­minant lusts, if we would have them rooted out, must be starved: We must deprive them of whatever mi­nisters food and nourishment unto them. We do but play the Hypo­crites [Page 609] when we pretend that we would have our corruptions morti­fied, and in the mean time keep our selves in these Circumstances, and retain these things which fortifie and strengthen them. And we may as reasonably expect that an un­clean person shall mortifie his wan­tonness by frequenting the Brothel­house, or a drunkard his excesses by constantly exposing himself to the temptations of the Tavern, as that one who is covetous can be wean'd from the World as long as he holds it hard and fast in his arms. It is true indeed, one may be very poor, and yet very covetous, but then it is justly presum'd, that he would be much more so, if he had an opulent and plentiful Fortune.Crescit amor nuni­mi, quantum ipsa pe­cunia crescit. For it is a well grounded Re­mark, that Covetousness increases in proportion to the Increase of Riches, it is as the fire, that saith [Page 610] Prov: 30.16. not is enough. He that cannot moderat his appetits in a state of povertie and indigence, will certain­ly be less able to do it, when he hath the means and opportunities of Gratifying them to the full.

But then as to these whose weak part lyes not on this side, who can be Poor in Spirit in the midst of plenty and affluence, and be humble and Spirituallie minded, when Sur­rounded with state and Magnifi­cence, who can consider their enjoy­ments as Memorials of the Divine Bounty, and take occasions from them to send up their Hearts to the Soveraign Bestower in Praises and grateful Acknowledgements, who look on them not as their own Pro­pertie, but as his Donatives, and imploy them not to gratifie their va­nitie, but to advance his Glory, who are dead to them, even when they possess them, and can willing­ly part with them whensoever he [Page 611] pleases, they, I say, who are found in these dispositions, with regard to the World, have abandon'd it in Heart and Affection, and such may possess it without prejudice and dis­advantage to their Souls; For they 1 Cor. 7.29.30, 31. rejoyce as if they rejoyced not, buy as if they possessed not, use the World as if they used it not, knowing that the fashion thereof passeth away. Thô they live in the midst of Riches and Pomp, yet they live above them. They can view their Possessions and not be puffed up, enjoy them, and not set their Hearts upon them, keep them without anxious fears, and distribut them without grudge. But then, as was formerly noted, they of this sort are exceedingly thin sowne, and before one adven­tures to determine that himself is of the Number, he must deal very impartially by himself, study to know his own Heart well, and criti­cally observe all its Motives, that [Page 612] it do not impose on him; He has very good reason to suspect it, for it is extreamly deceitful, and will suggest specious Glosses to palliat very bad inclinations and practices. And the World also hath its own fair and seeminglie reasonable pretences, whereby to recommend it self to our affections, and to engage us in an immoderat love, and pursuit of it; So that we cannot proceed here with too much Caution and Wari­ness, lest we make choice of, and keep our selves in Circumstances, which by reason of our habituallie vicious dispositions, may prove a continual snare unto us, and insen­sibly turn away our desires from GOD and Divine Things.

Upon the whole we may be suf­ficiently convinced that our dear Redeemer, in exemplifying unto us so generous a contempt of the World, intended not arbitrarily, and with­out just reason to impose hard [Page 613] tasks on us; No sure, he considered our weakness, and consulted our ad­vantage. He saw very well what these things were that turned away our Hearts from GOD, that ren­dered us listless to his Calls, kept us from complying with his loving Invitations, and made us uncapable of his Divine Communications, that increased our distempers, and hin­dered our cure, and in a word, that were the great obstacles of our Eter­nal Happiness, and therefore the more clearly to discover them unto us, he sets before us the Glass of his own Example, and to engage us the more effectually to abandon and a­void them, he strictly enjoyns us to trace his Footsteeps. But,

2. Another particular, which we find eminently exemplified to us in the Life of our blessed Saviour, is Self-denyal. It is true indeed, the things insisted on under the forego­ing Head, were notable Instances [Page 614] of Self-denyal. But here I under­stand these that are more strictly and more immediatly such, That is, not only his not gratifying the in­clinations of that Mortal Humanity which he had assumed, by denying them these things that were pleasing and grateful; but moreover, his acting contrarie to them, his chusing and cheerfully embracing or undergoing these things that did choke and displease them. The first and great Lesson which our Lord taught his Followers, was de­ny thy self, and take up thy cross, and that they might learn it with the greater speed and accuracie, he exemplified it to their view in his own Practice, Self-denyal like a pre­cious Vein run throughout all his Life. He wrote this amiable Copy in such legible and conspicuous Characters, that it justly astonishes that they who profess to be his Fol­lowers, take so little notice of it, [Page 615] and do not endeavour more exact­ly to transcribe it.

He denied his own will, this we are frequently and expresly assured of. I seek not mine own will Jo: 5.30. saith he, but the will of the Father which hath sent me, and again to the same purposeJo: 6.38. I came down from Heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. To which pas­sages I add these notted words of his, wherewith he concluded that Address which he made to his Fa­ther a little before his PassionLuke 22.42. Ne­vertheless, not my will but thine be done. O who can fathom the depth of the Love of Jesus! That match­less and astonishing Love which made him, who was Perfect Inno­cence and Purity, put himself in a State wherein he was obliged to deny his own Will! But for what end did he give us this surprizing Instance of Self-denyal? Was it only to furnish a Theme for our Medita­tions? [Page 616] Was so noble a Coppy set be­fore us only that we might look u­pon it? Or shall we say that we are no farther concerned in it than to reap the Merits of it? Did he so strictly deny his own Will, that we might follow ours with greater Li­bertie? O far be it from the devout Followers of the Lamb to entertain such self flattering thoughts. It is indeed our Duty to meditat on this Instance of his Self-denyal, but then our Meditations on it must terminat in a careful Imitation of it. And though our LORD hath merited for us in denying his own Will, yet we cannot on solid Grounds hope to partake in what he hath merited, but in conforming to him by dis­claiming and renouncing our wills. The corrupt will of Man is the source of all sin, and to follow it is the short and assured way to Dam­nation. All our villanous lusts and passions, our vicious inclinations [Page 617] and appetites are nothing else but different appearances and postures of our depraved will. All the sins that we commltt either inwardly in our Hearts, or outwardly in our Lives, are but so many complyances with its wicked counsels and sug­gestions. This is the grand enemy of our Souls, and by means where­of, the Devil hath such power over us, and leads us captive, and keeps us from the Love of GOD and from Happiness, for it is not possible that we can recover the Love of GOD, nor consequently be Happy in the Fruition of him, to which the Love of him is an essential and indispen­sable Prerequisit, as long as our will is at variance with His. There can be no true Love, where there is a flat and direct opposition of Wills. An Union of Wills is necessarie to constitute a reciprocal or mutual Love. Now our corrupt wills, as such, can never unite with the Holy [Page 618] Will of GOD, and therefore we must deny and renounce it, we must not follow its motions, nor listen to its counsels, we must check and con­tradict its inclinations and tenden­cies, we must accustome it to yeeld and submit to, and acquiesce in all the Expressions of the Divine Will, both Preceptive and Providential, thô never so choaking and disagree­able to it, and must continue treat­ing it at this rate, till all its corrupt byasses expire and dye, and till by the Power of Grace it be renewed, and become one with the Will of GOD, willing nothing but what he Wills desiring nothing but what he Desires, loving nothing but what He Loves, and delighting in no­thing but what he delights in. It was to engage us to do this that our Redeemer hath set before us this endearing Instance of Self-denyal. He denyed his own will that he might teach us to deny and disclaim [Page 619] ours. And O how unbecoming is it, that the Members should be dis­sonant to the Head, and the Dis­ciples carry otherwise than their Master, that he should deny his will, and they flatter and cherish and follow theirs, that he should ungainsayingly undergo whatever was imposed on him, and they kick and spurn and draw back, that he should meekly acquiesce in all Pro­vidences, and they fret and mur­mure and repine.

Another Instance of His Self-deny­al is, his not pleasing his Senses. He did not procure for himself, as he could have very easily done, these things that might delightfully en­tertain and gratifie his Seeing and Hearing, his Tasting, Smelling and Touching, no beautiful and agree­able Objects, no Melodious Har­monies, no Odoriferous Perfumes, no exquisit Delicacies, no closs and well furnished Chambers, no Beds [Page 620] of Downe, no soft and pompuous Apparel, no none of these things. He cautiously abstained from all these sorts of Satisfactions, and con­tented himself with what was sim­ply necessary. The Circumstances that he chuse for himself in this World, were poor and low, and not calculated to afford sensual Gra­tifications. He passed the most of his Years with his Parents, Persons of a mean condition, who, we may suppose, were not furnished with the Means and Advantage of curi­ously pleasing the Senses. And when he appeared under a publick Capacity on the Theatre of the World, we shall still observe the same Self-denying Strain in him all alongs: A little Bread and Fish, and andPsal. 110.7. a drink of the Brook in the way, were his ordinary Meals, and thô sometimes he imployed his Mira­culous Power to provide for the Ne­cessities of others,Vide Ham: in Loc. yet never, that [Page 621] we find, to relieve himself, no not in that extream hunger that seized on him,Mat 4.2. after his fourtie Days Fast. It is true we find him now and then present at Festival Enter­tainments, but then, besides that this fell out but very seldom, his Design in complying with such Invi­tations, was not either to gratifie any sensual inclinations, or to coun­tenance the sins of those that invited him, as the censoriousMat: 11.19. Pharisees maliciously suggested, but that by freely and familiarly eating and conversing with sinners, he might the more easily gain ground on their Hearts, engage them to become true Penitents, and so heal their Spiritual Maladies. And that this was indded his Aim, is evident from the Apologie which he makes when reproached for eating and drinking with Publicans and Sinners, they that be whole, saith he,M [...]t: 9 12.13. need not a Physician, but they that are sick. [Page 622] And, I am not come to call the Righ­teous but Sinners to Repentance. We find also that once, and perhaps twice, if the Historie of the sinful Woman in St. Luke Luk. 7. be different from that recorded by the other E­vangelistsMat. 26. Mark 14. John 12. his Body was anoint­ed with a precious and sweet smel­ling Liquor, but then it was not the Fragrancie of the Oyntment that pleased him so much, as the great Love and Devotion wherewith it was offered. And besides we may remark, that our LORD did not fix on the sensible Pleasure which this fragrant Oyntment did afford, but presently improves it into a Me­morial of his approaching Death and Burial. She is come before hand, as St. Mark hath it,Mark 14.8. to anoint my Body to the burying. And indeed it would be infinitly our Advantage, if after his Example, we did mingle our sensible Satisfactions, with seri­ous affecting Thoughts of our [Page 623] Change and Dissolution; This would certainly lessen and even damp their ensnaring Sweetness, and prevent their too deeply root­ing in our Hearts. But though we may meet with some few and rare Interspersions of Pleasure in the ac­counts that are given us of our bles­sed Saviour's Life, which his gra­cious and charitable Inclinations to promove the Salvation of poor Sin­ners made him comply with, with­out any self gratifying designs, and which that untainted purity that he ever preserved in his Heart, and his having nobly overcome the World, and all its vain delights, did set him above the reach of re­ceiving any disadvantage from, yet doubtless he lived a Life of great Abstinence and Severitie. That Passage concerning him in one of the Prophetical Psalms,Psal. 109 24. and which certainly was accomplished in him, this is a new Proof of this. My [Page 624] knees are weak through fast­ing, Habet [...] consolatio­nem, O Monache, Je­junando, fiquidem & Dominus hec fecit. Hi­erom. in loc. and my flesh faileth of fatness. And the last En­tainment which he receiv­ed in this World wasPsal. 69.21. Joh. 19.29. Vinegar and Gall.

What now shall we say to these things? Must they who pretend to be Followers of JESUS content themselves with being Spectators only of this Part of his Self-denyal, Did he deny himself the Gratificati­ons of his Senses, that he might procure them the Libertie to in­dulge theirs? Did he lead a life of Abstinence and Severity, that they might pass their Lives in Softness and Effeminacie? Did he content himself with what was simply ne­cessarie, that they might glut all their appetites, and swim in super­fluities? Did he make his Meals of what was common and ordinary, that they might be allowed to feed on studied Delicacies? Such appre­hensions [Page 625] as these are not only ab­surd but Antichristian. I was a little surprized to remark, that a Learn­ed Writer amongst many good Things, hath let fall a Passage which seems too much to flatter the In­clinations of the old man. ‘One, saith he,Et praecipue mi­ratur immensum illum D. Jesu a­morem, qui lauti­tiis omnibus lu­bens caruit, & aceto se ac felle potari passus est, ut iis, qui sui sunt, in favore numinis pinguia comedere, ac dul­cia bibere daretur. Wi [...]sius Oecon: Foed. Lib. 3. C. 12. N. 99. Eats and Drinks to the Glory of GOD, when especially he admires that bound­less Love of the LORD JESUS, who willingly wanted all sorts of De­licacies, and suffered himself to be entertain­ed with Vinegar and Gall, that they, who are his own, might, in the Favour of GOD, be allowed to feed on fat Morsels, and drink su­gared Liquors.’ In which words it is plainly enough intimated, that the Design which our Redeemer had [Page 626] in denying himself the pleasures of Sense was, that by his so doing, his Followers might have a Liberty granted them, to take for themselves the delicatest and most gratifying Entertainments, both as to Eating and Drinking. I am sure his Pri­mitive Followers made not such self flattering improvements. St. Paul acquaints us with his own Practice, telling,2 Cor: 4.27. that He was in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. He did not, it seems, dream of any Flesh-pleasing allowances to have been procured to him by the Self-denyal of his Redeemer, as neither did these Holy Souls, who for fear of falling short of Conformity to him in his abstinences, retired into the Deserts, and avoided the occasions, and abandoned the Advantages of gratifying their Flesh and Senses. Our blessed Saviour in going before [Page 627] us in the Paths of Self-denyal intend­ed, not to absolve us from disclaim­ing our several Satisfactions, but to engage us the more strictly to do it. He knew well that our Senses, now in this state of Degeneracie and cor­ruption, are as so many Passages, by which the Devil and Sin and Creatures get entrance into our Hearts, and take up that room, and engross these Affections that of Right belong to GOD, and that by indulging our sensual Inclinations, we contract a wretched insensibili­ty as to Heavenly Things, we can­not see nor relish them, nor be af­fected with them: That the true way to preclude access to these our great enemies, and to preserve our Souls in a State of Freedom and Va­cuity, and so as they may be still capable of Divine Impressions and Communications, is to confine our Senses, as much as possible we can, to what is simply necessarie, and [Page 628] resolutely to deny them their inor­dinat cravings. He knew that as long as we are in this World, we are in a State of Tryal and Peni­tence, and that to abound in sensu­al delights does not sute a peniten­tial Life, or a State of Tryal, in which we ought carefully to avoid, and not to invite and court temp­tations. It was upon these and the like Accounts that our LORD did think fit to engage us by his own Example to the denyal of our Senses. But in the mean time, tho the Re­ligion which he hath taught and ex­emplified unto us be very strict, yet it is not cruel; It obliges us on­ly to disclaime what is hurtful and prejudicial to our Souls, not what is necessary to the support and man­tainance of our Life. What nourish­es our lusts, not what preserves our Bodies, yea and in case of habltual Tendernesses, or when our Spirits are exceedingly wasted through fa­tigue [Page 629] and travel, and exhausting imployes, it allows the use of these things which a more healthful and vigorous Constitution, and sedentary Life, may well spare. Drink no more water, saith St. Paul to Timothy 1 Tim. 5.23. but use a little Wine for thy stomachs sake, and thine often infirmities. But then we must diligently watch that out old man do not insinuat himself under these pretences, and urge us to the undue gratification of his corrupt appetites, and that we do not rest in any Creature for it self, or as it is the means of our satisfacti­on, but that in a grateful Sense of the Divine Bounty, and of our being unworthy to receive the least Fa­vour, we ascend towards, and de­voutly adore the Everliving and In­exhausted Original of all that is good and sweet and agreeable, re­solving firmly to consecrat our Strength and Faculties to his Ho­nour and Glory, and longing till we [Page 630] be allowed to drink immediatly out of the Well head.

But further, he denyed his Ease. He lived a Life of continual Toil and Labour, his very Infancy was not exempt from uneasiness. He had no softning Baths wherein to cherish his tender Body, nor any Downes whereon to repose it. The Manger or hard Pavement of a Sta­ble was his Cradle, and the Straw his Pillow. And when a little more advanced in Age, though still a Child, he traveled on Foot with his Parents, fromLuke 2, 41.42. Nazareth to Jerusa­lem, to Celebrat the Passover, and from Jerusalem back again to Naza­reth, which was a Journey that re­quired several Days to accomplish it. So that very early he began to undergo Fatigue and Inconvenien­cies. He accommodated himself to the mean Circumstances of his Pa­rents, and desired not these Advan­tages which no doubt the Richer [Page 631] sort made use of in their Travels to the Holy City, when at any di­stance from it. And during the time of his abode with his Parents, he did not pass his Years in Ease and Softness; For though we have no particular Accounts how he was imployed for a great part of his Life, yet we have ground in the general to believe that he learned and did work in his supposed Fa­ther's Trade; Is not this the Carpen­ter, the Son of Mary? Said his Country-menMark 6.3. by way of reproach, which sufficiently intimats what in part his Occupation was, and that he gain'd his Living by hard Labour, and after his entrance upon the pub­lick Discharge of these Functions that were incumbent on him as our Redeemer, we are abundantly in­formed what Toils and Hardships he all along exposed himself to. We find him, in this Period of his Life, sometimes fatigued with long [Page 632] Journies, traveling from Village to Village, and from City to City, without ever imploying those Con­veniencies that would render his Journies easie and pleasant, except­ing that once for a little way he rode upon an Ass, Mat. 21.12. &c. in order to fulfill a Prophesy: At other times he en­dures the sharp Colds of the Night, watching while others take their Ease and Rest, and undergoes the Heat and Drought of the Day, in Hunger and Thirst, and toilsome Attendance.

How lowdly doth this way of Living call upon all that would be accounted Followers of the Lamb, to shake off their softness and love of Ease. Did our Redeemer toil and travel, and shall we sit with our hands in our bosome? Did he gain his Living by hard Labour, and must we have our Bread in idleness and ease? Did he deny himself the Use of these Conveniencies that are [Page 633] so pleasing to Flesh and Blood, and shall we grasp at them as often as we can, and grudge when we want them? Did he rise betimes, and sit up late, and watch whole nights, and shall we think it hard to break our sweet Napps for some hours?Pudeat enim pu: deat in voluptati­bus nos vitam ex­igere, cum Christ­us Jesus inter mi­serias & aerumnas illam ad mortem usque traduxerit. Ver. Christ: Lib. 1. C. 14. P. 80. ‘What shame is it for us who profess to be Christians, saith the devout Arndius, to pass our Years in softness and pleasures, when Christ Jesus led his Life amidst Miseries and Uneasines­ses, even unto Death?’ The truth is, our corrupt natures are very fond of ease, we would fain have all things brought to our Hands, without being oblig­ed to undergo any troubles. We do even in this Life of Penitence, strangely affect the Circumstances of Paradice, in which we had all things for the taking, without toil [Page 634] and without labour. But alas, we often forget that we are lapsed Crea­tures, and become miserable Exiles from our native Country, and that, if we would again recover it, we must travel to it through hardships and difficulties, and a continual Self-denyal. It was to teach us this, and to engage us to do it, that our Redeemer, as long as he continued on Earth, did deny his own Ease. For I think, it is very evident, that the more easie and soft ones Life and Circumstances are, the less mindful he will be that he is in a state of Banishment, the less desir­ous of recovering his forfeited Para­dice, and the less disposed to enter upon penitential and flesh crucifying Examples; His feeling no hardships and inconveniencies, keeps him in love with his present state, and with the things that minister to his ease, and makes him wish their continu­ance, and loath to part with them. [Page 635] Whereas he whose condition is the very contrarie, hath the opposit Advantages, That is, is more easily kept in mind, that he is a Traveller, and more apt to entertain desires of reinheriting his lost Happiness, and to undergo what will be necessary to qualifie him for it. And indeed, if they, whose Circumstances oblige them to deny their own ease, by cheerfully embracing such a State, make it their Choice as it is their Lot, and undergo Toil and Labour in the Spirit of Penitence and Devo­tion, frequenty calling to mind, and bewailing their defection from GOD by sin, as the source and cause of all their miseries, bearing with Pa­tience all the uneasinesses to which it exposes them during this Life of Tryal, that by tasting the bitter fruits of sin, they may hate it the more, and dy unto it, invocating with Fervour, and humbly depend­ing on the Holy Spirit for his Divine [Page 636] Supports, Assistances and Operati­ons; And in fine, gratefully acknow­ledging and adoring the Bounty and Love of GOD, who Graciously fur­nishes them the Means and Advan­tages of working out their Salvati­on; If, I say, they, whose Circum­stances oblige them to deny their own ease, did carry after this man­ner, in following their laborious and toilsome Imployes and Occu­pations, I assure my self that their Devotions would be much more ac­ceptable to GOD, than these soft and easie Devotions which are per­formed in the Closet by such as swim in all sorts of sensual Gratifi­cations.

3. The next Particular which I shall consider as exemplified to us in the Life of the Holy JESUS, is a State of Sufferings and Tribulations. He was indeed Isa. 53.3. a Man of Sorrows, and acquainted with Grief. All his Life was a continual succession of [Page 637] new scenes of Troubles and Cala­mities. The Blessed Jesus as a very Reverend & Pious Author observes,Great Exem­plar P. 359. N. 5. had never but two D [...]ys of Tri­umph all his Life, the one was on his Transfiguration upon Mount Ta­bor, the other in his riding into the holy City, and they both were al­layed with sorrow; For in the Day of his Transfiguration, Moses and Elias appeared to him, telling him what great things he was to suffer. And in the Day of his riding into Jerusalem, the view which he had of the sins and approaching ruine of that City, made him shed Tears in the midst of the Acclamations wherewith he was surrounded. O how short liv'd were his Triumphs in this World, and the little warmth of a springing Joy which he felt, how was it abated by his afflicting Prospect of the unbelief and ingra­titude of an unkind World! He had Experience of all sorts of Tribulati­ons, [Page 638] suffered both inwardly and out­wardly; He hath gone before us, bearing our griefs, and carrying our sorrows, Isa. 53.4. that he might encourage us to follow him in the Paths of Sufferings, which are the assured Way to Rest, and Bliss, and Glory.

His outward Sufferings were of different kinds, and in great Num­bers, and very heavy and most sen­sibly afflicting. Let us glance at a few of them, and learn of our great and adorable Exemplar, as we go alongs, to endure the Cross, and despise the shame.

He underwent severe and outra­gious Persecutions. This sort of Calamities commenced with his very Birth; For no sooner was he brought forth into the World, but he wasMat. 2. [...]3. obliged to flee into Aegypt, and there to shelter himself from the bloody designs of Herod, who sought after his tender Life. And when in more advanced Age. he [Page 639] began publickly to do Offices of Kindness to the Children of Men, and to give them the most winning Expressions of his Good Will, then it was that his Persecutions became more cruel and more constant. Then it was that, as it is in a Prophetical PsalmPsal. 109.4.5. for his Love they became his adversaries, that they rewarded him evil for Good, and hatred for his Love. Some watched his Actions,Mark 3.2. that they might have ground to accuse him. Others endeavoured to catch him in his Words,John 8.5.6. by proposing Questions that might ensnare him. Some secretlyMark 3.6. plotted and con­trived his ruine. Others waited op­portunitys to put those bloody Counsels in executionJo. 10.39. Some once and again attempted to stone him.Jo: 5.59.10.31. Others led him to the brow of an hill,Luke 4.29. that they might cast him down headlong. Thus was he driven from place to place, and as it is in the forecited PsalmPsal: 109.23. tos­sed [Page 640] up and down like the locust, till in end they seized on his Sacred Per­son, after which he was treated with all the instances of Rudeness, Disre­spect and Cruelty, that the most in­humane and barbarous malice could suggest or invent.

And now since our Redeemer was exposed to continual Persecutions. ought his Followers to expect or desire Exemption from them? Must they look for better Treatments from the wicked World, than their LORD met with in it? Hath not St. Paul assured us,2 Tim 3.12. That all they who will live Godly in CHRIST JE­SUS shall suffer Persecution? Shall we say that this Maxime holds good only when the Church is infested by the open enemies of the Christi­an Religion? How absurd were it to assert this? Are not the Spirit and Life and Doctrine of the Holy Jesus as unacceptable to Men of corrupt, worldly and carnal minds, to Men [Page 641] acted by their selfish designs and blind prejudices as ever, whither they be without or within the Church? And will not they of such dispositions be as ready to hate, re­proach and malign these things as e­ver? Will their meer outward and formal profession of Christianity re­concile them to all the Consequen­ces of the Practice of a genuine and severe Piety? And though they may not always push to the utmost rigors and all sorts of Persecution, yet will it follow that they will ab­stain from some kinds of it, against such as live Godly in CHRIST JE­SUS? In the mean time, the Fol­lowers of the Lamb must be infinit­ly tender that they do not by their impudence or miscarriages, draw persecutions on themselves. But if it shall please GOD, even when they lead Holy and Innocent, Harm­less and Circumspect Lives, and do all the Good they can to every Bo­dy, [Page 642] both by their Examples and Instructions, to dispense unto them this sort of Calamities, they ought meekly to undergo it, and to rejoyce that GOD thus calls them to par­take in the Sufferings of his Son, and to remember that our LORDMat. 5.10. hath pronounced them Blessed who are persecuted for Righteousness sake.

Again, our Redeemer suffered sadly in his Reputation, He was loaded with the most hideous Ca­lumnies. Though he was Innocence it self, and never did any thing that justly deserved the least Censure, yet the most atrocious villanies were charged on him. His amiable Ex­cellencies and Divine Vertues, to which he did not meerly pretend, but really possess, were bespatter­ed by the foul and injurious aspersi­ons that were upon them by black mouth'd Calumniators. That migh­ty Power by which he wrought his Glorious Miracles, was attributed to [Page 643] his having compact with the Devil. He casteth out Devils, say theyMat. 9.34. through the Prince of Devils. Though his Zeal for GOD was singular, and his Worship Pure and Genuine, yet he mustJo. 8.48. pass for an Idolatrous and Schismatical Samaritan, andJo. 10.33. a prophane Blasphemer. Though he was incomparably Wise, and taught the Maxims of true and solid Wis­dom, yet he was accounted as a Fool and a Mad-man. He hath a Devil Jo. 10.20. and is mad, why hear ye him? Truth it self is reputedMat. 26.63. an Im­poster, and the Faithful witnessJo. 7.12. a deceiver of the People. The best and most peaceable Subject that e­ver was is heldLuke 23.2. for a seditious person, and he by whom Kings reign as an enemy to Caesar; He whose Holiness was Purer than the Snow, and more shining than the Light, is characterized as a Sinner, a gluttonous man Mat. 11.19. a wine-biber, and a friend to publicans; And perfect [Page 644] Innocence is numbred among trans­gressors, Isa. 5.3. and treated as a Cri­minal.

Thus it was with the harmless Lamb of GOD, these and such like were the Characters which the World entertained him: These were the deferences that were paid to his Divine Vertues, and the kind Constructions that were put upon his most Laudable Actions. And shall his Followers grudge to share with him in the same Circumstan­ces? Would they have their Repu­tations secured from the attaques of Calumnie, when his was so ex­treamly loaded? Shall they fret and kick and be uneasie, if their Good Name be touched in the least. when he so meekly underwent the severest instances of Reproach? Alas it is a secret and latent pride, that makes us so sharply resent these In­croachments which we think are made upon our Honour. It is be­cause [Page 645] we think too highly of our selves, and of our own worth that we are so fond of the good Opinions of others, and that we cannot di­gest these charges that suppose weaknesses and imperfections to be in us. But if we were Wise, we would cheerfully embrace and wel­come all these Treatments which choak and mortifie our pride and self-esteem, and reckon that we re­ceive but our Just Deservings, thô all the calumnies in the World were heaped on us, seeing we are but sin­ful, impure and corrupted Creatures. It is indeed our Duty to carry so Unblamably and Innocently, as that none may have any just ground to asperse our Reputation; But then, if after all our Care and Circum­spection, the mouths of Calumnia­tors be set loose against us, we ought to beat all their reproachful Speeches in Humility and Patience, reckoning with our selves, That [Page 646] Jo. 15.20. The Servant is not greater than his Lord, and thatMat. 10.25. If they have called the Master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his houshold? And since the Righteous and the Innocent JESUS passed for a Sinner, why should they who are truely sinners be ambitious to pass for Saints? Since the Wisdom of the Father was accounted folly, why should real folly pretend to be reputed Wisdom? if the most per­fect Actions were misconstrued, and the most excellent Vertues clouded with reproach, who can expect that Imperfect ones should escape a Censure? If he, whose Ho­lyness was absolutely compleat, was esteemed to have none at all, why should we who have none or but few degrees of it take it ill to be represented as indeed we are?Theo: de la Croix. P. 42. ‘The Blessed JESUS, as a Devout Soul hath it, would needs denude him self of the Reputation of Sanctity, [Page 647] thereby to confound our shameful hypocrisie, which makes us seek before Men the Glory and Praise of that Goodness and Vertue, that Sanctity and Innocence, which we neither have nor practise, and which carrying us to hide and ex­cuse our vices by fair pretences, causes us to appropriat and arro­gat to our selves unjustly and without ground all sorts of vertu­ous Actions.’ And thus, as patient suffering in our Reputation, and bearing reproach in conformity to our Redeemer, is Just and Reason­able; So also it is very advantage­ous, it serves to very good Purpos­es, it is an excellent Instrument of Vertue; It obliges us to make se­vere Reflections upon our selves to turn our Eyes inwardly, and there penitently to view the degeneracy and disorders of our nature, and our many sins, whereby we are de­servedly become the objects of dis­honour [Page 648] and obloquie, it is a morti­fication of our pride, a check and disappointment to our desires of vain glory. And certainly consider­ing how weak and imperfect crea­tures we are, a state of disreputati­on and disesteem is properest for us: The contrary state nourishes our pride, and blows us up insensibly with too advantagious thoughts of our selves: For we cannot but re­mark how easily a vain self-compla­cency springs up within, us upon our being well thought and well spoken of. And this, I suppose, may be one at least of the Reasons why our LORD hath said, Woe unto you Luke 6. [...]6. when all men shall speak well of you; For he knew how apt Praises and Com­mendations were to beget and fo­ment a fatal self-conceit and pride in the Hearts of Men, and to barr en­trance to that Humility which is so essential a Grace to a Christian, that without it he hath only a name to [Page 649] live, but is really dead. And there­fore, to encourage his Followers contentedly to embrace a state of disreputation, which though it be very Beneficial to them, yet it goes very much against the grain of cor­rupt nature, he hath pronounced these consolatorie words,Mat. 5.11. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsly for my sake. And indeed he will account that all the revilings and obloquie which we endure are for his sake, whatever otherwise the Matter and Grounds of them may be, when we undergo them out of Love to him, and because we would share with him in his Dis­grace, when we embrace them as Instruments of Vertue, and as Means to repress and subdue our pride and vanity.

But moreover, the Holy JESUS endured the Treacherie and Desertion of Friends and Relations. The true­st [Page 650] Friend was falsly dealt by, and the most affectionat Relation disre­garded and abandoned. We read in the Gospel,Jo. 7.5. That Neither did his own Brethren believe on him, and that he came unto his own, Jo. 1.11. but that his own re­ceived him not. And hence in the Prophetical Psalm he is brought in complaining thus,Psal. 69.8. I am become a Stranger unto my Brethren, and an A­lien unto my Mother's Children. And when the time of his greatest diffi­culties approached, one of these whom he had all alongs so tenderly cherished, did shamefully betray him, He that did eat Psal. 41.9. of his Bread, lifted up his heel against him. Ano­ther of them in a cowardly and dis­ingenuous manner denyed him, and all the rest foresook him. So that he was left alone, without shel­ter and without Sanctuary, and in the power of merciless and cruel hands. There was none to take notice of him, or minister unto him. [Page 651] No Friend to solace his Sorrows, no Advocat to plead his Cause. I looked for some to take pity, saith he,Psal. 69.20. but there was none, and for Com­forters, but I found none.

Thus, we see, the Blessed JESUS was deserted and forsaken of all. They that formerly pretended a Friendship for him, now kept at a distance, all his Acquaintance did disown him, and His Lovers and Friends stood a loof from his sore. He looked Psal: 142.4. on his Right Hand and beheld, but there was no Man that would know him; refuge failed him, and no Man cared for his Soul. Though vast numbers had been eminently oblig­ed by him, yet none of them would now approach him, or appear in his Favours. And since this was the case with him, why should his Fol­lowers be unwilling to be conform­ed to him in this part of his Suffer­ings? If the World, saith he, hate you Jo: 15 18. ye know that it hated me before [Page 652] it hated you? If he who was the Worlds best Friend met with so little friendships from it, why should they expect to be caressed by it? If he was betrayed, denyed and a­bandoned by Friends and Favorites, why should the like treatments sur­prize them? If he was left destitute of all Humane Supports and Assist­ances, is not this enough to recon­cile them to such a State? What tho their nearest Relations should disclaim them, and their most fami­liar Friends and Confidents become careless of them, or turn their ene­mies? Why should not all this be cheerfully born, since it was the Re­deemer's lot to be in the same Cir­cumstances? Our LORD hath gone before us in this Destitution of Hu­mane Friendship, and all its Advan­tages, that he might thereby teach us to be content, when our Heaven­ly Father sees it necessary for us, to be without all created Supports and [Page 653] Solaces, and cheerfully to forego all Dependancies upon Creatures and the Arm of Flesh, to the end both that our Trust in GOD might be the more Pure and Undivided, and that also we might be delivered from the snares and dangers that very often attend the Friendships and Relations of the World. For it is certain that when we have Ground to expect that in our dis­tresses and difficulties, we shall be supported and relieved by the Kind­ness and Interposals of Friends and Relations, we are prone to lean too much to them, and so our Trust in GOD is more broken and intercep­ted. But when we are destitute of this kind of Subsidies, and left Hopeless, and without Hope of re­ceiving any Relief from Creatures, our Recourse to the Father of Mer­cies is more full and entire, and we learn to depend upon him absolutly for whatever we stand in need of. [Page 654] And in this Case the Good GOD, seeing the desolate circumstances of his Faithful Servants, and observing how wholly they devolve themselves upon him, will in a peculiar manner be present with them, and impart unto them these Reliefs and Sup­ports, which he in his Wisdom knows to be necessary for them; And so, though to the eyes of the World they may seem to be poor, helpless and forelorn Creatures, yet there is a secret and invisible Hand, that powerfully upholds and che­rishes them in all their desolations. Thus our Blessed Saviour when he tells his Discsples,Jo. 16.82. That they should be scattered every one to his own, and leave him alone; He lets them un­derstand, that in this solitarie and destitute state of his, there was one that would stick closs to him, and never abandon him, that would attend him in all his Tribulations, effectually maintain him under them, [Page 655] and at last Gloriously deliver him from them. Ye shall leave me alone, saith he, and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. This same will be the happy Priviledge of all his Faithful Followers. A Divine Presence will accompany them under all their destitutions, and will more than sufficiently recompence their cheerful dispensing with the Amities and Solaces of Creatures. St. Paul had Experience of it,2 Tim. 4 16.17. All men forsook me saith he, but the LORD stood with me, and strengthned me. And besides the Friendships and Relations of the World do sometimes prove very great hindrances to advancing in Christian Perfection: The Deferences which they expect should be paid to them, and the Complyances that must be made with their Humours and Inclinations, do but too fre­quently ingage in the Omissions and Commissions of many things that do not so well consist with that strict­ness [Page 656] and accuracie that our Holy Profession exacts from us. And therefore, if in this case, they should disregard or abandon us, we ought willingly to forego their Favours, and to rejoyce that our snares are in so far broken and we escaped.

But yet further, our dear Re­deemer endured cruel mockings and derisions. Indeed contempt and re­proach were his continual attend­ants all his Life; But towards the close of it, his ignominious treat­ments were strangely heightned in degree, and increased in number. Then it was that the wit and ma­lice of his wicked persecutors were set on work to contrive methods how to put the most exasperating affronts upon him, both by words and deeds; For having seized on his Sacred Person, they led himMat. 26.57. before his partial and blood thirsty Judges, giving him all alongs the treatments that were due only to a [Page 657] Criminal, where, when without a­ny regard to the Measures of Justice or Pleas of Innocence, they had sentenced him to dy, they set him up as the Object of their bitter scorn and contempt, and imployed their sacrilegious tongues and Hands to dishonour and ridicule him; For thenMat: 26.67.63. did they spit in his Face, and buffet him, and havingLuk: 22.64. blindfolded him, they gave him blows with the palm of their hands, and in a scoffing manner said, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, who is he that smote thee? thereby intending to disgrace his Pretences of being the Messiah that should come unto the World. And being thus rudely treated by the Jewish Senators, He was bound Mat: 27.2. as a Malefactor, and led away and deli­vered to Pontius Pilat the Roman Go­vernour and from him to King Luk 23.11. He­rods Court where a new seene of In­dignities was acted on him; For Herod and his attendants set him at [Page 658] naught and mocked him, and having arrayed him in a gorgeous rob, they exposed him in that ludibrious dress to be hooted and laught at by the surrounding multitude; and so re­mitted him back again to Pilat, who after having made some attempts to rescue him from the furie of the Jews, the Issue was that Barabbas Luke 23.25. a seditious person, a murtherer, and a robber Joh: 18.40. was preferred to the In­nocent and Holy Lamb of GOD, and he delivered unto the will of his enemies. Whereupon they began to exercise him afresh with the rud­est instances of contempt & mocke­rie. They first scourged him Mat: 27.26. and then because they would needs ex­pose and dishonour his pretences to Majestie and Royal Dignitie, they turned him into a mock-king, and paid him mock deferences. They Mat. 27.28, 29, 30. striped him naked, and put on him an old scarlet rob, and when they had plated a crown of thorns, they put it [Page 659] upon his head, and a reed in his hand, and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, hail King of the Jews, they spit upon him and took the reed and smot him on the head. And last of all, to shut up allIbid. v 30.31. &c. the Scenes of their insulting malice, they hung him up ignominiously on a Cross, and in the midst of Theeves, to serve there as a Spe­ctacle of disgrace and infamy to these vast nu [...]bers of People that were gathered together in order to celebrat a publick Festival at Jeru­salem. And, while he was in this direful Post [...]re, they went on still aggravating his shame and reproach. Some mockingly presented himMat. 27.34. with vinegar and gall in his thirst. Others revi [...]led Ibid. v. 39, 42. wagging their heads, Save thy s [...]lf, if thou be the Son of GOD, said the insolent rabble. He saved others, himself he cannot save, added the scoffing Priests and El­ders, all which was followed with [Page 660] opprobrious Railings of one of the Malefactors.Ibid. v. 44.

Behold here the Son of GOD not only despising Honours, but endur­ing affronts! Soveraign Majesty not only not regarded, but derided and insulted over! The Adorable One saluted with mock homages, and he that was perfectly Innocent post­pon'd to a notorious Malefactor! But why was it that our Redeemer hath so remarkably exemplified un­to us, bearing contempt and disgrace? Why did the King of Glory suffer himself to be so vilified and affront­ed? Why did he degrade himself so low, as to become capable of hav­ing indignities put on him by poor worms of the Earth? Was it only that his Followers might look on, or perhaps admire and commend his Patience in these dishonourable ren­counters? Was it to procure them Exemption from the like treatments here on Earth, and leave them no­thing [Page 661] to do, but quietly to reap the merits of his contempt and disgrace? Was it that they might more freely pursue the honours and glories of this World, desire to be regarded, and to have all the Marks of Re­spect put upon them, and decline undergoing whatever is humbling and ignominious? or was it not rather to point out unto them, and to engage them in the certain way how they may attain to true Glory and Honour, and effectually partake in his Merits? Since the holy JESUS travelled to Heaven through disho­nour and contempt, through scorn and derision, why should not all his Disciples be willing to become his Fellow Travellers? Let us go forth therefore, saith the Apostle,Heb. 12.13. unto him without the Camp bearing his re­proach. But alas! how apt are we to storm and swell, if a slight be put on us, how hardly can we get an affront digested? How fiercely do [Page 662] we resent our being made the Ob­jects of scorn and mockerie! And yet we would be accounted the Fol­lowers of the meek and patient and despised JESUS. How little do our dispositions savour of his Spirit? He bore the most pungent indigni­ties with the greatest Composure, and a disdainful look will put us al­together out of tune. Reproach and affronts were his continual at­tendants, and we make a strange buzle about a few undervaluing car­riages, which perhaps are but ima­gined to be such. He was debased below the vilest Criminals, and we cannot endure that any should come in competition with us, much less be preferred before us. But how unreasonable is this? He that de­served all Honour was eminently disgraced, and we who deserve all disgrace would be eminently Ho­noured. Why should not we, who have in us the root and source of [Page 663] all shame and dishonour, be content when we are vilified and set at naught? is there any thing done to us in being thus treated, but what we truly deserve? And why then should we murmure at it? It is a sign that we have not yet got Suf­ficient discoveries of the disorders and deformities of our Nature, or that we are nor duly affected with them, when we cannot endure to be held for what we are. But be­sides, contempt and derision, when patiently born, are excellent Means to check and quell our proud self-love, and if we were very desirous to grow in Humility, that most neces­sary and fundamental Grace, we would cheerfully embrace whate­ver hath a tendency to root out and destroy the great enemy of it; That is, our pride and self-esteem. These doubtless will appear hard sayings, if not down-right folly, to our old man. However, all the sincere [Page 664] Followers of Jesus will with St. Paul 2 Cor. 12.10. take pleasure in Infirmities and Re­proaches for CHRIST's sake. For they know that the liker they are to their Redeemer in contempt and disgrace, the liker they shall be to him in Glory, the lower they are de­based here, the higher they shall be advanced hereafter. The more they are despised and derided in this life, the more they shall be Regarded and Honoured in the other.

In fine the Holy JESUS endured sharp and exquisit pains in his Body. In order to be informed of these in particular, we need but with a seri­ous attention peruse the history of his Passion, as it is recorded by the Holy Evangelists. There we shall learn, how every Member in his Bo­dy was put to grievous tortures. How his Head was crown'd with thorns, his Hair pull'd out by the rude usages which he suffered, his Ch [...]eks beaten, his Face sullied, his Back crusht, his Neck and Arms [Page 665] tied with cords, his Shoulders brui­sed by bearing the Cross. His Hands and Feet pierced with nails, His Side opened with a lance, & his whole Body made black and blue with stripes. There we shall more­over learn how all his Bodily Senses suffered. His Eyes in seeing lewd and sinful practices, his Ears, in hear­ing blasphemous railings; His Smell by the stench of dead Bodies on Mount Calvary. His Taste by a scorching and violent thirst, with­out any thing allay to it but Vinegar mingled with Gall. His Feeling by variety of gaping wounds inflicted on him by the instruments of Cru­elty. He was all over Smart and Anguish, Blood and Torments: He, as it was foretold of him,Isa. 50.6. Gave his Back to the Smiters, and his Cheeks to them that plucked off the Hair, and accordinglyPsal. 129.3. The Plowers plowed u­pon his Back, and they made long their Furrows. He meekly put himself into the hands of his Enemies, and [Page 666] they with unrelenting hearts furi­ously lasht his Virginal Bodie, and tore his Tender Flesh. They attac­qued him Psal. 22.12.13. with the strength of Bulls, and fierceness of Lyons. The barbar­ous and inhumane treatments that He met with, made him say, as it is in the Passion Psalm,Psal. 22.14. I am pour­ed out like Water, and by reason of the preternatural distention of his sacred Limbs upon the ignominious Tree, he uttered the following Words, All my Bones are out of joint. Nothing was forgot that might sharpen his Pains and increase his Anguish. The barbarity of enrag­ed dogs, or the truculency of the most savage beasts, are but faint figures of the incompassionat spite of his persecutors. They would not abate a stroke, or lessen or mitigat any one instance of his punishments; And at last, to crown both his Bo­dily torments and their hideous ma­lice, they nailed him Hands and Feet [Page 667] to a Cross, in doing whereof they fulfilled these other words of the forecited Psalm,Psal. 22.16. all which or part of it, our LORD is supposed to have repeated during the time of his Crucifixion. Dogs have com­passed me about, and the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me. They pierced my Hands and my Feet. Ah direful Spectacle! The Lamb of GOD is scourged and beaten, hangs bleeding and wounded, naked and torn, and exposed in this doleful state to the unkind impressions of the open Air, without Ease, and with­out Solace, having no Intervals of Respite, or Mitigations of Pain, No Balsom to alleviat his Sores, no Cordi­als to recrute his wasted Spirits. Be­hold here the Consecrated Patern of our Mortification! Thus it is that we must treat all the members of our old man; Crown his head with the Thorns of Pious Severities; Scourge him with the Whip-cords [Page 668] of pungent reflections, bind his hands with resolute restraints, pierce him thorow with Penitential Sor­rowings; And nail him to the Cross of Self-denyal, and patient endur­ing Pains, when GOD shall think fit to dispense them unto us, whither by Sickness or otherways. Thus it is that we must knowPhil. [...].10. the Fellowship of the Sufferings of our Dear Redeem­er. For we must not imagine that our LORD intended by his Passion to merit any thing in favours of out old man, he hath procured no Im­munities or Exemptions for him. No to be sure, he hath indeed me­rited Grace and Strength, Salvati­on, Deliverance and Glory for our Souls, but he hath bequeath'd no­thing to our old man but pains and anguish, crucifixion and death. See here in the Suffering JESUS what ought to imbitter our sensual de­lights, and reprove our softness. He was incommodat in al his Senses, [Page 669] and should we please and flatter ours in every thing? His sacred Flesh was rudely handled,Pudeat sub spi­nato ca­pire memb [...]um fi­eri Deli­catum Bern: and must ours that is corrupt, be always well treated and pampered? What a shame is it, saith St. Bernard, That the Members should be delicat, when the Head is crowned with thorns? How should we blush to pretend to be the Disciple of the wounded and bleeding Lamb of GOD, and in the mean time be so excessively kind to our bodies of sin and death? This was not the character of his Primi­tive Followers. I keep under my Bo­dy, said St. Paul, 1 Cor: 9.27. and bring it into Subjection. The original words im­port that he used some rudeness and violence towards it, in order to re­duce and tame it, such as they who fought in the Olympick Exercises, imployed for subduing and conquer­ing their Antagonists. This certain­ly was one of the wayes how He Col: 1.27. filled up the remainders of the afflicti­ons of CHRIST in his Flesh.

But we proceed to touch a little on the Inward Sufferings of our Re­deemer, such I mean as were im­mediatly in his Soul, without re­gard to, or the Intervention of any troubles in his outward man. And these indeed, in some Instances e­specially, are so deep and misteri­ous, that they wholly surpass Hu­man Comprehension. There are in all the Sufferings of the Son of GOD, and particularly in his Inward Tri­bulations, Peculiarities and Excel­lencies, that no other Sufferings can or should pretend to. The Digni­ty of the Person that suffered, did stamp an infinit Value on them, and the vastness, or rather immensi­ty of his Love to GOD, and Cha­rity to Man in Suffering gave such degrees of Sensibility to his Suffer­ings, that nothing can reach or fa­thom, but a Love as boundless as his own. And the more that any measures of this Love take Possessi­on [Page 671] of the Heart, so proportionably the more Just and Clear will one's Apprehensions of the Sufferings of the Lamb of GOD be. But this sort of Meditations will fall in more seasonably under the other View I promised to give of them. I con­sider them at present only as they are Examplary. And in order to know them in this Respect, the best Methods will be to contemplat them in their Sources or Causes, whereof I shall mention but these three; 1. The sins of Men. 2. Their Miseries. 3. His own Spiritual desolations.

1. The sins of Men. How heavily did these ly on his Heart, and how often did they draw tears from his Eyes. How sensibly was this great Lover of Souls touch't, when he saw Men taking courses that would in­fallibly ruine them. We are told by St. Mark, ThatMark. 3.5. He was grieved because of the hardness of their Hearts of those among whom he had [Page 672] preached so many admirable Ser­mons, and done so many Glorious Miracles, with design to convince and reclaim them. It pierc'd him with a deep sorrrow, to see that his Gracious and Charitable endea­vours to do them Good, were ren­dered ineffectual by their willful unbelief. How surpassing must that grief have been which attended these mournful Accents of his over the rebellious obstinacie of Jerusa­lem. O Jerusalem Mat. 23.37. Jerusalem, thou that killest the Prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee: How often would I have gathered thy Chil­dren together, even as a Hen gather­eth her Chickens under her wings, but ye would not. And moreover, His incomparable Zeal for GOD vastly added to his Sorrow on these Occa­sions; For how could it choose but vehemently afflict his Heart, to see that Soveraign Majesty, whom he so dearly loved, and to whom he [Page 673] knew, all Adoration, Respect, and Obedience were due, dishonoured and blasphemed, to see his Spirit resisted, his Offers slighted, and all the Methods of his Love and Grace disregarded? To be sure that Zeal which made him so warmly resent, the Indecencies that were committedMat. 21.12.13. by the Buyers and Sel­lers in the Temple, because it was his Father's House, would much more oblige him to notice, with a mixture of grief and holy Indignati­on, the more aggravated indignities that were done to him.

Here is a noble Copy set before us, and most worthy of Imitation: With what Eagerness should the Followers of the Holy JESUS en­deavour to transcribe it? How can they look on that either in them­self or others, with unconcerned hearts and dry eyes, which drew Sighs and Tears from the Son of GOD? Ah! it is a sad sign that the [Page 674] same mind Phil. 2.5. is not in us that was in CHRIST, when we can see sin committed, and not bewail it, and GOD dishonoured without being troubled at it, all who in every Age have been acted by his Spirit have carried otherwise. The Royal Psal­mist made Psal. 6.6. his bed to swim, and wa­tered his couch with his tears, because of his own sins, and whenPsal. 119.1 [...]8 He be­held the transgressions of others he was grieved. And so excessive was his Grief, that it gushed outIbid. v. 136. at his Eyes in Rivers: Thus also St. Paul, we may easily imagine how deep his inward Sorrow was, when he considered himself as the1 Tim. 1.15. chief of sinners, and how sensibly he was affected with the disorders of others, when he could not speak or write of themPhil. 3.18. without weeping. Alas! should we laugh at that which our Redeemer mourned for! should that be matter of sport and mirth to us, which put him to Grief and Tears.

[Page 675]2. Their Miseries. The Blessed JESUS, as he bewailed the sins of Men, so did he also the sad conse­quences of them. His Charitable Heart was afflicted with these Ca­lamities into which Mankind had involved themselves, by their de­fection from GOD. He was by a wonderful Sympathy so touched with their Maladies, as if they had been his own; Hence it is that St. Matthew affirmsMat. 8.17. that in his miracu­lously Healing the Diseased with so much Pity & Tenderness, these words of the Prophet Isaiah were fulfilled, himself took our infirmities, and bore our sicknesses. Which Prophesy, thô it was principally accomplished in CHRIST's sufferings on the Cross, where1 Pet. 2.24. he bore our sins in his own Bo­dy, yet the Evangelist assures us, that it received a Completion in his healing the Sick, and bearing their corporal infirmities, by an admir­able Compassion, which gave him [Page 676] so profound a Sense of the uneasi­ness and incommodities of their se­veral Distempers, as if himself had been actually affected with them; And indeed it is hard to tell how great a length a sincere and simpa­thizing Charity may go in feeling the Miseries of others. Dayly Ex­perience lets us see how farr even natural Affection carries us, as to communicating in the distresses of a dear Friend or Relation, how their pains and agonies, their groans and tears, do reproduce themselves in us, and transform us in a sort in­to fellow Patients with them. What shall we say then of the Noble and Undisguised, the vast and compre­hensive Charity of the Son of GOD? How deeply must it have made him share in the Calamities of poor Mortals? How tenderly doth he la­ment, not the sins only, but also the approaching Desolations of Je­rusalem. When he [...] 25.41. beheld the City, [Page 677] he weept over it. He antedated its future ruine and miseries, as to himself by a lively presentation of of them in all their most aggravat­ing and grievous Circumstances, and shed tears with as sensible a Concern, as if he had been actual­ly a Spectator of, or a Partaker in the calamities of that doleful Tra­gedie. How feelingly did his Bow­els yearn over the poor Widow of Naim, * bewailing the death of her only Son, When he saw her he had compassion on her, and said unto her, weep not. How emphatical discove­ries of his sympathizing grief and tears did he give at the Recounter with the mourning sister and friends of Lazarus, when * JESUS saw Mary weeping, and the Jews also weeping that came with her, he groaned in his Spirit and was troubled, and at last the Agitations of his tender Heart discharg'd themselves at his Eyes, JESUS weept. The Gospel abounds [Page 678] with Instances of these very sen­sible and generous Sympathies, whereby our Blessed Redeemer be­came a fellow Patient with the mi­serable in all their afflictions.

Here also the Holy JESUS sets his Followers a lovely Pattern, to which he requires their Conformi­ty. He would have them carrie as the compassionat Samaritan Luke. 10.33.34. in the Parable, (by which some have un­derstood our LORD himself) who when he saw, in his way as he Jour­neyed, a Man stript naked, wound­ed and left for half dead, had com­passion on him, bound up his wounds. and poured Oyl into them, and took care of his full recovery: How dili­gently therefore should they endea­vour to imitat his sweet and sympa­thizing Temper, and share in the calamities of others, by a kind and charitable Fellow-feeling. Tender­nesses, Compassions, and Bowels of Mercies, constitute a considerable [Page 679] part of the Image of the Son of GOD, are the Fruits of his Spirit, and the Characters of his Religion. Hence St. Paul exhorts us,Gal. 6.2. Yo bear one anothers burdens, and so to fulfil the Law of CHRIST. To weep Rom. 12.15. with them that weep, and to remember Heb. 13.3. them that are in bonds as bound with them.

In fine we must nor foreget, That as our LORD, when he bewailed the sins of Men, laboured to con­vert the Sinners, and in sympathiz­ing with their miseries, took care to remove such as were incumbent, and to prevent these that were ap­proaching, so also ought his Fol­lowers to do. They must in their different Capacities and Stations, by their good Examples, fervent Prayers, kind Admonitions, sea­sonable and discreetly mannaged Re­proofs, endeavour to reclaim from the sins which they mourn for. They must by all the Methods that [Page 680] Charity will suggest, and their pow­er can reach, contribute to relieve from the calamities they see others afflicted with. This is what their Compassion, if it be true and genuine, will push them to doe. But then, if their endeavours should prove in­effectual, or their power be but little, they must content themselves to bewail what they cannot amend, and pity what they are not able to help.

3. A third Source of his Inward Sufferings, were these Desolations that he endured in his Soul, and which consisted in a total suspension of the consolatorie Manifestations of the Divine presence, and in these most afflicting-sensations that are consequential to such a Suspension: O who can conceive the Anxieties that seized on his holy Soul, when GOD began to hide his Face from him, and ceased to impart these Joys which were his Life, and as it [Page 681] were, his Element. How desolate and melancholly must needs his state have been, when that amorous Presence that was wont to cherish and solace him had withdrawn it self. This was one of the bitterest ingredients of his Cup, and the sense of it made him utter that doleful cry on the Cross,Mat. 26 46. My GOD, my GOD, why hast thou forsaken me. How it was then that thePsal. 69.1. Waters came in even into his Soul, and that by reason of these dismaying terrors that invaded him in this dark and gloomy Interval his * Heart became like wax, and was melted in the midst of his Bowels. Now it was that he suffered an amazing Ecclipse, and whereof that of the Sun at his Cru­cifixion was but a faint Emblem. A dismal Cloud interposed, which caused a sad night in his Soul, and filled his Cup with wormwood and gall. But then as GOD was ever near him, so though he withdrew [Page 682] from him the comforting Emanati­ons of his Presence, yet he still sup­ported him with a Secret and Al­mighty Force, whereby he was not only kept from sinking under these vast loads of troubles, both outward and inward, that were on him, but also carried through them in Tri­umph and Victorie.

Thus our Dear Redeemer would needs feel the miseries of a state of Spiritual Sufferings and Desertion, not only that he might have Experience of our Temptations & Calamities, in order to be our Merciful and Sym­pathizing High Priest, not only that he might merit our being Re-admit­ted into the Participation of Divine Consolations, by his having drunk so bitter a Cup for our sakes, but al­so that he might encourage and in­gage us to drink our several shares of the same Potion, and travel with him in the paths of Internal Suffer­ings and Desolations, in order to be [Page 683] prepared and qualified for solid and permanent Joyes. When the two aspiringMat. 20.20, 21, 22, 23. Disciples presented a Pe­tion to our LORD, desiring to be admitted to sit, the one on his Left Hand, and the other on his Right, in his Kingdom. By the return which he made to them, he plainly enough intimates, that they sought after a Dignitie whereof they were not as yet capable; That they would have the Crown before their having en­dured the conflict, or obtained the Victorie; That they behoved first to drink of his Cup, and be Baptised with his Baptism. That is, Suffer Outwardly and Inwardly as he did; That this Advancement was con­ferred without respect of Persons, and that he could not give it. But to them for whom it was prepared of his Father, (so the Original Words ought to be translated) That is, to such as by patient bearing all sorts of Sufferings, and perseverance [Page 684] therein, have conquered all their enemies;Rev. 3.21. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit down with me in my Throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his Throne. The Crown of Glory can­not be had without Victorie; Nor any Victories obtained without Sufferings and Conflicts. And as our most dangerous enemies are in­ternal, or combat us internally, so must we in our Oppositions to them suffer internally. It is evident there­fore, that our Redeemer in drink­ing the Cup of Internal Sufferings, intended that his Followers should do the like, and as he endured the Suspension of Divine Consolations, so must they. The good GOD, doth for Great, and Wise and Ex­cellent Reasons, withdraw sensible Sweetnesses from his Children, when they are able to bear Tryals of that Nature. Indeed as long as they are but Babes, tender and in­firm, [Page 685] easily discouraged, and apt to return again to seek Solaces and Satisfactions in the Creatures; I say, while the case is thus with them, He feeds them with the Milk of his Consolations, and gives them Sweetnesses, and by these tastes of his Goodness; He lets them se [...] that he can give them Delights in­finitly more satisfying, and more valuable than these which Crea­tures can bestow. And by these Means he keeps them in his Love: But then, when they are more ad­vanced in Strength and Firmness, and become capable to endure the more Perfective Methods of his Grace, he lays on them the Crosses of Internal Desolations. 'Tis true indeed, these desolations are some­times the consequences of their own unwatchfulness and sinful miscarri­ages. But it is not alwayes so; For GOD, in his infinite Wisdom, sees it meet, even when they are [Page 686] very Faithful to him, to put this Cup in their hands, and by so do­ing, gives them one of the greatest Instances of his Fatherly Love; Since thereby he designs to advance them to greater Measures of Purity and Perfection, to try their Love to him, and to resign it, to make it more Pure and Disinteressed, by crucifying the more Spiritual, and consequenly the more dangerous Self-Love, which would always be feed with Sweetnesses & Delights, and cannot be Devout when it is treat­ed with the rougher entertainments. And moreover, by leaving them in this desolate state, to let them see their own emptiness and insufficien­cie; How weak and barren Crea­tures they are in themselves, and how incompetent to be the causes of their own Happiness, and there­by to prevent their being lifted up with pride and self-conceit, to make them more humble and more de­pendent [Page 687] on Divine Influences, more fervent and more importunat in their Prayers, and more strictly watchful over their Hearts. And yet farther, to prepare and fit them for receiving in due time more am­ple Measures of Divine Influences, as also to heighten and sublimate their Joyes, to make them the more Relishing as well as more Exuber­ant; For it is certain, that the more Humble and Pure, the more Diffi­dent of themselves, and the more abandoned to GOD they are, the more abundantly will he commu­nicat himself unto them, and the deeper and more permanent their Desolations have been, the more exalted and savory will their Plea­sures be, When GOD shall restore to them the Joyes of his Salvation; For as when after a long and tedious and stormy Winter, in which the Sun hath scarce made any, or but very faint and inefficacious appear­ances, [Page 688] that glorious Luminary re­turns with unclouded and reviving Light, we welcome him with vast Satisfactions, and even with great­er than though he had been our con­tinual Attendant in his most Ad­vantageous Circumstances. So when after a long and afflicting Winter of Spiritual Desolations, the Sun of Righteousness appears again; The wearied and languishing Soul receives him with fuller Joyes and larger Appetites, than thô he had uninterruptedly shone on it with his clearing and consolatorie Beams. And hence, that I may note this by the way, we may very probably satisfie our selves, why some will have greater Degrees of Glory in Heaven than others. For the Rea­son of this may be▪ because some will have greater Capacities than others, and their Capacities will be greater, because their Desires will be more dilated and enlarged, and [Page 689] again, this greater Dilatation of their Desires may be in part caused by the greater Intenseness and longer continuance of their internal Tribu­lations; For as the more drain'd and exhausted, whither by heavy Toil and Labour, or by long Sick­ness, or otherwise, the natural moisture of ones Body is, the more violent is his thirst, and therefore the more capable he becomes of fuller Draughts of the quenching Liquor. A small quantity or a few mouthfuls of it will not do the turn in this case, such as might be suffici­ent to allay the thirst, when it is but overly and superficial, so the more deeply inward Desolations and Sufferings do sink into, and pe­netrat the Soul, the more vehement and intense is the Desire, and conse­quently the greater Capacities one hath to receive more full and more abundant Measures of the Divine Light and Joyes.

These and such like are the gra­cious Designs the Blessed GOD hath in dispensing a State of Internal De­solations unto his Children. But we are to remember, that even when he withdraws from them his Consolations, he still upholds and strengthens them by a Secret and Invisible Hand: He never aban­dons them as to the supporting and sanctifying Influences of his pre­sence, When Psal. 43.2., thou passest through the waters I will be with thee, and through the rivers, they shall not over­flow thee. He not only prevents their being overwhelmed by them, and sinking under them, but more­over he carries them through with great Profit and Advantage. They lose nothing but their impurities and distempers, so that thô to their own sense it seems as if GOD had foresaken them, yet it is not so; For in effect, he is still with them, and by means of this secret presence [Page 691] of his, which powerfully operats in them, they excellently improve in the most necessary and most in­dispensable Graces.

Now, that a State of Spiritual Desolations is sometimes the Lot of the Saints, the holy Scripture, in which we have an account of their own Experience, doth put beyond doubt. We have pregnant Eviden­ces of such a State as this very of­ten aforded us in the Royal Psal­mist's Devotions, My Soul, saith he,Psal. 119.81.82.83. fainteth for thy Salvation, mine eyes faill for thy Word, saying, when wilt thou comfort me, for I am become like a bottle in the smoke. To the same purpose he frequently delivers himself else where. And therefore to imput all the different vicissitudes of Desolations and Joyes which the Saints Experience in the Progress of a Spiritual Life, to different turns of Fancie, or to the Changes or Alte­rations of the Blood and animal Spi­rits [Page 692] is to bewray a prodigious ig­norance of the Methods of GOD's Conduct towards the Souls of Men. It is not however denyed, but many, such I mean, as either have drunk in false notions of Religion; or have adopted into their Creed principles; which, by reason of the direful Represent [...]tions they give of the Blessed GOD, and of his Designs upon his Creatures, are naturally calculated to torment Peo­ples Minds, and to fill them with e­verlasting scruples, or have been taught marks to judge of themselves by that are deceitful & illusive; Or, in fine, who imagining that they are in a State of Grace, and the Fa­vorites of Heaven thô truely they be alienated from the Life of GOD, will needs grasp at all the Comforts of Devotion, as of Right belong­ing to them; Many I say, being in such circumstances as these, may labour under inward Anxieties, and [Page 693] be infested with doubts and scru­ples. But then their troubles are not the result of that Spiritual De­sertion we have been treating of, but the genuine Consequences of either their mistakes or wickedness. And the best way, I suppose, to re­lieve such will be, according as their different Cases shall require, either to correct their notions of Religion, or to give them Just Thoughts of GOD, and of his Gracious and Fatherly Designs on Mankind, or to direct them to the True and Undeceiving Measures of Sincerity. Or lastly, to convince them that the Comforts of Devoti­on are not imparted to such as are Strangers to Self-denyal and Purity. Whereas, when Sincere and good Souls are found in a state of desola­tion, the Course that ought to be taken with them, is, To recom­mend to them, that they humbly and unrepiningly submitt to his Con­duct, [Page 694] whom they own to be Infi­nitly Wise and Good, that they be content to be disposed of as their Heavenly Father pleases; Knowing that all his Paths arePsal. 25.10. Mercy and Truth unto such as keep his Covenant. That they be more desirous to become agreeable to him, than to receive Comforts and Sweetnesses from him, and willing­ly Suffer being deprived of the one, when it can tend to advance them in the other, and that they possess their Souls in Patience, and wait with­out wearying, till he shall restore his Joyes unto them, never prescribing to him, but absolutely leaving the time and manner and measure to be determined by his Infinite Wis­dom.

Upon the whole we see, that our LORD hath all his Life long travelled in the Paths of Tribulati­ons and Sufferings, both Outward and Inward, and that to be con­formed to him herein, is what all [Page 695] his Followers ought to resolve on; For even hereunto were ye called, saith St. Peter, 1 Pet. 2.21. writing to the Christians of his time; He means that by their complying with the Invitations of the Gospel, and be­coming the Disciples of the Holy JESUS, they were initiated unto his Cross, and so, had put themselves under most sacred and indispensable Obligations to Suffer. And the Reason is, because, as he adds, Christ also hath suffered for us, leav­ing us an Example, that we should follow his Steps. The Sufferings of our Redeemer are not meerly Themes for Meditation, but Paterns for I­mitation, rhey are not only Merito­rious, but Exemplary also; They were not intended to discharge us from, but inviolably to engage us to suffering with him and for his Sake. The Judicious Improvement which a Reverend AuthorGreat Exam­plar P. 412. makes of Si­mon the Cyrenean's being compelled [Page 694] [...] [Page 695] [...] [Page 696] to carry his Cross, will come in ve­ry seasonably here. ‘So the Holy JESUS, saith he, was pleased, to take Man into his Aid, not on­ly to represent his own need, and dolorousness of his Passion, but to consign the duty unto Man that we must enter into a fellow­ship of CHRIST's Sufferings, taking up the Cross of Martyr­dom, when GOD requires us, enduring Affronts, being patient under Afflictions, Loving them that hate us, and being Bene­factors to our Enemies, abstain­ing from sensual and intemperat delights; Forbidding to our selves Lawful Festivities, and Recreations of our weariness, when we have an end of the Spi­rit to serve upon the ruine of the Body's Strength, mortifying our Desires, breaking our own Will, not seeking our selves, being en­tirely resigned to GOD. These [Page 697] are the Cross and the Naills, and the Spear and the Whip, and all the Instruments of a Christian's Passion.’

It is indeed very strange, that they who pretend to be the Follow­ers of JESUS, should be so little sensible, how indispensibly neces­sary it is, in order to verifie that Character, to partake in his Suffer­ings.

We see that our LORD in his Suffering for us, intended to give us an Example, and to oblige us to trace his Footsteps, why then are we so shy of travelling with him in these Blessed Wayes which he hath consecrated for us! Why do we de­cline to transcribe the Copy that he hath left us! Doth not our carriage therein tacitely reflect on the Wis­dom and Goodness of it? Certain­ly, as a devout Soul expresses itTheol. de la Croix P. 78. if a Patriarch or Prophet, if a Saint or an Angel had, out of Love to us, [Page 698] left us such an Example, it were unreasonable to despise and slight it; But now that the infinit Wisdom of GOD hath vouchsaf'd to become in­carnat, and appear among us in the dress of our mortality, that he, who was the infallible Truth, who neither can deceive, nor be deceived, hath himself come to be our Pattern, how much more ought we not to neglect it, but endeavour with all the care that is possible for us to conform to it exactly and in every Instance. His having gone before us in the Paths of Sufferings and Tribulations, is enough to recom­mend them to us, and we may be confident, that as long as we fol­low his Steps, we shall neither lose our way, nor miss of that happie Place whither we are travelling. Certainly he knew the surest and the safest way to Bliss and Glory, and since he chose the Way of the Cross and Sufferings, we need not [Page 699] doubt but it is the high Way, nor fear to accompany him in it. But alas this way appears to us under a very frightful aspect, it looks as it were all beset with thorns: How loath are we to enter upon it! And if we make but a few paces in it, how soon do we wearie of it, and turn again into the Paths of Ease and Pleasure.

If no more were required of us with regard to the Sufferings of our Redeemer, but only to Meditat on them in our thoughts, as the great Instances of his Love, and the price of our Redemption, or to Believe that he hath done and suffered all for us, and to perswade our selves, that upon this Belief we are assured­ly entituled to, and become imme­diatly capable of, that Pardon, Grace, and Glory, which he hath purchased; This we might be ea­sily induced to comply with. But when we are m [...]eover told, that [Page 700] in order to communicat in the good Things he hath merited for us by his Sufferings, we must partake with him in them, drink of his Cup, and take up the Cross and patiently un­dergo Tribulations and uneasinesses; This is it at which we shrink, this is what our old man would fain shift and evade. The Patterns as well as the Precepts that oblige to Self-denyal and Suffering, are very unacceptable to the flesh; For it loves smooth and easie Schemes of Religion, such as will allow it to sa­tisfie its Appetites, and yet flatter it with Hopes of Heaven; It grasps very greedily at all the Delights and Advantages of Piety, but cauti­ously declines what seems trouble­some and uneasie to it. It would gladly partake of its Promises, but is Regardless of its Precepts; It would be Crown'd though it do not Combat and Arrive at Eternal Life, without Travellin [...] in the Narrow [Page 701] Way that leads to it. And hence it endeavours to mould the Gospel, so as it may sute its corrupt gust and relish, and it skulks and shel­ters it self under the Wings even of these Sufferings that were intended to extirpat and destroy it. It would have a Gospel that would spare its lusts, promises not suspended on conditions, and a Saviour that would suffer only to Propitiat but not to Examplifie. And here we may Disco­ver the rise and source of these false and imposturous accounts that are given of our Holy Religion, where­by its Designs have been evacuated: Certainly they are our Flesh and Blood, our corrupt nature and self-love that have subverted the Gospel, represented the Precepts of it as im­possible to be obeyed, or commented them away by subtilities and dis­tinctions, into a complyance with our lusts and carnal interests, and turned the Sufferings of our Re­deemer [Page 702] into sanctuaries and apolo­gies for the wickedness and sins of Men, reckoning that they were in­tended to discharge us from Suffer­ing, and not to engage us in it, to merit Pardon of the guilt of sin, not to purify from the filth of it by the way of Self-denyal, and Bearing the Cross.

But we must not listen to these deceitful and flesh-pleasing suggesti­ons, we are carefully to resist them, and conclude them to be, as indeed they are, the whispers of the Old Serpent. Certainly the Holy Scrip­tures determine otherwayes of the Matter; There we are frequently assured, that in order to communi­cat in the good Things our Redeem­er hath purchased for us, we must communicat with him in his Suffer­ings. We are Heirs of GOD, saith St Paul Rom. 2.17. and joynt Heirs with Christ if so we suffer with him, that we may be Glorified together; And else where [Page 703] the same Apostle layes it down as one of the Faithful Sayings, 2 Tim. 2.12. or great Aphorisms of the Gospel, If we Suffer with him we shall also Reign with him. And to the same purpose, St Peter 1 Pet: 4.12.13. when comforting the Christians to whom he wrote con­cerning the Fiery Tryal that was to befal them, by which is meant a state of sharp and terrible afflictions, wherein, as in a furnace, they were to be tryed and purifyed, he exhorts them to Rejoyce, in as much as by their undergoing, and patiently and meekly bearing these Distresses for the Love of, and in Conformity to their Saviour, they became Partak­ers of his Sufferings; And that conse­quently, When his Glory shall be re­vealed, they should be glad also with exceeding Joy. This is like­wise the import of that other Passage which we have in the beginning of this same Chapter, For as much then as CHRIST hath suffered for us in [Page 704] the Flesh, arm your self likewise with the same mind; That is, Let such as become the Disciples of the Suf­fering JESUS, resolve on it as their indispensable Duty, to imitat and conform to him in Suffering. They must joyfully welcom, and drink with courage the several Potions of the Cup of his Passion, that shall be dispensed unto them, or o­therwise quite their pretences of be­ing his Members, and their hopes of being admitted into the Partici­pation of his Glory; For since our Redeemer himselfLuke. 24.26. Behoved first to suffer, and then to enter into his Glory. Were it not unreasonable that his Followers should expect to arrive at Heaven and Eternal Life by any other way! Since heHeb. 2.10. learned O­bedience and was madeHeb. 5.8. Persect by Sufferings, doth not this plain­ly intimat, that we in Conformity to him, must become Disciples in the School of the Cross, and learn [Page 705] there the Divine Lessons of Patience and Self-denyal, Contempt of the World, and Resignation to the Willl of GOD, and continue in it, under the Conduct and Influences of our Crucified LORD and Master, until we have grown Eph. 4.5. up into his Like­ness in all Things, and attained to that Persection and Purity, by which we shall be qualified and pre­pared for sharing in his Crown and Kingdom.

From these and a great many more passages of Holy Scripture, that might be adduced, it sufficient­ly appears, that our Redeemer in suffering intended to give a Pattern, which it is inviolably the Duty of all his Followers to Conform into.

And accordingly, we find that his first Votaries, were very con­spicuous Images of him in this re­guard. How deeply, and yet how cheerfully did they drink in the Cup of his Sufferings! Even unto this pre­sent [Page 706] hour, saith St. Paul 1 Cor. 3.11.12.13. we both hunger and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling place. And labour working with our own hands. Being reviled, we Bless. Being persecuted, we suffer it. Being defamed, we entreat. We are made as the filth of the World, and are the off-scouring of all things unto this Day. They looked on a State of Sufferings as the Livery of their Redeemer, and therefore they joy­fully wore it. I bear in my Body, Gal. 6.17. saith the great Apostle, the Marks of the LORD JESUS. He means, these persecutions and other afflicti­ons, these injurious and disgraceful treatments, which Love to his Sa­viour, and eager Desires of being Conformed unto him, obliged him to undergo, and which, though the World considered as notes of misery and reproach, yet he regarded as Characters of Honour, as the Way to Bliss, and the Badges of the [Page 707] Followers of the Lamb. And hence it is,Gal. 6.14. That he would not Glory in a­ny thing save in the Crose of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that the other A­postlesActs 5.41. Rejoyced that they were counted worthie to suffer shame for his Name. Now, as St. Macarius the Aegyptian Hermit hath it,Homil 12. Since GOD himself, while he tabernacled in Mortal Flesh on Earth, travelled in this way, it is certainly thy duty to i­mitat him; And since the Prophets and Apostles likewise took the same rode, we are doubtless obliged if we would be built on the Foundation of the LORD and the Apostles, to become Followers of them; For the Apostle by the Spirit sayes, 1 Cor. 4.1. Be ye followers of me, even as I am of Christ. But if thou lovest the praises of Men, and would have Respect and Deferen­ces payed thee, if thou seekest Ease and Softness, and a Life of Pleasures, then know that thou art out of the Right Way. For it is necessary that thou be [Page 708] crucified with thy crucified Redeemer, and suffer with him who suffered for thee, in order to be Glorified with him. It being very just that the Bride should partake of the Calamities of the Bride­grome, and so become a Fellow-sharer and Joynt-Heir with CHRIST, for it is not granted to any person to enter into the City of the Saints, and to rest and reign there with the King of Glo­rie for ever without Sufferings, and without having passed through the rough and narrow way.

But alas! These seem to us very hard sayings, and are such as we do not willingly entertain. We would have a Gospel that consisted only of Promises and Indulgences, that would make us Holy without needing to be Moral, and charm us into Heaven without puting us to any trouble. But a Gospel that lays Restraints upon our appetites, and obliges us to cross our own wills, and to crucify our old man by [Page 709] Penitence and patient Sufferings, hath, we think, too much of a le­gal strain in it.

We are very willing that the Merits of our Redeemer should be our's, but as to Suffering, we leave that entirely to Himself. Jesus, as the Devout A Kempis piously re­marks, ‘hath now a days many Lovers of his Kingdom and Glory, but few that will be the Friends of his Cross. He hath many who desire his Consolations, but few that will share with him in his Troubles. He finds many Com­panions of his Table, but few of his Abstinence and Fasting. All will Rejoyce with him, but few will Suffer with him, and for him. Many will accompany him to the breaking of Bread, but when it comes to drinking of the Cup of his Passion, he hath then but a few Attendants. Many will reverence his Miracles, but few [Page 710] will so follow him in the Ignomi­nie of his Cross.’

But why hath the Divine Wis­dom fixed on the Way of Sufferings, as the Way to Eternal Life? Why should the Way to the Regions of Bliss and Glory be so difficult! Why was not a smooth and easie way pitched on? A way strawed all a­longs with Roses, entirely exempt from inconveniences, and that would not in the least incommod the Travellers? A way that would charm and invite all that heard of it to croud into it? Why should it now be a settled and irrevocable Stature, That we must Acts 14.22. through much tribulation enter into the Kingdom of GOD? The Reason of this to be sure, is not that the Blessed GOD hath any pleasure in the Sufferings of his Children and Servants, For Lam. 3.33. he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the Children of Men. Neither must we imagine that it is an arbitrary [Page 711] Imposition, the appointment of one that wills because he wills, without regard to the Measures of Wisdom, Goodness, and Equity. The Will of GOD is ever in Conjunction with his other Perfections; And there­fore all the Ways of the LORD are Right, as aHosea 14.9. Prophet hath it, and though sometimes the Reasons of his Procedures and Injunctions are not obvious to our shallow minds, yet did he vouchsafe to acquaint us with them, he might appeal to our Consciences concerning the Wisdom and Justice and Goodness of them. Thus, when to satisfie the injurious murmurings of the Is­raelits, he condescends, as he very often did, to account for his Ways,Ezek. 18.25.33.20. leaves it to their Ingenuity, if they had yet any remainders of it, to de­termine in the Case. O house of Israel, are not my Wayes equal. And indeed though he should give us on­ly but the simple and naked Decla­rations [Page 712] of his Will and our Duty, without discovering unto us the Reasons of them, yet we are oblig­ed to pay that Deference and Vene­ration to his Divine Perfections, as to trust our selves to his Conduct implicitly, resolving that it is infi­nitly better for us to be under the Direction of his Holy, and Wise, and Good Will, than to be influen­ced by the counsels of our own will, which is blind. and corrupt, and byassed by a great many lusts, pas­sions, and prejudices. But in effect, all the difficulties that we meet with in the way to Heaven, are en­tirely owing to our apostacie and de­fection from GOD, and to these perverse dispositions and habits. which our natures have contracted. GOD made not the way to Bliss Narrow and Uneasie, but that it is so now, is visibly the consequence of our degeneracie; For certainly all the difficulty that we find in our re­turn [Page 713] to Paradice, consists in running counter to our depraved inclinati­ons, in crossing our wills, and mor­tifying our lusts, and subduing our passions, in breaking off all corre­spondence with our ghostly ene­mies, the World, Devil, and Flesh, and generously resisting their impor­tunities and temptations. And in one word, since our Souls are in a sickly and languishing condition, in quietly submitting to the Methods of their Cure and Recovery, though the Applications should be uneasie, and the Potions bitter. Now it is very plain, that the Reason in ge­neral why Injunctions of this sort are given us, is because our natures are lapsed, our inclinations become vitious, and all our faculties diseas­ed and out of order. For had we continued in the State of Innocence and Purity, nothing of all this had been exacted off us. And therefore, if in the performance of these dutys, [Page 714] which our lapsed state hath now rendred necessary and indispensable, we meet with difficulties, we must not complain of GOD, who graciously prescribes to us the Methods of our Cure, and acquaints us with the Way to Happiness, but blame our own folly which hath involved us in such deplorable circumstances, as put us under a necessity of partak­ing and suffering some Severities, in order to recover our Health and Happiness. If one should by his wil­full intemperance and excess spoil his Health, and contract a great many sad and fatal maladies and distempers, and such as could not be cured without using some search­ing Medicines, or making uneasie and painful Applications, it were very unreasonable to murmure a­gainst the Physician, because he suites his Medicines to the nature and circumstances of the Malady. The Patient ought rather to fall [Page 715] foul on his own extravagancies which have involved him in distem­pers that cannot be cured at an easie rate. To be sure, in this case Cha­rity and Prudence of the Physician deserve to be gratefully acknow­ledged, and his Methods of Curing patiently submitted to, and the ra­ther, if he so orders it, That by ministring some excellent Cordials, the Patient shall be enabled to go through with his Course of Physick and the smart and anguish which the Potions or Applications may cause so mitigated by Linitives that they shall be very tollerable as well as beneficial; This is the very case with lapsed Mankind, we have by our wilful Apostacie plung'd our selves into woeful circumstances, and a great many lamentable diseases have seized on us, and it is not pos­sible that our darknesses can be dis­cussed, our impurities cleansed, our vitious habits rooted out, our flesh [Page 716] and its lusts crucified, and our dis­located Faculties set right again, without our being sensibly afflicted, and enduring pain and trouble. For the Blessed GOD treats us as free Creatures, and as it was by our own wills that we turned away from GOD, became corrupt and impure, and run our selves into sick­nesses and distempers, into ruine and perdition, so it is by these same Wills prevented, excited, and asist­ed by Divine Grace. That we must return into the Right Way, em­brace the Methods of our own, and the Means of our Purification, and patiently suffer all the anguish and uneasiness that our fallen and depra­ved state obliges us indispensably to undergo, in our return to a Glo­rious Immortality, and withal grate­fully adore and acknowledge the Wisdom and Charity of our graci­ous Physician, who hath so excel­lently adopted his Remedies to our [Page 717] maladies. And though softer and more easie Methods would be more agreeable to our Flesh, and Blood, yet, to be sure, they would not be so beneficial to our Souls, nor so certainly issue in our Happiness and Salvation; For if our distempers and impurities were so removed or rather charmed away, as that we should feel nothing that were incon­venient and afflicting: This would tempt, or even unite us to run into our former ruinous and destructive courses, whereby we should be plunged of new into a state of mi­series, diseases and defilements. But when, on the other hand, our dis­tempers are cured, and our filthi­nesses done away by Methods which make us feel some smart and an­guish, we become more cautious and watchful, and less apt to turn again to folly. And moreover, as by recovering our Health and Purity in a way of Suffering, a greater [Page 718] sense of our distempers and defile­ments is begot in us, we see more throughly into our miseries and wretchfulness, are more solidly con­vinced of the necessity of Cure and Cleansing, and of our own utter in­ability to effectuat either, so conse­quently we thereby become more humble, more sensible of our un­worthiness, more diffident of our own strength, more dependent on Divine Grace, more fervent in our Prayers, and more grateful to the Author of our Deliverance, where­as the softer methods of redressing our disorders, which our corrupt natures are so fond of, are destitute of all these advantages. But after all, there is no just Ground, why the Way of Suffering should be counted so very harsh and uneasie. For since now this way is recommend­ed, and even made lovely to us by the Example of our Blessed Saviour, since it is sweetened by Divine Con­solations, [Page 719] as the Sufferings of Christ, saith St. Paul, 2 Cor. 1.5. abound in us, so our consolation aboundeth by Christ. Since all the troubles and difficulties that are rencountered in this way, are rendered easie and very tollerable, by the mighty Supports that are afforded such as travel in it; For, as St. Peter 1 Pet 4.14. assures us, the Spirit of GOD and of Glory, the King's Ma­nuscript adds, and of Power rests upon them. The same holy Spirit, which inspired the Humanity of JESUS CHRIST is communicated to them, and by his Divine Vertue they are made strong in the LORD, and en­abled to endure the Cross, and not to faint in the day of adversity. Since moreover this Way is, by the Bles­sing and Grace of JESUS CHRIST. Medicinal and Instructive, since it re­fines and purifies, since it issues in the death of the old man, and in the reviving of the Soul into New and Heavenly Life, since it leads to Glo­ry, [Page 720] and safely lands in it. And since, in fine, all the Saints have walked in it, and have unanimously from their own Experience given their Suffrages to that of the Psal­mist, It is good Psal. 119. for me that I have been afflicted, Why should we any more complain of the roughness and uneasiness of it, but rather conclude it to be, as indeed it is, A Way of Pleasantness, and a Path of Peace. But to proceed,

4. Another Particular Exampli­fied to us in the Life of our Re­deemer, is a state of conflicts and wrest­lings, when the Holy JESUS out of his great and surprizing Love to Mankind, assumed the Human Na­ture in a State of Mortality, he did by so doing put himself in a Condi­tion wherein he might be attacqued by the enemies of Man's Salvation, and wherein also he was obliged to make opposition to them. His very appearing on the Stage of this cor­rupt [Page 721] and disordered World, in the likeness of sinful flesh, was his enter­ing on the field of Battle, where he must needs expect to be assaulted, and resolve to resist. The state of Mortality, is now a State of Tryal, and consequently a state of mani­fold temptations, and therefore it must be a State of Resistance and Conflict unto all who intend to con­quer, in order to be crown'd with Life and Immortality. Our ever Blessed Redeemer put himself in this State, took on him our dress and garb, was made like unto his Bre­theren in all things, assumed their infirmities, and was exposed to their temptations; He put himself, I say, in this state, but animated and se­conded with a Divine Force and Power, that he might take occasion, to our view and in our very presence. to combat and wrestle against the enemies of our Souls, and by so doing, defeat and rout them entire­ly [Page 722] and Gloriously Triumph over them in his own Person, and all this he must needs do, that he might shame our cowardice and faint-heart­edness, that he might engage us to break off all confederacies with our Spiritual enemies, and encourage us to proclaime warr against them in his own Name and Strength, that he might teach us the true Methods of Combating and Resistance, and how to manage our Spiritual Wea­pons sufficiently: And in fine, that he might give us full Assurances of a certain Victorie, and of the Glo­ries that are consequential to it, if we do as he did, and desire and de­pend on his Almighty Grace, which our fervent Prayers and tears will be sure to obtain. And according­ly, as soon as this Mighty Cham­pion, this Prince of Hero's, appear­ed in the Field, the powers of dark­ness mustered all their forces, made ready their engines, and set [Page 723] upon him with all the Methods of attacque that were in their power, they endeavoured sometimes by Force and Violence, sometimes by Cunning and Stratagem to give him the soil, and seduce him, they watched to lay hold on the most opportune Junctures to gain ground on him. But he knowing that this was theLuk. 22.28. time of his temp­tations, kept a strict Guard, disco­vered his Enemies in their very first approaches, and generously oppos­ed them, he rejected all their pro­posals, and never in the least com­plyed with any of their motions, and by continueing so to do, he not only put them to the flight, but at last obtained a compleat Victory over them.

Thô our Redeemer's assuming the Human Nature in a state of Mortality and Temptations, be suf­ficient to assure us that his Life was a continual warf [...]re; Yet, f [...]r our [Page 722] [...] [Page 723] [...] [Page 714] Instruction and Encouragement. there are several Battles which he fought against the adversaries of our Souls, particularly recorded in Ho­ly Scripture. Thus, the Evange­lists tells us, that by Impulse, or In­citation of the Holy Spirit, our LORD was led into the Wilderness, there to grapple with the great and capital enemy of our Souls, and both St. Mark Mark 1.13. Luke 4.2. and St. Luke expres­ly informs us, that the Combat continued for a considerable space. fourty dayes, say they, was he tempt­ed of the devil; What the temptati­ons were with which he was assault­ed all this time, are not condescen­ded on; We have only an account of the conflict which happened af­ter the fourtie dayes were ended, and when our Lord began again to feel the necessities of Nature for then the Devil thinking that he had espi­ed a juncture, wherein he might attach him with greater probabili­ties [Page 725] of success, laid hold on it, and made assaults with all the art and cunning that were possible for him. But the Holy JESUS being armed by Fasting and Prayer, and second­ed withLuke 4.1. a fulness of the Holy Spirit, stood invincible as a Rock and kept his Ground, rejected with Holy In­dignation all the proposals of the e­nemie, discovered and confuted all his specious pretences, and put him to a shameful flight, so that he de­parted from him; however his depar­ture was but for Luke 4.13. a season; For often afterwards he renewed his attempts, and in another manner, for what he could not effectuat by fraud and flatterie, he expected to accomplish by violence and force, which was more especially discernable towards the close of our Redeemer's Life on Earth; For, then the powers Luke 22.53. of dark­ness were let loose upon him, who partly by themselves immediatly, and partly by animating the wicked [Page 726] instruments on which they had in­fluences, appeared against him in methods of spite and crueltie, of out-rage and persecution. Never­theless, he in the midst of these fierce and bloody attaches, conti­nued firm and immoveable, and kept his Innocencie by patient Suf­fering. became a Conqueror. He Col. 2.15. spoiled Principalities and Powers, and triumphed over them, even in un­dergoing that ignominious Death, by which they intended to have procured his utter ruine, whence we are taught, that when the adver­saries of our Souls make use of force and violence to draw us into sin, the best way both to secure our In­nocence, and to gain the Victory, is by the Exercise of Meekness, Pa­tience, and Long-suffering, and the other Graces that are a kin to these, for our LORD, we see, when he was out-raged, persecuted, and spitefully treated, did not oppose [Page 727] force to force, or persecutions to persecutions. No, but to spite and malice he opposed Meekness and Charity, to reproachful words, Si­lence, and to cruel usages, a Reso­lute Patience. These certainly are the Christian Methods of Oppositi­on in this Case.

But then moreover, the World, the other adversary of Man's Salva­tion, and the great bait which the Devil makes use of to inveigle un­wary Souls, and betray them into sin; This World, I say, did make attempt upon, and was Combated and Conquered by our Blessed Re­deemer. This is intimated to us in these words of his to theJoh. 16.33. Disciples, Be of good chear, for I have overcome the World. Which passage plainly implys, that he considered the World as an enemy, that as such it did attach him, that he resisted it, and by so doing overcame it, for Overcoming on the one hand supposes [Page 728] an assaulting adversary, as on the other it doth one that resist and con­quers. Now, the World sometimes accoasted him with its smiles and flatteries, dressed up it self in its most aluring circumstances, display­ed before him all its pomp and Glo­ries, its Riches and Honours, its Ease and Pleasures, its Favour and Friendship, its Praises and Applause, recommended to him its Wisdom and Maxims and Customs, as very excellent and profitable. But he made no account of all these things, and would never be proselitted to become its Votorie by the most winning Addresses that it could make. And the method he took to baffle its impotrunities and to con­quer it. was by a Generous Contempt of all that was taking and delight­ful in it, and by puting a Value u­pon, and even embracing the very contrary Circumstances. He trampl­ed on all its Glories, and slighted [Page 729] its Magnificent Offers. He prefer­red Povertie to its Riches, Disgrace to its Honours, Pains and Sufferings to its Ease and Pleasures, Desolati­ons to its Comforts. Destitution to its Friendship, and Disrespect to its Praises. Folly to its Wisdom, and walked by Measures which contra­dicted its Maxims, and shamed and opposed its Customs. But then, when it could not prevail upon him by the Methods of Allurement and Smile, it assaulted him with its frowns, with what was frightful and dismaying to fraile Humanity, it load­ed him with reproach and calum­nie, set him up as the Object of its contempt and derision, as the Butt of its malice, and as a Theater whereon to act its Tragical Scenes. But the World's frowns prov'd as unsuccessful as its flatteries; No­thing could oblige the Holy JESUS to enter into a Truce with it. He came of purpose to Conquer it, and [Page 730] would not quit the field until he had obtained a perfect Victorie. And the way by which he chose to combat its inhumanities, was by en­during the Cross, and despising the shame. He received all the attacques of its malice, with undaunted Cou­rage, bore them with incomparable Patience, and by meekly undergo­ing all instances of its fierceness and crueltie, he did defeat and frustrat its attempts, and gloriously triumph­ed over it.

The Flesh, in fine, with its ap­petites, passions and inclinations, is an other enemie to our Happiness, and the most formidable and dan­gerous, because near us, and in our very bosomes, and because by means of it our other enemies have access to us, and gain ground on us, and seduce us from our Duty and Alledgiance to our great Soveraign. This adversary also our Redeemer combated and overcame. But that [Page 731] we may comprehend this aright, let us consider that the Son of God out of his surpassing and ineffable Love to the Children of Men, would needs feel their miseries, and know their temptation, and that not only that from his own Experience of what it is to be tempted, what violence one suffers in being attac­qued, and in resisting, what aversion the Flesh hath to what is uneasie, how weak it is, and what force is necessary to make effectual and suc­cessful Oppositions, he might have compassion on their infirmities, and minister proportionable Aids, but also that he might teach us by his own Example how we should treat our flesh and blood, and what Me­thods we must take to subdue and conquer its inclinations and appe­tites, and that he might encourage us to enter the Lists with it in full hopes of obtaining by his Grace a certain Victory. And for this end, [Page 732] it pleased him to assume the Hu­man Nature in a state of Mortality, charged with Infirmities and Weak­nesses, exposed to Temptations, and having Passions and Inclinations like ours.

And this the Holy Scriptures do very Copiously attest, telling us John 1.14. That the word was made Flesh, and dwelt among us. That He was Phillip: 7.2. made in the likeness of Men, and was found in fashion as a Man. That Rom. 8. He appeared in the likeness of sinful Flesh. That Heb: 2.14. ver: 17. for as much as the Children are partakers of Flesh and Blood, he also took part of the same, And that He was in all things made like unto his Brethren, and, as the Consequence of this, we are assured, ThatHeb: 4.15. He was in all Points tempted * Like as we are. O! who can measure the Dimensions of that vast and surprizing Love, that made the Son of GOD sink [Page 733] Himself so low for our Sakes, that oblidged him not only to descend into this lower World. but also to lodge in mortal Flesh and Blood, and to become like one of us! to be sure it was then that His Visage Isai: 52 14 Was marred more then any Man. and his form more than the Sons of Men, When he that was in the form of GOD, took on Him the form of a Servant, and the Brightness of the Divine Glory, was clouded un­der the vail of mortal Humani­ty, when He that was the perfect­ly innocent one, took on Him the guise of a sinner. And the Almigh­ty appeared in the likeness of Frail Man. O who can think on these Transcendant instances of Charity, without Transport and astonish­ment! Now the Holy JESUS by assumeing the Humane Nature, charged with the Consequences of Sin, that is, in a state of infirmity Temptations and Mortality put [Page 734] himself under an Obligation to con­flict with, and resist its importunities and tendencies to seduce and tempt and this he did with a neverfailing constancie, and an uninterrupted Success all his Life-long, and the weapons which he imployed in the Combat, and by which through the mighty assistance of that Divine Spirit, that animated His Sacred Humanity, he got the victory, and which his Example hath Consecrat­ed for the use of his followers, were Prayer, Abstinence, and a continual Self-denyal; ForHeb: 5.7. in the days of his Flesh, he offered up Prayers and Supplications with strong Crying and Tears, unto Him that was able to save him from Death. He fasted often, and always kept within the bounds of a strict necessity as to eating and drinking. HeRomnns, 15 1. Pleaseth not Him­self, sought not his ease, but choos­ed rather to toil and Labour, watch­ed whole Nights, denyed his own [Page 735] will, Not my will, but thine be done, was the distinct and Articulat Lan­guage of his Life, from his Cradle to his Grave, of this we have a very Eminent and Remarkable instance in that bloody Agonie of his in the Garden, a little before his Passion;Great, Exem Page, 150. as a reverend Author represents it, ‘Knowing that this Cup was the great end of his com­ing into the World, he laid aside all his own interests, and divested himself of the affections of the Flesh and Blood, Willing his Fa­thers will; And because his Father commanded, He, in Defiance of Sense and Passion, was desireous to suffer our Pains. But as when two Seas meet the Billows contest in ungentle embraces, and make violent noises, till, having wear­ied themselves into smaller waves and disunited drops, they run quietly into one Stream, so did the Spirit and Nature of JESUS, as­sault [Page 736] each other with disagreeing interests and distinguishing dispu­tations, till the earnestness of the contention was diminished by the Demonstration of the Spirit, and the prevailings of Grace, which the sooner got the victorie, because they were not to contest with an Unsanctified, or Rebellious Na­ture.’ Thus our blessed Redeem­er Combated the inclinations of that Nature which he had assumed in a state of i [...]firmities and tempta­tions, and keept his Flesh and Blood in such absolut and perpetual Sub­jection to the Spirit, that there ne­ver appeared any Criminal Exces­ses in his Passions, nor irregularities in his inclinations but continued ever to be holy and Harmless, and was even when clothed in mortal flesh, the pure and immaculat Lamb of God, Who 1. Peter 2.22. did no sin, nei­ther was guile found in his mouth.

Behold now theHeb: 2.10. Captain of [Page 737] our Salvation! See how he hath Combated and defeate all our Ene­mies! Oh! Shall we content our selves to be Spectators only of his courage and conflicts, and not imitators also! Dare we own our selves to be his Followers, and yet not accompanie him into the Field of Battel. Can we justly hope to reap the Fruits, and partake in the Merits of his conflicts and victorie, without imitating them! or obtain the Crown without a Combat! No to be sure, hear how himselfRev. 3.21. de­termines the Case. To him that over­cometh will I grant to sit down with me in my Throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his Throne. See here the Pattern both of our Duty and our Reward, and how the former is the only and assured way to the latter. Christ o­vercoming is the Pattern of our Duty, and Christ sitting on the Throne, the Pattern of our Reward: We must [Page 738] therefore first be conformed to him in Overcoming, before we can be conformed to him in being advanced to the Throne; For it is a fixed and unalterable Decree, that none shall be concerned without being Victorious, and no Victorie can be obtained without Combating; Conquerours then we must be, if we would be Crowned, and that we may Con­quer we must Wrestle & Strive. And to engage and encourage us to do this, our Adorable Redeemer did vouchsafe to become a Mortal Man like one of the Sons of fallen Adam, and so put himself in a Condition of being attacqued by our enemies, and accordingly came into the Field of Battle, sustained their assaults, and gave them the rout, and by his so doing, he hath informed us whom we are to look on as our enemies, that we might never afterwards mistake them for our Friends; He hath acquainted us with the [Page 739] Weapons of our Warefare, and taught the Methods of managing them successfully; He hath let us see what mighty Forces and Assist­ances will be afforded us in com­bating, and not only convinced us of the Possibility, but also given certain assurances of a Victory, if we continue under his Conduct, and imitat the Pattern he hath set be­fore us.

And what should now hinder us from engaging immediatly in this Warefare? Why should we linger any longer? Are not all just grounds of fears and discouragement taken out of the way? Do not we know our enemies? And why should we any more live in friendship with them, but rather break off from them, and generously resist and oppose them? Are we not furnished with store of excellent Weapons? What should make us delay to im­ploy them? Have we not Assuran­ces [Page 740] of powerful Aids? Where then is the pretence of weakness? Our LORD will not send us a Warefar­ing on our own Expences and in our own Strength; His Almighty Spi­rit and Grace will accompanie us to the Field, and assist and direct us in the Conflict, will inspire us with Force and courage, and make our Combatings both easie and success­ful. His holy Angels will be our Attendants and our Guardians,Psal: 3 [...].7. and will joyn Issue with us, as soon as we heartily begin to break off all Confederacies with our Enemies, and list our selves under his Banners, so that more and more mighty are they that be with us, than they that be a­gainst us, greater is he that is in us, than he that is in the World; And therefore we may be certainly con­fident of the Victorie, if we do not shamefully fall away to the Enemie again, and thereby forefeit all our [Page 741] Advantages, and return to the state of servitude and bondage.

But moreover is it not by Con­flicts and Wrestling that we must enter upon the State of Triumph and Glory? Is it not thus that the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and that the Violent take it by force? Must we not striveLuke 13.24. to enter in at the strait Gate that leads unto Life? Was not our LORD himself, after that he once appeared in Mortal Flesh, and entered on the state of Temptations, obliged first to fight and conquer, in order to repossess his Throne; And can any of his Followers pretend Exemption from such an Obligation? Was his Ex­ample in this to be looked on only, and not to be imitated? Or hath he in conflicting with our Adversa­ries so defeated them, as that we have no more matter or occasion of resistance or opposition? No such thing, for as long as we continue [Page 742] in this World, we are in the Field of Battle, and our enemies are round about us, yea even within us, and will not fail to attach us on all hands, and therefore we are still o­bliged to make opposition to them, unless we resolve tamely to be their slaves, and thereby inherit eternal miseries, which is the fatal up-shot of this wretched servitude. Our Redeemer indeed hath so routed the adversaries of our Souls, as that all who heartily become his Disciples, resign themselves to his Conduct, depend upon his Power, follow his Example, and persevere in a Faith­ful Adherance to him, shall through his Grace infalliblyRom: 8.37. become more than Conquerors. But then still it is the Character of a true Follower of JESUS to be a Combatant. Our LORD by his Conflicts hath not discharged us from this Spiritual Warefare, but more peremptorily engaged us in it, having afforded [Page 743] us greater Advantages for manag­ing it happily, than the World had formerly. And hence it is, that we are so often enjoyned, So 1 Cor: 9 24. to run as that we may obtain, to endure 2 Tim. 2.3. hardship as good Souldiers of Christ, to fight 1 Tim: 6.12 the good fight of Faith, to resist the Devil, Jam: 4 7. to mortifie Rom: 8.13. the deeds of the Body, and not to love nor 1 Joh: 2 15. James 4.4. have friendship with the World. All which Exhortations do necessar­ly import an Obligation to Strug­ling and Conflict, and plainly sup­pose enemies and a State of Ware­fare. So that whosoever doth not profess, in this state of Tryal and Temptations, to be a Souldier and Combatant, and carries not as such in a Resolute, Vigorous, and per­severing Opposition to the World, Devil, and Flesh, forefeits both his pretences to be a Follower of Jesus, and his Hopes of the Glorious Re­wards of the other World, which are only promised to such as over­come. [Page 744] Hath not the State of all the Saints in this World, been a State or Strugling and Conflicts? Have they notHeb: 12.4. resisted unto blood, striv­ing against sin? We wrestle not, saith St. Paul, against flesh and blood, but Eph: 6.12. against principalities and powers, a­gainst the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Did they ever pretend to share in the joyful Triumphs of Eternity, on any other terms but these of Wrestling and Conquering after the Example, and through the Grace and Power of Jesus Christ? I have fought 4 Tim 4.7, 8. a good fight—. Hence­forth there is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness; Was the Apostles rtiumphal Song in the view of his approaching Change. One of the great Evidences and Grounds of Hope that he had of partaking in the Glorious Rewards that shall be distributed at the Great Day, was his having combated successfully. [Page 745] With what face then can we pre­tend to expect that we shall be ad­mitted to the Fellowship of the Saints in their Triumphant State, who would not unite with them, nor follow their Example when they were Militant, we who have ever lived in profound peace with the enemies of our Souls, who have been willing slaves to the De­vil, loved the World, and the things that are in the World, and gratified, and made provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof, we who either not at all, or but very faint­ly and interruptedly have made op­position to them, and soon returned again to amity and friendship with them.

There are some, alace too many, who imagine themselves to be migh­ty Combatants, and the great He­ro's of the Militant Church, and ther­fore the noted Candidates for the Crown of Glory, when they con­tend [Page 744] [...] [Page 745] [...] [Page 746] and suffer for the Interests, and Opinions of a Party, and run down and persecute, and even extirpat all that are not of their way as the ene­mies of GOD, and CHRIST, and Religion, when they assert and de­fend certain speculations and practi­ces, which they fancie to be the Cause of GOD, and oppose others as false and erroneous, thô perhaps they may be of greater Truth and Usefulness than their own, when they zealously appear against some innocent customes and ceremonies, whereof their fellow Christians serve themselves, as Instruments of De­votion and Piety. But this sort of conflicts, whereof pride and self-love are too commonly the source, and for which the most part are ma­naged and carried on with injustice and partiality, uncharitableness, and blind zeal, may very well consist with our being at a good Agree­ment, and in peace with the grand [Page 747] adversaries. So that these factions, contests, and duellings about formes, and opinions and parties, and exter­nal circumstances, however Men may design them, the wrestlings of the Church, are but sorty, and even unsolid evidences of our Title to the blessed Rewards of Christian Combatants, as long as we make no vigorous appearances against our lusts and passions, nor attacque our flesh and old man with the In­struments of Self-denyal and Mortifi­cation, as long as we are in friend­ship with the wicked World, and under the slavery and dominion of Satan and sin; For these are they whom our Redeemer hath marked out as our true adversaries, whom he hath engaged us continually to [...]ist, and against whom he hath promised powerfully to assist us and acquainted us with the Weapons and Methods whereby we shall in­fallibly overthrow them. Up then, [Page 748] and let us shake off our sloth and cowardice, let us resolutely turn our faces against these enemies, and never any more enter into truces and friendship with them; let us not dread their power, and cunning, and mul­titude, nor doubt but we shall at last get the upper hand of them; For the Psal. 46.7. LORD of Hosts is with us, the GOD of Jacob is our refuge. But we proceed,

Secondly, To declare how the Holy JESUS is a Pattern to us in his Death, and in what Respects we are to imitat him therein. Our adorable Redeemer, after having undergone with admirable Patience, the direful Pains, Agonies, and De­solations of the Cross, at lastMatth. 26.50. cryed with a loud Voice, and yielded up the Ghost. Now it was that in a special manner, He, through the Eternal Spirit offered Heb. 9.114. up himself unto GOD, and gave the consummating stroke to the Sacrifice. The Death of [Page 749] the Lamb of GOD is a deep Abyss, it is full of Divine and Mysterious Secrets, such as our dark and limit­ed minds cannot penetrat into, nor comprehend; It is only our having some measures of that Ineffable Love, and the Light of that Divine Spirit by which he offered up Himself diffused in our Hearts, that can qualifie us savingly to discover these otherwise inaccessable depths, which I doubt not, make a part of these amazing Objects, which the Angels desire 1 Pe: 1 12. to look unto. I on­ly adventure to touch on these things concerning the Death of our Redeemer, that are plain and ob­vious, or ought to be so unto all who converse with the Sacred Or­acles seriously, and without preju­dices, confining my self to these Particulars only, which the present Design obliges to enquire unto.

We shall then consider the Death of JESUS CHRIST as a Martyr­dom, [Page 750] and as a Sacrifice, and plainly evince that it is our Pattern, and consequently that we are obliged to conform to it, in both these regards. That the Holy Scriptures give us this twofold view of his Death, is evident enough. First, It is a Mar­tyrdom, That is, The Holy JESUS having asserted and proclaim'd him­self to be the Messiah, and publish­ed the Gospel, the glad tydings of. Salvation, to the World, did, by undergoing the bloody and painful Death of the Cross, give a very so­lemn Testimony unto, and eminent­ly confirm the Truth of these Hea­venly Doctrines, which he had been preaching all his Life, it is the part of a True Prophet, not only to endure hardships and persecutions, in behalf of the Doctrines which he delivers in the Name of, and by Au­thority from GOD, but also to lay down his Life for it, when his so doing can serve as a Mean to assure [Page 751] and convince of the truth of it, and recommend it. And if he should de­cline ot shift doing this, when visib­ly called to it, it would beget a just suspsiion in the minds of Men, of the falshood of his doctrine, and make them question these pretences to a Divine Mission. A Seducer will not willingly dy for the con­firmation of that Doctrine which he knows to be false, for it is not the Salvation of Souls that Men of this stamp labour for, but their own gain and advantage. Hence they are calledMatth: 7.15. ravening wolves, which come in sheeps cloathing. And the mark by which our LORD hath taught us to difference between the True Sheepherd and the Hireling, isJohn 10.11.12, 13. that the Good Sheepherd layeth down his Life for the Sheep, but the hireling when he seeth the wolfe coming leaveth the Sheep and fleeth,. The true Lover of Souls left nothing un­done that was necessary for assuring [Page 752] the World of the Truth of these Divine Doctrines which he intend­ed should be the Food and Nourish­ment of his Sheep, for after that he had confirmed and recommended them by Signs and Wonders, by the singular and unexampled Puritie of his Life, and by the excellent and endearing Effects which they had on the Hearts and Lives of these that embraced them, at last he sealed them with his own Blood. This is intimated to us in that good Confession, as St. Paul calls it1 Tim. 6.13. which he witnessed before Pontius Pilate, when he said, for this cause John 18.37. came I unto the world, that I should bear witness unto the Truth. He bore witness to it, not only by declaring and asserting it, but also by laying down his Life for it. And hence in the Apocalipse, Rev. 3.14. He is designed the Faithful and true Witness, the Origi­nal Word which is translated Wit­ness, as a Learned Author re­marks, [Page 753] *, is in this Book,Ham: in loc: and since in the ordinary Use of the Church, set to signifie one, that for the tes­tifying the Truth of GOD, lays down his Life, and therefore the Church Writers which have sorted the Martyrs of the Church, into se­veral Ranks or Forms, and given them distinct Titles accordingly, have reserved unto CHRIST the Title of the great Witness or Martyr.

Now that all his Followers are under inviolable Obligations to con­form to his Death in this regard, needs not be laboriously evinced; It is, I think, the common acknow­ledgement of all. The Words of our Saviour so often repeated and inculcated in the Gospel, put the Matter, beyond doubt. Whosoever Mark 8.35. See also Matth: 39.16.25. Luke 9.24. will save his life shall loss it. But whosoever shal loss his life for my sake, and the Gospels, the same shall save it. This is now one of the great Max­imes of our Holy Religion, and it [Page 754] expresly informs us that it is our in­dispensable Duty to own and con­fess JESUS CHRIST and the Gos­pel, not only to the hazarding, but even the losing of our Lives, and that in so doing, we are assured of that Crown of Life, Rev: 2.10. which is pro­mised to such as continue Faithful unto Death, every drop of our Blood, they are the Words of a Reverend and Devout AuthorChristian Sacri­fice, P. 48., ‘Should be ready to be poured out for that Religion, which Christ hath seal­ed with his own. And indeed, what better Use can we make of our Life, than to give it for Him, from whom we received it, and who gave his Life for us? And how much better is it not to live at all, than to live with the mark and brand of Cowards and Fugitives, from the Prince of Life, and Lord of Glory?’ If after we have pro­fessed to become the Votaries of the Holy Jesus, we save our selves by a [Page 755] base and dasfardly declining to own him and the Christian Doctrine, in the face of dangers and death it self, we lose them for ever, and forefeit our Interest in his Kingdom and and Glory; For, saith he to his Disciples, whosoever Mark. 8.38 will be asham­ed of Me and my Words, in this adul­terous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he cometh in the Glory of his Father with the Holy Angels. So that as soon as one becomes a sincere Fol­lower of the Lamb that was Slain, he is a Martyr in Resolution and Purpose, and can with a generous and ungainsaying Heart utter the words of St. Paul, Acts. 21 1 [...]. I am ready not to to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the Name of the Lord Jesus. And, when, by the Conduct of Divine Providence, he is put in such Circumstances, as that he can­not any longer keep his Life, with­out denying and dishonouring his [Page 754] [...] [Page 755] [...] [Page 756] Redeemer, he cheerfully layes it down. Thus did vast Numbers of his Primitive Followers, these brave and heroick Souls, who loved not Rev: 12.11. their Lives unto the Death. So Pure and Noble, so Victorious and Ar­dent was their Love to their dear Saviour, that the most formidable cruelties could not frighten them unto a denyal or disclaiming of him. They not only resolutely faced, but even courted Flames and Tor­ments, that they might evidence their Love to, and come to a nearer enjoyment of their well Beloved. They Overcame the terrours of death in its most hideous and amazing shapes and appearances, By Rev. 12.11. the Blood of the Lamb, That is, By the Grace which the Effusion of this precious Blood merited for them, by the mighty Consolations which it hath procured them, by the ex­cellent Example of Charity, Pati­ence, Meekness, and Constancie, [Page 757] which it did furnish them, and by the Courage and Force which it in­spired into them. Certainly it was something more than humane, that animated and enabled the Noble Ar­mie of Martyrs, many whereof were of the tenderer Sex and younger sort, to undergo the most exquisit torments, and such as are capable to beget horrour, and that not only without fear and perturbations, but with Joy and Cheerfulness, the Composure, and Sweetness of their Countenances and Carriages, bewraying the inward Serenity of their Minds, and the Divine Cordi­als wherewith they were invisibly supported.

O the admirable Force and Effi­cacie of the Love of Jesus, when once it hath got Possession of the Heart, and displayes there its pure and vigorous Flames! How doth it give strength to the weak, and encourage the faint hearted! How [Page 758] doth it facilitar Difficulties, and sweeten Torments! How doth it banish fears, and despise dangers, and laugh at death even in its grim­est and most terrible forms! For Love, as the mysterious Song in­forms usCant. [...].6.7. i [...]s as strong as death, the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame, many wa­ters cannot quench Love, neither can the Floods drown it. O the Divine Vertue that it hath of transforming pains into Pleasure, and making the most frightful objects Agreeable, and to be desired! Of this we have a very memorable instance in the Holy Martyr Ignatius Bishop of Antioch, whom the cruel Emperour Trajan condemned to be the Enter­tainment of Lyons, and a Spectacle to the Citizens of Rome. See in how seraphick a Straine he writes to the Christians of that City, as he was on the Road towards them. — ‘I do v [...]y joyfuly (saith he) my [Page 759] dearest Brethren, before I have the happiness to see you, as I hope I shall very shortly, being already on my way, take this occasion to write to you, that I may let you know the Dispositions in which I find my self, and the last request I have to make to you. For as I passed through diverce place, I have remarked such an excess of sorrow among the Faithful, who have heard of my being sentenced to death, that I have already judged by their carriage, what I may expect to see among you. But suffer me to tell you, that I dread your charity, and that I suspect it may do me a prejudice, thinking to procure me a Favour. wherefore I conjure you, not to al­ter by your prayers an Order of GOD, which is so advantageous to me, and without the execution whereof I cannot enjoy GOD so soon as I desire, have not, I en­treat [Page 760] you, too carnal a love for my body; But endeavour rather that it become the Sacrifice of GOD. Remember that you never envyed the Happiness of any Body, and that you your selves have taught others the way of Sufferings. If you will offer to GOD your Prayers for me, then let your Design be to beseech him that he would give me Force and power, that I may suffer as a true Chri­stian, and not as one who is only nominallie such. I regard no more any thing on Earth: I am taken up with nothing but with Heaven; The World is already at an end as to me: Eternity fills me alto­gether. I have signified to other Churches that I would dye wil­linglie, providing you do not op­pose your selves to it. For I confess to you that I fear alwayes least the Love, which you bear to me, do something that will be unsea­sonable, [Page 761] and prove uneasie to me. Suffer for GOD's Sake, that the beasts devour me. I am the Corn of GOD, and their Teeth shall be as it were the Mill-stones, which shall grind me, to the end I may become the pure Bread of Jesus Christ. Ra­ther treat these Beasts so as they may become my Tomb, and leave nothing of my Body. I shall then become truely the Disciple of Je­sus Christ, when the World shall see no more of one. Offer there­fore your humble Prayers to God, that this Body which I carrie to the Lyons, may become a pure and spotless Oblation. I learn in my chains to desire nothing on Earth. From Syria even unto Rome, I combat day and night with Beasts, being tyed to ten Leopards, so I call the Souldiers which keep me in chains. And who, the more kind I am to them, [Page 762] do me the greater hurt, and wax the more ill natured and fierce, I am daily more and more edified by the injuries wherewith they af­flict me, yet I am not justified hereby. O that I were once eaten by the Lyons, which are prepared for me. I beseech GOD to make them eager to devour me. I shall kindly invite and allure them to set on me, and if they refuse to do it, and treat me, as they have done other Martyrs, whom they durst not approach nor touch, I shall ir­ritate and provoke them to make the Attaque. I conjure you once more, my dearest Brethren, that you do not detain me any longer on Earth by your Prayers. Do not labour to keep me at a distance from GOD, by the love which you have for a corriptible body. Par­don me, my dear Children, that I speak to you after this manner.’ For I know what is better for me: ‘It is [Page 763] now that I begin to be the Disciple of Jesus Christ; I desire no more any of these things that are on Earth: I breath only after Jesus Christ. Let the Fire seize on me, let the Cross torment me, let my bones be dislocat and drawn assun­der, all my Members torn to pie­ces, and my whole body grund to powder, In fine, let all the tor­ments invented by the Devil be­fal me, providing I may enjoy Je­sus Christ. O thou pure and Eternall light, whereof now I have some Glimpses, would even my friends contribut to separat me from thee, would they hinder me from going to thee and to thy jn­effable Glory by that same way through which my Master hath gone! Would you hinder me, my dear brethren, from becoming his follower! If you have any com­passion for me, it is not in saving my Body, That it ought to ap­pear, [Page 764] but rather in not opposing your selves to that violent desire which you see, I have after my GOD I say no more unto you, but only that I desire to die! My love is crucified. I feel a vehement fire within me which consumes me, And cries unto me. Come to your Father. I will not live any longer here below, I intreat that your selves may no longer will that I should, and pray unto GOD, I ear­nestly beseech you, that he may will it neither. Do not love me ac­cording to flesh and blood. As you see that what I write unto You, is not according to Flesh and Blood, I em­brace you all. I recommend my Church unto your Prayers, passio­nately requesting you to interceed with Jesus Christ, that he would Vouschafe to be a Pastor to it.’ Behold here a Specimen of the Zeal, Devotion and Charity of the pri­mitive Martyrs! O how faint and languid are these little dying sparks [Page 765] of Love that are in our bosomes. in comparison of these ardent & victorious flames that bu [...]ned in theirs,

In the mean time it will not be improper to Caution here, that thô the occasions of suffering Martyr­dom were very frequent, yet we should take care that we do not rashly and precipitantly rush upon it. We ought to be wise as Ser­pents, and use all pious and prudent Methods, to secure our Lives as long as we can with a good Con­science, imploying them in doing all the Good that is possible for us in our several Stations and Capaci­ties, being still resigned to the good Pleasure of GOD, and content to be disposed of as he in his infinit Wisdom shall think fit, and in a constant readiness to lay down our Lives when we can no longer keep them and our Innocence too; That is, When the Honour and Interests of our Redeemer and his Religion [Page 766] visibly call for our so doing, and we plainly see that it is his will we should live no longer, having by the Conduct of his wise and good Providence, led us as it were by the hand to receive the Crown of Mar­tyrdom. Thus the Holy JESUS prudently evaded the frequent Con­trivances of his enemies to take a­way his Life, till His hour was come, and then he willingly laid it down.

We must moreover beware that we do not unhappily mistake the Interests and Opinions, the little practices and prejudices of Religi­ous Factions, and Parties, for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and his Doc­trines. It is sad to consider how dark and doubtful, and even very false speculations, some external practices and Forms, yea the down right inventions of Men, have, by being Baptiz'd with Sacred Names, imposed on the World, have been [Page 767] cryed up and contended for with no less Zeal and Fervour, than if they had been the very essential Truths and Duties of the Christian Religi­on, and it is sadder yet to see vast numbers prodigally sporting away their Lives for the sake of these triffles, and imagining that they are as much the Favorits of Heaven for so doing as the Primitive Martyrs were. And hence each Sect hath its Martyrologies or list of Martyrs. and the great thing they are noted and commended for, is their Zeal and Constancie in confessing and suf­fering Death, not for the Gospel, but for the Opinions and Practices which distinguish the own partie, after which these fancies are confidently obtruded by the bigot Vota­ries as the Truths and Cause of GOD, now sealed with the Blood of the Saints. However, it is not to be doubted, but, when it so falls out that any truely Upright and [Page 768] Humble, Well-meaning and Chari­table, thô mistaken Souls, lose their Lives in such Cases, the good GOD, who looks into the Heart, and sees their sincere Intentions to please him, will pardon their mistakes, and recompense their Honestie and Integritie, but then the cause for which they suffer he disproves, and it will not come into consideration when he distributs his Rewards. We should carefullie labour to be rightly inform'd of the Nature and Designs of the Christian Religion, and to know the great Essenti­als of it; This would prevent our being imposed on by Specious Names, & enable us to discern what doctrines are Valueable, & worth our Zeal and our Lives; For these In­glorious Martyrdoms we are now speaking of, are all owing to false Notions of Religion, and laying stress on airie and useless Speculati­ons and external Circumstances, [Page 769] which ignorant, byassed & factious Teachers have propagated among the unwarie & credulous Multitude as Great and Sacred Things.

In fine, if we be called to lay down our lives for our holy Reli­gion, we must take care to do it in the Spirit of Jesus, that is, we [...]ould discover in our Sufferings these lovely Graces, that sweet and be­nign Temper, that he did in his. That Resignation to the Divine Will, that Humility and Meekness, that Charity and Compassion, that Patience and Constancie which he did so conspicuously exemplifie to us on the Cross, we should endea­vour piously to transcribe, when we are in the like Circumstances; No­thing of spite and bitterness, of harshness and ill nature, no stormie Passions, or proud resentments, or fierce revenge should appear in ei­ther our words or carriages. This [Page 770] is it that wil beautifie our sufferings, give Lustre and Glory to our Mar­tyrdom, recommend our Religion, honour our LORD and Master, and reclaim our persecutors. It is in such a Juncture as this that we should frequently review our Divine Pattern, Look unto Jesus, and Hebr. 12.23. con­sider him that endured such contradic­tions of sinners against himself, who when he was Isa. 13:7: oppressed, opened not his mouth, when he was reviled, 1 Pe [...]: 2:23. re­viled not again. When He suffered He threatned not. He was brought as a Lamb to the slaughter. And all alongs he evidenced the Meekness of a Lamb. And as a Sheep before her shearers is dumb; So he, when suffering the cruelest treatments, was serene and silent; There were no reproaches in his Mouth, no frowns nor fierceness in his Counte­nance. A Martyrdom that is un­dergone without such a Frame and Disposition as this, deserves not [Page 771] that Name. If in pretending to lay down our Lives for our Redeemer and his Cause, we bewray a Spirit and Temper, quite Opposite to His, if Spit and Malice, Furious and Revengefull Passions, and Self-Conceit, Fretting and Chaig­rin, are in our Hearts, and Visibly discover themselves in our Words and Carriages, we dishonour Him, and bring a Reproach on the Cause for which we suffer, and we but falsly Arrogat to our selves, the Title of a Martyre. For a Mar­tyre truely is one that in laying down his Life, Witnesses not only to the Truth of the Chris­tian Religion, but also to the Spirit of it. Hence St. Paul assures us1. Cor: 13 3. That tho' One give his Body to be Burned, deliver himself to the cruel­est Death, for the sake of Religion, and have not Charity, which is the Spirit of it, his doing so, shall Profite him nothing.

But that I may lay down the Grounds of a daily conformitie to the Death of our Saviour, in that view of it which we have how be­fore us, it will be seasonable here, to take nottice of two sorts of Mar­tyres, and consequently of a twofold Martyredom. The first I shall call the Martyres of Persecution, by which I understand such as are Per­secuted for the sake of Truth and Righteousness, and who lose either their Lives, or their Honour and good Name, or their Riches and Possessions, or their Peace and Li­bertie, any or all of these, because they will be Faithful to their Re­deemer, and will chuse Rather to suffer all the Losses and Disadvan­tages that can be incur'd in this World, than abandon, and be a­shamed of either the Truths and Practices of the Christian Religion. Tho commonlie speaking these only are called Martyres, who lose [Page 773] their Lives for Christs sake and the Gospel, yet certainly they who u­pon that same account Forfeit any thing that is verie dear to Flesh and Blood, and which Men value at the same Rate they do their Lives, and perhaps more, may very justly be so Designed. Again, tho' witnessing to the Truth of the Christian Religion, be ordinary Reputed the Cause which makes a Martyre, yet I do not see, why Living according to the Divine Maximes of it, ought not to be Reckoned so too. And therefore, if any upon the account of their strict conforming their Hearts and Lives to these blessed Rules, which are so opposite to the Spirit and in­clinations, the maximes and wis­dom of the prophan and carnal world, should suffer obloquy and re­proach, contempt, and disgrace, de­rision, and scorn, and behoofed as Madmen and Fools, and they in the mean time bear all, this patiently, [Page 774] and are not prevail'd with to quit their Holy practises, it is certain that they may be verie deservedly num­bered among the Martyrs, for they witness unto the Spirit, power and practise of the Chrstian Religion as others do unto the truth of it, and suffer for so doing.

The second sort I call Martyrs of Love and mortification. And by these I mean all who, tho' they be not persecuted by men, nor meet with harsh and cruell Treatments in this world, yet do for the Love of GOD, and from a vehement desire of becoming agreeable to him, renounce and foresake the world and its convenicies, Mortifie their lusts and passions, crucifie their Flesh and old man, generously deny them­selves whatever corrupt nature inor­dinatly craves, and welcome with humble patience and Unrepining Submission all the calamities that befall them as coming from the hands [Page 775] of GOD. Whosoever lives thus in constantly Contradicting his dearest and most rooted inclinations under­goes a continual Martyrdom. What more painful Martyrdom, saith St. Bernard, ‘than to endure hunger,Quod Martyrium gravius est, quam inter epulas esu­rire, inter vestes mul [...]as & pretios­as algere, pauper­tate prermi inter Divitias. Serm: 1. de Test. sanct. when one might have a well furnished Table, to suffer cold a­midst variety of precious Garments, and to be pres­sed with Poverty when we might abound in Rich­es.’ The Crucifixion of an inveterat Lust or passion is suffering a kind of Death, for then we suffer a sepa­ration from that which was once very dear unto us, and every gene­rous Act of self denyal is a deaths pang. And therefore as many mor­tified Lusts, so many Martyrdoms, and as many Acts of self denyal, so many dying Agonies. The pains and Torments of these Martyrs who loss only their Mortal Lives are [Page 776] quickly at an end, whereas the strugles and Death pangs of the Martyrs of Love may be lengthened for a Tract of many years. But since this in effect coincides with what I am to insist on under the fol­lowing head, I shall.

In the next place, proceed to con­sider the Death of our Redeemer as a Sacrifice, and that it was so, we need not Laboriously Evince, since the Holy Scriptures do so Copiously and so evidently attest it. That one passage of St. Paul to the Ephesians may be sufficient to assure us of it. He hath give himself for us, Ephes: [...].6. name­ly when he dyed on the Cross, an offering and a Sacrifice to GOD for a sweet smelling Savor. Now concern­ing that Sacrifice which he made of himself in dying for us, I affirm that it is both Meritorious and Exemp­lary.

First I say, that it is Meritorious, or the procuring Cause of all good [Page 777] things, and its Meritoriousness is espe­cially founded in the Divinity of the Person who offered it, and who in­deed is himself the Victime, Worth and Merit, value and excellency, in the most soveraign degree, are inseparable from whatever this ado­rable person does or suffers. This Blessed Sacrifice is a source of all good things, because the source of all good things is united to it. TheOecon: Divin: Tom: 4: p: 418. Divine and Eternal Spirit, or the Deity it self, the Deliverer, the Me­diator, his Intercession, his infinit Dignity, an exact and perfect satis­faction to, and fulfilling of all that a Mediator ought to do in order to procure Salvation for us, a mighty force, and all sorts of Divine Effica­cies, and consequently, it is a Spi­ritual Divine, and eternal Sacrifice, a Sacrifice that Merits infinitly, that Delivers, Saves, Fortifies, a Sacri­fice that is satisfactorie and Effica­cious, and diffuses all good things, [Page 788] and all sorts of vertues in the Souls of such as aspire after conformity to it. And hence in holy Scripture Pardon, Grace, Reconciliation, Re­demption, Purification, Glorie and Eternal Life are Attributed to it as the meritorious and procuring cause. And indeed nothing is of greater force to prevail with GOD to aug­ment his Graces in us, and to pre­vent his treating us as out sins have deserved than to offer to him that Divine Sacrifice which was made in the Person of his Son Jesus Christ. And therefore in all our addresses to our Heavenly Father we should have a continual regard to it, and carry it alongs with us as that which will give vertue and Efficacy, and ac­ceptableness to our Prayers, perswad­ing our selves that what we seek from him in good earnest for the sake of this great Sacrifice of Love will not be denyed us. But the full pro­secution of this lovely Theme is, as [Page 779] hath been intimated once and again, [...]eserved to its proper place. Our de [...]ign at present is to discover the way how we shall come to partake in the Merits and Efficacies of this ever-blessed and all sufficient Sacri­fice, and in order to this.

Secondly, I affirm that the Sacri­fice which Jesus Christ made of him­self in dying for us is Exemplary, and consequently design'd for our imita­tion he Sacrificed himself, that he might oblige us to do the like. The Sacrifice which he offered, and the death which he suffered without us must be Ratified, and really fulfil­led within us. Hence we are saidRom: 6 3, 4, 5. to be Baptized into his death, to be buried with him in Baptism unto Death, to be Planted together in the likness of his death. Now that which must be Sacrificed and dye in us, is our Old Man with all hi [...] Lusts and Passions his motions and inclinati­ons, our corrupt self Love, our [Page 780] flesh and Earthly Members, and, in a word, whatever is in us, that hin­ders the re-entrance of the Life and Light and Love of GOD into our Souls. This is the Victime that we must carie to the Altar and kill and offer up, and by so doing,Phil: 3.10. We are made conformable to the Death of Jesus Christ; For his Sacrificing him­self on the Cross was intended, not for the security and preservation of our Old Man, and vicious and car­nal and Earthly affections, but for the death and utter Extermination of them, not to dispence with our becoming Sacrifices our selves, but the more powerfully to engage us And indeed we are never truelyRom: 8 29. Conformed to the image of the Son of GOD, till our Old Man Rom: 6 be Crucified with Him, and the Body of Sin be destroyed. This Sacrifice and Death of the Old Man, of all that is Corrupt, Earthly and Carnal in them, is what all sincere Christians do vigorously labour after, and at [Page 781] last by the Power and Grace of Christ, it will be accomplished in them, All that are Christs, saith St. PaulGal: 5.24. have Crucified the Flesh with its affections and Lusts. Our whole Life, now in this state of Tryall, is nothing else but a time of Sacrifice, and all our actions ought to be as so many blows given to the Victim of this Old Man, in us, till it be dismembred and Dye. This was the practice of St, Paul, and the first Christians, whose Character and Motto, it was that they did2 Cor: 4.10. Alwayes bear about in the Body, the dying of the Lord JESUS. That is, their Life was a continual Dying to the Flesh, and all its Appetits, Inte­rests, and pleasures, after the Ex­ample, and by the vertue of the Death of Christ. Whence it appears that the Life of a sincere Christian, is not a Life of Pompe and Splendour, of carnal case and Recreation; It is, as we have said, a time of Sa­crifice. And what doth Sacrificing [Page 782] import, but Binding, Killing, Dis­membring, Sheding of Blood, Separ­ating the Filth, Burning? These things in the Spiritual meaning of them, and as they are figures of the Treatments which must be giv­en to the Old Man, in order to pro­cure its Death, are Exercises not ve­rie pleasing and Gratefull to our Flesh and Self-love: And hence have proceeded all these soft and Flesh pleasing Representations and im­provements that have been made of the Sacrifice and Death of our Re­deemer, whereby the true Medicine of our Souls is converted unto poy­son, and that which was Graciously designed for the Destruction of the works of the Devil, becomes a Shel­ter and Sanctuarie unto them. Our Old Man would be excused from suffering and Dying, and to tell the Flesh that it must become a victime in conformitie to the Sacrifice of Je­sus Christ, is a very hard saying, [Page 783] this is what it endeavours, by all means to shift and decline, and there­fore it pushes Men to lay down such easie and indulgent Schemes, con­cerning this blessed Sacrifice, as may verie well consist with the Life and Gratification of all its Corrupt Lusts and Inclinations. It will have the Sacrifice of the Lamb of God, to be so in its Room and stead, as that it is Discharged for ever, from suffer­ing any thing in order to the De­struction of the Body of Sin, Con­trairie to the Tenour of the whole Scripture, and to the Sense and Ex­perience, and desires of the Saints, who have all, with St. Paul, aspired after nothing with greater Ardency, Than to know the Fellowship of his sufferings, and to be conformed into his Death, and who, each of them from his own Experience, could say as that ApostleGal: 2 20. I am Crucified with Christ, that is, the Death of their Old Man is procured by a Vital [Page 784] and real Participation of the Sacred Efficacies of the suffering and Cru­cified Jesus. The Flesh will be well pleased, that Christ be Sacrificed without it, providing this Sacrifice of his, be not inwardly Ratified and fulfilled in turning it together with its Lusts and Affections into a Victime.

Oh! Let us turn away our Ears from these pernicious insinuations of the Flesh! let us seriously Remem­ber, that tho' our Redeemer paid a ransome for our Souls, yet he paid none for our Old Man, and that that very Sacrifice which was intended for the Rademption of our Souls, was intended also for the destructi­on of the Flesh. Oh, let us not pro­phane the Blood of the Lamb of GOD by improving, or rather by Misimproving it unto Apologies and excuses for our Lusts, or into pre­tences to secure the Life and interests of the Flesh. Let us view his Sa­crifice [Page 785] as a Pattern, and not as a Discharge from our indispensable ob­ligation to Sacrifice our Old Man; For if we consider the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, as fulfilled and accomplished in himself, and stop at this Consi­deration of it, perswading our selves that by looking on it, and believing it Historicallie, as a thing without us, and done in our stead, we shall Reap its blessed Fruits, tho' we ne­ver endeavour to conform to it, nor admit its Sacred Efficacies into our Souls, in order to procure the Death of our Corruptions, we abuse the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, yet worse than the Jewes did the Sacrifices of Beasts; For they did partake of this sort of Sacrifices, according to all the etxent of reality, that was in a purely Material and Bodily Victime, they were Corporally besprinkled with the Blood, were Corporally purified, and did even partake Corporally in the Meat of the Altar; Whereas we, [Page 786] tho' we have before our Eyes a Sa­crifice that is Spirit and Life, a Sa­crifice that is filled with a Divine Emergie and Force, and Capable to Crucifie and kill every Motion and every Inclination of Corrupt Na­ture, throughout both Soul and Bo­die, content our selves to look on it at a distance, thinking it enough that it hath been offered without us, and that we need not aspire after the Ratification of it within us, when certainly if we would really partake in this blessed Victime, we ought to address the Son of GOD, i [...]treating that he would derive into our Souls the mighty Efficacies of his Divine and All Su­fficient Sacrifice in order to accom­pish that Sacrifice of our Old Man which he requires of us in imitation of his.

But, asOecon: Divin: Tom: 4: cap: 17: num: 9: pag: 419 one verie pertinently remarks, since there are qualities in the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, where [Page 787] whereof some are Communicable, and others are not, we must beware that the Flesh do no take Sanctuarie here, and excuse it self from any o­bligation to imitat this Sacrifice un­der pretence, that some of the Qua­lities of it, are not within its reach. It is Necessarie therefore to distin­guish with Respect to us, things which however continue in JESUS CHRIST. And to observe, that some of them are in Jesus Christ only, and that others are so in him, as to be Patterns and Copies to us, and which it is our duty to imitat and Tran­scribe. For instance, there is in the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, an Infinit Merit, there are also in it pains, Agonies and Death; For Jesus Christ hath Merited infinitly, in that he hath sacrificed himself. Now it is incontestable, that Man cannot do the first of these two things, I mean, that he cannot merit, and much less merit infinitly. This the Flesh will [Page 788] be ready to catch at, and to conclude from it, that since the Sacrifice of JESUS CHRIST is infinitly merito­rious; therefore it is not imitable, or if we pretend to imitat it, then the Sacrifice which we make of our sel­ves must be meritorious, as His is. But if we do not wilfully shut our eyes in favours of our flesh, and blindly credit its absurd Reasonings, we may easily comprehend that there is a vast difference between meriting and sacrificing, although these two things are united in JESUS CHRIST. Merit is before the Sacrifice, and in­dependent of it: Infinit Merit was and might eternally have been in JESUS CHRIST without Sacrifice. It is an Original Quality, and essential to His Divine Person. But Sacrifice hath its source in the Sinner: It is originally, and in the first place ex­acted of the sinner alone. It is not essentially meritorious, but only destructive of evil, and recompensed [Page 789] by the pure Good-will of GOD; but the Great, the Divine, the infinite and Pure Love, by which JESUS CHRIST charged himself with our Sacrifice, hath rendered it meritori­ous in Him, and by it hath obtain'd all good things from GOD for us. It is plain then, that tho the Flesh can­not merit, yet it may become a Sa­crifice, that is, dye and expire on the Cross of Self-denyal, Mortifica­tion and Sufferings through the Al­mighty Efficacies of the Sacrifice of the Son of GOD, which shall be communicated unto all who heartily engage in the Imitation of it.

Once more let us not suffer our selves to be imposed on by the pre­tences and deceits of the Flesh; but call to mind rather. that, if we are sincerely the Disciples of JESUS, we are become a1 Pet: 2.8. Royal Priesthood, andRev. 1.6 made Kings and Priests unto GOD, and that the great Sacrifice which in the first place he expects [Page 790] and requires from us is the Oblation of our Old-Man, that he may dye and expire. But to the end this Sa­crifice may be accomplished in us, we must address our Great and Mer­ciful High-Priest, beseeching Him to impart unto us his Spirit of Suffer­ings and Mortification; for as He through the Eternal Spirit offered up Himself unto GOD, so it is through the same Spirit, that we must mortifie the Deeds of the Body. Rom: 8.13. And more­over, for this same end, we must re­solutly undergo Tribulations and Sufferings, bear Uneasinesses patient­ly and meekly, and willingly pra­ctise penitential Severities; For as Pains and Agonies, Piercings and Bloodshed, and cruel Treatments, were the Fore-runners and Causes of the death of JESUS CHRIST, so also Troubles and Anguish, Calamities and Distress, pious Violences done to, and Contradictions of our corrupt Inclinations and Habites, are intro­ductive [Page 791] unto the death of the Old-man. It is by knowing the fellowship of the Sufferings of our Redeemer, that we come to be made conformable unto his Death, and represent his Sa­crifice. It is by the Methods of the Cross, that is, by Sufferings and Self-denyal, that the Flesh and its Lusts are Crucified, and do expire, and therefore as long as we walk in the ways of Ease and Selfness, and continually cherish and gratifie our Earthly and carnal Appetites, it is not possible that our Old-man can become a Victime. Every Act of Self-denyal, every instance of Mor­tification, every affliction that is undergone with patience, and humble Resignation to the Divine Will, be­ing, as indeed as they are ever accompanied with the secret Force and Vertue of the Crucified JESUS, are as so many Strokes given to the Sacrifice tending to procure its death, and the last Stroke that it gets, is the [Page 792] death of the Body, but it is GOD himself, and not we, that must give this blow. Furthermore, as a vast and infinitly ardent Love, was the Fire in which our Lord offered up himself unto GOD as a sweet smell­ing Sacrifice, so it is by the mighty Force and Operations of that same generous and Noble Principle com­municated from him to us, that our Old-man is offered up, and consum­ed; For when once this Heavenly Fire is kindled in our Bosoms, it will, if we do not stiffle and quench it, burn up all that is corrupt and vitious in us, it will prompt us to desire, and enable us to endure with joy and Satisfaction all the pains and tribulations that are necessary for consu­mating that Sacrifice, which we are obliged to offer in Imitation of that of our Redeemer. Hence proceed these vehement Aspirations, which all the devour Followers of the Lamb have after the Cross. O sacred way, [Page 793] sayeth one of them (meaning the Way of the Cross) in which the true Lovers of JESUS de­light to walk! O sacrum iter verorum A­mantium! Da mihi diu in­ter spinas tu­as incedere, & aliquando inter hrachia tua cum Ama­to expirare. May it be my happiness to tra­vel long amongst thy Thorns, Canones amoris Sacri P. 111. and at last to expire between thy Arms with my Beloved. Thus the great Apostle wouldGal: 8.15. Glory in no­thing but the Cross of the Lord JESUS, and1 Cor: 2.2. know nothing but Christ crucified. It is fervent Love made him piously ambitious, and his Ambition aimed, not at the pomp and Glories, Riches and pleasures of the World, but at conformity to his Crucified Redeemer, by the Cruci­fiction of his Flesh and blood, and Self-Love. The Love of JESUS is of a singular Efficacie and Force, and when it hath got entrance into the heart, and is entertained there, it [Page 794] ceases not its Divine Operations, till it hath consumed our Corruptions, and rid us of what ever is opposite to its generous Motions and Tendencies, and then it prevails within us, dis­playes its agreeable heat and warmth, solaces infinitly the Soul, and car­ries it and all its Faculties and pow­ers alongs with it, whithersoever it XX pleases. After which, pure and defecated hearts, burning in the flames of a Sera­phick and undecaying Love are the Sacrifices which we must offer unto GOD,Amor meus pondus me­um, eo feror quocun{que} fe­ror. August: Conf: lib: and which shall not be discontinued even in Eternity it self, for1. Cor: 13.8. Love never faileth.

In fine, The continual aspiring and endeavouring after a Conformity to the Death and Sacrifice of our Re­deemer, is a matter of greater mo­ment, than is commonly imagined. It is, as hath been now frequently [Page 795] inculcated, the essential mark and Character of a True Christian. It is in effect the great Condition requi­red of us in the Gospel, and the only way how to partake infallibly in the Blessed fruits, and procurements of the infinitly Meritorious Sacrifice, and Intercession of the Son of God. People fancy that their interest in the promises of the Gospel is Suf­ficiently secured, when they believe that Christ dyed for them, or apply his Merits to themselves, by a sort of faith, which very well consists with the life and Dominion of their Old Man, and his Lusts, Certainly such will at long run meet with a sad dis­appointment. St. Paul lays it down as a certaine and infallible maxime. 2 Timo: 2.11 That if we have dyed with him, we shall live with him, intimating, that it is by dying to our carnal earthly and sensual life, that we come to par­take in that Heavenly and Happie life, which our Lord hath purchased [Page 796] for us, and that without this death, to which his dying on the Cross In­dispensably engages us, we cannot Justly Entertaine any hopes of sharing with him in his glory; For, as the same Apostle else where,Rom: 8 13. tells us, If we live after the Flesh, we shall dy, that is, if our Flesh or Cor­rupt nature be the Prevailing prin­ciple according to which we Regul­at our hearts and lives, if we fulfill its lusts, and follow its motions, then certainly our Souls shall continue forever separated from God, from his grace, and Light and Joys, for God cannot unit with, nor commu­nicat his Happiness unto such as are habitualy disaffected to his Love and Purity, and can relish nothing but what is fleshly and Sensual; Where as on the other hand we are assured that the Life of Grace here, and of glory hereafter, will infalliby follow upon our impartialy Mortifying the deeds of the Body. A memorable pas­sage [Page 797] of an Author not long since quoted (*) will come in very sea­sonably here,oecon­om: di­vina. Tom: 7 C 18. N 4. p 317. and will both explain and evince the necessity of what we are asserting. ‘There are, sayeth he, two things in Man, the one is his Soul, created by GOD for eternal life. The other is, his self-love, or his Corruption introduced into him by the Devil, and Sin for death eternal. And these two things are since the fall united in all Men. Now God doth present inseparably two other things to these, two which in this state of degeneracie are in every man. To the Soul of Man, which himself created, he Presents grace and life, and to his corruption, or carnal selflove, which came from the Devil, he presents the cross, death and ex­termination. And it is impossible to change the order and Relation of these things, that is, to present grace and life to our Old Man, [Page 798] and Corruption, to our flesh and self-love; and to present death to the Soul it self, which was created and design'd for, and made capable of life eternal, so also it is impossi­ble to Embrace or partake in one of these, this without the other; to have life and grace without the Cross and death, for as much as the one introduces into the other, It being plain that Grace and true ver­tue cannot live and prosper in the Soul, till what is evil and vitious in it dye and be done away; neither can Light appear in its vi­gor and brightness within us, unless all hinderances be removed, and our darkness and Impurities dis­cuss'd. And thus Grace is univer­sally presented to every Soul, on Condition that with regard to that Corruption which is now united to it, it Embrace Death and the Cross in order to be rid of it, and that it Resign unto God all its fa­culties [Page 799] and its Liberty, to the end, he may produce and Manifest, in it his Divine Life and all the O­perations of his most holy Grace, in such a way as he shall Judge most Expedient.’ It is now, I think abundantly Evident, That that Death and Crucifixion, to which we are obliged, in Imitation of the Death and Sacrifice of our Redeem­er is not an Arbitrary, but a very ne­cessary Requisition. It is what we must indispensibly undergo in order to partake in the Fruits and purchase of his Meritorious Oblation of him­self on the Cross.

Whatever other Methods Men have invented in Order to attain to pardon and Eternal Life, if they be such as can consist with the Life of the Flesh, and do not require the Death and extermination of the old Man, they are certainly false and deceitful. That easie and Flattering Divinity, which gratifies our Self-love, [Page 800] and corruption owes its original to that woful place, whether it infal­libly leads, and it directly contradicts the Designs of our Saviours coming into the World, who as1 John 5: St. John tells us was Manifested to take away our sins, not the guilt of them only, but also their Filthinesses, their Life and Root, their Dominion and power, and that by obliging us to put off the bodyJob: 11 20. of the sins of the Flesh by that eternal and Spritual Circumcision, which his power and grace effectuats in us, in the exercise of Mortification and Self-denyal, & all this to prepare & fit us for Communion with him, & to make us capable of the good things which he hath merited for us; for how can he pardon us, so as to receive us into his especial favour, and treat us as his peculiar Freinds? while we (a) are enemies to him in our minds, That is, while our hearts are habitually averted from him; while our inward Dispositions are unsuitable to, and at [Page 801] variance with his Light and purity; while we entertain and follow such appetites and inclinations▪ lusts and Passions as are Continual and direct Rebellious against his good and Holy Will? how can his blessed Spirit abide with us, and operat in us, in order to cleanse, heal and Sanctifie us, as long as our flesh and corrupt Affections, these grand Adversaries of the Divine Love and grace, are allowed to live and prevaile in us! How can the Light and Glories of Eternity, be our Portion as long as our Darkness is indiscuss'd, and our impurities Cleave fast to us? Can Corruption inherit Incorruption? Or defilements Unite with Puritie? Can carnal Hearts relish pleasures? Or polluted Souls be admitted into GOD's presence? To conclude our great and Foundamental Work is, Strenuously and Unweariedly to la­bour by a Dayly Self-denyal and Mortification, to procure the Death [Page 802] of our Old Man, and never to give over, till these Words of St. Pauls be fulfilled Job 11 20: in us: I am Crucified with Christ, Nevertheless I Live, yet not I, but Christ that Liveth in me, for otherwayes our pretences to Christi­anity, are but false and Hypocriti­cal, and our Hopes to inherit the Precious Promises of it, vain and Groundless, and will prove:Rom: 122. As the giving up of the Ghost.

Now after all, I perswade me self, that all thinking, and serious Persons will be deeply Sensible, how neces­sary it is to acquaint the Youth, with views that are here given of the life and death of our Redeemer, and to imitat them with all possible Care, and as soon as may be, into the imi­tation of these Excellent practices, which the Son of GOD came him­self, to Exemplifie and Recommend unto us. This, undoubtedly, would be the true way to Disciple them to the Holy Jesus, and consequently to Spirit [Page 803] to Educat them Christianly. 'Tis true, these Measures will not sute the Spirit and Maxims and Customes of the World, nor go pleasantly away with the Flesh, but then our Religi­on oblidges us not to conform Rom: 21:2: to the World, nor to consult with Flesh and Blood. And tho, while the World en­grosses our affections, and its promis­ing appearances dazle us, while we are surrounded with Pomp and Glo­ry, and plentifully enjoy, what may minister to all the inclinations of the flesh, conforming to this Divine Pat­tern, may seem absurd and ridicu­lous unto us, yet I dare boldly adven­ture to determine, that when Death makes his approaches towards us, and we are speedily to be divested of all momentany satisfactions and enjoy­ments, then if all sense of God and Di­vine things be not wholly extinct in us, or false Notions of Religion have not miserably deceived us, we shall wish with all our hearts, that both [Page 804] we and all that belong to us had made, that the principal Care and studie of our Lives, which now we would shift off, as either impossible or needless, or perhaps foolish; for then these pleasures we so much courted, will begin to have no relish, and the enjoyments we were so fond of, to lose their value. Then the seem­ing Glories that dazled us, will be at the point of disappearing for ever, and the things that were wont to Gratifie us very highly, can yeild us no more Satisfaction. Then our Eyes will begin to be opened, and our thoughts of things will strange­ly alter. Then our Circumstances will convince us of former mistakes, and we will be forced to Correct our false Judgements. Oh! that we would reason now, as we will be obliged to do then, and practise now what then we cannot, and so prevent these Direful, and Inexpressible Regrates, which the review of Mis-improving great Advantages and Opportunities [Page 805] of preparing for Eternity, will Creat in our Bosomes. Since then, not an Angel nor Glorified Spirit, but the Son of GOD, came from Heaven, out of Love to poor bewildred Mankind, to give them an Example, and thereby to acquaint them with the way by which they must return into Paradice again, and came, not in a dress of Glory and Majestie, But, that his Example might be Accommodat to their state and Capacities, cloath'd in Frail and Mortal Flesh. Oh! let us heartily endeavour to imitat and Transcribe it, and use all the Art and Skil in our Power, to engage others to do the like, and more especially our Children, whose Spiritual con­cerns, both Nature and Religion, obliges us more narrowly to look after. It is a common and very just remarque, tha [...] we are more readily brought over to out duty by Example rather than by Precept. Behold here an Example, that hath a great many singularities and Endearments in it; [Page 806] The Excellencie of the Person that gave it, the great Love that appear­ed in giving it, the Eminent and lovely Graces and vertues that are the Ingredients of it, and which it sets before us, the mightie Effica­cie and Force that attends it, and the blessed state to which the sincere imitation of it infallibly leads, are so many powerful Arguments to enforce conforming to it. O! let it be much in our thoughts, let us frequently review it, and continue so doing, till we be enamoured of its beauties. Let us establish it as the unerring Standard of our Hearts and Lives, and labour by all means to become agreeable to it in every instance. And when by the influences and Power of that Divine Grace, which ever accompanies the cordial imitation of this Blessed Example, we are in some measure growen up into it, and become as it were the Living Images of the Life and Death of our Redeemer, then it is that we [Page 807] are Qualified to speak of it, and Recomend it with Success, even our Conversations, being then Fragrant and Savory, will have a winning Eloquence, and force in them, and bespeak and invite all under our care and inspection, to aspire after Con­formity to this Amiable Pattern in a sort of Language, much more per­swasive than the most Artificial strains of Rhetorick.

I intended in the nixt place,The CON­CLU­SION. to have Evinced, that the Holy Jesus is our Pa­tern, in his Resurrection & Ascension, & declared, the best way, I could, how we are to be made, conform to both, to the former, in our being raised up by the Power of it, into a new and Di­vine Life. And to the other, in the Flights and Sallyes of our Souls towards Heaven, And, as it were, taking up our dwellings there, by our thoughts and Meditations, desires and Aimes, in a disregard, and for­getfulness of this vain and Sinfull [Page 808] World. But Providence hath so or­dered it, that I am oblidged to stop here, which perhaps may be a Call both to the Writer and Readers, be­fore we proceed further to study well the Life and Death of our Redeem­er, and to endeavour by his Grace to Transcribe, as exactly as is pos­sible for us, the Copies which he hath cast us, and by so doing, we will be the better prepared to enter on the Contemplation of that Ange­lical and Heavenly Life, which we are to lead in conformity to his Re­surrection and Ascension. Yea, though we have not the Theorie and Speculation of it, yet by knowing the Fellowship of our Lords suffer­ings, and by being made conformable to his Death, we shall soon, know the Power of his Resurrection, and feel a new and Divine Life, springing up within us; For proportionably as the Old Man decayes and Dyes, the New Man Revives, & gathers strength, [Page 809] as the Flesh is mortified, CHRIST begins to be formed in the Heart. And thus we should come to know, this Excellent Life, by a Living Sen­sation and Experience, and by a so­lid Possession of the Reality and sub­stance of it, and the knowledge which is attained this way, infinitly excels that which is got in the Barren and dry way of Reasoning and Specu­lation.

The instances hitherto given of that Admirable Pattern, which our Lord hath set before us in his Life and Death, contain the great and principal strokes of it. I have insist­ed on them at greater length, because, though they be of vast Moment and Consequence, as hath been, I hope, sufficiently Evinced, yet they are generally but very little Reguarded, if not wholly neglected by the most. However it was not my intention to have stopt here, but to have descend­ed to a Minuter, and more particular [Page 900] consideration of other things, and to have Represented. 1. The Graces which the holy JESUS did Exempli­fie in his Child hood, and younger years, intended more especially as a Pattern to the Youth. 2. These which be Exemplified in his Man­hood, and more advanced Age, as a Pattern to the Adult. 3. These which he Exemplified towards the close of His Days, in the view of approaching Death, as a Pattern to such as are Old and stricken in years, directing them how to manage their more immediat Preparations, for Death and Eternity. 4. These which he Exemplified in his suffer­ings, as a Pattern to such as suffer with him, and for him, Teaching them how to behave under a Perse­cuted, or otherwayes afflicted state. 5. His carriage when a dying, and what he Exemplified in that Juncture, as a Pattern to all his followers, when in the same case and Circumstances, [Page 811] according to which they ought to order and finish happily, the last Scene of their Lives. The discussing of these particulars, would make it fully appear, that the Exemple of our Redeemer, is a Compleat and perfect Pattern, exactly correspond­ing to all the different states and pe­riods of our Life, and instructing us how to carry acceptably in each of them.

A third particular I proposed to be treated off under this Head, was to declare the Necessity, both of His giving us an Example, and of our con­forming to it, which though it be suf­ficiently evident from what we have been hitherto Representing, yet it might be very advantageously, and at great length insisted on. Here also I was resolved to obviat some Cavils of Prophane Wits, or soft and lazie Christians, and particularly that which would insinuat that at the Rate we have stated things, the Life [Page 812] of a Christian, must be very Me­lancholy and Pensive, wholly made up of bitter Egredients, and deprived of all pleasure and Solace, and con­sequently that the whole is Calcu­lated rather to Frighten from, than Engadge and Invite to the Practise of Pietie.

This absurd and Groundless Ca­lumnie, I design'd to have taken out of the way, by Representing at large. 1st, That as long as we are here on Earth, we are in a state of penitence and banishment; That the pleasures of the World and Flesh, do not agree to such a state, because as they were the Occasions and Causes of our ba­nishment, so they are hinderances to our return to our Native Country, and consequently that Penitents and Exiles, ought not to desire them, but rather keep at a distance from them. 2d, That so much, even of these as is necessary for Travellers and Pil­grimes is allowed us, so much, I say, [Page 813] as will accommodat us, not Clogg and burden us in our Journey, and that tho we possessed the things and pleasures of the World in great abun­dance, yet we should use them as Travellers, not set our hearts on them, nor please our selves in them, and take for our own use, only what is simply necessary. 3d, That tho the Life of a Christian were a state of Pure and continual Miseries, as most certainly it is not, yet this lastes but for a litle time, and the Joys of E­ternitie, for fuller Measures, and a more grateful relish whereof, great afflictions and sufferings do without doubt prepare us, will infinitly make up these short Liv'd, and seeming disadvantages. 4th, That all the Exercises of the Christian Life, even these which seem more mournful and afflicting, such as Self-denyal, bearing the Cross, Contrition, Sacri­ficeing the Old Man, and the like, have pleasure inseparably annexed to [Page 814] them, which the Holy Scriptures and the Experience of the Saints do abundantly verifie. That love being the Principle of this blessed Life, Sweetens, and Recommends, and gives a Savory relish to every thing in it. And that though a good Soul may for some time be under great desolations, yet as there is an inward Serenity of mind that accompanies him, and a secret force that supports him, while he is in this state, so his long and great Tribulations prove a certain introduction to, and Pre­paration for a state of full and solid, and Peremanent joys; as sharp and trying and uneasie Medicines, issue at last in a perfect health, and sound­ness, and the patient in the mean time, is enabled to bear them by the secret intermingling of some things that are Cordial. 5th, That when in our Christian course, we meet with any thing that is trouble­some, Harsh, and Painfull, this is [Page 818] owing, not to Religion which origi­nally required nothing off us but Love, but to the disorders and dis­tempers of our Minds, which with­out evident hazard of relapsing, can­not admitt of an easier cure. 6. That a sincere Christian nauseats the plea­sures and delights of the world and flesh, knowing that they are certain hinderances to his Perfection and Happiness; And therefore, that being deprived of them, can be no miserie to him. Such a deprivation is a mi­serie only to carnal and earthly hearts, who love the world and the things of the world, and are so sunk into flesh, that nothing goes well away with them, but what savours of it. 7. That our holy Religion obliges us to disclaime and abandon nothing but what is really hurtful and disad­vantageous unto us, and which there­fore it is our Interest readily to forgo. 8. That how uneasie and disagree­able soever the Christian Life may [Page 816] appear to us, yet since now our Redeemer hath ratified it by his Precept and Example, and assured us that it is the only way to Happiness, and since all his faithful Followers have travelled in it, we should make no demu [...]e to enter on it, if we intend to arrive at Eternal Life. 9. That it is our flesh and self-love and corrup­tions that resent and murmur at the Christian Life, as if it were too strict and severe. But that it is not from these that we ought to take our mea­sures. in determining what is good and profitable for us, that this would be as improper, as to set up a fea­verish and distempered palat to be the Standard whereby to judge of the Goodness and wholsomeness of Meats and Drinks. 10. That Religion was intended for the Cure and Redress of our lapsed natures, and that it is not possible, as things now stand, that what is diseased and out of order in us, should be healed and set right a­again, [Page 817] without our feeling some smart and trouble; And therefore, that to be frightened from the Practice of Piety, because of some Inconvenien­cies that necessarly attend our Cure, not only bewrays a base and mean, soft and cowardly Spirit, but also is a sign that one is in love with his miseries, and is desperatly resolved rather to live and dy in his distem­pers, than suffer any thing in order to have them healed. 11. That how great soever the difficulties and un­easinesses to be met with in the Chri­stian Life may be, yet the consider­ation of the Mighty Assistances, the many Consolations, the great and excellent Rewards which the Faith­ful and Sincere Votaries of it are in­fallibly assured of, is capable to make the prospect of its difficulties to dis­appear and evanish in all ingenuous Hearts. That the Strictnesses and Severities of Religion ought not to be viewed absolutely and in themselves, [Page 815] but as they are attended with graci­ous Supports and Cordials, and as certainly leading to and issuing in Peace and Purity, Perfection, Glory, and Eternal Life. As a Patient who is afflicted with a great many diseas­es, ought not to consider the Vomi­ters and Purges, and Launces and o­ther Instruments and Medicines, that must be imployed in effectuating his Cure simply in themselves, and with­out any further reguard, but as they are Means to procure his Health. This would soon reconcile him to the use of them, whereas the former view might dishearten him from ad­mitting them. 12. That, after all, great Prudence and Discretion must be used in the Management of young Disciples, they must be gradually acquainted with the Practices of the Christian Life. Things easie and proportion'd to their Capacities and Strength, are at first to be proposed to them. We must take care that [Page 819] weMat. 9.17. put not new Wine in old bottles. Babes are to be fed 1 Cor. 3.12. with milk not with strong meat. Our Lord would not communicat to his Disciples whatJoh. 16.12. they were not able to bear. It would1 John 2.12, 13. be absurd to oblige Children to the Dutys of Young Men and Fathers: Such are to be trained up by Peice-meal to the heights of Christian Pi­ety. I am apt to think, that the se­rious Consideration of these particu­lars, even as here briefly suggested, will be sufficient both to stop the mouths of such as prophanly cavil, and would make others bogle at the Accounts we have given of our Holy Religion, as if it were too strict and severe, and wholly constitute of sad and gloomie thoughts; And to evince that it's native Tendencies are to remove the true causes of Melancholy, to introduce a solid Peace and Sere­nity into our Minds, and to prevent these black and dispairing apprehen­sions, these direful agonies and con­vulsions [Page 820] of Soul, that will at long-run be the necessarie Issue and Result of a dissolute, vitious and debauched life. And this was to shut up all I intended to say of the example of our Redeemer, which how accommodat it is to carry on the Designs of the Incarnation, needs not be any further declared, the thing being so very plain and evident of it self.

The fourth and last Mean which he imployes for this same end, name­yl, Efficacie and Power, would in the next place have fallen under our con­sideration thus, as the Reader can­not but observe, runs through the other three, and though from what is already delivered concerning it, we cannot be altogether at a lose how to think of it; Yet because of its moment and importance, it de­served to have been treated of parti­cularly and by it self.

After this I was to resume the Life, and more especially, the Sufferings [Page 821] and Death of our Blessed Saviour, and to have viewed them as they are a Source of infinite Merits, as excel­lent Instructions of Devotion, as Mo­tives to Love and Obedience, as In­ducements to Penitential Sorrowing and Hatred of all Sin, as sure and certain Grounds of Faith and Hope, and as Unfailing Springs of Manifold Consola­tions to all Sincere Christians in all States and Conditions. And then would have followed the Considera­tion of his Resurrection and Ascenti­on, as they are Pledges and Assuran­ces of ours, and a D [...]laration of the Impressions which they ought to have n us as such. And finally, The whole of what concerned the Mystery of the In­carnation was to be shut up in treat­ing of our Redeemer's sitting on the Right Hand of GOD, and his coming in Glory to Judge the World, and of the Duties by which we ought to correspond to these great Articles of our Faith.

And then, in pursuance of my De­sign, I was to proceed to give my remaining Advices; Such as, That great Care be taken, in these times of Error and wavering, To confirm the Youth in the Truth of the Christian Re­ligion, where I was to direct unto the best Methods of doing this; And, by the way, to enquire into the Causes and Grounds of the present Growth of Deism and the contempt that is put on Reveal'd Religion. And next, That they be brought into an early Ac­quaintance with their Souls, and told that their Bodie is but an out­ward Tabernacle, that lodges an Immortal Inhabitant, which hath Noble Faculties, and great and vast Capacities. That this is their Better Part, and that their chief Care should be to get its disorders Redressed, and its filthiness and rubbish done away; And so to dress and prepare it for en­tertaining that Glorious and Infinit­ly Perfect Beeing, for whom it was [Page 823] Originally design'd as his Living Tem­ple, in which he ought to be Lov'd and Ador'd, and where also he would manifest his Power and Glorie, com­municat his Sweetness, and diffuse his Light and Joyes, and continue so doing, not only without Interrupti­on or Diminution, but with Increase of Delights, and new Discoveries of Adorable Beauties throughout all Eternity. And in fine, That they be informed that there is A Wise & Pow­erful, a Just and Righteous, a Good and Holy Providence, that Governs the World, whereof Just Notions ought to be given them: And some particu­lar Instances, wherein it hath re­markably interposed, set before them; and the Duties to which the Belief of it obliges, deduced and inculcat­ed on them.

But the full Prosecution of these and other things must be reserved for another Occasion. In the mean time, I am hopeful that such a Foun­dation [Page 824] is already laid down, as wil naturally and easily lead to erect the Superstructure, tho no further Instructions were given; I have tak­en my Rise from the very first Point, and guided such, as will incline to follow, thrô a good part of the way, so that no well disposed and consider­ing Person, can dangerously mistake in what remains of it.

They are not triffles and uncer­tainties that I have insisted on, but great & excellent Things, and of vast Consequence; And I perswade my self, that whoever Seriously per­uses, and Solidly Digests the Direc­tions which are her [...] afforded, will soon be sensible how accommodat and well suited they are, to form Young Hearts, and to conduct them to the most Eminent Instances of Christian Piety. I shall only add my hearty Prayers to the Father of Spi­rits, that he would effectually Bless this Performance, that he would [Page 825] dispose such whose Province it is to Educat the Youth, to manage that Great Trust, according to these or the like Measures, and Countenance and give Success to their Pious Care and Diligence, that the Good and Edification of Souls may be happily promoved by our joynt Endeavours, And the Glory of all may Redound to His ever Blessed and Adoreable Name, AMEN.