BEfore I come to handle the words, for our better understanding of them, I shall give a brief ac­count of the occasion of them, which was this. Some false Apostles had made [Page 2] a great disturbance in the Churches planted by the Apostles of Christ, by teaching that it was necessary for Chri­stians, not only to embrace, and enter­tain the Doctrines and Precepts of the Christian Religion; but likewise to be Circumcised, and keep the Law of Mo­ses. Of this disturbance which was raised in the Christian Church, you have the History at large, Acts 15. and as in several other Churches, so particularly in that of Galatia, these false Apostles and Seducers had per­verted many, as appears by this Epi­stle; in the beginning whereof St. Paul complains, that those who were se­duced into this Error of the necessity of Circumcision, and keeping the Law of Moses, had by this new Article of Faith, which they had added to the Christian Religion, quite altered the frame of it, and made the Gospel ano­ther thing from that which our Saviour delivered, and commanded his Apostles to teach all Nations.

For he tells us, ver. 6. of this Chap­ter, that he marvelled, that they were so soon removed from him that called them by (or through) the grace of Christ, unt [...] [Page 3] another Gospel, that is, so different from that which they had been instructed in by those who first preached the Gospel unto them: For the making of any thing necessary to Salvation, which our Saviour in his Gospel had not made so, he calls another Gospel. I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you by the grace of Christ, unto ano­ther Gospel, which is not another, [...], which is no other thing, or by which I mean nothing else, but that there are some that trouble you, and would pervert the Gospel of Christ; as if he had said, when I say that ye are removed to another Gospel, I do not mean, that ye have renounced Christianity, and are gone over to another Religion, but that ye are seduced by those who have a mind to pervert the Gospel of Christ, by adding something to it, as a neces­sary and essential part of it, which Christ hath not made so: This the Apostle calls a perverting or over­throwing of the Gospel; because by thus altering the Terms and Condi­tions of it, they made it quite another thing from what our Saviour deli­vered it.

[Page 4] And then at the 8 th and 9 th verses he denounceth a terrible Anathema a­gainst those, whoever they should be, yea tho' it were an Apostle, or an Angel from Heaven, who by thus per­verting the Gospel of Christ (that is by making any thing necessary to be be­lieved or practised, which our Sa­viour in his Gospel had not made so) should in effect preach another Gospel; but tho' we, or an Angel from Heaven, preach any other Gospel unto you, than that which we have preached unto you, let him be Anathema, an accursed thing. And then to express his confidence and vehemency in this matter, and to shew that he did not speak this rashly, and in a heat, but upon due consideration, he repeats it again in the next verse, As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other Gospel unto you, than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

From the words thus explained by the consideration of the Context, and of the main scope and design of this Epistle, these following Observations do naturally arise.

[Page 5] First, That the addition of any thing to the Christian Religion, as necessary to be believed and practised in order to Salvation, is a perverting the Gospel of Christ, and preaching another Gospel.

Secondly, That no pretence of Infal­libility is sufficient to authorise and warrant the addition of any thing to the Christian Doctrine, as necessary to be believed and practised in order to Salvation.

Thirdly, That Christians may judge and discern when such additions are made.

Fourthly, and consequently, That since the declaration of the Gospel, and the confirmation of it, there is no Au­thority in the Christian Church, to impose upon Christians any thing as of necessity to Salvation, which the Gospel hath not made so.

Fifthly, That there is no visible Judge (how Infallible soever he may pretend to be) to whose definitions [Page 6] and declarations in Matters of Faith and Practice, necessary to Salvation, we are bound to submit, without examina­tion, whether these things be agree­able to the Gospel of Christ, or not.

Sixthly, and Lastly, Whosoever teacheth any thing as of necessity to Salvation, to be believed or practised, besides what the Gospel of Christ hath made necessary, does fall under the Anathema here in the Text; because in so doing, he perverteth the Gospel of Christ, and preacheth another Gospel. Now the Apostle expresly declares, that tho' we (that is, he himself, or any of the Apostles) or an Angel from Hea­ven, preach any other Gospel unto you, than what we have preached unto you, let him be accursed: As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other Gospel unto you, than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

I. That the addition of any thing to the Christian Religion, as necessary to be believed or practised in order to Salvation, is a perverting the Gospel of Christ, and preaching another Gospel.

[Page 7] This is evident from the Instances here given in this Epistle; for the Apo­stle chargeth the false Apostles, with perverting the Gospel of Christ, and preach­ing another Gospel, upon no other ac­count, but because they added to the Christian Religion, and made Circum­cision, and the keeping of the Law of Moses, an essential part of the Christi­an Religion, and imposed upon Chri­stians the practice of these things, and the belief of the necessity of them, as a Condition of Eternal Salvation.

That this was the Doctrine of those false Teachers, we find expresly, Acts 15. 1. And certain men which came down from Judea, taught the Brethren, and said, except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, y [...] cannot be saved; and ver. 24. in the Letter written by the Apostles and Elders at Jerusalem, to the Churches abroad, there is this account given of it; forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us, have troubled you with words, subverting your Souls, saying ye must be circumcised, and keep the Law, to whom we gave no such Commandment. Where [Page 8] you see that this Doctrine is declared to be of pernicious consequence, tend­ing to subvert the Souls of Men, and likewise to be an addition to the Do­ctrine of the Gospel which was de­livered by the Apostles, who here with one consent declare, that they had given no such commandment; that is; had delivered no such Doctrine as this, nor put any such yoke upon the necks of Christians; but on the con­contrary had declared, that the death of Christ having put an end to the Jewish Dispensation, there was now no obligation upon Christians to observe the Law of Moses.

And from the Reason of the thing it is very plain, that the addition of any thing to the Christian Religion, as necessary to be believed or practised in order to Salvation, which the Go­spel hath not made so, is preaching ano­ther Gospel; because it makes an es­sential change in the Terms and Con­ditions of the Gospel Covenant, which declares Salvation unto Men upon such and such Terms, and no other. Now to add any other Terms to these, as of equal necessity with them, is to alter [Page 9] the Condition of the Covenant of the Gospel, and the Terms of the Christian Religion, and consequently to preach another Gospel, by declaring other Terms of Salvation, than Christ in his Go­spel hath declared, which is to pervert the Gospel of Christ.

II. No pretence of Infallibility is sufficient to Authorise and Warrant the addition of any thing to the Chri­stian Doctrine, as necessary to be be­lieved or practised, in order to Salva­tion. After the delivery of the Gospel by the Son of God, and the publica­tion of it to the World by his Apo­stles, who were Commissioned and In­spired by him to that purpose, and the confirmation of all, by the greatest and most unquestionable Miracles that ever were, no person whatever, that brought any other Doctrine, and declared Sal­vation to Men upon any other terms than those which are declared in the Gospel, was to be credited, what pre­tence soever he should make to a Di­vine Commission, or an Infallible As­sistance. The Apostle makes a Supposi­tion as high as can be, tho' we (says he) or an Angel from Heaven preach any [Page 10] other Gospel unto you, than that which we have preached unto you, let him be an Anathema. If the Apostles them­selves, who were Divinely Commis­sioned and Infallibly assisted in the Preaching of the Gospel, should after­wards make any addition to it, or de­clare any other Terms of Salvation, than those which are declared in the Gospel which they had already pub­lished to the World, they ought not to be regarded.

And the Reason is plain; because what claim soever any Person may make to Infallibility, and what de­monstration soever he may give of it, we cannot possibly believe him, if he contradict himself, and deliver Do­ctrines which do plainly clash with one another: For if he spake true at first, I cannot believe him declaring the contrary afterwards: And if he did not speak true at first, I cannot be­lieve him at all; because he can give no greater proof of his Divine Com­mission, and Infallible Assistance and Inspiration, than he did at first.

[Page 11] And the Reason is the same, if an Angel from Heaven should come and preach a contrary Doctrine to that of the Gospel, he were not to be belie­ved neither; because he could bring no better Credentials of his Divine Commission and Authority, than Those had who publish'd the Gospel, and consequently he ought not to be cre­dited in any thing contrary to what they had publish'd before. For tho' a Man were never so much disposed to receive a Revelation from God, and to submit his Faith to it; yet it is not possible for any Man to believe God against God himself; that is, to believe two Revelations, plainly contradictory to one another, to be from God; and the reason of this is very obvious; be­cause every Man doth first and more firmly believe this Proposition or Prin­ciple, That Contradictions cannot be true, than any Revelation whatsoever; for if Contradictions may be true, then no Revelation from God can signifie any thing, because the contrary may be equally true, and so truth and false­hood be all one.

[Page 12] The Apostle indeed only makes a Supposition, when he says, tho' we, or an Angel from Heaven, preach any other Doctrine unto you; but by this Suppo­sition he plainly bars any Man, or Company of Men, from adding to the Christian Religion any Article of Faith or Point of Practice, as of neces­sity to Salvation, which the Gospel hath not made so; I say any Man, or Company of Men, whatever Authority or Infallibility they may lay claim to, because they cannot pretend to a clear­er Commission, and greater Evidence of Infallible Assistance, than an Apostle, or an Angel from Heaven, and yet the Text tells us, that would not be a suf­ficient warrant to preach another Go­spel; it might indeed bring in question that which they had preached before, but could not give Credit and Authority to any thing plainly contrary to it, and inconsistent with it.

III. Christians may judge and dis­cern when another Gospel is preached, when new Articles of Faith, or Points of Practice, not enjoyned by the Go­spel, are imposed upon Christians. This [Page 13] the Apostle supposeth every particular Church, and for ought I know every particular Christian, that is duly In­structed in the Christian Religion, to be a competent Judge of, and to be sufficiently able to discern when ano­ther Gospel is preached, and new Terms and Conditions, not declared in the Gospel, are added to the Christian Re­ligion; for if they be not able to judge of this, the Apostle does in vain cau­tion them against the seduction of those who perverted the Doctrine of Christ, and endeavoured to remove them from him that had called them by the grace of Christ, unto another Gospel.

It may perhaps be said, that there was no need that they should be able to discern and judge of the Doctrines of those false Teachers, it was suffi­cient for them to believe the Apostle concerning the Doctrines of those Se­ducers, when he declared to them the falsehood and pernicious consequence of them. But the Apostle speaks to them upon another supposition, which does necessarily imply, that they were able to discern and judge what Do­ctrines were agreeable to the Gospel, [Page 14] and what not; for he puts the Case, that if he himself, or any of the Apo­stles, or an Angel from Heaven, should preach to them another Doctrine, con­trary to that of the Gospel, they ought to reject it with detestation; but this doth necessarily suppose them able to judge, when such Doctrines were preached, and consequently that all things necessary to be believed and practised by all Christians are clearly and plainly declared in the Gospel; all the Doctrines whereof are now con­tained in the Holy Scriptures, in which all things necessary to Faith and a good Life are so plainly deli­vered, that any sober and inquisitive Person may learn them from thence, and the meanest Capacity, by the help and direction of their Guides and Teachers, may be Instructed in them.

And this is not only the Principle of Protestants, but the express and con­stant Doctrine of the Ancient Fathers of the Church, whatever the Church of Rome, for the maintaining of her usurp'd Authority over the Consci­ences of Men, pretends to the contrary. [Page 15] And if this were not so, that Men are able to discern and judge which are the Doctrines of the Gospel, and what is contrary to them; the Do­ctrine of the Gospel was in vain preached, and the Holy Scriptures containing that Doctrine were writ­ten to no purpose.

Some things in Scripture are granted to be obscure and difficult, on purpose to exercise the Study and Enquiries of those who have leisure and capacity for it: but all things necessary are suf­ficiently plain; otherwise it would be impossible to judge when another Go­spel is preached, which the Apostle here supposeth the Galatians capable of do­ing. For if the Revelation of the Go­spel be not sufficiently plain in all things necessary to be believed and pra­ctised, then Christians have no Rule whereby to judge what Doctrines are agreeable to the Gospel, and what not: for an obscure Rule is of no use; that is, in truth is no Rule to those to whom it is obscure.

I proceed to the IVth Observation, which is plainly consequent from those [Page 16] laid down before; namely, that since the Declaration of the Gospel, and the Confirmation given to it, there is no Authority in the Christian Church to impose upon Christians any thing, as of necessity to Salvation, which the Gospel hath not made so.

The Commission given by our Lord and Saviour to his Apostles, was to preach the Gospel to all Nations, or (as St. Matthew expresses it) to go and teach all Nations, to observe all things whatsoever he had commanded them; and this is that which we call the Gospel, viz. that Do­ctrine which Christ commanded his A­postles to preach and publish to the World; and if the Apostles themselves had exceeded their Commission, and added any other points of Faith or Pra­ctice to those which our Saviour gave them in charge to teach and publish to the World, they had in so doing been guilty of that which St. Paul here in the Text chargeth the false Apostles with, viz. of preaching another Gospel: And if the Apostles had [...]o Authority to add any thing to the Gospel, much less can any pretend to it; since they have neither so immediate a Commission, [Page 17] nor such a miraculous power to give testimony to them, that they are Teachers come from God.

Now this Doctrine of the Gospel, which the Apostles preached to the World, is that which Christians are so often, and so earnestly by the Apo­stles in all their Epistles Exhorted to continue in, and not to suffer themselves to be shaken in mind, by every wind of new Doctrine, because that which the Apo­stles had delivered to them, was the intire Doctrine of the Gospel, which was never to receive any addition or alteration. This is that which St. Pe­ter calls the Holy Commandment which was delivered unto them, 2 Pet. 2. 21. It had been better for them not to have known the way of Righteousness, than after they have known it, to turn from the holy Commandment delivered unto them speak­ing in all probability of those who were seduced by the errors of the Gnosticks, from the purity of the Christian Do­ctrine delivered to them by the Apo­stles. This likewise St. Paul calls the common Faith, Titus 1. 4. and St. Jude ver. 3. the common Salvation; that is, the Doctrine which contains the common [Page 18] Terms of our Salvation, and the Faith w hich was once delivered to the Saints, that is, by the Apostles of our Lord, who publish'd the Gospel; once delivered, that is, once for all, so as never afterwards to admit of any change or alteration. This Faith he exhorts Christians earnestly to contend for, against those several Sects of Se­ducers, which were crept into the Christian Church, and did endeavour by several Arts to pervert the Gospel of Christ, and to deprave the Faith deli­vered by the Apostles.

So that the Doctrine of the Gospel publish'd by the Apostles, is fix'd and unalterable, and there can be no Au­thority in the Church to make any change in it, either by taking from it, or adding any thing to it, as necessary to be believed or practised in order to Salvation.

V. It follows likewise from the foregoing Observations, that there is no visible Judge (how much soever [...]e may pretend to Infallibility) to whose determination and decision in matters of Faith and Practice necessary [Page 19] to Salvation, Christians are bound to submit without examination, whether those things be agreeable to the Do­ctrine of the Gospel, or not.

When our Saviour appeared in the World, tho' he had Authority enough to exact belief from Men, yet because there was a standing Revelation of God made to the Jews, he appeals to that Revelation, as well as to his own Mi­racles, for the truth of what he said, and offered himself, and his Doctrine, to be tried by the agreeableness of it to the Scriptures of the Old Testament, and the Predictions therein concerning him. And this was but reasonable, it being impossible for any Man to receive two Revelations, as from God, with­out liberty to examine whether they be agreeable to, and consistent with one another. In like manner the Apo­stles of our Lord and Saviour, tho' they were guided and assisted by an Infallible Spirit, and had an immediate Commission from Christ to preach the Doctrine of the Gospel, did not require from Men absolute submission to their Doctrines and Dictates, without exa­mination of what they delivered, whether [Page 20] it were agreeable to that Divine Revelation which was contained in the ancient Scriptures.

This was St. Paul's constant custom and way of teaching among the Jews, who had received the Revelation of the Old Testament; he did not dictate to them by vertue of his Infallibility, but reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, and required their belief no further, than what he said, should upon exami­nation appear agreeable to the Scrip­tures. So we find Acts 17. 2, 3. And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them (speaking of the Jews) and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, opening and alledging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and ri­sen again from the dead, and that this Jesus whom I preach unto you, is the Christ. And Chap. 18. 28. he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the Script [...]res, that Jesus was the Christ. And St. Paul was so far from reproving them for examining his Doctrine by the Scriptures, that he commended it, as an argument of a Noble and Generous mind in the Bere­ans, that they did not give full assent [Page 21] to his Doctrine, 'till upon due search and examination they were satisfied that what he had said was agreeable to the Scriptures. Chap. 17. 11, 12. Where speaking of the Bereans, it is said, That these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they recei­ved the word, with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so; therefore many of them believed; that is, because upon search they found what he delivered to be agreeable to the Scriptures; and it was not a slight, but diligent and deli­berate search, they took time to exa­mine things thoroughly; for it is said they searched the Scriptures daily. And here in the Text St. Paul puts the case, that if he, or any other of the Apo­stles, concerning whose Divine Com­mission and Assistance they were so fully satisfied, should deliver any thing to them contrary to the Gospel which they had formerly preached, they were to reject it with the greatest abhorrence and detestation; and this necessarily supposeth a liberty to exa­mine what was delivered, even by those whom they believed to be In­fallibly assisted, and a capacity to discern [Page 22] and judge whether what they said was agreeable to the Gospel at first delivered to them, or not.

And after this, shall any Person or Church (what Claim soever they may make to Infallibility) assume to them­selves an Authority to dictate in mat­ters of Faith, and that their Dictates ought to be received with an absolute submission, and without liberty to ex­amine whether they be agreeable to the Faith once delivered to the Saints; and tho' they add new Articles to the Christian Faith, and of which there is not the least foot-step or intimation in any of the Ancient Creeds of the Christian Church, and do plainly im­pose upon Christians the Practice and Belief of several things as necessary to Salvation, which the Gospel never declared to be so, yet no body shall judge of this, but every Man ought without more ado, to believe blindfold, and to resign up his Understanding and Judgment to the directions of this vi­sible Infallible Judge?

But surely this is not the reasonable Obedience of Faith, but the forc'd submission [Page 23] of Slaves to the Tyranny of their Masters. Christians are expresly forbid to call any Man Father or Master upon Earth, because we have one Father and Master in Heaven. Now to make an absolute submission of our Under­standings to any upon Earth, so as without examination to receive their Dictates in Matters of Faith, is surely, if any thing can be so, to call such a Person Father and Master, because a greater submission than this we cannot pay to our Father who is in Heaven, even to God himself. I come now to the

Sixth, and last Observation from the Text; That whosoever teacheth any thing as of necessity to Salvation, to be believed or practised, besides what the Gospel of Christ hath made necessary, does fall under the Anathema here in the Text; because they that do so, do according to the mind of St. Paul, pervert the Gospel of Christ, and Preach another Gospel. For the Reason why he chargeth the false Apostles with Preaching another Gospel, and those that were seduced by them, as being remo­ved from him that called them by the Grace of Christ unto another Gospel, [Page 24] is plainly this; that they had changed the Terms of the Christian Religion, by adding new Articles to it, which were not contained in the Gospel; that is, by making it necessary to believe it to be so, because they taught so. Now St. Paul expresly declares this to be Preaching another Gospel, because they plainly alter'd the Terms of Salvation declared in the Gospel, and made that to be necessary to the Salvation of Men, which the Gospel had not made so.

And whatever Person or Church does the same, does in [...]ur the same guilt, and falls under the Anathema and Cen­sure here in the Text; yea, tho' he were an Apostle, or an Angel: And I am sure no Bishop or Church in the World can pretend either to an equal Authori­ty or Infallibility with an Apostle, or an Angel from Heaven.

Let us then hear what St. Paul de­clares in this Case, and consider seri­ously, with what earnestness and ve­hemency he declares it; tho' we (says he) or an Angel from Heaven preach any [...]her Gospel unto you, than that [Page 25] which we have preached unto you, let him b [...] accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other Gospel unto you, than that ye have re­ceived, let him be accursed. St. Paul you see is very earnest in this matter, and very peremptory, and therefore I cannot but think this Declaration of his to be more considerable, and every way more worthy of our regard and dread, than all the Anathema's of the Council of Trent, which in direct af­front and contempt of this Anathema of St. Paul, hath presumed to add so many Articles to the Christian Reli­gion, upon the counterfeit warrant of Tradition, for which there is no ground or warrant from the Scripture, or from any Ancient Creed of the Chri­stian Church.

And for the truth of this, I appeal to the Creed of Pope Pius the IV th, compiled out of the Definitions of the Council of Trent; by which Council the Pope only is Authorised to Inter­pret the true sense and meaning of the Canons and Decrees of that Council; and consequently his interpretations must be of equal force and authority [Page 26] with that of the Council it self. So that whatsoever he hath put into [...]is new Creed for an Article of Faith, ought to be received with the [...]ame pi­ous affection and veneration, as if the Creed had been compiled by the Coun­cil it self; because the Pope, it seems, and no body else understands the true meaning of that Council, at least is thought fit to declare it. And there­fore one may justly wonder at the pre­sumption of those, who after this De­claration of the Council, have taken upon them to Expound the Catholick Faith, and to represent that Religion to us, as it is defined in that Council; be­cause if there be any Controversie a­bout the meaning of its Definitions (as there have been a great many, even betwixt those who were present at the Council when those Definitions were made) none but the Pope himself can certainly tell the meaning of them.

Now in this Creed of Pope Pius there are added to the Ancient Creed of the Christian Church twelve or thirteen new Articles, as concerning Purgatory, Transubstantiation, the Wor­ship of Images, the Invocation of Saints, [Page 27] the Communion in one kind, and that the Church of Rome is the Mother and Mistress of all Churches, and that there is no Salvation to be had out of it; and several other Points, all which have ei­ther no foundation in Scripture, or are plainly contrary to it, and none of them ever esteemed as Articles of Faith in the Ancient Christian Church for the first five hundred years; and yet they are now obtruded upon Christians, as of equal necessity to Salvation, with the Twelve Articles of the Apostles Creed, and this under a pretence of Infallibi­lity, which St. Paul tells us would not have justified an Apostle, or an Angel from Heaven, in making such additions to the Christian Religion, and the im­posing of any thing as necessary to Salvation, which is not so declared by the Gospel of Christ.

And all that they have to say for this, is, That We do not pretend to be Infallible; but there is a necessity of an Infallible Judge to decide these Con­troversies, and to him they are to be referred. Which is just as if in a plain matter of Right, a contentious and confi [...]nt Man should desire a reference, [Page 28] and contrive the matter so as to have it refer'd to himself, upon a sleeveless pretence, without any proof or evidence, that he is the only Person in the World that hath Authority and Infallible Skill to decide all such dif­ferences. Thus the Church of Rome would deal with us in Things which are as plain as the noon-day; as Whe­ther God hath forbidden the Worship of Images in the second Command­ment? Whether our Saviour did Insti­tute the Sacrament in both kinds? Whether the People ought not to read the Scriptures, and to have the pub­lick Service of God in a known Tongue? These, and the like, they would have us refer to an Infallible Judge; and when we ask who he is, they tell us that their Church, which hath imposed these things upon Christians, and made these additions to the Gospel of Christ, is that Infallible Judge. But if she were as Infallible as she pretends to be, even as an Apostle, or an Angel from Heaven, St. Paul hath denounced an Anathema against her, for preaching another Gospel, and making those things necessary to the Salvation of Men, [Page 29] which are not contained in the Gospel of Christ.

The Inference from all this Discourse in short, is this; That we should con­tend earnestly for the Faith once deliver­ed to the Saints, and not suffer our selves by the confident pretences of Se­ducers, to be removed from him that hath called us through the grace of Christ unto another Gospel. The necessary Doctrines of the Christian Religion, and the common Terms of Salvation are so plain, that if any Man be igno­rant of them, it is his own fault; and if any go about to impose upon us any thing as of necessity to be believed and practised in order to Salvation, which is not declared to be so in the Holy Scriptures, which contain the true Doctrine of the Gospel, what Authori­ty soever they pretend for it, yea, tho' they assume to themselves to be Insal­lible; the Apostle hath plainly told us what we are to think of them; for he hath put the Case as high as is possible here in the Text, when he says, Tho' We, or an Angel from Heaven preach any other Gospel unto you, than that which [Page 30] we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

I will conclude all with that Counsel which the Spirit of God gives to the Churches of Asia, Revel. 3. 3. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast; and Chap. 2. 10. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suf­fer: be thou faithful unto the Death, and I will give thee a Crown of Life.

SINCE there are so many dif­ferent Opinions and Apprehensions in the World about Matters of Religion, and every Sect and Party does with so much confidence pretend that they, and they only, are in the truth; The great difficulty and que­stion is, by what means Men may be secured from dangerous Errors and Mis­takes in Religion. For this end some [Page 32] have thought it necessary that there should be an Infallible Church, in the Communion whereof every Man may be secured from the dangers of a wrong Belief. But if seems God hath not thought this necessary: If he had, he would have revealed this very thing more plainly than any particular Point of Faith whatsoever. He would have told us expresly, and in the plainest terms, that he had appointed an Infal­lible Guide and Judge in Matters of Faith, and would likewise have told us as plainly who he was, and where we migh [...] find him, and have recourse to him upon all occasions; because the sincerity of our Faith depending upon him, we could not be safe from mis­take in particular Points, without so plain and clear a Revelation of this In­fallible Judge, that there could be no mistake about him; nor could there be an end of any other Controversies in Religion, unless this Infallible Judge (both that there is one, and who he is) were out of Controversie. But neither of these are so: It is not plain from Scripture that there is an Infallible Judge and Guide in Matters of Faith; much less is it plain who he is; and [Page 33] therefore we may certainly conclude, that God hath not thought it necessary that there should be an Infallible Guide and Judge in Matters of Faith, because he hath revealed no such thing to us; and that Bishop, and that Church who only have arrogated Infallibility to them­selves, have given the greatest evidence in the World to the contrary; and have been detected, and stand convinc'd of the greatest Errors: And it is in vain for any Man, or Company of Men, to pretend to Infallibility, so long as the evidence that they are deceived is much greater and clearer than any proof they can produce for their Infalli­bility.

If then God hath not provided an Infallible Guide and Judge in Matters of Faith; there is some other way whereby Men may be secured against dangerous and damnable Errors in Religion, and whereby they may discern Truth from Imposture, and what Doctrines are from God, and what not; and this our Saviour declares to us here in the Text, namely, That an honest and sincere mind, and a hearty desire to do the Will of God, is the best Preservative [Page 34] against fatal Errors and Mistakes in Matters of Religion; [...], If any Man desire to do his Will, he shall know of the Doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of my self.

There are two dangerous mistakes in Religion: To reject any thing which really comes from God; and To receive and entertain any thing as from God, which doth not really come from him.

First, To reject any thing which really comes from God. This mistake the Jews frequently fell into, when they rejected the true Prophets which God from time to time sent to them, slighting their Message, and persecuting their Persons: but they miscarried most fatally and remarkably in their con­tempt of the true Messias, that great Prophet whom they had so long ex­pected, and whom God sent at last, to bring Salvation to them; but when he came, they knew him not, nor would receive him, but used him with all the despite and contempt imagina­ble, not as a Teacher come from God, but as a Deceiver, and Impostor.

[Page 35] Now the danger of rejecting any thing that comes from God, consists in this, that it cannot be done without the highest Affront to the Divine Ma­jesty. To reject a Divine Message, or Revelation, is to oppose God, and fight against him. So our Saviour tells the Jews, that in despising him, they despised him that sent him.

Secondly, There is also another dan­gerous mistake on the other hand, in entertaining any thing as a Revelation from God, which is not really from him. And this likewise the Jews were frequently guilty of, in receiving the false Prophets which spake in the name of the Lord, when he had not sent them. And this is commonly the tem­per of those who reject the truth, greedily to swallow error and delusion. So our Saviour tells us of the Jews, John 5. 43. I am come in my Fathers name, and ye receive me not; if another shall come in his own name, him ye will re­ceive. This Prediction of our Saviour's concerning the Jews, was fully accom­plish'd; for after they had rejected him, who gave such abundant evidence [Page 36] that he was the true Messias, and a Teacher sent from God, they received others, who really came in their own names, and ran after those who pre­tended to be the Messias, and were in great numbers destroyed with them. And this is very just with God, that those who receive not the truth in the love of it, should be given up to strong delu­sions, to believe lies.

No [...] these being the two great dan­gerous Mistakes in Religion which Men are liable to, my Work at this time shall be to shew, how a sincere desire and endeavour to do the Will of God, is a security to Men against both those dangers; and it will appear to be so, upon these two accounts.

I. Because he who sincerely desires and endeavours to do the Will of God, is hereby better qualified and disposed to make a right Judgment of Spi­ritual and Divine things.

II. Because God's Providence is more especially concerned to secure such Per­sons from dangerous Errors and Mis­takes in things which concern their [Page 37] Eternal Salvation. These shall be the two Heads of my following Discourse.

First, Because he who sincerely de­sires and endeavours to do the Will of God, is hereby better qualified and disposed to make a right Judgment of Spiritual and Divine Things, and that for these two Reasons.

I. Because such a Person hath a truer notion of God, and Divine Things.

II. Because he is more impartial in his search and enquiry after Truth.

First, Because such a Person hath a truer notion of God, and Divine Things. No Man is so likely to have clear and true apprehensions of God, as a good Man, because he hath transcribed the Divine perfections in his own mind, and is himself in some measure and degree what God is. And for this Reason it is, that the Scripture so often lays the foundation of all Divine Knowledge in the practice of Religion. Job 28. 28. The fear of the Lord, that is Wisdom, and to depart from Evil, is Understanding; and Psal. 111. 10. The [Page 38] fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wis­dom (that is) the Principle and Foun­dation of it; a good understanding have all they that do his Commandments: Where­as the Vices and Lusts of Men darken their Reason, and distort their Under­standings, and fill the Mind with gross and sensual apprehensions of Things, and thereby render Men unfit to dis­cern those Truths which are of a Spi­ritual Nature and tendency, and alto­gether indisposed to receive them. For tho' the Vices of Men be properly seated in their Wills, and do not pos­sess their Understandings; yet they have a bad influence upon them, as Fumes and Vapours from the Stomach are wont to affect the Head.

Nothing indeed is more natural to the Mind and Understanding of Men, than the knowledge of God; but we may abuse our Faculties, and render them unfit for the discerning even of their proper Objects.

When Men by wicked Practices have rendred themselves unlike to God, they will not love to retain the know­lenge of him in their Minds, but will [Page 39] become vain in their imaginations con­cerning him. What Clouds and Mists are to the Bodily Eye, that the Lusts and Corruptions of Men are to the Understanding; they hinder it from a clear perception of Heavenly Things; the pure in Heart, they are best qualified for the sight of God.

Now according as a Man's Notions of God are, such will be his appre­hensions of Religion. All Religion is either Natural, or Revealed: Natural Religion consists in the belief of a God, and in right conceptions and apprehen­sions concerning him, and in a due reverence and observance of him, and in a ready and chearful obedience to those Laws which he hath imprinted upon our Nature; and the Sum of our Obedience consists in our conformity to God, and an endeavour to be like him. For, supposing God to have made no external Revelation of his Mind to us, we have no other way to know his Will, but by considering his Nature, and our own; and if so, then he that resembles God most, is like to understand him best, because he finds those perfections in some measure in [Page 40] himself, which he contemplates in the Divine Nature; and nothing gives a Man so sure a notion of things, as practice and experience: Every good Man is in some degree partaker of a Di­vine Nature, and feels that in himself, which he conceives to be in God: So that this Man does experience what others do but talk of; he sees the Image of God in himself, and is able to discourse of him from an inward sense and feeling of his Excellency, and Per­fections.

And as for Revealed Religion, the only design of that is, to revive and improve the Natural Notions which we have of God; and all our Reasonings about Divine Revelation, are necessa­rily gathered by our Natural Notions of Religion: And therefore he that sin­cerely endeavours to do the will of God, is not apt to be imposed upon by the vain and confident pretences of Divine Revelation; but if any Doctrine be proposed to him, which pretends to come from God, he measures it by those steady and sure Notions which he hath of the Divine Nature and Per­ [...]ections, and by those he will easily [Page 41] discern whether it be worthy of God, or not, and likely to proceeed from him: He will consider the nature and tendency of it, and whether it be (as the Apostle expresses it) a Doctrine ac­cording to Godliness, such as is agreeable to the Divine Nature and Perfections, and tends to make us like to God: If it be not, tho' an Angel from Heaven should bring it, he will not receive it: If it be, he will not reject it upon every idle pretence, and frivolous exception that prejudiced and ill minded Men may make against it; but after he is satis­fied of the reasonableness and purity of the Doctrine, he will accept of such evidence and confirmation of it, as is fit for God to give to his own Revela­tions; and if the Person that brings it, hath the attestation of Miracles (which is necessary in case it be a new Do­ctrine) and if he carry on no Earthly Interest and Design by it, but does by his Life and Actions make it evident that he aims at the glory of God, and the good of Men, in this case, a good Man, whose mind is free from passion and prejudice, will easily assent, that this Man's Doctrine is of God, and that he does not speak of himself. This was [Page 42] the Evidence which our Saviour offered to the Jews, in vindication of himself, and his Doctrine, Joh. 7. 18. He that speaketh of himself, seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him; as if he had said, hereby may you distinguish one that really comes from God, from an Impostor: If any Man seek his own glory, you may conclude that God hath not sent him, but whatever he pretends, that he speaks of himself; but he who by his Life, and the course of his Actions demonstrates that he seeks the honour of God, and not any interest and advantage of his own, the same is true, and there is no unrighte­ousness in him; that is, no falsehood or design to deceive (for so the word [...] does sometimes signifie); you may conclude such an one to be no Deceiver, or Impostor. And if any Man sincerely desires and endeavours to do the will of God, he may by such Marks and Characters as these, judge of any Doctrine that pretends to be from God, whether it be so or not. This is the first Reason; because he that sin­cerely desires and endeavours to do the [Page 43] will of God, hath the truest notion of God, and of Divine Things.

Secondly, Such a Person is more impar­tial in his search and enquiry after Truth, and therefore more likely to find it, and to discern it from Error. He that hath an honest mind, and sincerely endea­vours to do the will of God, is not apt to be swayed and biassed by any Interest or Lust: for his great Interest is to please God, and he makes all his other Interests and concernments to stoop and yield to that. But if a Man be go­verned by any earthly Interest or De­sign, he will measure all things by that, and is not at liberty to entertain any thing that crosses it, and to judge equally of any Doctrine that is oppo­site to his Interest. This our Saviour gives for a Reason, why the great Rabbies and Teachers among the Jews did not believe and embrace his Do­ctrine, John 5. 44. How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another? If Men have any other design in Religi­gion than to please God, and to ad­vance his Honour and Glory in the World, no wonder if they be apt to reject the most Divine Truths; because [Page 44] these are Calculated, not to approve us to Men, but to God.

And as Vain-Glory, and a desire of the Applause of Men; so likewise doth every other Lust make a Man partial in his Judgment of things, and clap a false Biass upon his Understanding, which carries it off from Truth, and makes it to lean towards that side of the Question which is most favourable to the Interest of his Lusts. A vicious Man is not willing to entertain those Truths which would cross and check him in his course: He hath made the Truth his Enemy, and therefore he thinks himself concern'd to oppose it, and rise up against it: The light of it offends him, and therefore he shuts his Eyes that he may not see it. Those holy and pure Doctrines, which are from God, reprove the Lusts of Men, and discover the Deformity of them; and therefore no wonder if bad Men be so hard to be reconciled to them. This account our Saviour likewise gives of the fierce Enmity of the Jews to him, and his Doctrine, Jo [...]. 3. 19, 20. Light is come into the World, and Men loved darkness rather than light, because their [Page 45] deeds were evil; for every one that doeth evil, hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be repro­ved.

The vicious Inclinations of Men are a dead weight upon their Understandings, and able to draw down the Scales against the clearest Truths: For tho' it be absolutely in no Man's power to believe, or to dis-believe what he will; yet Men's Lives have many times a great influence upon their Understand­ings, to make Assent easie, or difficult; and as we are forward to believe what we have a mind to, so are we very backward and slow in yielding our Assent to any thing that crosseth our Inclinations. Men that allow them­selves in ungodliness and worldly lusts, will not easily believe those Doctrines, which charge Men so strictly with all manner of Holiness, and Purity.

This is the way which the Devil hath always used to blind the eyes of Men, that the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ might not shine into them. And certainly the most effectual way to keep Men in Infidelity, is to debauch [Page 46] them in their Lives; therefore the Apostle gives this as the reason of the Infidelity of Men in the last times, 2 Thes. 2. 12. They believed not the Truth, but had pleasure in Unrighteous­ness. When Men once abandon them­selves to lewd and vicious practices, In­fidelity becomes their Interest; because they have no other way to defend and excuse a wicked Life, but by denying the Truth which opposeth it, and finds fault with it.

That Man only stands fair for the entertainment of Truth, who is under the Dominion of no Vice, or Lust; be­cause he hath nothing to corrupt or bribe him, to seduce him, or draw him aside in his enquiry after Truth; he hath no interest but to find the Truth, and follow it: He is enquiring after the way to Heaven, and Eternal Happiness, and he hath the indifferency of a Tra­veller, which is not inclined to go this way rather than another; for his con­cernment is to find out the right way, and to walk in it: Such an indifferency of Mind hath every good Man, who sincerely desires to do the will of God; he stands ready to receive Truth, when [Page 47] sufficient Evidence is offered to con­vince him of it; because he hath no manner of concernment that the con­trary Proposition should be true. As in Mathematicks, a Man is ready to give his Assent to any Proposition, that is sufficiently demonstrated to him, be­cause he hath no inclination or af­fection to one side of the Question more than to the other; all his design and concernment is to find out the Truth, on which side soever it lies; and he is like to find it, because he is so indifferent, and impartial. But if a Man be biass'd by any Lust, and ad­dicted to any vicious Practice, he is then an interested Person, and con­cerned to be partial in his Judgment of Things, and is under a great temp­tation to Infidelity, when the Truths of God are proposed to him; because whatever the Evidence for them be, he cannot but be unwilling to own the truth of that Doctrine, which is so contrary to his Inclination and Interest. If the Affections and Interests of Me [...] were as deeply concerned, and as sen­sibly touched in the truth of Mathema­tical Propositions, as they are in the Principles of Morality, and Religion, [Page 48] we should find, that when a Proposi­tion stood in their way, and lay cross to their Interest, tho' it were never so clearly demonstrated, yet they would raise a dust about it, and make a thou­sand cavils, and fence even against the evidence of a Demonstration; they would palliate their Error with all the Skill and Art they could and tho' the absurdity of it were never so great and palpable, yet they would hold it fast against all Sense and Reason, and face down Mankind in the obstinate de­fence of it; for we have no reason to doubt, but that they who in Matters of Religion will believe directly con­trary to what they see, would if they had the same interest and passions to sway them in the case, believe con­trary to the clearest Mathematical De­monstration; for where there is an ob­stinate Resolution not to be convinc'd, all the Reason and Evidence in the World signifies nothing.

Whereas he that is biassed by no Passion or Interest, but hath an honest Mind, and is sincerely desirous to do the Will of God, so far as he knows it, is likely to judge very impartially concerning [Page 49] any Doctrines that are propo­sed to him: For if there be not good Evidence that they are from God, he hath no reason to deceive himself, in giving credit to them; and if there be good Evidence that they are Divine, he hath no interest or inclination to reject them; for it being his great de­sign to do the will of God, he is glad of all opportunities to come to the know­ledge of it, that he may do it.

Thus you see how a sincere desire and endeavour to obey the Will of God, does secure Men against fatal Errors and Mistakes in Matters of Religion; because such Persons are hereby better disposed to make a right Judgment of Divine Things, both because they have truer and surer notions of God and Religion, and are more impartial in their search and enquiry after Truth. This is the first Account.

Secondly, Another Reason why they who sincerely desire to do the Will of God, have a great security in discerning Truth from Error, is, because the Pro­vidence of God is more especially concerned [Page 50] to preserve such Persons from dangerous Errors and Mistakes in Things which concern their Eternal Salvation. When Men are of a teach­able Temper, God loves to reveal him­self and his Truth to them; and such is an humble and obedient frame of Mind. Psal. 25. 9. The meek will he guide in Judgment; the meek will he teach his way. The proper disposition of a Scho­lar, is to be willing to learn; and that which in Religion we are to learn, is what is the good and acceptable will of God, that we may do it; for Practice is the end of Knowledge. If you know these things (says our Blessed Lord) happy are ye if ye do them. It is neces­sary to know the will of God; but we are happy only in the doing of it: and if any Man be desirous to do the Will of God, his Goodness is such, that he will take effectual care to secure such an one against dangerous and fatal Errors. He that hath an honest Mind, and would do the will of God, if he knew it, God will not suffer him to remain ignorant of it, or to be mistaken about it, in any necessary Points of Faith, or Practice.

[Page 51] St. Paul is a wonderful Instance of the Goodness of God in this kind. He was undoubtedly a Man of a very ho­nest Mind; he had entertained the Jewish Religion, as revealed by God, and been bred in it; and out of a blind reverence and belief of his Teach­ers, who rejected Christ and his Do­ctrine, he likewise opposed and perse­cuted them with a mighty Zeal, and an honest intention, being verily per­swaded (as he himself tells us) that he ought to do what he did, against the Name of Jesus of Nazareth; he was under a great prejudice upon account of his Education, and according to the heat of his natural Temper, transported with great Passion: But because he did what he did, ignorantly, and in unbelief; God was pleased to shew mercy to him, and in a miraculous manner to convince him of the Truth of that Religion which he persecu­ted. He was sincerely desirous to do the will of God, and therefore God would rather work a Miracle for his Conversion, than suffer him to go [Page 52] on in so fatal a Mistake concerning the Christian Religion.

And as the Providence of God doth concern it self to secure good Men from dangerous Errors and Mistakes in Matters of Religion; so by a just Judgment he gives up those who al­low themselves in vicious practices, to Error, and Infidelity. And this is the meaning of that passage of the Prophet Esa. Ch. 6. 10. so often cited by our Saviour, and applied to the Jews, of making the heart of that People fat, and their Ears heavy, and closing their Eyes, lest they should Understand, and be Converted. So again, Isa. 66. 3, 4. God threatens the People of Israel, That because they were wicked and abominable in their Lives, he would abandon them, and give them over to a Spirit of Delusion; they have chosen their own ways, and their Soul delighteth in their Abominations; I also will chuse their delusions. God is said to chuse those things for us, which he permits us to fall into: So Rom. 1. 28. God is said to give over the abominable Heathen to a Reprobate [Page 53] Mind. As they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over [...], to an Injudicious and Undiscerning Mind. When Men aban­don themselves to Wickedness and Im­piety, God withdraws his Grace from them; and by his secret and just Judgment they are deprived of the Faculty of discerning between Truth and Error, between Good and Evil. 2 Thes. 2. 10, 11, 12. It is said, that the Man of Sin should come with all de­ceiveableness of Unrighteousness in them that perish, because they received not the love of the Truth, that they might be Sa­ved: And that for this Cause, God would send them strong delusion, that they should believe a Lye; that they all might be Dam­ned, who believed not the Truth, but had pleasure in Unrighteousness. And it is just with God, that Men of Vicious Incli­nations and Practices should be exposed to the Cheat of the grossest and vilest Impostors. God's Providence is con­cerned for Men of honest Minds, and sincere Intentions: But if Men take plea­sure in Unrighteousness, God takes no further care of them, but delivers them up to their own hearts Lusts, to be seduced [Page 54] into all those Errors, into which their own vain Imaginations, and their foolish hearts are apt to lead them.

Thus have I endeavoured, as briefly as I could, to shew that an honest Mind, that sincerely desires and endeavours to do the Will of God, is the best security against fatal Errors and Mistakes in Matters of Religion; both because it disposeth a Man to make a true Judg­ment of Divine Things, and because the Providence of God is more espe­cially concerned for the security of such Persons.

There remains [...]an Objection to be answered, to which this Discourse may seem liable; but this, together with the Inferences which may be made from this Discourse, I shall referr to another opportunity.

I Made entrance into these words the last Day; in which our Savi­our declares to us, that an honest and sincere Mind, and an hearty De­sire and Endeavour to do the Will of God, is the best Security and Preserva­tive against dangerous Errors and Mis­takes in Matters of Religion; [...], if any Man desire to do his Will, he shall know of the Doctrine, [Page 56] whether it be of God, or whether I speak of my self.

Now there are (I told you) two great Mistakes in Religion: To reject any thing which really is from God; and to receive and entertain any thing as from God, which is not really from him. And therefore I proposed from this Text to shew how a sincere Desire and En­deavour to do the Will of God, is a security to Men against both these Dangers, namely, upon these two Accounts.

First, Because he who sincerely De­sires and Endeavours to do the Will of God, is hereby better qualified and disposed to make a right Judgment of Spiritual and Divine Things; and that for these two Reasons.

I. Because such a Person hath a truer Notion of God, and Divine Things. He that resembleth God most, is like to understand him best, be­cause he finds those Perfections in some measure in himself, which he Contemplates in the Divine Nature; [Page 57] and nothing gives a Man so sure a No­tion of Things, as Practice, and Ex­perience.

II. Because such a Person is more Impartial in his search and enquiry after Truth, and therefore more like­ly to find it, and to discern it from Error. That Man only stands fair for the entertainment of Truth, who is under the Power and Dominion of no Vice, or Lust; because he hath nothing to corrupt or bribe him, to seduce him, and draw him aside in his enquiry after Truth: He hath no man­ner of concernment that the contrary Proposition should be true, having the indifferency of a Traveller, and no other Interest, but to find out the right way to Heaven, and to walk in it. But if a Man be biass'd by any Lust, and addicted to any vicious Practice, he is then an interested Per­son, and concern'd to make a partial Judgment of Things, and is under a great Temptation to Infidelity, when the Truths of God are proposed to him; because whatever the Evidence for them be, he cannot but be unwilling [Page 58] to own the Truths of those Do­ctrines, which are so contrary to his inclination, and interest.

Secondly, Another Reason why they who sincerely desire to do the Will of God, have a greater security in discerning Truth from Error, is, because the Providence of God is more especially concern'd to preserve such Persons from dangerous Errors and Mistakes, in Things which concern their Eternal Salvation. When Men are of a teachable Temper, of an hum­ble and obedient frame of Mind, God loves to reveal himself, and his Truth to them. Psal. 25. 9. The Meek will he guide in Judgment, and the Meek will he teach his way. The proper disposition of a Scholar, is to be willing to Learn; and that which in Religion we are to Learn, is, what is the good and accept­able Will of God, that we may do it; for Practice is the end of Knowledge; If ye know these Things (saith our Sa­viour) happy are ye if ye do them. It is necessary to know the Will of God; but we are only happy in the doing of it; and if any Man be desirous to do the Will [Page 59] of God, his Goodness is such, that he will take effectual care to secure such a one against dangerous and fatal Er­rors. He that hath an honest Mind, and would do the Will of God, if he knew it, God will not suffer him to remain ignorant of it, or to be mista­ken about it, in any necessary Point of Faith, or Practice. Thus far I have gone.

I shall now proceed to remove an Objection, to which this Discourse may seem liable, and then draw some In­fer [...]nces from the whole.

After all that hath been said, some perhaps may ask, Is every good Man then secure from all Error and Mistake in Matters of Religion? This is a mighty Priviledge indeed: But do not we find the contrary in Experience? That an honest Heart, and a weak Head, do often meet together?

For answer to this, I shall lay down these following Propositions.

[Page 60] First, That if there were any ne­cessity, that a good Man should be se­cured from all manner of Error and Mistake in Religion, this Probity of Mind, and sincere desire to do the Will of God, is the best way to do it; because such a Temper and Disposition of Mind gives a Man the best advan­tages to discern betwixt Truth, and Error; and God is most likely to re­veal his Will to such Persons. But there is no necessity of this; because a Man may be a good Man, and go to Heaven, notwithstanding a great many Mistakes in Religion about things not necessary. For while we are in this imperfect State, we know but in part, and see many Things very imperfectly: But when we shall come into a more perfect State, that which is imperfect shall be done away; the Light of Glory shall scatter all those Mists and Clouds, which are now upon our Understand­ings, and hinder us from a clear Sight and Judgment of Things; we shall then see God, and other Things, as they are; and be freed from all that Ignorance, and those many Childish [Page 61] Mistakes, which we are liable to here below; and till then, it is not neces­sary that we should be secured from them. Humility under a sense of our Ignorance is better for us, than Infal­libility would be.

Secondly, This Temper and Disposi­tion of Mind which I have been speak­ing of, is a certain security against Fa­tal Mistakes in Religion, and a final continuance in such Errors as would prove Damnable; and this is all that this Discourse pretends to, or our Sa­viour hath promised in this Text. And considering the Goodness of God, no­thing is more improbable, than that an honest Mind that seeks impartially after Truth, should miss of it; in Things that are Fundamentally ne­cessary to Salvation. And if we could suppose such a Man to fall into such an Error, either it would not be Fun­damental to him, having not been perhaps proposed to him with suffi­cient Evidence, and would be forgi­ven him upon a general Repentance for all Sins and Errors known, or un­known; or he would not be permitted [Page 62] to continue in it; but the Providence of God would find out some way or other to convince him of his Error, and to bring him to the acknowledgment of the Truth, that he might be saved. God would rather speak to him im­mediately from Heaven (as he did to St. Paul) than suffer him to continue in such an Error, as would infallibly carry him to Hell.

Thirdly, There is no such depth of Judgment, and subtilty of Wit re­quired, to discern between gross and Damnable Errors in Religion, and Ne­cessary and Saving Truth, but that an ordinary Capacity may be able to do it. There is so plain a Line drawn be­tween great Truth, and gross Errors, that it is visible to every Capacity; and an ordinary Understanding, that is not under a violent Prejudice, or blinded by some Vice or Fault of the Will, may easily discern it. Indeed, in Matters of lesser Moment and Con­cernment, and which have no such considerable and immediate Influence upon the practice of an Holy Life, the difference betwixt Truth and Error [Page 63] is not always so gross, and sensible, as to be obvious to every unprejudiced Eye. But we have all the Reason in the World to believe, that the Goodness and Justice of God is such, as to make nothing necessary to be believed by any Man, which by the help of due Instruction may not be made suffici­ently plain to a common Understand­ing. God hath so tender a Care of good Men, who sincerely love him and his Truth, that we may reason­ably presume, that he will not leave them under an unavoidable Mistake, concerning those Matters upon which their Eternal Salvation does depend. The Judge of all the World will do right; and then we may certainly conclude, that he will not Condemn any Man for no Fault, and make him for ever miserable, for falling into an Error, which with all his Care and Diligence he could not possibly either discern, or avoid.

Fourthly, God hath made abundant Provision for our security from Fatal and Dangerous Errors in Religion, by these three ways.

[Page 64] I. By an an Infallible Rule, suffici­ently plain in all Things necessary.

II. By sufficient means of Instru­ction, to help us to understand this Rule.

III. By an Infallible Promise of Secu­rity from Dangerous Errors and Mis­takes, if with an honest Mind, and due Diligence we will apply our selves to understand this Rule, and make use of the Means of Instruction, which God hath provided for that purpose.

First, God hath given us an Infalli­ble Rule, sufficiently plain in all things necessary. He hath given us the Holy Scriptures, which were given at first by Divine Inspiration, i. e. by Men Infallibly assisted in the Writing of them, and therefore must needs be an Infallible Rule; and all Scripture Di­vinely Inspired, is profitable for Doctrine, for Reproof, for Correction, for Instru­ction in Righteousness, as St. Paul tells us, 2 Tim. 3. 16. speaking there of the Books of the Old Testament; and there [Page 65] is the same Reason as to the Inspired Writings of the New.

Now if the Scriptures be an Infalli­ble Rule, and profitable for Doctrine and Instruction in Righteousness, i. e. to teach us to believe, and do; it follows of necessity, that they are sufficiently plain in all Things necessary to Faith, and a good Life; otherwise they could not be useful for Doctrine and Instru­ction in Righteousness; for a Rule that is not plain to us in these Things, in which it is necessary for us to be Di­rected by it, is of no use to us; that is in truth, it is no Rule. For a Rule must have these two Properties; it must be Perfect, and it must be Plain. The Scriptures are a perfect Rule, be­cause the Writers of them being Di­vinely Inspired, were Infallible: and they must likewise be Plain; otherwise, tho' they be never so perfect, they can be of no more use to direct our Faith and Practice, than a Sun-Dial in a dark Room is, to tell us the hour of the Day. For tho' it be never so exactly made, unless the Sun shine clearly upon it, we had as good be [Page 66] without it. A Rule that is not plain to us, what ever it may be in it self, is of no use at all to us, 'till it be made plain, and we understand it.

II. God hath likewise provided suf­ficient means of Instruction to help us to understand this Rule. It is not ne­cessary that a Rule should be so plain, that we should perfectly understand it at first sight; it is sufficient, if it be so plain, that those of better Capacity and Understanding may, with due di­ligence and application of Mind, come to the true Knowledge of it; and those of a lower and more ordinary Capacity, by the Help and Instruction of a Teacher. Euclid's Elements is a Book sufficie [...]tly plain to Teach a Man Ge­ometry: but yet not so plain that any Man at first Reading should under­stand it perfectly; but that by dili­gent Reading, by a due Application, and steady Attention of Mind, a Man of extraordinary Sagacity and Under­standing may come to understand the Principles and Demonstrations of it, and those of a more ordinary Capacity, [Page 67] with the help of a Teacher, may come to the Knowledge of it. So when we say that the Scriptures are plain in all Things necessary to Faith, and a good Life, we do not mean that every Man at first Hearing or Reading of these Things in it, shall perfectly under­stand them; but by diligent Reading and Consideration, if he be of good Apprehension and Capacity, he may come to a sufficient Knowledge of them; and if he be of a meaner Ca­pacity, and be willing to Learn, he may by the help of a Teacher, be brought to understand them without any great pains; and such Teachers God hath appointed in his Church for this very purpose, and a Succession of them to continue to the end of the World.

In a word, when we say the Scrip­tures are plain to all Capacities, in all Things necessary, we mean, that any Man of ordinary Capacity, by his own Diligence and Care, in Conjunction with the Helps and Advantages which God hath appointed, and in the due Use of them, may attain to the [Page 68] Knowledge of every Thing necessary to his Salvation; and that there is no Book in the World more plain, and better fitted to Teach a Man any Art or Science, than the Bible is, to Direct and Instruct Men in the Way to Hea­ven; and it is every Man's fault if he be ignorant of any Thing necessary for him to believe, or do, in order to his Eternal Happiness.

III. Good Men are likewise secu­red from Fatal Errors in Religion, by the Infallible Promise of God, if so be that with honest Minds and due Diligence they apply themselves to the understanding of this Rule, and make use of the Means of Instruction which God hath provided for that purpose. God hath promised to Gaide and Teach the Humble and Meek; that is, such as are of a Submissive and Teachable Temper, desirous and diligent to be Instructed in the Truth. Prov. 2. 2, 3, 4, 5. If thou incline thine Ear to Wisdom, and apply thine Heart to Un­derstanding; yea, if thou cryest after Knowledge, and liftest up thy Voice for Understanding, if thou seekest her as [Page 69] Silver, and searchest for her, as for hid Treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the Knowledge of God. And here in the Text our Saviour assures us, that If any Man be desirous to do his Will, he shall know of the Doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether he spake of himself; i. e. he shall be able to discern the Doctrines which are from God.

This is the Provision which God hath made for our security from Fatal Mistakes in Religion; and this is in all Respects a better Security, and more likely to Guide and Conduct us safely to Heaven, than any Infallible Church, and that for these Rea­sons.

First, Because it is much more cer­tain that God hath made this Provi­sion which I have mentioned, than that there is an Infallible Church ap­pointed and assisted by him to this Purpose. That the Scriptures are an Infallible and Adequate Rule, and suffi­ciently plain in all Things necessary, I have already proved; and I add [Page 70] further, that this was the constant Judgment of the Ancient Church, and so declared by the Unanimous Con­sent of the Fathers of it for many Ages; and that all Councils in their Determination of Faith, proceeded upon this Rule, 'till the Second Coun­cel of Nice.

I have likewise proved, That God hath provided a Succession of Pastors and Teachers in his Church, to In­struct us in this Rule; and that we have God's Infallible Promise for our security from dangerous Errors and Mistakes, if with an honest Mind and due Diligence we apply our selves to understand this Rule, and make use of the Means of Instruction which God hath provided for that Purpose.

But that there is an Infallible Church Appointed and Assisted by God, to De­clare and Determine Matters of Faith, and to be an Infallible Interpreter of Scripture, is not certain, because there is no clear and express Text of Scrip­ture to that purpose, that any Church whatsoever, much less that the Church [Page 71] of Rome hath this Power, and Pri­viledge.

Nay, I add further, That it is Im­possible, according to the Principles of the Church of Rome, that this should be proved from Scripture; because, according to their Principles, we can­not know either which are the true Books of Scripture, or what is the true Sense of Scripture, but from the Authority and Infallible Declaration of that Church. And if so, then the In­fallibility of the Church must be first known, and proved, before we can either know the Scriptures, or the sense of them; and yet 'till we know the Scriptures, and the sense of them, nothing can be proved by them. Now to pretend to prove the Infallibility of their Church by Scripture, and at the same time to declare, that which are the true Books of Scripture, and what is the true sense of them, can only be proved by the Infallible Authority of their Church, is a plain and shameful Circle, out of which there is no way of escape; and consequently that God hath appointed an Infallible Church is [Page 72] Impossible, according to their Princi­ples, ever to be proved from Scripture, and the Thing is capable of no other Proof. For that God will Infallibly As­sist any Society of Men, is not to be known, but by Divine Revelation. So that unless they can prove it by some other Revelation than that of Scripture (which they do not pretend to) the Thing is not to be proved at all. Yes, they say, by the Notes and Marks of the True Church; but what those Marks are, must either be known from Scripture, or some other Divine Revelation, and then the same Diffi­culty returns; besides that one of the most Essential Marks of the true Church must be the profession of the true Faith; and then it must first be known which is the True Faith, before we can know which is the True Church; and yet they say that no Man can learn the True Faith, but from the True Church; and this runs them unavoidably into another Circle as shameful as the other. So that which way soever they go to prove an Infallible Church, they are shut up in a plain Circle, and must either prove the Scriptures by the Church, [Page 73] and the Church by the Scriptures; or the True Church by the True Faith, and the True Faith by the True Church.

Secondly, This Provision and Secu­rity which I have mentioned, is more Humane, better Accommodated and Suited to the Nature of Man; because it doth not suppose and need a stand­ing and perpetual Miracle, as the other way of an Infallible Church doth. All Inspiration is Supernatural and Mira­culous, and this Infallible Assistance which the Church of Rome claims to her self, must either be such as the Apostles had, which was by immedi­ate Inspiration, or something equal to it, and alike Supernatural: but God does not work Miracles without need, or continue them when there is no occasion for them. When God deli­vered the Law to the People of Israel, it was accompanied with Miracles, and the Prophets which he sent to them from time to time, had an im­mediate Inspiration; but their Supream Judicature, or their General Council, which they call the Sanhedrim, was not Infallibly assisted in the Expounding [Page 74] of the Law, when Doubts and Difficulties arose about it; no, nor in judging of True and False Prophets; but they determined this, and all other Emergent Causes, by the standing Re­velation and Rule of their Written Law; and that they were not Infallibly As­sisted, is evident from the great Errors they fell into, in making void the Com­mandments of God by their Traditions, and in their Rejecting and Crucifying the true Messias, and the Son of God.

In like manner the Apostles and first Teachers of the Christian Religion, were immediately Inspired, and Mira­culously Assisted in the Publishing of the Christian Doctrine, and for the speedy and more effectual Propagating and Planting of it in the World, in despite of the violent Prejudices that were against it, and the fierce opposi­tion that was made to it. But when this was done, this Miraculous and Extraordinary Assistance ceased, and God left the Christian Religion to be preserved and continued by more Hu­mane and Ordinary ways, the Doctrines [Page 75] of it, being committed to Writing for a standing Rule of Faith and Practice in all Ages, and an Order of Men appointed to Instruct People in those Doctrines, with a Promise to secure both Teachers and People, that sincerely desi [...]e to know and do the Will of God, from all Fatal Errors and Mistakes about Things necessary to their Eternal Salvation; and this is a Provision more likely to be made by God, and better suited to the Na­ture of Man, than the perpetual and needless Miracle of an Inspired, or any otherwise Infallible Church.

Thirdly, This way is likewise more agreeable to the Nature of Religion, and the Virtue of Faith. The Design of an Infallible Church is to secure all that continue in the Communion of it, against all possibility of Error in Mat­ters of Faith. The Question now is not, whether an Infallible Church would do this? but whether that Church which arrogates Infallibility to it self, does not pretend to do this? And if they could do it, it would not be agree­able to the Nature of Religion, and [Page 76] the Virtue of Faith. For Faith, which is the Principle of all Religious Actions, would be no Virtue, if it were neces­sary. A true and right Belief can be no Virtue, where a Man is Infallibly secured against Error. There is the same Reason of Virtuous and Criminal Actions, and as there can be no Crime or Fault in doing what a Man cannot help; so neither can there be any Vir­tue. All Virtuous Actions are Matter of Praise and Commendation, and therefore it can be no Virtue in any Man; because it deserves no Commen­dation, to believe and own that the Sun shines at Noon-day, when he sees it does so. No more would it be a Virtue in any Man, and deserve Praise, to Believe aright, who is in a Church wherein he is Infallibly secured against all Error in Matters of Faith. Make any thing necessary, and impossible to be otherwise; and the doing of it ceases to be a Virtue. God hath so framed Religion, and the Evidence of Truth, and the Means of coming to the Knowledge of it, as to be a suffi­cient Security to Men of honest Minds, and teachable Tempers, against all [Page 77] Fatal and Final Mistakes concerning Things necessary to Salvation; but not so, that every Man that is of such a Church, should be Infallibly secured against all Errors in Matters of Faith; and this on purpose to try the Virtue and Disposition of Men, whether they will be at the pains to search for Truth, and when it is proposed to them with sufficient Evidence, tho' not by an Infallible Hand, they will re­ceive it in the love of it, that they may be Saved.

Fourthly, This is as much security against Error in Matters of Faith, as God hath provided against Sin and Vice in Matters of Practice; and since a right Belief is only in order to a good Life, a Man would be hard put to it, to give a Wise Reason, why God should take greater Care for the Infallible Se­curity of Mens Faith, than of their Obedience. The Reason pretended why God should make such Infallible Provision for a right Faith, is, for the better security of Mens Eternal Salva­tion, and Happiness. Now the Vir­tues of a good Life, have a more Direct [Page 78] and Immediate influence upon that, than the most Orthodox Belief. The end of the Commandments, (i. e) of the Declaration of the Gospel, is Cha­rity. In the Christian Religion that which mainly avails to our Justifica­tion and Salvation is, a Faith that worketh by Charity, and the keeping of the Commandments of God. He that heareth these Sayings of mine, and doth them (saith our Blessed Lord) I will liken him to a Wise Man that Built his House upon a Rock; and again, not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, (i. e.) makes Profession of Faith in me, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he that doth the Will of my Father which is in Heaven; and again, if ye know these Things, happy are ye, if ye do them. And the Apostle St. Peter Exhorts Christians to add to their Faith and Knowledge, Vir­tue, and Godliness, and Brotherly Kind­ness, and Charity, that so an abundant entrance may be ministred to them, into the Everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. So that the Vir­tues of a good Life have the greatest Influence upon our Salvation, and the main stress of Christianity is to be [Page 79] laid there. And therefore whatever Reason can be assigned, why God should provide for the Infallible security of our Faith, is much stronger, why an equal Provision should be made to secure Ho­liness, and Obedience of Life; because without this, Faith cannot Infallibly at­tain its End, which is the Salvation of our Souls. But this it is granted God hath not done, and Experience shews it; and therefore it is un­reasonable to suppose that he hath done the other. It is sufficient, that in both kinds he hath done that which is suf­ficient to make us capable of Happiness, if we be not wanting to our selves; the rest he hath left to the sincerity of our Endeavours; expecting that We on our part, should work out our Salvation with fear and trembling, and give all Diligence to make our Calling and Election sure. And if God hath made such Provision by the Gospel, for all that enjoy the Light and Advantage of it, that none can miscarry without their own fault; then both his Goodness and Wisdom are sufficiently acquitted, without an Infallible Guide and Judge in Matters of Faith, and that Irreverent way of Arguing in the Canon Law, might well [Page 80] have been spared; that of necessity there must be an Infallible Judge of Con­troversies in Religion; aliter Dominus non videretur fuisse discretus, otherwise God would not seem to have Ordered Mat­ters discreetly.

But what Infallible Security soever they have in the Church of Rome, as to Matters of Faith, they are certainly the worst provided of wholsom and safe Di­rections for the Consciences and Lives of Men, of any Church in the World. No Religion that I know of in the World, ever had such Lewd and Scan­dalous Casuists. Witness the Moral Di­vinity of the Jesuits, which hath been so exposed to the World, not only by those of our Religion, but by their own Writers also. Nor is this mischief only confined to that Order; their Casuists in general, and even the more Ancient of them, who writ before the Order of Jesuits appeared in the World, have gi­ven such a Liberty, and loose, to great Immorality in several kinds, as is in­finitely to the reproach of the best and purest Religion in the World. Inso­much that Sir Tho. Moor himself, who [Page 81] was a great Zealot for that Religion, could not forbear to make a loud Com­plaint of it, and to pass this severe Cen­sure upon the generality of their Casuists: ‘That their great Business seemed to be, not to keep Men from Sin, but to Teach them quàm propè ad pec [...]atum liceat accedere sine peccato; how near to Sin they might lawfully come without Sinning.’ In the mean time the Consciences of Men are like to be well directed, when instead of giving Men plain Rules for the Government of their Hearts and Lives, and clear Re­solutions of the Material Doubts which frequently occur in Humane Life, they entangle them in Niceties, and endless Scrupulosities, teaching them to split Hairs in Divinity, and how with great Art and Cunning they may avoid the committing of any Sin, and yet come as near to it as is possible. This is a thing of a most dangerous Consequence to the Souls of Men; and if Men be but once encouraged to pass to the utmost Bounds of what is Lawful, the next step will be into that which is Un­lawful.

[Page 82] So that unless Faith without Works will save Men, notwithstanding the In­fallible Security which they pretend to give Men of a sound and right Belief (if it were really as much as they talk of) the Salvation of Men would still be in great hazard and uncertainty, for want of better and safer Directions for a good Life, than are ordinarily to be met with in the Casuistical Writings of that Church; especially if we consi­der that the Scriptures are lock'd up from the People in an unknown Tongue, where the surest and plainest Directions for a good Life are most plentifully to be had; insomuch, that a Man had better want all the Volumes of Casuistical Divinity, that ever were written in the World, than to be with­out the Bible; by the diligent studying of which Book alone, he may sooner learn the way to Heaven, than by all the Books in the World without it.

Fifthly, and Lastly, This Provision which God hath made, is, when all is done, as good a Security against Fatal Errors and Mistakes in Religion, as an Infallible Church could give, if there were [Page 83] one; and it is as good a way to prevent and put an end to Controversies in Re­ligion, so far as it is necessary that they should be prevented, and have an end put to them: And these are the two great Reasons why an Infallible Judge is so importunately demanded, and in­sisted upon. I shall speak to these di­stinctly, and severally; but because they will require a longer Discourse than the time will allow, I shall not enter upon them at present, but refer them to another Opportunity.

WHEN I made entrance into these W [...]ds, I proposed from this Text, First, To shew that an honest and sincere Mind, and a hearty Desire and Endeavour to do the Will of God, is the greatest Security and best Preser­vative against dangerous Errors and Mistakes in Matters of Religion.

[Page 86] In the next place, I proceeded to remove an Objection, to which my Dis­course upon this Subject might seem liable. Some perhaps might ask, Is every good Man then secure from all Error and Mista [...]e in Ma [...]ters of Re­ligion? This is a mighty [...]riviledge i [...] ­deed. But do we not find the contrary in experience, that an honest Heart, and a weak Head do often meet toge­ther? For Answer to this, I laid down several Propositions.

By the Last of which I shew'd, that God hath made abundant Provision for our Security from fatal and dangerous Errors in Religion, both by the Infalli­ble Rule of the Holy Scripture, and by sufficient means of Instruction to help us to understand this Rule, and by his Infallible Promise of assisting us, if with honest Minds, and a due Diligence we apply our selves to the understanding of this Rule, and the use of these Means. And this, I told you, was in all Re­spects a better Security, and more likely to Conduct us safe to Heaven, than any Infallible Church whatsoever; [Page 87] and that for Five Reasons; Four of which I have already treated of, and now proceed to the Fifth, and last, viz.

Because this Provision which I have shewn God hath made, is both as good a security against Fatal Errors and Mis­takes in Religion, as an Infallible Church could give, if there were One: And it is likewise as good a way to pre­vent and put an end to Controversies in Religion, so far as it is necessary they should be prevented, or have an end put to them. And these are the two great Reasons why an Infallible Judge is so importunately demanded, and insisted upon. I shall speak to these two Points, distinctly, and seve­rally.

First, Because this is as good a secu­rity against Fatal Errors and Mistakes in Religion, as an Infallible Church could give if there were one. For an Infallible Church, if there were such an one upon Earth, could not Infallibly secure particular Christians against Er­rors in Faith, any other way, than by [Page 88] the Definition and Declaration of those who are Infallible in that Church. And there are but three that pretend to it; either the Pope, or a Council General, or the Pope and a General Council agreeing in the same Definitions. Not the Pope by himself, nor the General Council without the Pope; because the Church which pretends to Infallibility, is not agreed, that either of these alone is Infallible, and therefore their Defi­nitions can be no certain, much less Infallible Foundation of Faith; no, not to that Church which pretends to In­fall [...]bility. So that if there be an In­fallible Oracle in that Church, it must be the Pope and Council in Conjunction, or the Definition of a Council confirm­ed by the Pope. Now in that Case, either the Council was Infallible in its Definitions, before they had the Pope's Confirmation, or not. If the Council was Infallible in its Definiti­ons, before they had the Pope's Con­firmation; then the Council alone and of its self was Infallible (which a great part of the Church of Rome deny) and then it needed not the Pope's Confir­mation to make it Infallible: Or else [Page 89] a General Council is not Infallible in its Definitions, before they receive the Pope's Confirmation; and then the Pope's Confirmation cannot make it so: For that which was not Infallibly Defined by the Council, cannot be made Infallible by the Pope's Confir­mation.

But there is another Difficulty yet: It is a Maxim generally receiv'd, and that even in the Roman Church, ‘That the Definitions of a General Council, confirmed by the Pope, are not Obli­gatory, unless they be receiv'd by the Universal Church.’ From whence these two great Inconveniencies will un­avoidably follow.

I [...] That no Man is obliged to be­lieve such Definitions, 'till he Certainly know that they are received by the Universal Church; which how he should Certainly, much less Infallibly know, I cannot understand; unless he either speak with all the Christians in the World, or the Representatives of all particular Churches return back and meet again in Council, to declare that [Page 90] the Universal Church hath received their Definitions; which I think was never yet done.

II. It will follow, that the Defini­tions of a General Council, confirmed by the Pope, are not Infallible, 'till they be received by the Universal Church. For if they were Infallible without that, they would be Obliga­tory without it; because an Infallible Definition, if we know it to be so, lays an Obligation to believe it, whe­ther it be receiv'd by the Universal Church, or not. And if such Defini­tions are not Infallible 'till they be received by the Universal Church, they cannot become Infallible after­wards; because if the Definitions were not Infallible before, they cannot be received as such by the Universal Church, nor by the meer reception of them, be made to be Infallible Defini­tions, if they were not so before.

But if we should pass over all these Difficulties, there is a greater yet be­hind, and that is, Supposing the Defi­nitions of General Councils confirmed [Page 91] by the Pope to be Infallible, particular Christians cannot be secured Infallibly from Error without the Knowledge of those Definitions. And there are but two ways imaginable of conveying this Knowledge to them: Either by the living voice of their particular Pastors, whom they are implicitely to believe in these Matters; but particular Pa­stors are Fallible (as they themselves grant) and therefore their words can neither be an Infallible Foundation of Faith, or an Infallible means of con­veying it; and it is unreasonable, they say, for Men that own them­selves to be Fallible, to require an im­plicit Belief to be given to them: Or else the Knowledge of the Definitions of Councils must be conveyed to par­ticular Christians by Writing; and if so, then there will only be an Infalli­ble Rule, but no living Infallible Judge. And if an Infallible Rule will serve the turn, we have the Scriptures, which we are sure are Infallible, and therefore at least as good as any other Rule. But they say, that the Defini­tions of Councils give us an Infallible Interpretation of Scripture, and therefore [Page 92] are of greater advantage to us. But do not the Definitions of Councils sometimes also need Explication, that we may know the certain Sense of them, without which we cannot know the Doctrines defined? Yes certainly, they need Explication as much as Scrip­ture, if there be any difference about the meaning of them; and there have been, and still are great Differences among those of their own Church about the meaning of them. And if the Explications of General Councils need themselves to be explain'd, then there is nothing got by them, and we are but where we were before: For Differences about the meaning of the Definitions of General Councils, make as great Difficulties and Uncertainties in Faith, as the Differences about the meaning of Scripture.

Well, but the People have the li­ving voice of their particular Pastors to explain the Definitions of Councils to them. But this does not help the Matter neither, for these two Rea­sons.

[Page 93] First, Because particular Pastors have no Authority to explain the Definiti­ons of General Councils. The Council of Trent hath by express Decree, reserved to the Pope, and to him only, the Power to explain the Definitions of the Council, if any difference arise about the meaning of them. So that if there be any difference about the true sense and meaning of any of the Definitions of the Council, particular Pastors have no Authority to explain them; and where there is no doubt or difference about the meaning of them, there is no occasion for the explica­tion of them.

Secondly, But suppose they had Au­thority to explain them, this can be no Infallible Security to the People that they explain them right; both because particular Pastors are fallible; and likewise because we see in experi­ence, that they differ in their Explica­tions; witness the Bishop of Condom's Exposition of the Catholick Faith, and of the Definitions of the Council of Trent, which is in many Material [Page 94] Points very different from that of Bellarmine, and many other Famous Doctors of that Church. And which is more, witness the many differences betwixt Ambro [...]ius Catharinus, and Dominicus Asoto, about the Definitions of that Council, in which they were both present, and heard the Debates, and themselves bore a great part in them. Now if they who were pre­sent at the framing of the Definitions of that Council, cannot agree about the meaning of them, much less can it be expected from those that were absent.

Secondly, This Provision which I have mentioned, is likewise as good a way to prevent and put an end to Controversies in Religion, so far as it is necessary they should be prevented, or have an end put to them, as any In­fallible Church would be, if there were one: And this is another Rea­son why an Infallible Church is so much insisted upon, that there may be some way and means for a final decision of Controversies, which the Scriptures cannot be, because they are [Page 95] only a dead Rule, which can end no Controversie without a Living Judge ready at hand, to interpret and apply that Rule upon emergent Occasions.

It is not necessary that all Contro­versies in Religion should either be prevented, or decided: This the Church which pretends to be Infalli­ble, cannot pretend to have done; be­cause there are manifold Controversies, even in the Church of Rome her self, concerning Matters of Religion, which still remain undecided; and in their Commentaries upon Scripture, many Differences about the sense of several Texts, concerning which she hath not thought fit to give an Infallible Inter­pretation. And where their Popes, and several of their General Councils have thought fit to meddle with Scrip­ture, they have applyed and interpre­ted Texts more improperly and absurd­ly, than even their private Doctors. And which is more, in Differences about Points of Faith, which are pretended on both sides to be fundamental, this Church hath not thought fit to put an end to them by her Infallible Decision, [Page 96] after two hundred years brang­ling about them. For instance, in that fierce and long Difference about the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin, which on both sides is pretended to be an Article of Faith, and for which, contrary Revelations of their Canonized Saints are so fre­quently pretended; and yet neither Pope, nor General Council, have thought fit to exert their Infallibility for the decision of this Controversie. So that if their Church had this Talent of Infallibility ever committed to them, they have with the slothful Servant, laid it up in a Napkin; and according to our Saviour's Rule, have long since forfeited it, for not making use of it.

And whereas it is pretended, that the Scripture is but a dead R [...]l [...], which can end no Controversies without a Living Judge ready at hand, to inter­pret and apply that Rule upon emer­gent Occasions; the same Objection lies against them, unless a General Council, which is their Living Judge were always sitting. For the D [...]finitions [Page 97] of their Councils in Writing are liable to the same, and greater Ob­jections, than the Written Rule of the Scriptures.

The Summ of all is this. In Diffe­rences about lesser Matters, mutual Charity and Forbearance will secure the Peace of the Church, tho' the Dif­ferences remain undecided; and in greater Matters, an Infallible Rule searched into with an honest Mind, and due Diligence, and with the help of good Instruction, is more likely to extinguish and put an end to such Differences, than any Infallible Judge, if there were one; because an humble and honest Mind is more likely to yield to Reason, than a perverse and cavilling Temper is to submit to the Sentence of an Infallible Judge, unless it were back'd with an Inquisition. The Church of Rome supposeth her self Infallible, and yet notwithstanding that, she finds that some question and deny her Infallibility, and then her Sentence signifies nothing. And of those who own it, many dispute the sense and meaning of her Sentence; and whether [Page 98] they deny the Infallibility of her Sen­tence, or dispute the Sense of it, in neither of these Cases will it prove effectual to the deciding of any Dif­ference.

But after all this Provision which we pretend God hath made for honest and sincere Minds, Do we not see that Men fall into dangerous and dam­nable Errors, who yet cannot, with­out great Uncharitableness, be supposed not to be sincerely desirous to know the Truth, and to do the Will of God?

To this I shall briefly return these Two Things.

I. That the same Errors are not equally damnable to all. The innocent and (humanly speaking) almost in­vincible Prejudices of Education in some Persons, even against a Funda­mental Truth; the different Capacities of Men, and the different Means of Conviction afforded to them; the greater and lesser degrees of Obstinacy, and a faulty Will in opposing the Truths [Page 99] proposed to them; all these, and per­haps several other Considerations be­sides, may make a great difference in the guilt of Mens Errors, and the dan­ger of them.

II. When all is done, the Matter must be left to God, who only know­ [...]th the Hearts of all the Children of Men. We cannot see into the Hearts of Men, nor know all their Circum­stances, and how they may have pro­voked God to forsake them, and give them up to Error and Delusion, be­cause they would not receive the truth in the love of it, that they might be saved. And as on the one hand God will con­sider all Mens Circumstances, and the Disadvantages they were under for coming to the knowledge of the Truth, and make allowance to Men for their invincible Errors, and for­give them upon a general Repentance: So on the other hand, he who sees the insincerity of Men, and that the Errors of their Understandings did proce [...]d from gross Faults of their Lives, will deal with them according­ly. But if Men be honest and sincere, [Page 100] God, who hath said, if any Man will do his Will, he shall know of the Doctrine, will certainly be as good as his word.

It now remains only to draw some Inferences from this Discourse, and they shall be these three.

First, From this Text, and what hath been Discoursed upon it, we may infer how slender and ill-grounded the pretence of the Church of Rome to Infallibility is; whether they place it in the Pope, or in a General Council, or in both. The last is the most gene­ral Opinion; and yet it is hard to un­derstand how Infallibility can result from the Pope's Confirmation of a General Council, when neither the Council was Infallible in framing its Definitions, nor the Pope in Confirm­ing them. If the Council were In­fallible in framing them; then they needed no Confirmation: If they were not; then Infallibility is only in the Pope that confirms them, and then it is the Pope only that is Infallible. But no Man that reads these words of our Saviour, if any Man will do his will, he [Page 101] shall know of the Doctrine, would ever imagine that the Bishop of Rome (who­ever he shall happen to be) were secured from all fatal Errors in Matters of Faith, much less that he were En­dowed with an Infallible Spirit, in Judging what Doctrines are from God, and what not: For it cannot be denied, but that many of their Popes have been notoriously Wicked and Vicious in their Lives: Nay Bellarmine himself acknowledgeth, that for a Succession of Fifty Popes together, there was not one Pious and Virtuous Man that sate in that Chair; and some of their Popes have been Condemned and Depo­sed for Heresie; and yet after all this, the Pope, and the governing part of that Church, would bear the World in hand that he is Infallible. But if this Saying of our Saviour be true, that if any Man will do his will, he shall know of his Doctrine, whether it be of God; then every honest Man that sincerely desires to do the Will of God, hath a fairer pretence to Infallibility, and a clearer Text for it, than is to be found in the whole Bible for the Infallibi­lity of the Bishop of Rome. What would [Page 102] the Church of Rome give, that the [...]e were but as express a Text in Scripture for the Infallibility of their Popes, as this is for the security of every good Man, in his Judgment of Doctrines (which makes Infallibility needless)? What an unsufferable Noise, and what endless Triumphs would they make upon it, if it had been any where said in the Bible, That if any Man be Bishop of Rome, and sit in St. Peter's Chair, he shall know of my Doctrine whether it be of God? Had there been but such a Text as this, we should never have been troubled with their impertinent citation of Texts, and their remote and blind Inferences from Pasce Oves, and super hanc Petram; Feed my Sheep; and upon this Rock will I build my Church; to prove the Pope's Infalli­bility. And yet no Man of Sense or Reason ever extended the Text I am speaking to, so far as to attempt to prove from it the Infallibility of every good Man; but only his security from [...]atal Errors and Mistakes in Religion. The largest Promises that are made in Scripture of security from Error and Mistake about Divine Things, are made to good Men, who sincerely desire to [Page 103] do the Will of God. And if this be so, we must conclude several Popes to have been the furthest from Infallibility of any Men in the World. And in­deed there is not a more compendious way to perswade Men that the Chri­stian Religion is a Fable, than to set up a Lewd and Vicious Man for the Oracle of it.

Nay, I will go farther yet; That there are no other Promises made in Scripture, of Direction, or Assistance, or Security from Mistake, to any Church; but the same are made in as full and express Terms to every good Man that sincerely desires to know the Truth, and to practise it. Is it promis'd to the Church, or to the Pa­stors of it, I will be with you always? And hath not our Saviour promised the same to every one that is obedient to his word? John 14. 23. If a Man 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. And does not the Apostle apply the same Pro­mise to every good Christian, Heb. 13. 5. I will never leave thee, nor forsake [Page 104] thee? For where is the difference between these Expressions? I will be with you, and I will make my abode with him? I will be with you always, and I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee? Is it promised to the Church, that the Spirit shall lead her into all Truth? and is not the same Promise made to every good Man? John 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; that is, God will reveal his Will to those that love him, and keep his Commandments. Hath God promised to build his Church upon a Rock? And doth not our Saviour use the same Metaphor concerning every Man that doth the Will of God? Mat. 7. 24. Whosoever heareth these Sayings of mine, and doth them, is like a Wise Man that built his House upon a Rock. So that if to be built upon a Rock signifies Infallibility, it belongs to every good Man, who sin­cerely practiseth what he knows, as much as to any Church.

[Page 105] When Men are enabled by God to work Miracles for the confirmation of the Doctrines which they deliver, there is great Reason to believe that they are Infallibly assisted in the delivery of those Doctrines: But without this, 'tis the vainest thing in the World, for any Person or Church to pretend to it; because they offer no Evidence [...]it to satisfie any Man, that they are so as­sisted: And I do not hear that the Pope, among all his Priviledges, does pretend to the Power of Miracles.

Secondly, From hence likewise we may infer the great Reason of Error and Infidelity in the World. If any Man be an Infidel, it is not the fault of his Understanding, but of his Will; it is not because there is not sufficient Evidence that the Christian Religion is from God, but because Mens Inte­rests and Lusts make them partial and incompetent Judges of Matters of Re­ligion. The Evidence of the Chri­stian Religion is such, as recommends it to every Man's Reason and Conscience; so that (as St. Paul argues) [Page 106] if the Gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost; In whom the God of this World hath blinded the minds of them that believe not, lest the Light of the Glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the Image of God, should shine unto them, 2 Cor. 4. 3, 4.

If Men did but stand indifferent for the entertainment of Truth, and were not swayed by the interest of any Lust or Passion, I am confident that no Man that hath the Gospel fairly proposed to him, would continue an Infidel. If Men did but truly live up to the Prin­ciples of Natural Religion, they would easily be convinc'd, that the Christian Religion, which is so suitable thereto, is from God.

Thirdly, and Lastly, What hath been said, is a great Argument and Encou­ragement to Obedience, and Holiness of Life. Do we desire not to be mis­taken about the Mind of God? Let us heartily endeavour to do his Will. If we would not be seduced by the Error of the Wicked; let us take heed of their Vicious Practices. The best way certainly [Page 107] to preserve a right Judgment in Matters of Religion, is to take great care of a good Life. God's Goodness is such, that he will not suffer any Man's Judgment to be betrayed into a Damnable Error, without some Vice and Fault of his Will. The Principles of Natural Religion are born with us, and imprinted upon our Minds, so that no Man can be ignorant of them, nor need to be mistaken about them; and as for those Revelations which God hath made of himself to the World, he hath been pleased to accompany them with so much Evidence, that an honest and sincere Mind may easily discern them from Error, and Imposture. So our Saviour hath assured us, That if any Man desire to do his Will; he shall know of the Doctrine, whether it be of God.

On the other hand, if we see any oppose the clear Truth, or to depart from it, and to embrace gross Errors and Delusions, we may almost certainly conclude that there is some Worldly Interest or Lust at the bottom of it. So our Saviour has likewise told us, that [Page 108] the Reason why Men love Darkness rather than Light, is, because their Deeds are Evil; and every one that doth Evil hateth the Light, neither cometh to the Light, lest his Deeds should be reproved. I will Conclude this whole Discourse with St. Peter's Exhortation, the 2 d of Pet. 3. 17, 18. Ye therefore, Beloved, seeing ye know these Things before, beware, lest ye also being led away with the Error of the Wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. But grow in Grace, and in the Knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ: To him be Glory, both now, and for ever.

Amen.

AMong all the irregular Appe­tites of Men, there is none that is more common and unreason­able, and of a more Universal bad In­fluence upon the Hearts and Lives of Men, than this of Covetousness; and therefore in speaking of this Vice, I [Page 110] shall strike at the Root of a great many others; even of Apostacy from God's Truth and Religion, of which Cove­tousness, and the Love of this present World, is one of the most common Causes. So that if I can contribute any thing to the Cure of this great Di­stemper of Mens Minds, I shall in so doing remove that, which is the Cause and Occasion of a great part of the Evils and Mischiefs which are in the World. And to this end I have pitched upon these Words of our Blessed Sa­viour to his Hearers; And he said unto them, Take heed and beware of Covetousness; for a Man's Life consisteth not in the abundance of the Things which he pos­sesseth.

In Which Words are these Thre [...] Things Observable.

First, The Manner of the Caution which our Saviour here gives, Take heed and beware; he doubles it, to shew the great Need and Concernment of it.

[Page 111] Secondly, The Matter of the Caution, or the Vice which our Saviour here warns his Hearers against, and that is Covetousness; Take heed and beware of Covetousness.

Thirdly, The Reason of this Caution, Because a Man's Life consisteth not in the abundance of the Things which he posses­seth. Humane Life is sustain'd by a little, and therefore abundance is not necessary, either to the Support or Comfort of it. 'Tis not a great Estate and vast Possessions that make a Man happy in this World; but a Mind that is equal to his Condition, what­ever it be.

I. The Manner of the Caution which our Saviour here gives, Take heed and beware. This is a peculiar kind of Cau­tion, and no where else, or upon any other Occasion, that I know of, used in Scripture; in which, for the greater Emphasis and weight, the words of Caution are doubled, as if the Matter were of so much Concernment, that no Caution about it could be too much; [Page 112] to signifie to us both the Great Danger of this Sin of Covetousness, and the Great Care Men ought to use to pre­serve themselves from it.

First. The great danger of this Sin; how apt we are to fall into this Vice, and of how pernicious a Conse­quence it is to those in whom it reigns.

1. How apt we are to fall into this Vice: And excepting those Vices which are immediately founded in a Man's Natural Temper and Constitu­tion, there is none that Men have a more Universal propension to, than this of Covetousness. For there are two Things which Human Nature does more especially desire to be secured against, which are Want, and Contempt: And Riches seem to be a certain Re­medy against both these Evils. And because Men think they can never be sufficiently secured against these, there­fore their desire of Riches grows end­less and insatiable; so that unless Men be very jealous and watchful over [Page 113] themselves, this Desire will grow up­on them, and enlarge it self beyond all Bounds.

2. As Men are very apt to fall into this Vice, so is it of very pernicious consequence to those in whom it reigns. The Mischief of it is very great, and very extensive: So St. Paul tells us, 1 Tim. 6. 8, 9, 10. where he presseth Men to be contented with a small competency of the Things of this Life, because of the great Danger and Mischief of a Covetous Mind; having Food and Raiment, let us be therewith content. But they that will be Rich (that is, they that are bent and resolv'd upon being Rich) fall into Temptation, and a Snare, and into many foolish and hurtful Lusts, which drown Men in Destruction and Perdition. For the love of Mony is the root of all Evil. But this I shall speak more fully to, when I come to shew the great Evil and Unreasonableness of this Vice.

Secondly, This earnest kind of Cau­tion, as it signifies the Great Danger of this Sin of Covetousness, so likewise [Page 114] the great Care that Men ought to use to preserve themselves from it; for the greater the Danger is in any kind, so much the greater Care should be used for the avoiding of it. Men are not so Solicitously concerned to defend them­selves against a slight Mischief; but when a terrible one threatens us, we should be continually upon our guard against it, and summon all our strength and for [...]e to resist it. Thus much for the Manner of the Caution.

I proceed to the second Thing to be considered in the Text, viz. The Matter of the Caution, or the Vice which our Saviour here warns his Hearers against, and that is Covetousness; Take heed and beware of Covetousness. And in speak­ing of this, I shall consider these two Things.

1. Wherein the Nature of this Vice consists.

2. I shall Endeavour to shew the great Evil and Unreasonableness of it. I shall be large in both.

1. For the Nature of this Vice of Covetousness. The shortest Description that I can give of it is this; That it is an inordinate desire and love of Riches; [Page 115] but when this Desire and Love are In­ordinate, is not so easie to be Determi­ned. And therefore that we may the better understand what this Sin of Co­vetousness is, which our Saviour doth so earnestly Caution against, it will be requisite to Consider more particularly wherein the Vice and Fault of it doth consist; that whilst we are are speak­ing against Covetousness, we may not under that General Word Condemn any thing that is Commendable, or Lawful. To the end then that we may the more clearly and distinctly understand wherein the Nature of this Vice doth consist, I shall

First, Endeavour to shew what is not Condemned under this Name of Covetousness, either in Scripture, or according to right Reason: And

Secondly, What is Condemned by eit [...]er of these as a plain Instance o [...] Branch of this Sin.

1. What Things are not Condem­ned under the Name of Covetousness, either in Scripture, or according to [Page 116] right Reason, which yet have some appearance of it; namely, these three Things.

1. Not a provident Care about the Things of this present Life.

2. Not a regular Industry and Di­ligence for the obtaining of them: Nor

3. Every Degree of Love and Af­fection to them. I mention these Three, because they may all seem to be Condemned by Scripture, as Parts or Degrees of this Vice, but really are not.

I. Not a provident Care about the Things of this present Life. This in­deed seems to be Condemned in Scrip­ture as a Branch of Covetousness, namely, in our Saviour's Sermon upon the Mount, Mat. 6. 25. Take no thought for your Life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your Body, what ye shall put on. Here our Saviour seems to forbid all Care, even about the Necessaries of Life, Meat, and [Page 117] Drink, and Cloathing; much more about the Delights and Conveniencies of it. But this is not absolutely and in ordinary Cases intended by our Saviour to be Condemned, as I shall shew by and by, under the next Head.

Secondly, Neither is a regular In­dustry and Diligence for the obtain­ing of these Things Condemned in Scripture; tho' this also seems to be Prohibited by our Saviour in the same Chapter, ver. 26. Behold the Fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into Barns; yet your Heavenly Father feedeth them; and ver. 28. Why take ye thought for Rai­ment? Consider the Lilies of the Field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin. In which words our Saviour seems to intimate, that we ought to depend upon the Providence of God for Food and Raiment, and to use no more Industry for the obtaining of them, that the Fowls of the Air do, or the Lilies of the Field: And the same may seem to be collected out of this Chap­ter of St. Luke: For after our Saviour had in my Text cautioned them against Covetousness, and spoken to them a [Page 118] Parable to that purpose, of a Rich Man who enlarged his Barns, and laid up Goods for many years, He infers from thence, ver. 22. that Men should take no thought for the Things of this Life, nor use any Industry about them; and he said unto his Disciples, therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your Life, what ye shall eat; neither for the Body, what ye shall put on.

Now to avoid all Inconvenience from our Saviours words, I think that it is commonly said by Interpreters, that he does here only condemn a dis­trustful and anxious Care about the Things of this Life, and an over-soli­citous Industry and Diligence for the obtaining of them; but that he allows a prudent Care and regular Industry about these Things: And this were very well said, if it would agree with the Scope and Design of our Saviour's Discourse; but the Instances which he gives of the Fowls of the Air, and the Lilies of the Field, which are suffici­ently provided for without any Care and Industry of theirs, and which he seems to set before us for a Pattern, [Page 119] behold (says he) the Fowls of the Air, I say these Instances, which he gives, seem to exclude even all regular and ordinary Care and Diligence about these Things.

What shall we say then, that our Saviour intended by his Religion to take Men off from all Labour and In­dustry in their Callings? This seems to be unreasonable; and indeed so it cer­tainly were, if our Saviour had given this for a standing and ordinary Rule to all Christians; and not only so, but contrary to the Apostles Doctrine, who constantly charged Christians to labour with great diligence in their Callings, that they might be able to provide for themselves, and their Families.

But this Discourse of our Saviour's was not intended for a General and Standing Rule to all Christians; but only designed for his Disciples, to take them off from all Care about the Things of this Life, that they might attend upon his Person, and wholly give up themselves to that Work to which he had called them. And therefore St. [Page 120] Luke takes notice, that after he had cautioned his Hearers in general against Covetousness, he applies himself parti­cularly to his Disciples, and tells them that he would have them so far from this Vice of Covetousness, that they should not so much as use that ordinary Care and Industry about the Things of this Life, which is not only lawful, but necessary for Men in all ordinary Cases, ver. 22. and he said unto his Disciples, therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your Life, what ye shall eat. And this agrees very well with the Direction which our Saviour gave to his Disci­ples, when he first sent them forth to Preach, Mat. 10. 9. Provide neither gold, n [...]r silver, nor brass in your purses, neither coat, nor scrip; which no Man ever understood as a general Law to all Christians, but as a particular Pre­cept to the Apostles at that time.

And if this be our Saviour's mean­ing, there is then no Reason to think, that this Caution against Covetousness does forbid Men to use a provident Care and regular Industry about the Things of this Life.

[Page 121] Thirdly, Nor is every Degree of Love and Affection to the Things of this World Condemned in Scripture, as any Branch, or Part of this Vice of Covetousness; but such a love of the Things of this World as is truly con­sistent with the Love of God, and a due and serious care of our Souls, is allowed both by Scripture and Reason. St. John indeed seems to condemn all love of the World, and of the Things of it, as utterly inconsistent with the love of God, 1 Joh. 2. 15. Love not the World, neither the Things that are in the World; if any Man love the World, the love of the Father is not in him: But this is according to the Hebrew Phrase and manner of speaking, to forbid Things Absolutely, which are to be understood only Comparatively. So Mat. 6. 19. Lay not up for your selves Treasures upon Earth; but lay up for your selves Treasures in Heaven; i. e. be not so solicitous for the good Things of this World, as for the Glory and Happiness of the next. And Luke 12. 4. Be not afraid of them that kill the Body; that is, fear them not so much as him [Page 122] that can destroy both Body and Soul in Hell: And Luke 14. 26. If any Man come unto me, and hate not his Father and Mother, and all that he hath; that is, if he do not love me more than all these Things, he cannot be my Disciple: And John 6. 27. Labour not for the Meat which perisheth, but for that which endureth to Everlasting Life; that is, labour not so much for the one as for the other, be not so solicitous about the Things of this Life, as about the great Concernments of Eternity. So likewise Colos. 3. 2. Set your affections on things above, not on things on the Earth; i. e. set them more on Things above, than on earthly Things. So here, Love not the World, neither the Things of the World; that is, do not over-value them, do not love them so much as not to be able to part with them for Christ; for if any Man thus love the World, he does not love God as he ought. So that when the Scrip­ture commands us not to love the World, this is to be understood Comparatively, that we should not love these Things in Comparison of God, and the great Concernments of another World: But [Page 123] it does not forbid us to love the [...]e Things in a due Degree, and with a due Subordination to those Things which are more Excellent, and of In­finitely greater Concernment to us. For nothing can be more inconsistent, than to recommend to Men Diligence in their worldly Callings and Em­ployments (as the Scripture frequently does) and that in order to the attaining of the good Things of this Life; and yet to forbid us to love these Things at all. For if Men have no degree of love to them, the best Argument to Diligence for the obtaining of them would be taken away. Besides, that we are commanded in Scripture to be thankful to God for bestowing on us the Blessings of this Life, and we are to love him upon this account. Now can any Man love the Giver, for be­stowing such Gifts upon him, which if he do as he ought, he must not love?

You see then what those Things are, which the Scripture does not Con­demn as any Branch or Degree of this Vice of Covetousness; a provident [Page 124] Care, and a regular Industry, and such a degree of Love to the Things of this World, as is consistent with the love of God, and the care of our Souls.

2. I come now to shew what is Condemned in Scripture under the name of Covetousness; and by this we shall best understand wherein the Na­ture of this Sin doth consist. Now Covetousness is a word of a large Sig­nification, and comprehends in it most of the Irregularities of Mens Minds, either in desiring, or getting, or in pos­sessing, and using an Estate. I shall speak to each of these severally.

First, Covetousness in the Desire of Riches, consists in an eager and un­satiable desire after the Things of this World. This the Scripture condcmns, tho' it be free from Injustice, as it seldom happens to be. This insatiable desire of Wealth God plainly con­demns by his Prophet, Isa. 5. 8. Wo unto them that joyn house to house, and lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of [Page 125] the Earth. And this is that which our Saviour here in the Text seems to have a more particular respect to, when he cautions Men against the Sin of Covetousness, as appears both from the Reason which he gives of this Caution, and from the Parable where­by he illustrates it. From the Rea­son which he gives of this Cau­tion, Take heed and beware of Covetous­ness; for the Life of Man doth not con­sist in the abundance of the Things which he possesseth. As if he had said, take great care to set some Bounds to your Desires after the Things of this World. For whatever Men may imagine, it is certain in Experience, that it is not the Abundance of outward Things which makes the Life of Man happy. Wealth and Content do not always dwell together; nay, so far from that, that perhaps they very seldom meet.

And the Parable likewise which fol­lows upon this Caution, doth suffici­ently shew this to be our Saviour's meaning; for he illustrates what he was speaking of, by a Rich Man, whose desire of Wealth was never satisfied, but he was continually increa­sing his Estate, and enlarging his [Page 126] Barns, to make more room still for his Fruits, that he might lay up Goods in store for many years. The Parable does not so much as intimate any indirect and unjust ways of Gain, which this Man used to increase his Estate; but condemns his insatiable Desire and Thirst after more; so that even this alone is Covetousness, and a great fault, tho' it were attended with no other; because it is unreasonable, and with­out end.

Secondly, There is Covetousness like­wise in getting an Estate; and the Vice or Evil of this kind of Covetousness consists chiefly in these three Things.

1. In the use of unlawful and un­just ways to get or increase an Estate. He is a Covetous Man, who by the gree­diness of Gain is tempted to do any unjust Action, whether it be in the way of Fraud and Deceit, or of Vio­lence and Oppression. And this perhaps is that which is most frequently in Scripture call'd Covetousness. And this I [...]ake to be the meaning of the Tenth Commandment, Thou shalt not Covet; [Page 127] wherein is forbidden all unjust desire of that which is another Man's, and all unjust endeavours and attempts to deprive him of it. For so our Saviour renders it, Mark 10. 19. where he says to the young Man that came to be di­rected by him, what good thing he should do, that he might Inherit Eternal Life; Thou knowest the Commandments, do not commit Adultery, do not Kill, do not Steal, do not bear false witness; and then instead of the Tenth Command­ment, Thou shall not Covet, or rather by way of explication of it, he adds [...], de [...]raud not; as if he had said, in a word, be not injurious to thy Neighbour in any kind, in de­siring or endeavouring to deprive him of any thing that is his. As the Ro­mans in their Laws were wont to comprehend those Crimes which had no Proper Name, by the general Name of Stellionatus, and dolus malus; so here in the Decalogue, after God had instanced in the chief and most com­mon sorts of Injuries which Men are guilty of towards their Neigh­bour, as Murder, Adultery, Theft, Bearing of false Witness; he summs up [Page 128] all the rest, which could not so easily be reckon'd, particulary in this short and general Prohibition, Thou shalt not Covet; that is, thou shalt not be inju­rious to thy Neighbour in any other kind; in his Wife, or Servant, or House, or Cattle, or any thing that is his. Covetousness, or any inordinate desire of that which is our Neighbours, being commonly the Root and Parent of all these kinds of Injuries.

And for the same Reason, St. Mat­thew, instead of the Tenth Command­ment, puts this general Precept, Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self, as being the sense of it in other words; Mat. 19. 18, 19. Thou shalt do no Mur­der, thou shalt not commit Adultery, thou shalt not Steal, thou shalt not bear false Witness, honour thy Father and thy Mother, and thou shalt love thy Neigh­bour as thy self. And this Command of loving our Neighbour as our selves, our Saviour elsewhere tells us was the summ of the Duties of the Second Ta­ble; and it is the same in sense with that Precept of our Saviour, Mat. 7. 12. [Page 129] Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them. That is, as thou wouldest have no Man to be injurious to thee in any thing, so be not thou so to any other Man in any kind. And the Apo­stle, Rom. 13. 8, 9, 10. shews us upon what account this General Precept, Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self, is the Summ of the Second Table. He that loveth another hath fulfilled the Law: For this, Thou shalt not commit Adultery, thou shalt not Kill, thou shalt not Steal, Thou shalt not bear false Witness, Thou shalt not Covet; and if there be any other Com­mandment, it is briefly comprehended in this Saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self. And then he adds in the next words, Love worketh no ill to his Neighbour; therefore Love is the fulfilling of the Law. That is, he that truly loves his Neighbour, will not be injurious to him in any kind: There­fore Love is the summ of the Law.

The Design of all this is to shew that he that is injurious to his Neigh­bour in his Estate in any kind, is properly [Page 130] guilty of the Sin of Covetous­ness, which is forbidden in the Tenth Commandment. So that all Arts of Fraud and Oppression, whereby Men endeavour to get and increase an Estate by the injury of their Neigh­bour, is a Branch of the Sin of Cove­tousness.

2. The Vice of Covetousness in get­ting Wealth, does likewise consist in an anxious and tormenting Care about obtaining the Things of this Life. The regular and due Temper of a Man's Mind about the Things of this World, is to commit our selves to the Providence of God in the use of honest and lawful Endeavours, and to refer the success of all to his good Pleasure; and whatsoever is beyond this, is a Branch of the Evil Root of Covetousness. We distrust the Provi­dence of God, when after we have used our best Endeavours, and begg'd his Blessing upon them, we torment our selves about the issue and event of Things. And as this is sinful, so it is vain, and to no purpose. Diligence in our Business is the way to get an [Page 131] Estate; but no Man was ever the Richer, for tormenting himself, because he was not so. The Reason why Men seek the T [...]ings of this World, and take pains to get them, is to make Life convenient and comfortable; and consequently he that torments him­self about the getting of these Things, contradicts himself in his own De­sign, because he makes his Life Misera­ble, that he may make it Comforta­ble.

3. The Sin of Covetousness in getting, consists in seeking the Things of this Life, with the neglect of Things in­finitely better, and which are of far greater and nearer Concernment to us. He is a Covetous Man, who so minds the World, as to neglect God, and his Soul; who is so busie and intent upon making provision for this Life, as to take no care of the other; so concern'd for the few days of his Pilgrimage here, as to have no consideration and regard for his Eter­nal Abode in another World. God allows us to provide for this Life, and considers the Necessities which [Page 132] do continually press us while we are in the Body: But while we are ma­king provision for these Dying Bo­dies, he expects that we should re­member that we have Immortal Souls; which since they are to have an endless duration in another World, ought to be provided for with far greater Care. 'Tis an inordinate desire of Riches, when Men so lay out all their Care and Industry for the ob­taining of them, as if nothing else were to be regarded, as if no Consi­deration at all were to be had of another World, and of that better part of our selves which is to continue and live for ever. All Desires and Endeavours after Riches, which take Men off from the business of Reli­gion, and the Care of their Souls, which allow Men neither the leisure and opportunity, nor the heart and affection to love God, and to serve him, are to be referred to this Sin of Covetousness, which is here condemned by our Saviour in the Text.

[Page 133] 3. There is Covetousness likewise in possessing or using an Estate: And this consists chiefly in these three Things.

First, When Men are sordid to­wards themselves, and cannot find in their hearts to use and enjoy what they possess; are continually adding to their Estate, without any design of enjoyment; and take infi­nite pains to raise a huge Fortune, not that they may use it, but that they may be said to have it. This is a degree of Covetousness even beyond that of the Rich Man in the Parable after the Text: For he it seems, after he had enlarg'd his Barns to his Mind, and laid up goods for many years, design'd at last to have taken his ease, and have fallen to the enjoyment of what he had gotten; to have eat and drank, and to have been merry; and this, tho' it proved but a foolish design in the issue, he being cut off in that very instant when he was come to the point of satisfaction and enjoyment; [Page 134] yet is it infinitely more reasonable, than to take great pains to get an Estate, with a full Resolution never to be the better for it.

Secondly, Men are Covetous in keeping an Estate, when they do not use it Charitably; when they can­not find in their hearts to spare any thing out of their Abundance, to the Relief of those who are in want. Tho' a Man get an Estate without Covetousness, and have an heart to enjoy it, yet so far he is Covetous, as he is Uncharitable. He loves Mony more than he ought, who having enough to spare, chuseth rather to keep it, than to do good with it, and to use it to one of the prin­cipal Ends for which God gives an Estate.

Thirdly, They likewise are Cove­tous, who place their chief Trust and Happiness in Riches, who (as the Expression is, Job 31. 24.) make Gold their hope, and say to the fine Gold, thou art my confidence. And this is the Reason why Covetousness [Page 135] is so often in Scripture call'd Idola­try; because the Covetous Man sets up his Riches in the place of God, putting his Trust and Confidence in them, and setting his whole Heart upon them, loving them as he should love God only, with all his Heart, and Soul, and Strength: And there­fore Mammon, which signifies Riches, is in Scripture represented as a Deity, and the [...]vetous Man, as a Servant, or Worshipper of Mammon.

So that in Scripture he is a Cove­tous Man who placeth his chief Feli­city in a great Fortune, and will venture to lose any thing, rather than to part with that; who will quit his Religion, and violate his Conscience, and run the hazard of his Soul, rather than forfeit his Estate, or the hopes of advancing it to his Mind.

And this in times of Trial and Difficulty, is the great Temptation to which the Covetous Man is expo­sed. When a Man may not only save himself, but get considerable [Page 136] advantage by departing from the Truth; and in changing his Religi­gion, may have a good Summ of Mony to boot, or which is equal to it, a good Place; This to a Covetous Mind is a very strong Temptation, and almost irresistible. When Error and Delusion can bid so high, and offer so good Terms, no wonder if it gain some Proselytes among the Covetous and Ambitious part of Man­kind. This the Apostle gives warn­ing of, as a great Temptation to Rich Men in Times of Suffering, 1 Tim. 6. 9, 10. They that will be Rich, fall into Temptation, and a Snare: for the love of Mony is the root of all Evil; which while some have lusted after, they have erred from the Faith. The young Man in the Gospel is a sad Instance of this kind, who chose rather to leave Christ, than to part with his great Possessions. And such a one was Demas, who forsook the Apostles, and Christianity it self, to cleave to this present World.

Thus I have done with the First Thing I proposed to speak to, the [Page 137] Nature of this Vice, which our Sa­viour in the Text Cautions Men so earnestly against; Take heed and be­ware of Covetousness. I should now proceed in the Second place to shew the Evil and Unreasonableness of this Vice. But that shall be the Subject of another Discourse.

I Have made entrance into a Dis­course upon these Words, in which I told you there are Three Things Observable.

First, The Manner of the Caution which our Saviour here gives, Take heed and beware.

[Page 140] Secondly, The Matter of the Cau­tion, or the Sin which our Saviour here warns his Hearers against, Take heed and beware of Covetousness: And

Thirdly, The Reason of this Caution, because a Man's Life consisteth not in the abundance of the Things which he possesseth.

In Discoursing of the Second of these, viz. the Matter of the Caution, I pro­posed.

1. To Consider wherein the Na­ture of this Vice of Covetousness does consist.

2. To shew the Evil and Unrea­sonableness of it.

The First of these I have dispatched, and now go on to the Second, viz. To shew the great Evil and Unreason­ableness of the Vice of Covetousness.

Now Covetousness will appear to be [Page 141] very Evil, and Unreasonable, upon these following Accounts.

I. Because it takes Men off from Religion, and the Care of their Souls.

II. Because it tempts Men to do many Things which are inconsistent with Religion, and directly contrary to it.

III. Because it is an endless and in­satiable Desire.

IV. Because the Happiness of Humane Life doth not consist in Riches.

V. Because Riches do very often contribute very much to the Misery and Infelicity of Men.

First, Covetousness takes Men off from Religion, and the Care of their Souls. The Covetous Man is wholly intent upon this World; and his inor­dinate Desire after these Things, makes him to neglect God, and the Eternal Concernments of his Soul. He employs all his Time, and Care, [Page 142] and Thoughts about these Temporal Things, and his vehement love and ea­ger pursuit of these Things steals away his Heart from God, robs him of his Time, and of all Opportunities for his Soul, and diverts him from all se­rious Thoughts of another World, and the Life to come. And the Reason of this is, that which our Saviour gives, Mat. 6. 24. No Man can serve two Masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God, and Mammon. No Man can serve two Masters so dif­ferent as God and the World are, because they will give cross Com­mands, and enjoyn contrary Things. God he calls upon us to mind the Du­ties of his Worship and Service, to have a serious regard to Religion, and a diligent Care of our Souls: But the Cares of the World, and the Importu­nity of Business, and an eager appe­tite of being Rich, call us off from these Divine and Spiritual Employ­ments, or disturb us in them. God calls upon us to be Charitable to those that are in want, to be willing to distribute, [Page 143] and ready to communicate to the Necessities of our Brethren: But our Covetousness pulls us back, and hales us another way, and checks all Merciful and Charitable Inclinations in us. God calls us to Self-Denial, and Suffering for the Sake of him, and his Truth, and commands us to preferr the keeping of Faith, and a good Conscience, to all Worldly Considera­tions whatsoever: But the World In­spires us with other Thoughts, and whispers to us to save our selves, not to be Righteous over much, and rather to trust God with our Souls, than Men with our Bodies and Estates.

If we set our Hearts and Affections strongly upon any thing, they will partake of the Object which they are Conversant about; for where our Trea­sure is (as our Lord hath told us) there will our Hearts be also. If a great Estate be our chief End and Design, if Riches be our Treasure, and our Happiness, our Hearts will be found among the Stuff. We cannot bestow our Affections freely upon two Objects. We can­not intensly love God, and the [Page 144] World; for no Man can have two Ultimate Ends, two Principal Designs. Our Riches may increase; but if we set our hearts upon them, and give them the chief place in our Affections, we make them our Lord and Master. Whatever we make our Ultimate End, we give it a Sovereignty and Empire over us; we put our selves under its Dominion, and make our selves sub­ject to all its Commands. So that if it bid us go, we must go; come, we must come; do this, we must do it; because we are under Authority: The World is our Master, and we are its Slaves. Now he that is under the Rule and Domi­nion of this Master, must withdraw his Obedience from God, and in many Cases decline Obedience to his Laws.

This Worldly Covetous Disposition was that which made those in the Parable to make so many Excuses, when they were Invited to the Sup­per, Luke 14. 18. One had bought a Farm, and he could not come: Another had bought so many Yoke of Oxen, and therefore he desired to be excused. Riches do so fill the Covetous Man's Heart, [Page 145] and the Cares of the World so possess his Mind, that he hath no room left in his Soul for any other Guests: Intus existens prohibet alienum, that which is full already, can receive no more. The Covetous Man's Heart is taken up with such Things as keep out God, and Christ, and better Things. If any Man love the World, and the Things of it to this Degree, St. John tells us that the love of the Father is not in him. In the Parable of the Sower, Mat. 13. 7. Our Saviour represents to us the Cares of the World, which choak the word of God, by Thorns which sprang up among the Seed, and stifled the growth of it. The Cares of the World will not suffer the Word of God to take deep root in our hearts, and to have any permanent effect upon them: And Ezek. 33. 31. God gives this as a Reason why the People of Israel would not hearken to the words of his Prophet, because their Hearts were upon the World. They come unto thee, (says God there to the Prophet) as the People cometh, and they sit before thee as my People, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: For with their mouth they shew much love, but [Page 146] their heart goeth after their Covetousness. A Heart that is deeply engaged in the World, will stand out against all the Invitations, and Promises, and Threat­nings of God's Word. When the Word of God invites such Persons, it is like making Love to those who have al­ready fix'd their Hearts and Affections elsewhere; the Promises and Threat­nings of the Gospel signifie but very little to such Men, because their Hearts are set upon Worldly Things, and all their Affections are bent that way; all their Hopes and Desires are Worldly, to be Rich, and abound in Wealth; and all their Fears are of Poverty and Loss. Now such a Man can only be moved with the Promises and Threat­nings of Temporal Things; for no Pro­mises have any effect upon us, but such as are of some Good, which we care for and value: Nor are any Threatnings apt to move us, but such as are of some Evil, which we dread, and are afraid of. And therefore when Eternal Life, and the Happiness of another World, are offered to a world­ly-minded Man, he does not desire it, he is not at all sensible of the value of [Page 147] it [...] the Man's Heart is full already of other Hopes and Desires, and the full Soul loatheth the Hony-Comb. Promise to such a Man the Kingdom of Hea­ven, and the Pleasures of God's Pre­sence, and the Joys of Eternity, this does not signifie to such a Man any Good or Happiness that he is sensible of, or knows how to relish. And on the other hand, threaten him with the loss of God, and an Eternal Separation from that Fountain of Happiness, and with the unspeakable Anguish and Torments of a long Eternity; these Things, tho' they be terrible, yet they are at a distance, and the Covetous Man is enured to Sense, and is only to be moved with Things present and sensible; he cannot extend his Fears so far as another World, so long as he finds himself well and at ease, as to the Things of this present Life.

If we would affect such a Man, we must offer to his Consideration something that is fit to work upon him; threaten him with breaking open his House, and ri [...]ing his Coffers, and carrying away his full Bags; with questioning [Page 148] his Title to his Estate, or starting a precedent Mortgage, or something of the like Nature: These Things indeed are dreadful and ter­rible to him; now you speak intelli­gibly to him, and he understands what you mean: Tell him of a good Bargain, or an advantagious Purchase, offer him decently a good Bribe, or give him notice of a young Heir that may be circumvented, and drawn in, then you say something to him that is worthy of his regard and attention; the Man may be tempted by such Of­fers and Promises as these: But Dis­course to him with the tongue of M [...] and Angels, of the Excellency of Virtue and Goodness, and of the Necessity of it, to the obtaining of a Glory and Hap­piness that shall neither have bounds nor end; and lo! thou art unto him as a very lovely Song of one that hath a plea­sant voice, and can play well upon an In­strument, for he hears thy words, but he will not do them; as the Prophet ex­presseth it, Ezek. 33. 32. Such Dis­courses as these they look upon as fine talk, or a melodious [...]ound, that vanish­eth into air, but leaves no impression [Page 149] behind it. Perhaps even these dull and stupid kind of Men are affected a little for the present with the liveliness of the Romance, and the Poetical Vein of the Preacher; but these Things pass away like a Tale that is told, but have no lasting effect upon them. So ef­fectually doth Covetousness, and the love of this present World, obstruct all those Passages, through which the Con­sideration of Religion and Heavenly Things should enter into our Minds.

Secondly, As Covetousness hinders Men from Religion, and takes them off from a due Care of their Souls; so it many times tempts and engageth Men to do many Things contrary to Religion, and inconsistent with it: It is the Natural Source and Fountain of a great many Evils, and the Parent of most of the worst of Vices. He that will engage deep in the World, must use much more guard and caution than most Men do, to do it without Sin. How many Temptations is the Cove­tous Man exposed to in the getting, and in the securing, and in the spending and enjoying of a great Estate? It is no [Page 150] easie Task to reckon them up, and much more difficult to escape or re [...]ist them; and yet each of these Tempta­tions bring him into the danger of a great many Sins. For,

I. In the getting of an Estate, he is exposed to all those Vices which may seem to be serviceable to this Design. Nothing hath been the Cause of more and greater Sins in the World, than Co­vetousness, and making haste to be Rich. It is Solomon's Observation, Prov. 28. 20. He that maketh haste to be Rich, shall not be Innocent. He does not say he cannot be Innocent, but he speaks as if there were all the probability in the World that he will not prove to be so; but being in so much haste, will almost un­avoidably fall into a great many over­sights and faults. And the Heathen Poet makes the very same Observation in more words,

‘This, says he, is the Cause of most Sins: Nor is there any Vice of which the Mind of Man is capa­ble, that hath been guilty of more Murders and Poysonings, than a fu­rious Desire of immode [...]ate Wealth; for he that will be Rich, will make haste to be so: And what Reverence of Laws, what fear or shame was ever seen in any Man that was in in haste to be Rich?’ And this is the sense of what the Apostle says con­cerning this Vice of Covetousness, this peremptory Resolution of being Rich, 1 Tim. 6. 9, 10. They that will be Rich, fall into Temptation, and a Snare, and into many foolish and hurtful Lusts, which drown Men in Destruction and [Page 152] Perdition. For the love of Mony is the root of all Evil. If this Vice of Cove­tousness once reign in us, if we have once fix'd our End, and set up this Resolution with our selves, that we will be Rich, we shall then make every thing stoop and submit to this Design. A Cov [...]tous Man will make his Prin­ciples and his Conscience to bend to his Resolution of being Rich, and to bow to that Interest. The eager De­sire of Riches makes Men to pursue them in indirect and uncharitable ways, by Falsehood and Perjury, by under­mining and over-reaching, by dissem­bling and flattery, by corrupting and imbasing of Commodities, by false Weights and Measures, by taking Fees with both hands, by making use of their Power and Wit to oppress and defraud their Brother, by imposing upon his Ignorance and Simplicity, or by making a Prey of his Poverty and Necessity.

Covetousness many times makes Men Cruel and Unjust; nay it makes them guilty of the worst sort of Cruelty and Oppression. For (as one says well) [Page 153] the Covetous Man oppresseth his Neighbour, not for any good to him­self; for he does not enjoy what he tears and rends from others; so that he is of that most hateful kind of Beasts of Prey, that kill other Creatures, not to eat them, but that they may see them lie dead by them. Lyons and Wolves kill out of hunger; but the Covetous Man, like a Serpent, or Scorpion, stings and bites others to death, not for his need, but for his pleasure and re­creation. Covetousness is the Parent of the most monstrous Sins; because it fixeth a Man in a Resolution of get­ting an Estate by any means. If False­ness and Deceit, Violence and Op­pression will further this End; the earnest desire of the End tempts Men to use any sort of Means whereby the End may be compassed; and tho' a Man may have some averseness from them at first, yet that wears off by degrees, and the strong desire of the End, reconciles a Man at last to the love and liking of the Means, how wicked and unwarrantable soever. Co­vetousness tempted Achan to steal the accursed Thing, and Gehazi to lie to [Page 154] the Prophet, and Ahab to Oppress and Murder Naboth. Nay, a small Summ tempted the Covetous Mind of Judas to betray his Master, and his Saviour. And how do many Men every day strain their Consciences to get an Estate, and hazard their Souls for Mony; nay ex­change their Souls, which are of more value than the whole World, for a very small portion of it?

II. There are likewise many other Temptations which a Covetous Man is exposed to in the keeping and secu­ring of an Estate, when he hath got it. A Covetous and worldly-minded Man, when it comes to the Trial, is in great danger of quitting his Religion, and making shipwrack of Faith and a good Conscience. When his Estate comes to be in hazard, he is very apt to fall off from the Truth; 'tis an hundred to one but in these Circumstances he will chuse rather to violate his Conscience, than to forfeit his Estate. What the Devil falsely said of Job, is true of the Covetous Man, he does not serve God for nought. Upon these Terms it was, that Christ and the young Man [Page 155] parted; he had great Possessions, and it troubled him to part with them. When Demas was brought to the Trial, and put to it, whether he would stick to the profession of the Gospel, or his Worldly Possessions, he quitted St. Paul, and declared for the World, the 2 d of Tim. 4. 10. Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present World. So far had his Covetous humour besotted him, as to make him prefer his present Interest in these Temporal Things, before those Eternal Rewards which the Gospel offered.

III. There are likewise many Temp­tations which Men are exposed to in the enjoying and spending of a great Estate. It is hard to have a great Estate, and not to be master'd by the love of it; not to have our Cares and Thoughts, our Hearts and Affections swallowed up by it. 'Tis no easie thing for a Man that hath Riches, not to over-value them, and love them more than he ought; not to be puft up by them, and so place his Trust and Confidence in them. Prov. 18. 11. [Page 156] The Rich Man's Wealth is his strong City, and as an high Wall in his own Conceit. The Covetous Man setteth up his Riches in the place of God, and is apt to fall down before this Golden Calf, and Worship it: To say to the Gold, thou art my Hope, and to the fine Gold, thou art my Confidence: To Re­joyce, because his Wealth is great, and because his hand hath gotten much.

Riches are a great Temptation to Irreligion and Atheism. Upon this account Agur wisely prays to God for a moderate Estate, because of the danger of both the Extreams of Ri­ches and Poverty; because of the great and violent Temptations which Men are exposed to in both these Conditions, Prov. 30. 8, 9. Give me neither Poverty, nor Riches; but feed me with food convenient for me. Why not Riches? Le [...]t I be full, and deny thee, and say, who is the Lord? And much more do Riches tempt Men to Pride and Insolence towards others, Prov. 18. 23. The Poor useth intreaties, but the Rich answereth roughly. Mens Spi­rits are commonly blown up and [Page 157] bloated with their Fortunes, and their Pride, and Stomach, and Passion do usually increase in proportion to their Wealth.

And many times Riches Tempt Men to Luxury, and Intemperance, and all manner of Excess. Rich Men have a mighty Temptation to allow themselves all manner of unlawful Pleasures, because he who hath a great Estate, is furnish'd with that to which hardly any thing can be denied. And this is not inconsistent with a Cove­tous Humour; for there are many times Men who are Covetous in get­ting, for no other End and Reason, but that they may spend it upon their L [...]sts. As Covetousness sometimes starves other Vices, so sometimes it serves them, and is made subordinate to a Man's Ambition, or Lust, or some other reigning Vice. There is no such absolute inconsistency between Riches and Virtue, but that it is pos­sible that a Man that is very Rich, may be very good. But yet if we consult Experience, I doubt it will be found a true Observation, that there [Page 158] are but very few Rich Men, who are not insupportable, either for their Va­nity, or their Vices; so that our Sa­viour had reason for that severe Que­stion, How hard is it for a Rich Man to enter into the Kingdom of God? And well might he upon this account pro­nounce the Poor, (the poor in Estate, as well as the Poor in Spirit) blessed, as we find he does, Luke 6. 20. Blessed be ye Poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God. They oftner enter there, than the Rich.

Thirdly, Covetousness is likewise Evil and Unreasonable, because it is an endless and insatiable desire. A Co­vetous Mind may propose to it self some certain bounds and limits, and a Man may think that when he is arri­ved to such an Estate, and hath raised his Fortune to such a pitch, that he will then sit down contented and sa­tisfied, and will seek after no more. But he deceives himself in this Mat­ter; for when he hath attain'd to that which he proposed to himself, he will be never the nearer being satisfied. So Solomon tells us, Eccles. 5. 10. He that [Page 159] loveth Silver, shall not be satisfied with Silver; nor he that loveth abundance, with increase; for no degree of Wealth can satisfie a Covetous Mind. He may think so before-hand, that if he had so much, it would be enough; but when he hath attained it, he will be still reaching after more; for Covetousness is a Disease of the Mind, and an unnatu­ral thirst, which is inflamed by that which should quench it. Every Desire that is Natural, is satisfied and at rest, when it hath once obtained the thing it desired. If a Man be hungry, he is satisfied when he hath eaten; or if he be thirsty, his thirst is allay'd and quench'd when he hath drank to such a propor­tion as Nature doth require; and if he eat and drink beyond this measure, Nature is oppress'd, and it is a burthen to him. But Covetousness is not the thirst of Nature, but of a Diseased Mind. It is the thirst of a Fever, or of a Dropsie; the more a Man drinks, the more he desires, and the more he is inflam'd. In like manner, the more the Cove­tous Man increaseth his Estate, the [Page 160] more his Desires are enlarged and ex­tended, and he finds continually new Occasions and new Necessities; and every day as he grows Richer, he dis­covers new Wants; and a new Poverty to be provided against, which he did not think of before, comes into his Mind: Et minùs haec optat, qui not habet; and he that is without these Things, covets them less than he that hath them. So far is a Covetous Man's attaining to Rich­es from giving him satisfaction, that he who hath scarce any thing at all, is many times much nearer to Content­ment, than he that hath got so much; nay so unreasonable is this appetite, as to desire more, even when the Man knows not how to bestow what he hath al­ready. This Solomon observed long since, (for the Vices and Humours of Men are much the same in all Ages) Eccles. 4. 8. There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea he hath neither Child nor Brother; yet is there no end of all his labour, neither is his eye satisfied with Riches, neither saith he for whom do I labour, and bereave my Soul of good? This is also vanity, yea it is a sore travel. And indeed what can be greater Vanity [Page 161] and Folly, than to be at certain pains and labour all the days of a Man's Life, and yet to be uncertain all the while, for whom it is that he drudgeth, and taketh all these pains.

And if this be the Nature of this Vice, the more it gets, still to covet the more; then nothing can be more unreasonable, than to think to grati [...]ie this appetite; because at this rate, the Man can never be contented, because he can never have enough; nay so far is it from that, that every new acces­sion to his Fortune, sets his Desires one degree farther from rest and satisfa­ction: For a Covetous Mind having no bounds, it is very probable that the Man's Desire will increase much fa­ster than his Estate; and then the Rich­er he is, he is still the Poorer, because he is still the less contented with his Condition. However, it is impossible that the Man's Desire should ever be satisfied; for Desire being always first, if the Man's Desire of Riches advan­ceth and goes forward as fast as Riches follow, then it is not possible for Riches ever to overtake the Desire of them, [Page 162] no more than the hinder Wheels of a Coach can overtake those which are before: Because as they were at a di­stance at first setting out, so let them go never so far, or so fast, they keep the same distance still.

So that it is the vainest thing in the World, for a Man to design his own satisfaction by the perpetual increase of his Fortune, because Contentment doth not arise from the abundance of what a Man hath, but it must spring from the inward frame and temper of our Minds; and the true way to it, is not to enlarge our Estate, but to contract our Desires; and then it is possible that a Man's Mony and his Mind may meet; otherwise the pursuit is end­less, and the farther a Man follows Contentment, it will but flee so much the farther from him; and when he hath attained the Estate of a Prince, and a Revenue as great as that of France, or the Turkish Empire, he shall be farther from being satisfied, than when he be­gan the World, and had no more be­fore-hand than would just pay for his next Meal.

[Page 163] I should now have proceeded to the Fourth Thing, whereby the unreason­ableness of Covetousness doth appear; because the Happiness of Humane Life doth not consist in Riches. And this is the Argumeut which I shall more espe­cially insist upon, because it is that which our Saviour useth here in the Text, to take Men off from this Vice. The Life of Man consisteth not in the abun­dance of the Things which he possesseth. And this certainly is one of the best and most Reasonable Considerations in the World, to moderate Mens Affections towards these Things. Every Reason­able Desire propounds some End to itself. Now to what purpose should any Man desire to increase his Wealth so vastly beyond the proportion of his Necessities, and real Occasions? What Benefit and Advantage would it be to any Man, to have a hundred times more than he knows what to do withall? But I shall not Enlarge upon this Ar­gument at present, but referr it to ano­ther Opportunity.

AFter I had, in my first Discourse upon this Subject, given you an Account of the Nature of the Vice of Covetousness, I proceeded in the next place to represent the great Evil and Unreasonableness of it.

[Page 166] First, Because it takes Men off from Religion, and the Care of their Souls.

Secondly, Because it tempts Men to many Things which ar [...] inconsisten [...] with Religion, and dir [...]ly contra [...]y to it.

Thirdly, Because it is an endless and insatiable Desire [...] Thus far I have gone, I proceed to the

Fourth Thing, whereby the unrea­sonableness of Covetousness will yet farther appear. Namely, because the Happiness of Humane Life doth not consist in Riches, and Abundance. And this I shall insist upon somewhat the more largely, because it is the Argu­ment which our Saviour makes use of here in the Text, to take Men off from this Sin. The Life of Man co [...] ­sisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth: Therefore take heed and beware of Covetousness. And this certainly is one of the best and most reasonable Considerations in the [Page 167] World, to moderate our Affections to­wards these Things. For every rea­sonable Desire propounds some End to itself. Now to what purpose should any Man desire to increase his Wealth so vastly, and beyond the proportion of his Necessities and real Occasions? What Benefit and Advantage can it be to any Man, to have an hundred, or perhaps a thousand times more than he knows what to do withall?

And as for the other World, no Man ever pretended that the heaping up Riches here, would be useful to him there; Riches will not deliver him in the day of wrath. No Man was ever so senseless, as to imagine that he could take his Estate along with him into the other World; or if he could, that Heaven was to be bought with Mony; or that a great Estate, or a great many Lordships would recommend him to the favour of God. 'Tis true indeed, a Man may so use Riches in this World, as thereby to promote and further his happiness in the next. But then it is likewise as true, that a Man may so demean himself in a Poor and [Page 168] Low Condition, as thereby to ren­der himself as acceptable to God, and capable of as great a Reward, as the Richest Man can do. The Poor Wo­man's two Mites chearfully given to Pi­ous and Charitable Uses, will go as far in the other World, and find as great a Reward there, as the Rich Man's thousands of Gold and Silver. And a Man may be as truly Generous and Charitable of a little, as out of the greatest Fortune. Besides that the Poor Man's Contentedness in a mean Condition, is more admirable in it self, and more valuable with God, than for a Rich Man to be so.

So that the great Use of Riches re­spects this World, and the best Use of them is in ways of Charity; and the Poor Man's Charity, tho' it cannot be of so great an extent in the effects of it, yet in the degree of its Virtue and Merit it may be equal to it.

Now the two great Designs of Men, in regard to this World, are these.

[Page 169] 1. To maintain and support our Lives as long as we can.

2. To make our Lives as truly Happy and Comfortable as we can.

To the First of these Ends, namely the support of our Lives, a very lit­tle will suffice, and 'tis not much that is necessary to the other, to render our Lives as truly Comfortable as this World can make them; so that a vast Estate is not necessary to either of these Ends; for a Man may live by having what is necessary, and may live comfortably by having that which is convenient.

No Man lives the longer by having abundance; it is many times an occa­sion of shortning a Man's Life, by Mi­nistring to Excess and Intemperance; but seldom of prolonging it. And set­ting aside the vain fancy and conceit of Men, no Man lives the more hap­pily, for having more than he hath real use and occasion for.

[Page 170] These two Heads I shall at present speak to, to make out the full force of this Reason, which our Saviour here useth; namely, That a Man's Life con­sist [...]th not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

I. That Riches do not contribute to the support of our Lives; nor,

II. To the Happiness and Comfort of them. That is, they are not ne­cessary to either of these Ends. For by Riches I mean whatever is beyond a su [...]icient competency of those things, which a [...]e requisite to the real Uses and Occa­sions of Humane Life.

First, Riches and Abundance do not contribute to the support of our Lives. And this our Saviour very well represents to us in the Parable imme­d [...]ately after the Text, of the Rich Man, who was continually encreasing his Estate, so that he had goods laid up for many years; but he lived not one jot the longer, for being provided of the Conveniencies of Life for so long a [Page 171] time before-hand; for whilst he was blessing himself, as if he had secured his Happiness sufficiently for this World, he was uncertain of his con­tinuance in it; God having decreed to take him out of this World, at that very time when he had determin'd to enter upon the Enjoyment of those Things, which he had been so long laying up. God says to him, thou Fool, this night shall thy Soul be required of thee; and then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided? That is, what good then will all these Things do thee, when thou hast no farther use and occasion for them? So that if he had been the poorest Man in the World, and had not been provided for the next Meal, he might have lived as long as he did with all his stores. You see then that in this sense, a Man's Life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. For not­withstanding all his great Barns, and the abundance of Fruits he had stow­ed in them, he did not live one jot the longer, than the poorest Man might have done.

[Page 172] Secondly, Nor do Riches contribute to the Happiness and Comfort of our Lives. Happiness is not to be bought and purchas'd together with great Lordships; it depends upon a great many Causes, among which, a compe­tency of the Things of this World is one; but Riches and Abundance is none of them. The Happiness of this World consists in these two Things,

1. In the Enjoyment of Good. And,

2. In a state of freedom from Evil.

Now Riches do not necessarily make a Man Happy in either of these Re­spects.

First, For the Enjoyment of Good, A competent Estate suitable to the Condition and Station in which God hath set us in this World, will give a Man whatever Nature and Reason can desire; and abundance cannot make a Man Happier. If a Man had an hun­dred times more than he needed, he [Page 173] could but enjoy it according to the capacity of a Man; for if he consulted his own Happiness, and would tr [...]ly enjoy what he hath, he must eat and drink within the bounds of Tempe­rance and Health, and must wear no more Cloaths than are for his Conve­nience. 'Tis true, he hath where­withal to put on a new Suit every day; which is to be uneasie all the days of his Life; and may drink, if he please, every time out of a new Cup; which would be a vain expence, and a great trouble to his Servants, without any manner of convenience to himself.

But then if Riches fall into the Co­vetous Man's hands, they can be no Happiness to him, because he hath no heart to enjoy them. He hath indeed the Estate of a Rich Man, but he wants the Comfort of it, because he hath the Mind of a Poor Man; and Enjoyment is all the Felicity that is in a great Fortune; what we enjoy is ours, but what we lay up, is from that time not ours, but some bodies else. [Page 174] He that heaps up Riches, and enjoys them not, is Rich only for his Heir, but a Beggar for himself.

We are apt to pity Poor Men, and too apt to despise them; but surely no Man's Condition is more to be de­plored than his, who starves himself in the midst of Plenty, and being sur­rounded with the Blessings of God, turns them into the greatest Curse; for it is a much greater Curse, not to use an Estate when one has it, than not to have it. It is like a plentiful Table without an Appetite.

But it may be it is a great Happi­ness to have a great Estate, tho' a Man never use it; the pleasure of seeing it, and telling it over, may be like the removing of Billets, which may warm a Man as much as if he had spent and consumed them. But this is Real, and the other only Imaginary. I doubt not, many Covetous Men take a great deal of pleasure in ruminating upon their Wealth, and in re-counting what they have; but they have a great deal of tormenting care and fear about it; [Page 175] and if they had not, it is very hard to understand where the reasonable Plea­sure and Happiness lies of having Things to no end. It is at the best, like that of some foolish Birds, which they say take pleasure in stealing Mo­ney, that they may hide it; as if it were worth the while, for Men to take pains to dig Silver out of the Earth, for no other purpose, but to melt it down, and stamp it, and bury it there again.

But many Necessities may happen, which we cannot fore-see, and it is good to provide against them. There is nothing so bad, but something may be said in excuse of it; and I do not deny, but that a provident Care against the common Accidents of Humane Life is very commendable; but it is unreasonable to think of providing against all possibilities, which it is im­possible either to fore-see, or prevent. 'Tis very possible, that after a Man hath gotten the greatest Estate imagi­nable, he may lose it all by some Fa­tal Accident; and then to what pur­pose was all this provision made, [Page 176] when that which was so long a time a getting, and laying up, is lost at once?

Besides, that it is not easie to con­ceive what necessity can happen to a Covetous Man, to give him an occa­sion of using his Estate; he cannot find in his heart to bestow it upon himself in such Things as are conve­nient, nay almost necessary for the support of his Life; for no Man can feed his Servants more penuriously than he does himself; all the Religion he values himself upon, is a strict ob­servance of the Lessian Diet, which he recommends to those few that can de­ny themselves to Dine with him, in hopes to make better Meals upon his Estate when he is gone. And if he be so penurious to himself, the neces­ [...]ities of others are not like to mov [...] him to be liberal. I can but imagine one Occasion that could tempt such a Man to lay out what he hath; namely, when one part of his Estate is in dan­ger, to spend the other to secure it. And yet even in that Case, if his Cause were not very clear and good, [Page 177] he would go nigh to lose it, using it as he does himself; that is, by starving it. And if this be all, then a Man had as good be without an Estate, and save himself the trouble either of get­ting it, or securing it; for if it were all gone, he might live as well as he does, and that with half the Care and Pains.

Secondly, The Happiness of this World consists in a state of freedom from Evil. Now the great Evils that Men are liable to in this World, are such as are incident to them either in the course of their Lives, or at the time of their Death; and Riches do not contribute to Mens Happiness, by freeing them from either of these. I shall speak to these severally.

1. Not from the Evils which are incident to Men in the course of their Lives. These are of two kinds, inward, or outward.

1. Inward Evils, by which I mean those of the Mind; and our greatest troubles are from within, from the [Page 178] anxiety of our Minds, and the guilt of our Consciences, from the vicious inclinations of our Wills, and the ir­regularity and disorders of our Pas­sions. Now Riches were an admira­ble thing indeed, and worth our Co­veting, if they would help to Cure these Distempers of our Minds; but they are the least fitted for such a pur­pose of any thing in the World: For not he that hath the greatest Estate, but he that hath the fewest and most reasonable Desires, and the best go­vern'd Passions, and the most Virtuous Inclinations, is the Happiest Man, and dwells nearest to satisfaction. Nemo malus foelix, No bad Man can be Happy, tho' he were possessed of the whole World; because he hath that within him, which frets and discontents him, which galls his Spirit, and keeps his Mind restless and uneasie; and he that does not enjoy himself, can enjoy no­thing else.

Did but Men know how much Hap­piness hath been enjoyed by many a Pious and Virtuous Man in a mean Fortune, how quiet and easie their [Page 179] Minds have been, how much fuller of Joy and Pleasure, than the Heart of any Covetous Worldling ever was in his most prosperous Estate, and when his Corn, and Wine, and Oyl abounded; did we (I say) but know this, we should not envy the Men of mighty Fortunes. Nam neque divitibus contingunt gaudia solis. Rich Men are not the only happy People in the World. If they be not Good as well as Rich, Happiness is a greater stranger to their Dwellings, than to the Cottages of Poorer Men.

Now Riches are so far from help­ing to make Men good, that they are one of the greatest Temptations to them in the World to be otherwise; which it the Reason, why our Saviour says, it is so very hard for a Rich Man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; because considering the powerful and almost irresistible temptations of a great Estate, and the impotency and weakness of humane Nature to govern it self in a plentiful Fortune, it is very hard for a Rich Man to be so good as he ought, it requires a great force and firmness of Resolution, a very [Page 180] solid and vigorous constitution of Mind, to bear a great Fortune, and not to be corrupted by it; and a Man hath ne­ver more Reason to implore God's gra­cious help and assistance, and to con­sult his own best and coolest thoughts, to know what he ought to do, and how he ought to demean himself, than when the outward Blessings of this Life flow in amain upon him; felici­tate corrumpimur, nothing sooner de­baucheth Men than Prosperity; and he is a very happy Man, whom Wealth and a good Fortune do not make licentious and dissolute; because these tempt Men with the power and opportunity to do all the ill that their wicked [...] Hearts can design, or desire.

The Temptation of Riches, and the Power that goes along with them, is so forcible and prevalent, that the Devil, who is a sagacious Spirit, and hath great and long experience in this kind, when he was making the Expe­riment whether Christ was a meer Man, or the Son of God, reserved this for his last Temptation; resolving if that would not do, to try him no farther. [Page 181] After he had assaulted him in several kinds, he represents to him at last that which was sufficient to have surfeited two of the most insatiable De­sires of Humane Nature, Ambitio [...], and Covetousness, even all the King­doms of the World, and the glory of them, in a moment, or point of time; he brings all the Rays of this Glory to one point, that the Temptation might kindle and take hold the sooner; and says to him, all this will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. He supposed with great probability, that if he were but a meer Man, the strongest and most resolved Mind would bend and yield to so dazling a Temptation as this; but when he saw that this Temptation was rejected, he found himself baffled, and gave him over; since this did not move him, he concluded now that he was the Son of God indeed, and that it was in vain to tempt him any farther.

From all this it appears, that Riches are so far from making Men Virtuous, that nothing is more dangerous to Virtue, than a full Condition; if Men [Page 182] have not a great degree of Grace, as well as Discretion to manage it. Solo­mon tells us, that the prosperity of Fools destroyeth them.

And yet how do most of us Court this Temptation, and are forward to thrust and venture our selves upon it? There are a great many other Things, in which most Men make a right Judgment of themselves, and will readily acknowledge that they are al­together unfit for them. Every Man will not take upon him to be a Physi­cian, or a Lawyer, to prescribe Medi­cines in dangerous Cases, and to give Counsel to Men in knotty and diffi­cult Points about their Estates; but every Man thinks himself fit enough to be Rich, and sufficiently qualified to manage a great Estate, if he can but get it; when perhaps there are few things in the World, which Men are more insufficient for, than to weild and govern a great Fortune, nor wherein there is greater danger and miscarriage. It is not every bodies Talent, to be Wealthy, and Wise; Rich, and Innocent.

[Page 183] 2. As for the outward Evils of this Life, such as Want, and Contempt, Bodily Pains and Diseases, Unhappiness in Friends and Relations, a great Estate is by no means a sufficient Se­curity or Remedy to a Covetous Man against these.

1. As for want. And surely one would think, that if Riches were good for any thing, they are a very proper Remedy against this Evil, and a most certain and Infallible Cure of it; but Experience tells us quite otherwise. Socrates was wont to say, that ‘To want nothing is the priviledge of the Deity, and proper to God alone; but to stand in need of as few things as may be, is the Priviledge of a Wise and Good Man, and a state of Happiness, next to that of God him­self; because he that hath the fewest Wants, is the most easily supplied, and is next to him that is self-sufficient.’ Now a Man of moderate Desires hath infinitely fewer wants than a Covetous Man; and because his Desires are mo­derate, a moderate Estate will satisfie [Page 184] them: but the Wants of a Covetous Mind are never to be supplied, because it hath ordered the Matter so cunning­ly, as to want even that which it hath; such a Man does not get Riches to supply his Wants, but is content to Want, that he may be Rich; insomuch that he hath not the heart to use his Estate for the supply of his real neces­sities. How many do almost starve themselves in the midst of Plenty and Abundance? There is no greater sign of Poverty, than to be deeply in debt: now the Covetous Man lives and dies in debt to himself. Some Men have been so shamefully penurious and stingy to themselves, as even to die, to save Charges, which yet perhaps is the most generous thing they ever did in their whole Lives, in respect to the World; because by this means some body may come to the enjoyment of their Estates, and that great Dunghil which they have been so long in raking together, may by this means come to be spread abroad for the Publick Be­nefit.

[Page 185] So that if a Covetous Man were pos­sess'd of the Wealth of both the In­dies, all this would not free him from want. A Poor Man's wants may be satisfied, when he hath obtained what he wants: but the Covetous Man la­bours of an incurable want; because he wants that which he hath, as well as that which he hath not.

2. As for Contempt, Riches will not secure a Covetous Man against this neither; nay so far is it from that, that he is commonly the more ridicu­lous and despised for living Poor in the midst of Abundance, than if he were really so. Did I say really so? He is the most really Poor of all other Men. For as one says well, the Rich Poor Man is emphatically Poor.

3. Neither will Riches free Men from bodily illness and pain. The Rich are liable to as many Diseases, and as sharp Pains, as the Poor, and they have commonly less patience to bear them than the Poor; because they have not been inured to other sorts of Evils. [Page 186] They that have been accustomed to Labour, are generally best fitted to bear Pain; the Rich are commonly more tender and delicate, and have a quicker sense of Pain, more Matter, and greater quantity of Humors to feed a Disease, and to enflame it to a greater heighth.

I must not here forget that there is a sort of Rich Men, I mean the penu­rious Misers, who starve themselves more than the Poor, and fare many times more hardly; and for this Rea­son, tho' they be not in danger of the Diseases that come from Intemperance, and a plentiful Table; yet they are liable to the Diseases which proceed from starving and emptiness; which the Physicians say are more dangerous than the other: So that neither the Prodigal, nor the Niggardly Rich Man is secured from Bodily Pains and Dis­eases by a great Estate.

4. Neither will Riches secure a Man from being unhappy in his Friends and Relations. A great Estate will not make a Man's Children either more [Page 187] Dutiful or Wise, than the Children of meaner Persons; and if they be not so, his Estate cannot be so great an Happiness to him, as they may prove an Affliction. Solomon tells us, that the very fear and apprehension of this did very much imbitter the fruit of all his Labour; and he seems to speak it sensibly, and very probably with a melancholy reflection upon his Son Re­hoboam, Eccles. 2. 18, 19. Yea I hated all my labour which I had taken under the Sun, because I should leave it unto the Man that shall be after me; and who knows whether he shall be a Wise Man, or a Fool? Yet shall he have rule over all my labour, wherein I have labour'd, and wherein I have shew'd my self Wise under the Sun. Who knows whether he shall be a Wise Man, or a Fool? He seems to speak doubtfully: but he had a very shrewd guess what kind of Man his Son would make; for he speaks more despondingly in the next words, (ver. 20, 21.) therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the Sun; (that is, when I thought seriously of it, I began to think that all the pains I had taken to get an [Page 188] Estate, would be but to l [...]ttle purpose;) for there is a Man (saith he) whose la­bour is in Wisdom, and in Knowledge, and in Equity (that is, who by wise and honest means hath [...]ais'd a great Estate) yet to a Man that hath not laboured therein (that is, to a Man who is endowed with none of these qualities) shall he leave it for his Portion; this also is Va­nity, and a great Evit.

And as for Friends, tho' the Rich Man have many that will call them­selves so, yet he had almost as good have none; for he can hardly ever know whether they be so or not, un­less he chance to fall into Poverty, and then indeed the change of his Con­dition may give him that advantage and opportunity, which otherwise he is never like to have, of discerning be­tween his Friends and his Flatterers. Thus you see that Riches are no secu­rity against the most considerable Evils which attend us in the course of our Lives.

Secondly, When we come to die, nothing will minister less Comfort to [Page 189] us at that time, than a great Estate. It is then a very small pleasure to a Man, to reflect how much he hath gotten in the World, when he sees that he must leave it; nay, like the Young Man in the Gospel, he goes away so much the more sorrowful, because he had great Pos­sessions. All the Things of this World seem very inconsiderable to a Man, when he approaches to the Confines of the other: For when he sees that he must leave this World, then he would fain make a Virtue of Necessity, and begins to change his apprehensions of these Things, and to have very slight and mean thoughts of them, when he is convinc'd he can enjoy them no lon­ger. What the Philosopher was wont to say of the Pleasures of this World, is as true of Riches, and all the other En­joyments of it; that ‘if they did but put on the same countenance, and look with the same face, when they come to us, that they will do, when they turn from us, and take their leave of us, we should hardly entertain them.’

Now if a Man have placed his chief Happiness in this World, as the Covetous [Page 190] Man does in his Riches, his great trouble when he comes to die, will be, that he must leave them. Nothing could be more severely said to the Cove­tous Man, than that which God says to the Rich Man in the Parable; Thou Fool, this night shall thy Soul be required of thee, and then whose shall these things be? For of all things in the World such Men cannot endure to think of part­ing with these things, or that what they have got with such great Care and Labour, should come to the Posses­sion of another.

And therefore when we are so hot and eager in the pursuit of these things, we should do well to consider, how they will appear to us in a dying hour. And this Consideration well imprinted upon our Minds, would make us very care­ful, to treasure up other kind of Com­forts to our selves against such a time, and to Labour after those Things which we shall never grow out of conceit withall, but shall value them to the last, and then most of all, when we come to die, and leave this World. For as a Poet of our own says Excel­lently,

Thus I have done with the Fourth Thing, whereby the Evil and Unreason­ableness of Covetousness doth appear; namely, that the Happiness of Humane Life doth not consist in a great Estate; the Life of Man doth not consist in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. The great Ends of Religion, and Cove­tousness, are very different. The great End which Religion proposeth to it self, is Happiness: but the great End which Covetousness proposeth, is Riches; which are neither a necessary nor a probable means of Happiness. I should now have proceeded to the Fifth and last Particular; namely, That Riches are so far from being the Happiness of Hu­mane Life, that they usually contri­bute very much to our Misery, and Sor­row; as will appear if we consider these Four Things.

First, The Labour and Care which Covetous Men are at in the Getting of a great Estate.

[Page 192] Secondly, The Anxiety of keeping it, together with the Fears of losing it.

Thirdly, The Trouble and Vexation of having lost it; and,

Fourthly, The dreadful and heavy Account which every Man must give of a great Estate. But these Particu­lars, together with the Application of this whole Discourse, I shall refer to another Opportunity.

IN my two last Discourses on this Subject, I have represented the Evil and Unreasonableness of the Vice of Covetousness in Four Particulars. I proceed now to the Fifth and last Particular, whereby I told you the Evil [...] and Unreasonableness of it would appear; viz [...]

[Page 194] That Riches are so far from being the Happiness of Humane Life, that they usually contribute very much to our misery and sorrow; as will evident­ly appear, if we consider these Four Things.

First, The Labour and Care which the Covetous Man is at in the getting of a great Estate.

Secondly, The Anxiety of keeping it, together with the Fears of losing it.

Thirdly, The Trouble and Vexation of having lost it.

Fourthly, The heavy and dreadful Account which every Man must give of a great Estate.

First, The Labour and Care which the Covetous Man hath in getting a great Estate. He that will be Rich must sweat for it, and refuse no pains and trouble; he must rise up early, and lie down late, and eat the bread of Carefulness. [Page 195] A Slave that Diggs in the Mines, or Rows in the Gallies, is not a greater Drudge, than some Covetous Worldlings are; only with this dif­ference, that the Covetous Man thinks that he Labours and takes all these Pains for himself; whereas the Slave understands the matter more truly, and thinks that he does it for ano­ther.

But besides the Pains he takes, he is full of Care and Anxiety. How is he, through the greedy desire of ha­ving, rack'd between the hopes of getting, and the fear of missing what he seeks? The Apostle observes what tormenting Cares accompany this Vice, 1 Tim. 6. 10. The love of Mony ( [...]aith he) is the root of all evil; not only of the Evil of Sin, but of the Evil likewise of Trouble and Disquiet. For it follows, which while some coveted af­ter, they have pierced themselves through with many sorrows: Variety of Troubles attend them that will be Rich.

[Page 196] Secondly, If we consider the Anxiety of keeping what they have got, toge­ther with the Fear of losing it again, this is another great part of a Covetous Man's infelicity. The Rich Man here in the Parable after the Text, when he saw his Estate coming upon him so fast, cries out, what shall I do? Poor Man! who would not pity his Condition, to see him put to this difficulty and di­stress, and to hear him make as heavy a moan as the Poorest Man could do! Now that he hath a plentiful Harvest, and his Crop hath answered, if it were possible, his Covetous Desire, he is in a great deal of perplexity, and almost at his wits end how to dispose of it; he was horribly afraid lest any of it should be lost for want of a secure place to store it up in. What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my Fruits? Where was the difficulty of this? why, he was loth to lose his Fruits, and he was loth to lay out Mony to secure them. But upon farther Considera­tion, he resolves of the two Evils to [...]huse the least; and he said, this will I do, I will pull down my Barns, and build [Page 197] greater, and there will I bestow all my Fruits, and my Goods. But why could he not let the Barns he had stand, and build more? No, that he did not think so well, he loved to see all his good Things at one view, and what a good­ly show they would make together. Besides that it is the humour of Cove­tousness, when it breaks out into Ex­pence, to over-do; the Miser's Buildings are like his Feasts, always Extrava­gant. The Covetous Man (as to the business of expence) is like a Coward as to fighting, he declines it as long as he can; but when he is push'd to the last necessity, he grows desperate, and lays about him.

Riches which are got with so much trouble, are not kept without greater fear and care. A Covetous Man is in no­thing more miserable, than in the Anxiety and Care of disposing and securing what [Page 198] he hath got. When a Man's Desires are endless, his Cares and Fears will be so too.

Thirdly, As great an Evil as any of the former, is the vexation of having lost these Things. If by any Acci­dent the Man happens to be depri­ved of them, then he takes on heavily, hangs down his head and mourns, as a Man would do for his first-born; and is ready to cry out with Micah, they have taken away my Gods, and what have I more? Upon every little loss the Co­vetous Man is undone, tho' he have a hundred times more left than he knows what to do withal. So deeply are the hearts of Earthly-Minded Men many times pierced with Earthly Losses, as with Rachel to refuse to be comforted. Nay St. Paul observes, that the sorrow of the world sometimes worketh death, 1 Cor. 7. 10.

Fourthly, But the saddest Conside­ration of all is, that heavy and dread­ful Account that must one day be gi­ven, both of the getting and using of a great Estate. They that have got [Page 199] an Estate by Fraud and Falsehood, or by Oppression and grinding the face of the Poor, may read their Doom at large, James 5. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Go to now ye Rich Men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you, your Riches are corrupted, and your garments moth-eaten, your Gold and Silver is can­ker'd, and the rust of them shall [...]e a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire: ye have heaped trea­sure together for the last days. Behold the hire of the labourers which have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back b [...] fraud, cryeth, and the crys of them which have reaped, are entred into the ears of the Lord of Sabbath; ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton, ye have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter.

And we must be accountable likewise for the using of our Estates. God gives them to us in trust, and the greater they are, the more we are to account for; so much as we need is ours, but beyond what will support us, and be a convenient provision for our Families, in the rank God hath placed [Page 200] them, all that is given to us, that we may give it to others; and indeed it is not ours; we are the Proprietors of it in respect of Men, but in respect of God we are but Trustees, and Stewards, and God will require an account of us how we have disposed of it.

And can there be a more reigning madness among Men, than to take care only to increase their Account more and more, by receiving much; whereas our great Care and Concern­ment should be to clear our Account, by laying out what we receive, ac­cording to the trust reposed in us. How much we shall receive of the Things of this World, is in the Care and Will of our Master; but our Care and Fidelity is seen in laying it out as we ought. Among Men (says one) it is well enough, if a Steward can give an Account of so much laid out, and so much in Cash, and upon this he shall have his Discharge: but we can­not this way clear our Account with God; for it is not offering him his own again that will satisfie him, as we may learn from the Parable of the Talents. [Page 201] So that upon the whole matter, we should be so far from envying the Rich, that we should rather envy the Safety and Happiness of those who are not intrusted with such dangerous Blessings, and who are free from the Temptations of a plentiful Fortune, and the Curse of a Covetous Mind, and from the heavy Account of a great Estate.

I come now, in the last place, to make some Application of this Discourse to our selves.

1. Let our Saviour's Caution take place with us, let these words of his [...]nk into our Minds, take heed and beware of Covetou [...]ness. Our Saviour I told you doubles the Caution, that we may double our Care. It is a Sin very apt to steal upon us, and sliely to in­sinuate it self into us, under the spe­c [...]ous pretence of Industry in our Call­ings, and a provident Care of our Families: But however it may be coloured over, it is a great Evil, dan­gerous to our selves, and mischievous to the World. Now to kill this Vice [Page 202] in us, besides the Considerations be­fore-mentioned taken from the Evil and Unreasonableness of it, I will urge these three more.

1. That the Things of this World are uncertain.

2. That our Lives are as uncertain as these Things: And,

3. That there is another Life after this.

1. The uncertainty of the Things of this World. This should very much cool our Affections toward them, that after all our Care and Diligence for the obtaining of them, we are not sure to enjoy them, we may be depri­ved of them by a thousand Accidents. This Consideration Solomon urgeth, to take Men off from an over-eager pur­suit of these Things, Prov. 23. 5. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not; for Riches certainly make to themselves wings, they flye away as an Eagle towards Heaven. After we have sat brooding over an Estate many [Page 203] years, it may all on a sudden, before we are aware, take wing, and flye a­way like an Eagle towards Heaven, soar­ing suddenly out of our sight, and ne­ver to return again.

And the same Argument St. Paul [...]seth, to take off Mens Affections from the World, 1 Cor. 7. 31. because the fashion of this World passeth away, [...]. He compares the Things of this World to a Scene, which is presently changed, and vanisheth almost as soon as it ap­pears. Now seeing these Things are so uncertain, we should take heed how we fix our Hearts too much upon them; we should not make love to any thing that is so Fickle and In­constant as this World is. We should be afraid to contract too near and inti­mate a Friendship with any thing which will forsake us, after we have Courted it with so much importunity, and purchas'd it with so much pains, and endeavour'd to secure it with so much Caution, and Tenderness.

[Page 204] 2. Our Lives are as uncertain as these Things. If our Estates remain with us, we are continually in danger of being removed from them. And (as one says) it is folly to build our hopes upon a Match, where both Parties a [...]e so uncertain and inconstant. Why should we place our dearest Affections upon Things which we are not sure to enjoy one Moment? Thou Fool, this night shall thy Soul be taken from thee, and then whose shall those things be? I re­member Seneca tells us a real Story, just answerable to the Rich Man in the Parable, of an Acquaintance of his, who by long and great Industry had arrived to a vast Estate; and just when he began to enjoy it, after one of the first good Meals which per­haps he ever made in his Life, that very night his Soul was taken from him, for presently after Supper he died. In ipso actu bene sedentium rerum, in ipso procurrentis fortunae impetu. In the heighth of his Prosperity, and in the full career of his good Fortune.

[Page 205] But if we live to enjoy for any time what we have got, we should re­member that our Life is but a passage through the World, and that we are but Pilgrims and Stranger in the World, as all our Fathers were, that we have here no abiding place, no continuing City, but are travelling towards our own Coun­try. And why should we load our selves whilst we are upon our journey, and cumber our selves with those things which will be of no use to us there, whither we are a going?

But the great wonder of all is, that this Vice should so strongly reign, and even grow upon Men in Old Age, and get strength, as weakness creeps upon us. This very thought that we are to dye, should work in us a great indif­ferency towards the Things of this World. But when Men are convinc'd they cannot live long, and that every step they take, they are in danger of stumbling into the Grave, this one would think should wean our Affecti­ons from this World; and yet usually none take so fast hold of it, and embrace [Page 206] it so kindly as Old Men; like Friends, who tho' they know they must leave one another, yet are loth to part. Do we not see many pursue these things with as much eagerness and appetite, when they are leaving the World, as if they were to stay in it a hundred years longer? So that in this sense also, they are Children again, and are as fond of these Toys, as if they were just beginning the World, and setting out for their whole Life.

3. There is another Life after this, to be seriously thought on, and pro­vided for with great care: and did Men firmly believe this, they would not with Martha, busie themselves about many things, but would mind the one thing necessary, and with Mary chuse that better part which could not be taken from them. They would overlook the trifles of this World, and scarce take notice of the things which are seen, but be only intent upon the things which are not seen; because the things which are seen are but Temporal, but the things which are not seen are Eternal. The great Concernments of another World would [Page 207] employ their utmost Care, and their best Thoughts.

Whilst we are in this World, we should remember that this is not our home, nor the place of our rest; and therefore as Men do in an Inn, we should make a shift with those indif­ferent Accommodations which the World will afford us, and which we can have upon easie terms, without too much trouble and stir, because we are not to continue long here; and in the mean time we should cheer up our selves with the thoughts of the plea­sure and the plenty of our Father's house, and of that full contentment and satisfaction which we shall meet withal, when we come to those Ever­lasting Habitations.

So that our great Care should be to provide for Eternity. If we have un­bounded Desires, let us place them upon such Objects as are worthy of them. Let us earnestly covet the best things, and seek after the true Riches. We should so mind the World, as to make Heaven our great Care, as to [Page 208] make sure to provide for our selves bags that wax not old, a treasure in the Hea­vens, that faileth not, where no thief ap­proacheth, neither Moth corrupteth, as our Saviour adviseth, Luke 12. 33. To the same purpose is the Counsel of St. Paul, 1 Tim. 6. 17, 18, 19. Charge them that are Rich in this World, that they be Rich in good works, willing to distri­bute, ready to communicate, laying up for themselves a good foundation; or (as the word [...] may also be rendred) a good treasure, against the time which is to come, that they may lay hold of Eternal Life.

I have told you that all these things will fail in a short space, we shall either be stripp'd of them, or separa­ted from them when we come to dye, and shall look over to that vast Eter­nity which we must shortly enter up­on; this World, and all the Enjoy­ments of it, will then be as nothing to us, and we shall be wholly taken up with the thoughts of another World, and be heartily sorry that the things of this World have taken up so much of our Time and Care, and [Page 209] that the great and weighty Concern­ments of all Eternity have been so little minded and regarded by us. Now seeing all these things shall be, pardon me, if I earnestly beg of you, in the midst of all your Worldly Cares, to have some Consideration for your Im­mortal Souls, which are no wise pro­vided for by a great Estate, but are design'd for Nobler Enjoyments than this World can afford. When you are taking care to Feed and Cloath these dying Bodies, remember that better part of your selves which is to live for ever. Let not all your en­quiry be, what shall I eat? or what shall I drink? or wherewithal shall I be cloathed? But sometimes ask your selves this question, what shall I do to be saved? I have an Immortal Spi­rit, it is but fit some Care should be taken of that, to train it up to Eter­nity, and to make it fit to be made partaker of an Inheritance among them that are sanctified.

The firm Belief and serious Conside­ration of the great Things of another World cannot surely but cool the [Page 210] heat of our Affections towards these dying and perishing Things, and make us resolved not to do any thing where­by we may violate the peace of our Consciences, or forfeit our Interest and Happiness in another World.

2. By way of Remedy against this Vice of Covetousness, it is good for Men to be contented with their Con­dition. This the Apostle prescribes as the best Cure of this Vice, Heb. 13. 5. Let your conversation be without Cove­tousness, and be content with such things as ye have; [...], being contented with the present, and thinking that sufficient. A Covetous Man cannot enjoy the present, for fear of the future; either out of fear that he shall come to want, or out of a sickness and uneasiness of Mind, which makes that nothing pleaseth him: But if we could bring our Minds to our Condition, and be con­tented with what we have, we should not be so eager and impatient after more.

[Page 211] This Contentedness with our pre­sent Condition doth not hinder, but that Men by Providence, and Indu­stry, and lawful Endeavours, may lay the Foundation of a more plentiful Fortune than they have at present. For provided a Man use no indirect and dishonest ways to increase his Estate, and do not torment himself with anxious Cares, do neither make himself guilty, nor miserable, that he may be Rich; provided he do not neglect better things, to attain these; and have not an insatiable Appetite to­wards them; provided he do not Ido­lize his Estate, and set his Heart upon these things; and if he can find in his heart to enjoy them himself, and to be Charitable to others; nothing hin­ders but that he may be contented with his present Condition, and yet take all fair Opportunities which the Providence of God puts into his hands of enlarging his Fortune. It is a good Character which the Poet gives of Ari­stippus,

‘Every State and Condition became him; for tho' he endeavoured after more, yet his Mind was always in a manner equal to his present Condition.’

But if a Man be discontented with the present, and restless because he hath no more, the whole World will not satisfie him; and if God should raise him from one step to another, he would never think his Fortune high enough, and in every degree of it would be as little contented as he was at first. Our Saviour represents this sort of Men by the Rich Man here in the Parable, who when his Barns were full, and ready to crack, his Mind was not fill'd; therefore he pulls them down, and builds greater; and if he had lived 'till these had been full, they must have gone down too, and he would still have built greater. So that tho' he designed when he had raised his Estate to such a pitch, to have sat down, and taken his ease, yet his Covetous humour would have [Page 213] been stirring again, and still have stept in between him and Content­ment, and for ever have hindred him from arriving at it.

Thirdly, By way of Direction, I would perswade those who are Rich, to be Charitable with what they have. If God have blest us with abundance, and we would not be like this Rich Man here in the Parable, we must lay out of our Estates, in ways of Piety and Charity, for the Publick Good, and for the private Relief of those who are in want; for that is the [...], or Moral of the Para­ble; so is he that layeth up Treasures for himself, and is not Rich toward God. So shall he be; such an issue of his Folly may every one expect, (to be taken away from his Estate before he comes to enjoy it) who layeth up Treasures for himself, but is not Rich toward God; but does not lay up Riches with God. How is that? By Works of Mercy, and Cha­rity. This our Saviour calls laying up for our selves Treasure in Heaven, Mat. 16. 20. And at the 33 d Verse of [Page 214] this Chapter, he calls giving of Alms, providing for our selves baggs which wax not old, a Treasure in the Heavens which faileth not; they who do thus, who are Rich in good Works, ready to Distribute, willing to Communicate, are said to lay up for themselves a good Treasure against the time which is to come, that they may lay hold on Eternal Life, 1 Tim. 6. 18, 19. Extra fortu­nam est quicquid donatur; ‘whatsoever we give to the Poor is safely dispo­sed, and put out of the reach of Fortune, because it is laid up in Hea­ven,’ where we may expect the return and recompence of it. Cha­rity to our poor Brethren is a certain way of transmitting our Riches into the other World, to make way fo [...] our reception there. So our Lord tells us, Luke 16. 9. I say unto you make to your selves Friends of the Mam­mon of Unrighteousness, that when ye shall fail (that is) when ye shall leave this World, and the enjoyments of it, they may receive you into Everlasting Habitations.

[Page 215] At the Great Day of Judgment, when we shall all appear before God, and, according to our Saviour's Representation of the Proceedings of that Day, shall hear him thus Ex­postulating with Men, I was hungry, and ye gave me no meat; thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; naked, and ye cloathed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not; what would we then give, how much of our Estates, if we had them then at our Com­mand, would we not be willing to part withal, to have that Comfort­able Sentence past upon us; Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the King­dom prepared for you, before the foun­dation of the World! But if we be found among those who would spare nothing out of their abundance to any Charitable Use and Purpose, I have not the heart to tell you how miserable the Condition of such Per­sons will be, and how dreadful a Doom will be passed upon them.

It is a sad Consideration, that there are some Persons in the World, who [Page 216] seem to be only defective in this Duty; like the young Man in the Gospel, who lacked but this one thing to make him perfect; he had kept the Commandments from his youth, and preserved himself from those gross Sins which the Law did plain­ly forbid; and yet for want of this one thing he parted from his Savi­our, and, for any thing we know, fell short of Eternal Life. There are many who are very Devout and Re­ligious, much in Prayer and Fast­ing, and all the other frugal exerci­ses of Piety, which cost them no Mony; but yet are very defective in Alms, and Charity, which in Scrip­ture are so frequently joyn'd with the Fastings and Prayers of good Men; and by this means, all their De­votion and Diligence in the other parts of Religion is lost, and will not bring them to Heaven. And is it not great pity, that they who are not far from the Kingdom of God, should fall short of it? that they, who in most other things bid so fair for Hea­ven, should break wit [...] God upon this single Point?

[Page 217] I know Men have several ways to de­ceive their own Hearts, and to defend themselves against all these Assaults.

First, They say they are injurious to no Man, in not being Charitable. And 'tis true, that in Humane Courts the Poor can have no Action against the Rich for want of Charity to them; but yet for all that, they do injuriously detain that which doth not of right belong to them. They are Cruel, and Hard-Hearted, and they are guilty of high breach of Trust, in respect of God, whose Stewards they are, and who hath dealt so libe­rally with them in the Things of this Life, on purpose to oblige them to be so to others. That which thou storest up, without regard to the necessities of others, is unlawfully detained by thee, since God intended it should have been for Bread to the hungry, and Cloaths to the naked, and for help and relief of those who are ready to perish. For why art thou Rich, and another Poor? But that thou mightest exercise thy Charity upon those fitting Objects which the Providence of God presents to thee. It had been easie for God [Page 218] (since the Earth is his, and the fu [...]ness thereof) so to have contrived Things, that every Man should have had a suf­ficiency, and have been in a moderate Condition; but then a great many Vir­tues would have been shut out of the World, and lost, for want of opportu­nity to exercise them. Where then had been the Poor Man's Patience, and the Rich Man's Pity? and the con­tentedness of Men of moderate For­tune?

Secondly, Men say that they have Children to provide for. And do so in God's Name, for he allows us to do it liberally; but unless their Condition and Wealth set them above an ordina­ry Calling, do not chuse so to provide for them, as to take them off from all Employment, lest you put them in the ready way to be undone; have a Care of leaving them no other business, but to spend what you have left them; if you do so, they will in all probability do that work very effectually, and make as much haste to be Poor, as you did to make them Rich. If Men could but be contented to do that which is [Page 219] best for their Children, they might do a great deal better for themselves, by disposing what they have to spare in Charity.

Thirdly, Others would fain excuse themselves from this Duty at pre­sent, by telling what they intend to do when they come to Die, that is, when they can keep what they have no longer. It seems then thou wilt leave it to thy Executor to do good in thy stead This shews thou hast no great heart to the business, when thou deferrest it as long as ever thou canst. But why wilt thou trust ano­ther with the disposal of thy Chari­ty, rather than thy self? This is hard­ly to offer either a Reasonable, or a Living Sacrifice to God, to do good only when we are dead. It is well that God hath made all Men Mortal, and that it is appointed for all Men once to die; otherwise some Men would never do good at all.

Wherefore setting aside these, and all other excuses, which will not be admitted, nor will any of us have the [Page 220] face to plead them at the Day of Judgment; I say, setting aside all Ex­cuses whatsoever, let us resolve to do good with what we have whilst we can; and to that end let us lay aside some Portion of what God has blest us withal, for the uses of Piety, and Charity, and let it bear some decent Proportion to what God hath given us.

There is never want of proper Ob­jects for our largest Charity, and now less than ever. Besides those at home, which present themselves to us in great numbers every day, God hath sent us many from abroad, who call loud upon us for our pity and help, both as they are reduced to the great­est extremi [...]y, and are Sufferers in the best Cause, that of our common Re­ligion, which ought now to be dearer to us than ever. Let us shew Mercy now, as we expect Mercy from others, in any day of our distress in this World, and as ever we hope, when ever we come to appear before the Judg­ment Seat of Christ, to find Mercy with the Lord in that Day.

[Page 221] Consider what I have said upon this Argument, and let this extraordi­nary kind of Caution, which our Sa­viour here gives, make a deep im­pression upon your Minds; Take heed and beware of Covetousness; for a Man's Life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

IN the latter part of this Chapter, our Saviour doth in a long Dis­course caution his Disciples against an Inordinate Care about the Things of this Life, which he concludes with a strict Charge to make Religion their first and great Concernment, and above all Things to take Care to secure [Page 224] to themselves the happiness of another Life; But seek ye first the King­dom of God, and his Righteousness, &c. In the handling of which words, I shall do these Four Things.

First, I shall explain what is here meant by the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness.

Secondly, What by seeking of these.

Thirdly, I shall lay down some ne­cessary and plain Directions, which if we observe, we cannot miscarry in this matter.

Fourthly, I shall set before you some of the most proper and powerful Mo­tives and Encouragements to the mind­ing of this great Interest and Concern­ment; among which, I shall particu­larly consider the Argument or Encou­ragement here used in the Text, and all these things shall be added unto you.

1. I shall explain to you what is here meant by the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness.

[Page 225] First, What is meant by the King­dom of God. And there are two Famous acceptations of this Phrase, and both of them very frequent in the New Testament. Sometimes it is used to sig­nifie the State of the Gospel, or the Christian Religion, which by the Jews was called the Kingdom of God, or the Kingdom of the Messias, Mark 1. 15. The Kingdom of God is at hand; that is, the State or Dispensation of the Gospel is now approaching, and ready to take place. Luke 17. 20. The Pharisees de­manding of our Saviour when the King­dom of God should come, that is, when the Reign of the Messias should commence; he answers them, the Kingdom of God cometh not with observation; that is, not with any Temporal Pomp and Splen­dor, so as to draw the eyes of People after it, as the Jews did vainly ima­gine; but the Kingdom of God, [...], is among you; not within you, as our Translation hath improperly rendred it; the Kingdom of God (he tells them) is already come unto you, the Messias is among you, and ye are not [Page 226] aware of him. In the like sense this Phrase is used, Mat. 21. 43. the King­dom of God (that is, the Gospel) shall be taken from you, and given to a Na­tion bringing forth the fruits thereof. And so likewise the Phrase of the Kingdom of Heaven is used, Mat. 11. 11. where speaking of John the Baptist, our Saviour saith, that among them that were born of Women, there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist; that is, there was no greater Person than he, under the Jewish Dispensa­tion, and yet he that is least in the King­dom of Heaven (that is under the Dis­pensation of the Gospel) is greater than he.

Now tho' this sense of the Kingdom of God be not wholly excluded in the Text, yet there is another sense of this Phrase very usual likewise in the Scripture, and which is more agree­able to the scope of our Saviour's Ar­gument and Discourse [...] and so it signi­fies that future state of Happiness and Glory which good Men shall be ad­vanced to in another World, in op­position to this Life, and the Enjoyments [Page 227] of it, which our Saviour had before forbidden his Disciples to be so solicitous about. Take ye no thought, saying, what shall we eat? or what shall we drink? or wherewithal shall we be cloath­ed? And then it follows in direct op­position to this inordinate and solici­tous Care about Worldly Things, but seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness. That is, be not so soli­citous about the Conveniencies and Necessaries of this Life, as about the Happiness of the other, and the Means to it. And this sense of this Phrase of the Kingdom of God is so very frequent in the New Testament, that I shall not need to give particular In­stances of it.

Secondly, what is meant by Righte­ousness; seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness. Righteous­ness, in the strictest and most proper sense of the word, signifies the par­ticular Virtue of Justice; and very frequently in the Old Testament it is used for Charity to the Poor, or Alms­giving, Psal. 37. 25, 26. I have been young, and now am old, yet have I not [Page 228] seen the Righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread; he is ever merciful, and lendeth; and Psal. 112. 9. he hath di­spersed, he hath given to the Poor, his Righteousness endureth for ever. But Righteousness in its largest and most ex­tended sense, comprehends all the Vir­tues of a good Man; and so it signifies here in the Text, and in many other places of Scripture.

So that the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness, comprehends the whole business of Religion, our last End, which is Eternal Life and Happiness in another World; and the way and means to this End, which is Righteousness, or that Universal Goodness which God re­quires of us, and whereof he himself is a Pattern and Example to us; for which Reason 'tis call'd his Righteous­ness. And in this sense of our last End, and the way and means to it, the King­dom of Heaven, and Righteousness, are used in another place, even of this Ser­mon of our Saviour's upon the Mount, Matth. 5. 20. Except your Righteousness shall exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case [Page 229] enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; where Righteousness is made the necessary Means and Condition of Eternal Life. I proceed in the

Second Place, to explain what is meant by seeking first the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness. And this signifies the greatest intention of mind, and earnestness of endeavour about the business of Religion, in order to our attaining of Eternal Happiness; such a seriousness and earnestness of endeavour as Earthly-Minded Men use about the Things of this World. For after all these things (says our Sa­viour immediately after the Text) do the Gentiles seek; [...], which words signifie an intense Care, and vigorous Endeavour; but seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and his Right­ousness; that is, be ye who profess your selves Christians, as intent upon the business of Religion, and the Sal­vation of your Souls, as the Heathen, who are in a great measure ignorant of God and another Life, are about the things of this Life.

[Page 230] And here are two Things to be explained.

1. What is here meant by seeking the Kingdom of God, and his Righteous­ness; And,

2. What by seeking them in the first place.

For the First: A sincere and earnest seeking of the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness, does imply in it these Four Things.

First, A fix'd Design and Resolu­tion as to the End; that we do not only propound to our selves the Eter­nal Happiness and Salvation of our Souls as our chief End, but that we be immoveably fixt upon it, and always have it in our aim and design; that here we set up our Resolution, if it be possible, to be happy for ever; that we have this End always in our eye, and be firmly resolved to do all that we can towards the attaining of it.

[Page 231] Not that we are obliged always actually to think upon it; but to have it frequently in our Minds, and habi­tually to intend and design it, so as to make it the scope of all our Endea­vours and Actions, and that every thing we do be either directly and im­mediately in order to it, or some way or other subservient to this Design, or however not inconsistent with it; like the term and end of a Man's Journey, towards which the Traveller is conti­nually tending, and hath it always ha­bitually in his intention, tho' he doth not always think of it every step that he takes, and tho' he be not always di­rectly advancing and moving towards it, yet he never knowingly goes out of the way. And tho' he bate and lodge by the way, and does many other things which do not directly set him forward, yet they are all subservient to his Journey, or in prosecution of it; or at least no wilful deviations from it. Thus it should be with us, while we are Sojourning in this World; our fix'd aim and design should be to get to Heaven, and thither we should be [Page 232] continually tending in our Desires and Endeavours.

And if this Resolution be deeply root­ [...]d and fix'd in our Minds, it will go­vern all our Actions, and keep them steady to their main End. Whereas, if we be uncertain, and unresolv'd up­on our great End, and be divided be­tween the Happiness of the next Life, and the present Enjoyments of this, we shall be fickle and unsteady in all our Motions. He that hath two Ends, can pursue neither vigorously; but while he is moving towards the one, he leans and inclines to the other; and like a Needle between two Loadstones, is always in a doubtful and trembling Condition; inclines to both, but is constant to neither: And this is the meaning of that Aphorism of St. James, The double-minded Man is unstable in all his ways. He that is unresolved as to his main End, hath two Minds, and can prosecute nothing vigorously: But if our Mind be once fix'd and resolv'd, that will determine and govern all our motions, and inspire us with Diligence, [Page 233] and Zeal, and Perseverance in the pro­secution of our End.

Secondly, Seeking the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness, implies incessant Care and Diligence as to the means; that we make Religion our business, and exercise our selves in the Duties of it, both in publick and private, at proper times and seasons, with the same seriousness and application of Mind, as Men do in their Callings and Professions, for the gaining of Wealth and Preferment; especially on the Lord's-Day, which God hath taken to himself, and set apart for the Duties of his Worship and Service. Not that we are excused from minding Religi­on at other times; but that those who are prest and straitned by the necessary Cares of this Life, may be sure to mind it then, and may have no colour of excuse for the neglect of it at that time, which God hath allotted for that very purpose, and which it is unlawful to employ about our Worldly Affairs. God expects that we should serve him at other times, that we should live in an habitual sense of him, and (as Solomon [Page 234] expresseth it, Prov. 23. 17.) Be in the fear of the Lord all the day long; so as to be careful not to offend or trans­gress in any thing, and so as to re­deem all Opportunities for the exer­cise of Piety, and Devotion; but this Day he peremptorily challengeth to himself, and expects we should im­ploy it in his Service, and Dedicate it to Religion, to the Contemplation of God and Heavenly things, and the Care of our Immortal Souls, with the same seriousness and diligence, as we do upon other days labour for the bread which perisheth; and the less leisure we have upon other days for this purpose, the more entirely should we Devote and Consecrate this Day to the Purpo­ses and Duties of Religion.

Not but that our whole Life, and all the Actions of it, should be under the government of Religion, and directed by the Laws and Rules of it; and it should be our continual Care and En­deavour to please God in all things, and we should take as much pains, and be as heartily concerned to be good Men, as the Men of the World are to grow Rich and Great in this World; nay so much more, by how much it [Page 235] is a better and nobler Design to im­prove in Grace and Virtue, than to prosper and thrive in our Temporal E­state; and we do not in good earnest seek the Kingdom of God, and his Righte­ousness, if this be not our great study and endeavour, to subdue our Lusts, and govern our Passions, and, in a word, to reform whatever is amiss in the in­ward frame and temper of our Minds, and in our outward Conversation. And indeed nothing does require greater di­ligence, and attention, and care, than for a Man to become truly and tho­roughly good, to be meek and hum­ble, and patient and contented, and resigned to the Will of God in every Condition; to be peaceable, and cha­ritable, and placable, and ready to forgive; these are great and difficult things, and, whatever we think, not the work of a Wish, or the effect of a sudden Resolution before the receiving of the Holy Sacrament, no nor the fruit of frequent and [...]ervent Prayers, without the hearty concurrence of our own Care and Endeavour, to render our Lives such, as we pray God by his Grace to assist and enable us to be.

[Page 236] Thirdly, Seeking the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness, does further im­ply zeal and earnestness in the pursuit of this Design: And this is a degree above diligence, for zeal is an ardour and [...]ervency of Mind in the prosecu­tion of a thing for which we are great­ly concerned, and which we vehe­mently desire to obtain; it is the hot­test and most intense degree of our af­fection towards any thing, of our de­sire and love, mixt with anger at every thing that stands in our way, and hin­ders us from obtaining what we seek after; such an heat as Ambition does commonly inspire Men withall, in the pursuit of Power and Preferment. Such ought to be the temper of our Minds, and the edge of our Spirits, in seeking the Kingdom of God, as does usually possess Men in seeking the King­doms of this World, and the Glory of them. We must remember, that it is a Kingdom which we seek for, and aspire after, not like the unstable and tottering Kingdoms of this World, but a Kingdom which cannot be shaken, as the Apostle calls it.

[Page 237] So that the greatness of the Design, and the Excellency of what we seek after, will justifie and warrant the highest degree of a discreet zeal and fervour in the prosecution of it; and therefore no wonder that the Scripture in this matter useth words that import the greatest vehemency and earnest­ness, bidding us to strive to enter in at the strait gate, to labour and watch, to run, and wrestle, and fight, and, in a word, to give all diligence, to make our Calling and Election sure.

Lastly, Seeking the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness, does imply pati­ence and perseverance in our endea­vours after them, and that we never cease our pursuit of them, 'till we have obtained them; and this, notwith­standing all the difficulties and discou­ragements, the opposition and persecu­tion that we meet with for Righte [...]us­ness sake: For this we must expect, and reckon upon before-hand, to en­counter many difficulties, and find many discouragements in the ways of Religion; for strait is the gate, and [Page 238] narrow is the way that leads to life, as our Lord himself hath told us: Nay we must count to be grievously persecuted for Righteousness sake, and, if God see it good for us, to pass through many Tri­bulations, before we shall enter into the Kingdom of God; and therefore we had need to be armed with a great deal of Patience, and a very firm and obsti­nate Resolution, to enable us to bear up, and to hold out against all these; for this is a necessary qualification for our seeking the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness. So our Lord hath told us, Mat. 10. 22. he that endureth to the end, shall be saved; if we hope to receive the Crown of Life, we must be faithful to the death, Rev. 2. 10. And to the same purpose St. Paul declares, Rom. 2. 7. that they only shall be made partakers of Eternal Life, who by patient continuance in well doing, seek for Glory, and Honour, and Immortality.

You see what is meant by seeking th [...] Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness; it remains briefly to be shewn, in the Second place, what is meant by seeking these first; seek ye f [...]rst the Kingdom of [Page 239] God, and his Righteousness; that is, let this be your main and principal De­sign, so as to take place of all others in your esteem and affections, in your aim and endeavour; in comparison of this, mind nothing else, not the Com­forts and Conveniencies, no not the Necessaries of Life, what ye shall eat, and what ye shall drink, and wherewithal ye shall be cloathed. These you see our Sa­viour instanceth in before the Text, as not to be regarded and taken care of, when they come in competition with the Kingdom of God, and his Righteous­ness. And our Saviour tells us else­where, that not only none of the Com­forts and Necessaries of Life are to be valued against him, and his Religion; but that even this Temporal Life itself, as dear as it is to us, is to be parted withall, and given up, rather than to quit the profession of his Truth and Religion, Mat. 10. 37. 38. He that loveth Father or Mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that loveth Son or Daughter more than me, is not worthy of me. He instan­ceth in the nearest Relations, those to­wards whom we have the most tender [Page 240] and relenting affections, and yet he tells us, that the Consideration of his Truth and Religion ought to take place of these, nay even of Life it self; for so it follows, and he that taketh not his Cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. St. Luke expresseth it more strongly and vehemently, Luke 14. 26. If any man come to me (that is, take upon him the profession of my Religi­gion) and hate not his Father, and Mo­ther, and Wife, and Children, and Bre­thren, and Sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my Disciple. When these come in competition with our Religion, and the great interest of our Eternal Salvation, we are to regard and value them no more than if they were the Objects of our hatred, but to set aside all consideration of affe­ction to them, so far as it would tempt us from Constancy in our Reli­gion, and the Care of our Souls.

So that when our Saviour bids us first to seek the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness, his meaning is, tha [...] Religion, and the Concernments of our Souls, and the Eternal Happiness [Page 241] of them in another World, should be our first and chief Care; and that all other things should be made subor­dinate and subservient to this great Design, and be no further minded by us, than they really are so: For that which is our great End, will sub­due all other things, and bring them into subjection to it, and will reject them, and throw them aside, if they be inconsistent with it. If Heaven be our utmost aim, and in order to that, it be our great study and endeavour to be Righteous, and Holy, this Resolu­tion and Design, sincerely entertained, will over-rule all other Considerati­ons, and make all the things of this World to stoop and give way to that which is our chief End, the Eternal Happiness and Salvation of our Souls. And thus I have done with the Se­cond Thing I proposed, namely, what is meant by seeking the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness; and what by seek­ing them first.

I proceed in the Third place, to lay down some plain Rules for our Direction [Page 242] and Furtherance in seeking the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness; that is, in the great business of Reli­gion.

First, Let us always live under a lively and powerful sense of another World; that we are placed here in this World, but for a little while, and that wholly in order to our pre­paration for a better and a happier Life. Let this thought be often in our Minds, that Eternity is the most con­siderable duration, and the next World the place of our Everlasting abode, where we must dwell and continue for ever; and therefore our present state is but of little Moment and Con­sideration to us, but only in order to our future and Everlasting Condition. We may please our selves here for a little while with Toys, and Trifles, with Dreams and Shadows of Pleasure and Happiness, and may be exercised with some Troubles and Afflictions for a short space, for a moment (as the A­postle calls it, our light afflictions which are but for a moment, and so indeed it is, compared with all Eternity; but [Page 243] the substantial and durable Happiness or Misery remain for Men in the other World, and will certainly be their portion, according as they have de­meaned themselves in this World.

Now the serious Consideration of this cannot fail to put us upon vigo­rous preparations for another World, and to make us wholly intent upon our Eternal Concernments, and to re­solve whatever becomes of us in this World, to take effectual Care that we may be Happy for ever. He that firmly believes the Immortality of his Soul, and a Life after Death, which will never have an end, must needs take into Consideration his whole du­ration, and bend all his Care and Thoughts, how he may avoid the great­est and most lasting Misery, and secure to himself an Immortality of Bliss and Happiness.

Secondly, Let us be always under a Conviction of the absolute and indi­spensable necessity of Holiness and Righteousness, as the only way and means whereby the Kingdom of God is [Page 244] to be attained, and that Holiness and Happiness are not to be separated, the one being a necessary Condition and Qualification for the other; and con­sequently, that it is the vainest thing in the World for any Man to hope to enter into the Kingdom of God, without endeavouring after his Righteousness; there is so strong a connexion between them, that a Man may as reasonably expect to be well and at ease without Health, as to be Happy without Holi­ness; for this makes us like to God, and our Likeness and Conformity to God is that alone which can make us capable of the Blessed Sight and Enjoy­ment of God. We must be Partakers of a Divine Nature, in order to our participation of the Divine Blessedness. And the Consideration of this will ef­fectually engage us to seek the Righte­ousness of God, without which we shall never enter into his Kingdom; and to follow Holiness, without which no Man shall see the Lord.

Thirdly, Let us always remember that Righteousness is of a great extent, and comprehends in it all goodness, it [Page 245] takes in all the Duties of Religion, and the Practice of all of them; it is a Complication of all Graces and Vir­tues, of all the Parts and Ingredients, of all the Duties and Offices of a good Man. To denominate a Man Righte­ous, all Causes must concurr; all the Essential Principles and Parts of Reli­gion and Goodness must meet together; Knowledge and Practice, Faith and Good Works, Right Opinions and Real Virtues, an Orthodox Profession and a Holy Life, abstaining from Sin and doing of Righteousness, Purity of Heart and Unspotted Manners, God­liness and Honesty, the Bridling of our Tongue, and the Government of our Passions, and above all things Charity, which is the Band of Per­fection.

For Righteousness is our Conformity to the Law of God, as Unrighteousness and Sin is the Transgression of it: Now this, if it be real and sincere, will be uniform and universal, equally re­specting all the Laws of God, and every part of our known Duty, and will not content it self with an especial [Page 246] regard to one or two Precepts of the Law, tho' never so considerable, and then allow it self in the neglect and violation of the rest; no nor with the observation of the Duties of one Table of the Law, if it overlook the other; no nor with Obedience to all the Commandments of God, one only excepted. St. James hath put this very Case, and determined it, that he that shall keep the whole Law, save only that he offend in one point, is guilty of all; that is, he is not sincere in his Obedi­ence to the rest: And therefore if we seek the Righteousness of God, our Righ­teousness must be Universal; as he that hath called us is holy, so must we be holy in all manner of Conversation, in the tenor of our Actions, and the whole course of our Lives; and any one Reigning Sin and Vice, any gross and notorious defect in the Virtues of a good Life, will spoil all our Righteous­ness, and will effectually shut us out of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Fourthly, Let us wisely subordinate the several parts and duties of Reli­gion to one another, according to the [Page 247] intrinsical worth and value of them, that so we may mind every part of Religion in its due place, and accord­ing to the true nature and importance of it. Knowledge and Faith are in order to Practice, and a good Life; and signifie nothing, unless they pro­duce that; the Means of Religion, such as Prayer, and Fasting, diligent Reading and Hearing of the Word of God, Re­verent and Devout Receiving of the Blessed Sacrament, are of less account and value, than that which is the End of all these, which is to make us in­wardly and really good, and fruitful in all the works of Righteousness, which by Jesus Christ are to the Praise and Glory of God. And therefore the Means of Religion which I have mentioned, are to be regarded and used by us, in order to the attaining of these Ends, without which they are meer Formali­lity and Hypocrisie, and instead of finding acceptance with God, they are an abomination to him, and his Soul hates them.

And so likewise the Circumstances of Religion are less considerable than [Page 248] the substantial Means and Instruments of it. And therefore all Rites and Ce­remonies are in Religion of less con­sideration, than the Substance of God's Worship, and ought always to be sub­ordinate to it. In like manner, the Moral Duties of Religion, compre­hended under the two great Command­ments of the love of God, and our Neigh­bour, because they are of Eternal, and indispensable obligation, are to be pre­ferr'd to matters of meer positive Insti­tution; and where they cannot stand togother, that which is positive ought to be set aside, and to give way for the present, to that which is moral and good in its own Nature, and not only because it is Commanded, and Enjoyned; for in this Case God hath expresly declared that he will have Mercy, and not Sacrifice. Upon which ground our Saviour declares, that the Law of the Sabbath ought to give place to works of Mercy. Upon the same ac­count, Peace and Charity are to be va­lued above Matters of Nicety and Scruple, of doubtful Dispute and Con­troversie; because the former are un­questionably good, the latter doubt­fully and uncertainly so.

[Page 249] All these things ought to be consi­dered, and are of great moment to make a Man sincerely and wisely Religious. For Men may keep a great stir about some parts of Religion, and be very Careful and Diligent, Zealous and Earnest about the Means and Instru­ments of Religion, and in the Exerci­ses of Piety and Devotion; and yet be destitute of the Power and Life of it, and fall short of that inward, and real, and substantial Righteousness, which alone can qualifie us for the Kingdom of God.

The Fifth and last Direction I would give, is this; That we have a particu­lar regard to the great Duty of Charity, or Alms-giving, this being very fre­quently in Scripture called Righteous­ness, as being an eminent part of Reli­gion, and a great Evidence of the truth and sincerty of our Piety. And this our Saviour particularly directs to, as the way to the Kingdom of God, Luke 12. 33. After this general Exhortation, to seek the Kingdom of God, he instanceth in Charity, as the direct way to it; give Alms, provide for your selves Bags that wax not old, a Treasure in the Heavens, [Page 250] that faileth not. And elsewhere our Saviour speaks of this Grace and Vir­tue, as that which, above all others, will make way for our admission into Heaven, Luke 16. 9. I say unto you, make to your selves friends of the Mam­mon of unrighteousness, that when ye fail, they may receive you (or ye may be re­ceived) into Everlasting Habitations. And St. Paul calls it, laying in store for our selves a good foundation; or (as the word may better be rendred in this place) a good treasure against the time to come, that we may lay hold on Eternal Life, 1 Tim. 6. 19. St. James speaks of it, as a main and most essential part of Re­ligion, and the great Evidence of a true and sincere Piety, Jam. 1. 27. Pure Reli­gion, and undefiled before God and the Fa­ther, is this; to visit the Fatherless and Widows in their affliction. Finally, our Lord instanceth in this, as the very thing which will admit us into, or shut us out of Heaven; by the performance whereof we shall be Absolved, and for the neglect whereof we shall be Condemned, in the Judgment of the Great Day, Mat. 25. So that this part of Righteousness or Religion ought in [Page 251] a more especial manner to be regarded by us; because upon the performance or neglect of this Duty, our Eternal Happiness doth so much depend.

The Fourth and last thing only re­mains to be spoken to; which is, to set before you the most proper and powerful Motives and Incouragements, to the minding of this great Interest and Concernment. But this will be the Subject of another Discourse.

THESE Words, which I began to Discourse upon the last Day, are a strict Charge and Com­mand to all Christians, to mind the business of Religion in the first place, and to take all imaginable Care to se­cure the Happiness of another Life; but seek ye first the Kingdom of God, [Page 254] and his Righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. In the handling of which Argument,

First, I Explained what is meant by the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness.

Secondly, I shew'd what is meant by seeking these; and what by seeking them first.

Thirdly, I laid down some Rules for our Direction and Furtherance in this great Business.

I shall now proceed to represent to you, in the

Fourth and last place, some of the most proper and powerful Arguments and Encouragements, to engage us to the minding of this great Inte [...]est and Concernment; amongst which, I shall in the last place particularly consider the Encouragement here given in the Text, seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

[Page 255] 1. My First Argument shall be from the Worth and Excellency of the things we seek, the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness; which are cer­tainly the greatest and best things we can seek. The Kingdom of God, is the Eternal Salvation of our Souls, Ever­lasting Life and Happiness in another World; which, to animate our Endea­vours, and to tempt our Ambition the more, are set forth to us under the no­tion of a Kingdom. And what will not Men do to obtain that? what pains will they not take? what hazards will they not run? what difficulties will they not grapple with, and break through if they can, to come at a Kingdom? which when they have ob­tained, they are exposed to as many, and commonly to more Cares and Fears, to greater Difficulties and Dan­gers in the keeping, than they were for the getting of it: And yet all this Men will do for a corruptible Crown, for one of the petty Kingdoms and Principalities of this World, which are continually tottering, and ready to be overturned by open violence, or to be [Page 256] undermined by secret Treachery. But the Kingdom which I am speaking of, and perswading you and my self to seek after, is not like the Kingdoms of Men, and of this World; it is called the Kingdom of God, to signifie to us the Excellency and stability of it; as much beyond any of the Kingdoms of this World, as the Heavens are high above the Earth, and as God is greater than Man; a Kingdom which cannot be shaken, a Crown which fadeth not away, a Scepter which cannot be wrested from us.

But to quit the Metaphor, and speak to the Thing; the Kingdom of God imports the Eternal Salvation of our Souls; I say of our Souls, which both in respect of the Dignity of their Nature, and their Immortal duration, are infinitely more valuable than any of the perishing things of this World, and ought to be much dearer to us. Other things are without us, they neither constitute our Being, nor are [...]ssential to our Happi­ness; but our Souls are our selves, and the loss of them is our utter ruine and destruction. So that nothing is to be [Page 257] regarded by us with equal Care and Concernment, as the Salvation of our Immortal Souls; that is, that we may be rescued from Eternal Misery, and Everlastingly Happy in another World. And can we be at too much cost and pains upon such a design, to escape so dismal a Condition, so dreadful a ruine, as that of Body and Soul to all Eter­nity? Can any Man be concerned enough to bring about so great a good to himself? or, can he purchase it too dear, whatever he give or part with for it? a good so desirable and so du­rable, as our being Happy for ever. When we purchase the things of this World, the Riches and Honours of it, at the expence of so much Time, and Care, and Trouble, we pay dear for Trifles and Fancies; but Eternal Hap­piness is a Jewel of so inestimable a Price, that a Wise Merchant will have it at any rate, and sell all that he hath to purchase it.

Of such value is the Kingdom of God; and next to it is Righteousness, which is the only Way and Means where­by this Kingdom is to be attained, and [Page 258] therefore to be sought by us with the greatest diligence and earnestness: For that which is the only Means to a great and desirable End, and which a­lone can make us capable of that End, and which in truth is a degree of it, is valuable next to the End, and almost equally with it; and such is Righteous­ness, in respect of the Kingdom of God; it is the only means to it, it is that alone which qualifies us, and makes us capable of Happiness; nay, it is an essential ingredient into it, and that which does in a great measure consti­tute the Happiness of Heaven: For that temper of Mind, that Conformity and likeness to God, which Holiness and Righteousness brings us to, is the true Foundation of our Happiness, and according to the best apprehen­sions we have now of it, is the very formal Cause and Essence of our Bles­sedness. So St. John tells us, 1 Joh. 3. 2. It doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him; that is, we do not now distinctly understand wherein the Happiness of the next Life consists, we are not able to frame a clear and [Page 259] perfect Idea of it; but this we know in general, that it consists in our like­ness to God, in a conformity to the Moral Perfections of the Divine Na­ture, which are exprest by the name of Purity and Holiness; and therefore every one that hopes for the Happiness of Heaven, must endeavour after Ho­liness; every Man that hath this hope in him, must purifie himself, even as he is pure.

So that the things which I am pres­sing you to seek after, are most effe­ctually recommended, by telling you what they are; the Kingdom of God is Eternal Life and Happiness, and his Righteousness is Universal Holiness and Goodness, without which no Man is qualified for this Blessed State. Now if there be any thing better than Good­ness, any thing more desirable than a Happiness which ha [...]h no bounds, nor no End; do not mind them, nor look after them: but if there be not; then certainly these a [...]e worthy of the Care and Endeavour of our whole Life.

[Page 260] Secondly, Another Consideration that should very much excite and quick­en our Endeavour and Diligence in seeking these things, is the difficul­ty of obtaining them. This I confess is no Encouragement, but it is a very good Motive and Argument to whet our industry in seeking these things, when we plainly see that they are not to be had upon other terms. And this Consideration our Saviour useth to quicken us to strive and to contend ear­nestly for Eternal Life, Mat. 7. 14. because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth to Life, and few there be that find it: And Luke 13. 24. Strive to enter in at the strait gate; for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.

Seeking here, in opposition to stri­ving, is a faint and weak Endeavour, which will not carry us through this narrow and difficult passage; and this is the reason why many miscarry, who make some attempts towards Heaven; but they do not strive, they do not put [Page 261] forth any vigorous Endeavours to get thither.

Now the difficulty of attaining Eter­nal Happiness, ariseth from the diffi­culty of the Way and Means to it; and it is therefore hard to attain the King­dom of God, because it is hard to attain his Righteousness. As desirable as it is, it must be acknowledged very difficult for a Man to raise himself to that tem­per and disposition of Mind, so to sub­due his Lusts, and govern his Passions, to bridle his Tongue, and order all the Actions of his Life, as is necessary to qualifie him for Happiness, and to make him fit to be admitted into the Kingdom of God.

And this difficulty is chiefly in our selves, but greatly increased by temp­tation and opposition from without: Chiefly I say in our selves, from the strong biass of our Evil and Corrupt Inclinations, and the strong power of vicious Habits and Customs, which when they are grown inveterate, do Tyrannize over us, and make us perfect Slaves, and lead us Captive at their [Page 262] pleasure; so that our Nature must be quite changed, and as the Apostle ex­presseth it, we must be renewed in the Spirit of our Minds, our Souls must be new moulded and fashioned, we must be as it were Created and Born again, before we can enter into the Kingdom of God. In this our Saviour is positive and perempto [...]y, Joh. 3. 3. verily ve­rily I say unto you, except a Man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. This difficulty indeed is greatest at first, but it is considerable afterwards, 'till a through Change be made, and new Inclinations planted in us, and the contrary habits of Grace and Virtue be super-induced.

And that which increaseth the diffi­culty is outward Temptation and Op­position from the World, and the De­vil; which to withstand and resist, re­quires great Courage and Resolution, great Watchfulness and Guard over our selves. But yet for our Comfort, these Difficulties are not insuperable to that Grace and Assistance, which God is al­ways ready to afford to us upon so good an Occasion, and to so good a purpose [...] [Page 263] greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the World. And this I am sure is Matter of great incouragement to us, that tho' the difficulty [...]f working out our Salvation be great, yet if we do in good earnest set about it, God is ready to assist and second our sincere Endea­vours, to work in us both to will and to do of his own goodness, and so to pre­vent us with his gracious Favour, and to further us with his continual Aid, that finally by his Mercy we may ob­tain Eternal Life.

Thirdly, Another powerful Argument to Care and Diligence, is the fatal Danger of Miscarriage in a Matter of so great Concernment. We may do many things in Religion, and take some pains to get to Heaven, and yet fall short of it. The Rich young Man in the Gospel, our Saviour tells us, was not far from the Kingdom of God, and he broke with our Saviour only upon one Point, he was too much addicted to the World, and loth to part with his great Possessions, and distribute them in Charity to the Poor, and thereupon [Page 264] he left our Saviour, and for any thing that we find, never returned to him again.

If the World govern and bear sway in our Hearts, if we mind Earthly things first, and make these our chief Care and Design, the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness shall not be added unto us; i [...] we will not mind them in the first place, they are too good to be Ac­cessories.

And if upon any one point we mis­carry, either out of love to the World, or affection to any other Lust or Vice that we are loth to part withal, our miscarriage is fatal, and the ruine which we bring upon our selves irre­parable; for the Soul once lost, is lost for ever. If we have neglected the op­portunity of working out our own Salva­tion, while we are in this World, it will never return into our power again, Death will shut the door against us, and we shall never see the Kingdom of God.

[Page 265] Fourthly, It is a mighty encourage­ment to us to consider, that if we sin­cerely seek the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness, there is not only a fair probability of obtaining them, but all the security we can desire. Men may be in good earnest for the things of this World, may love them with all their Hearts and Souls (as we see too many do) and seek them with all their might and strength, and yet after all their Endeavours may be shame­fully frustrated and disappointed of their End. There are many Examples of this kind daily before our eyes, and yet Men are not discouraged from seeking these things. A fair probabi­lity, nay almost a possibility of attain­ing them, is enough to a Worldly-Minded Man to drudge and toil for them. Why the same Affection [...] the [...]ame Zeal, the same unwearied Endea­vour to serve God, and to save our Souls, would Infallibly bring us to Heaven. It was a sad but true Saying of Cardinal Wolsey, when he was lea­ving the World, ‘Had I been but as careful to please God, as I have [Page 266] been to serve my Prince, he would not have forsaken me now in the time of my gray hairs.’

Nay it is to be hoped, that less Diligence and Care about the Con­cernments of our Souls, and another Life, than many Men use about the things of this Life, will secure our Eternal Happiness; or else it is to be feared, that but very few would be saved: And who would not place his Industry and Endeavour upon a De­sign in which he is sure not to miscar­ry, if he do but heartily and in good earnest pursue it? Especially when it will be of infinite greater advantage to him, than any Design he can pro­pound to himself for this World. If a Man may be certainly Happy for Ever, upon the same, or easier terms, than he can ordinarily compass any of those little Designs which Men pro­pose to themselves in this World, who would not seek that which is most worthy the having, and which he is surest to obtain?

[Page 267] Fifthly, and Lastly, the Encourage­ment here in the Text is not inconsi­derable; that if we seek the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness, all these things shall be added unto us. This cer­tainly is a very tempting Considera­tion; for who would not be glad to re­concile the enjoyment of this World with the hopes of Heaven, and Eter­nal Happiness? But Men do not ge­nerally like our Saviour's Method, they would seek the things of this World in the first place, and get to Heaven at last; they would be content to seek the one, and have the other cast in and conferred upon them, without their seeking. But this will not be granted, this way will not do. And yet our Saviour hath gone as far as one would think could in Reason be desired; he hath promised that if we will make Religion, and the Salvation of our Souls, our first and chief Care, that all these things shall be added unto us. So that the Design of going to Heaven, and being Happy for ever, is no ways inconsistent with a competent portion of the things of this Life. Godliness [Page 268] (the Apostle tells us) hath the promise of this Life, and of that which is to come. The business of Religion, the practice of a Holy and Virtuous Life, is no hindrance to a Man's thriving in his Temporal Estate; nay in many Re­spects it is apt to promote and ad­vance it; by engaging us to diligence in our Calling, and by deriving the blessing of God upon our honest and lawful Endeavours; by obliging us to the strict and constant practice of Truth, and Justice, and Fidelity in all our Dealings and Commerce, which are the best way to establish a clear and solid Reputation, and good Esteem among Men, which is an unspeakable advantage in Business, and, at the long run, one of the best and most lasting Instruments of Prosperity and Suc­cess.

Besides that Religion frees a Man from those Passions and Vices, which do naturally tend to dissipate and ruine Mens Estates; as Intemperance and Lewdness, which are every way chargable Vices, and do not only take Men off from Business, and render [Page 269] them unfit for it; but waste their Estates, and bring many other incon­veniencies upon their Persons and Fa­milies. Religion makes Men meek and peaceable, and inoffensive in word and deed, which is a great security a­gainst chargeable Suits and Contenti­ons, and all sorts of Injuries and Af­fronts from others. Among all the Bea­titudes of our Saviour, he only promi­seth Temporal Happiness to Meekness, Blessed are the Meek, for they shall inhe­rit the Earth. They who provoke and offend no body, are likely to be least disturbed and disquieted by others in their Possession and Enjoments; who will harm you (saith the Apostle, 1 Pet. 3. 13.) if ye be followers of that which is good? Some may be so perverse as to persecute a Man for his goodness; but it rarely happens; most Men have not only a kindness, but a veneration for true goodness.

By all these ways Religion natu­rally tends to the Temporal Prosperity of Men, and the promoting of their wellfare and happiness even in this World; besides that the Providence [...] [Page 268] [...] [Page 269] [Page 270] of God is very peculiarly concerned for good Men, and a special Blessing attends them in all their Undertakings. So that excepting the Case of Persecu­tion (which God will particularly Consider, and Reward in another World) the Religious and good Man, who sincerely seeks the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness, stands as fair, and is upon as good terms, for all the law­ful Enjoyments of this World, as he that makes it his only Design to be Rich and Great in this World; nay as to the necessaries of Life, and a com­petency of outward things, he hath a much greater and better security from the Providence and Promise of God, than the Men of the World have by all their Care and Pains.

Besides that he hath this Conside­rable advantage, by minding these things only as accessories, that if he miss of them, he hath something bet­ter to support him in the want of them; being secure of a Happiness which this World can neither give nor take from him. But now the Worldly Man, if he be defeated in his Designs, [Page 271] is of all Men most miserable, because he hath nothing else to Comfort him, nothing else to trust to; he fails of his hopes as to this World, and hath done what in him lies, to make his Case desperate, as to the other.

Upon all these Considerations and Encouragements, you see how reason­able it is, that we should make Reli­gion, and the Concernments of ano­ther Life, our great Care and Business. And yet how are these neglected by the greatest part of Mankind! and by the best of us (God knows) not mind­ed as they ought, and as they deserve! What can we say for our selves, in ex­cuse of so intolerable a folly? There are two or three things which Men com­monly pr [...]tend, if not in justification, yet in mitigation and excuse of this great neglect.

First, they pretend great difficulties and discouragements in the ways of Re­ligion. This I have already acknow­ledged to be true, so far as to awaken our Care, and to whet our Industry; but by no means to make us despond, [Page 272] and give over all Care of so great a Concernment, because of the Difficul­ties it is attended withall. Men who have no mind to a thing, are apt to imagine great difficulties in the attain­ing of it, and to magnifie them in their fancies beyond Reason. As the People of Israel, when they were to enter into Canaan (which was the Type of the Kingdom of Heaven) re­presented the Inhabitants of the Land, whom they were to Conquer, more terrible than in truth they were; reporting to one another, that the Land was full of Giants, and Sons of Anak, Men of prodigious Stature, which reached up to Heaven. And this the Wise Man observes to be the perpe­tual excuse of the Sloathful; when they have no mind to a thing, they say there is a Lyon in the way; that is, they fancy to themselves Dangers and Terrors which are not. Thus Men who are averse from Religion, and have no mind to be at the trouble and pains to get to Heaven, are apt to complain of the monstrous and insu­perable Difficulties of Religion, and how hard it is for a Man to mortifie [Page 273] his Lusts, and subdue his Appetites, and govern his Passions, and to do all those things which are necessary to bring him to Heaven. Well! it is acknowledg'd to be difficult. And is it not so to get an Estate, and to rise to any thing in this World? The true pains which Men take about these things, shew that they are difficult; only when Men have a mind to a thing, and their Heart is set upon it, they do not stand to complain of the difficulty, but buckle to it, and grap­ple with it.

Is Religion difficult? And what is not so, that is good for any thing? Is not the Law a difficult and crabbed study? Does it not require great la­bour, and perpetual drudging, to ex­cel in any kind of Knowledge, to be Master of any Art or Profession? In a word, is there any thing in the World worthy the having, that is to be gotten without pains? And is Eter­nal Life and Glory the only slight and inconsiderable thing, that is not worth our Care and Industry? Is it fit that so great a good should be exposed to [Page 274] the faint and idle Wishes, to the cheap and lazy Endeavours of sloath­ful Men? For what Reason? Nay with what Conscience can we bid less for Heaven and Eternal Life, than Men are contented to give for the things of this World; things of no value in Comparison, not worthy the toiling for, not sure to be attained by all our Endeavours; things which perish in the using, and which, when we have them, we are liable to be depri­ved of by a thousand Accidents? One fit of a Feaver may shatter our Understandings, and confound all our Knowledge, and turn us into Fools and Ideots; an Inundation or a Fire may sweep away and devour our Estates; a Succession of Calamities may in a few hours make the Richest and Greatest Man as Poor as Job, and set him upon a Dunghill.

But be the Difficulty what it will of attaining the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness, they are to be sought at any rate; because they are absolute­ly necessary, and we miserable and un­done if we have them not. And therefore [Page 275] not to dissemble in the Matter, the Difficulties of Religion are consider­able; but then they are much greater a [...] first, and will every day abate and grow less, and the work by degrees will become ea [...]e, and turn into Plea­sure and Delight; a Pleasure so great, as none knows but he that hath it; and he that hath it, would not exchange it for all the sensual Pleasures and En­j [...]yments of this World.

Secondly, Others pretend want of time for the minding of so great a Work. And 'tis very true, that all Persons have not equal leisure for this purpose; some are much more strait­ned than others, and more taken up with the necessary Cares of this Life: but God hath put no Man upon this hard necessity, that for want of time he shall be forced to neglect his Body and his Health, his Family and Estate, to save his Soul. And yet if any Man were brought to this distress, it were well worth his while to secure his Eternal Salvation, tho' it were with the neglect and loss of all other things. But those who are most straitned for [Page 276] time, have so much as is absolutely necessary: for there is a considerable part of Religion which does not re­quire time, but Resolution and Care. Not to commit Sin, not to break the Laws of God, not to be intemperate, to make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill the Lusts thereof, does not spend time, but saves it for better Purposes; so that every Man hath time not to do that which he ought not to do: And for the positive part of Religion, whe­ther it consists in the exercise of our Minds, or in the External Acts of Re­ligion; no Man is so distrest, but he hath time to think of Heaven, and Eternity; time to love God, to esteem him, and delight in him above all things. And this a Man may do very frequently, and very acceptably, while he is labouring and travelling a­bout his Worldly Affairs; while his hand is upon the Plow, his heart may be with God; and while he conver­seth here upon Earth, his Thoughts and Affections may be in Heaven. Every Man hath time to pray to God every day, for his Mercy and For­giveness, for his Grace and Assistance, [Page 277] for his Preservation and Support, and to thank him heartily for all his Blessings, and Benefits. And a little time seriously employed in this kind, would have the same acceptance with God, as the more solemn and longer Devotions of those who have more leisure and opportunities for them. To be sure we have all of us time to serve God upon his own Day, and to employ it wholly in the Exercises of Piety, and in the Care and Considera­tion of our Souls.

But this, when all is said, is the Case but of very few; most of us have no colour for this Complaint; non inopes temporis, sed prodigi sumus, (as Seneca says) ‘we are not Poor, but Prodigal of our time, and lavish it away profusely upon Folly and Vanity.’ Our Vices and Lusts, our Pleasures and Diversions, consume and divert those precious hours, which should be employed to these better pur­poses; nay many times Time oppresseth us, and is a burthen to us, and lies upon our hands, and we know not how to get rid of it; and yet we chuse [Page 278] rather to let it run waste, than to be­stow it upon Religion, and the Care of our Souls; insomuch that I fear this will be the Condition of many, that when they were at a loss what to do with their Time, and knew not how to spend it, they would not lay it out upon that which was best and most ne­cessary; for this surely is the very best use that can be made of Time, to pre­pare and provide for Eternity.

Thirdly, Others pretend it will be time enough to mind these things here­after. But this (as bad Excuses seldom hang together, and agree with one another) directly contradicts the for­mer pretence, which supposeth so much time necessary, and more than many have to spare; and yet now they would make us believe that a very little time will suffice for this Work, and that it may be done at any time, even just when we are going out of this World. But this, of all other, is the strangest In­terpretation of seeking the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness first, to put it off to the very last. This surely is a greater error on the other hand, to [Page 279] think that the business of Religion is so quickly to be dispatched, and that the great work of our Lives can be crowded into so narrow a corner of it, that the time of Sickness and Old Age, nay the hour of Death, well employed to this purpose, will be sufficient. Alas! what can we then do that is good for any thing? that can in Reason be thought either acceptable to God, or available for our selves? When we have not Sense and Un­derstanding enough to dispose of our Temporal Concernments, and to make our Wills, do we think we shall be fit to repent of the Sins and Miscarriages of our whole Lives, and to make our Peace with God? Every Man must not expect to have Saul's Fortune, who when he was wearied with seeking his Father's Asses, met with a Kingdom. We must not think when we are tired with pursuing the Follies and Vani­ties of this World, to retire into Heaven, and to sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the Kingdom of God.

[Page 280] Our Saviour hath taken care to caution us against this desperate Fol­ly, by a Parable to this very pur­pose, of the Foolish Virgins, who having trifled away their time 'till the Bridegroom was coming, and neglected to get Oyl into their Lamps, (by which we are to understand all those good Preparations and Dispo­sitions which are necessary to quali­fie us for the Kingdom of God) I say, having neglected their opportu­tunity of getting this Oyl, while they were looking after it too late, the Door was shut against them. They thought to have repaired all at last, by borrowing of others, and supply­ing themselves that way.

And thus many deceive themselves, hoping to be supplied out of ano­ther store, when they have no grace and goodness of their own; out of the Treasure of the Church, from the redundant Merit of the Saints, and their Works of Supererrogation, of which some believe (I know not for what Reason) that there is a [Page 281] great stock which the Pope may dis­pose of, to supply those who have taken no care to get Oyl into their Lamps. But I know not for what Reason Works of Supererrogation are supposed; the Wise Virgins knew not of any Merit they had to spare, it was the Foolish Virgins only that en­tertained this senseless Conceit. I am sure the Parable insinuates the quite contrary, that the Best and Holiest Persons (which are represented by the Wise Virgins) have nothing to spare for the supply of others, who have been careless of their Souls; the Fool­ish said unto the Wise, give us of your Oyl, for our Lamps are gone out; but the Wise answered, saying, not so, lest there be not enough for us and you, but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for your selves. It seems they had no works of Supererrogation that they knew of; but they do Ironically send them to a Market that was set up somewhere, and where these things were pretended to be Sold; but how they sped, the Conclusion of the Pa­rable tells us, that whilst they were running about in great haste to make [Page 282] this purchase of the Merits and good Works of others, the Bridegroom came, and the Wise Virgins, that were ready, went in with him to the Marriage, and the rest were shut out.

And there are those likewise among our selves, who having been careless to qualifie themselves for the Kingdom of God, hope to be supplied out of the infinite Treasure of Christ's Me­rits: but this also is a vain hope. For tho' there be Merit enough in the Death and Sufferings of Christ to save all Mankind, yet no Man can lay claim thereto, who does not per­form the Condition of the Gospel.

Others think by sending for the Mi­nister, when the Physician hath given them over, to receive in a few hours such Advice and Direction, as will do their business, as effectually, as if they had minded Religion all their Lives long; and that a few Devout Prayers said over them when they are just im­barking for another World, will, like a Magical Wind, immediately waft them over into the Regions of Bliss and Immortality.

[Page 283] But let us not deceive our selves; we may defer the Business so long, 'till we shall get nothing by our late ap­plication to God, and crying to him Lord, Lord, open unto us, but that se­vere Answer, Depart from me, ye work­ers of Iniquity, I know ye not whence ye are. If we would not have this our Doom, let us first seek the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness, that so ha­ving our Fruit unto Holiness, our End may be Everlasting Life.

THis Psalm seems to have a great deal more of Poetical Num­ber and Skill in it, than at this distance from the Time and Age in which it was written, we can easily understand. The main Scope and Design of i [...] is very plain and obvious; namely, to Magni [...]ie the Law of God, and the observation of its Precepts, as that wherein true Religion doth mainly [Page 286] consist. And indeed if we at­tentively read and consider it, every part of this Psalm does with great variety of expression, and yet very little difference of the sense, descant upon the same ground, viz. The Ex­cellency and Perfection of the Law of God. A [...]d t [...] wor [...] of t [...] Te [...]t seem to be as full and comprehensive of the sense and design of the whole Psalm, as any one Sentence in it; I have seen an end of all Perfection, but thy Commandm [...]nt is exceeding broad.

These words are variously rendred, and understood by Interpreters, who yet in this variety do very much con­spire and agree in the same sens [...] The Chaldee Paraphrase renders the words thus, I have seen an end of all things, about which I have employ'd my Care; but thy Commandment is very large. The Syriac version thus, I have seen an end of all Re­gions, and Countries (that is, I have found the compass of this habitable World to be [...]ini [...]e, and limited) but thy Com­mandment is of a vast extent. Others explain it thus, I have seen an end of all Perfection; that is, of all the things of [Page 287] this World, which Men value and esteem at so high a rate [...] of all Worldly Wisdom and Knowledge, of Wealth, and Honour, and Greatness, which do all perish and pass away; but thy Law is Eternal, and still abi­deth the same; or, as the Scripture elsewhere expresseth it, the word of the Lord endureth for ever.

Thy Law; that is, the Rule of our Duty Natural and Revealed; or, in a word, Religion, which consists in the Knowledge and Practice of the Laws of God [...] is of greater perfection than all other things which are so highly valued in this World: for the perfection of it is Infinite, and of a vast influence and extent; it reacheth to the whole Man, to the Happiness of Body and Soul; to our whole du­ration both in this World, and the next, of this Life, and of that which is to come. And this will clearly ap­pear, if we consider the Reasonable­ness and the Wisdom of Religion, which consists in the knowledge of God, and the keeping of his Laws.

[Page 288] First, The Reasonableness of Religion; which is able to give a very good account of it self, because it settles the Mind of Man upon a firm Basis, and keeps it from rolling in perpe­tual uncertainty; whereas Atheism and Infidelity wants a stable Founda­tion, [...]t centers no where but in the denial of God and Religion, and yet substitutes no Principle, no tenable and constituent Scheme of things in the place of them; its whole business is to unravel all things, to unsettle the Mind of Man, and to shake all the common Notions and received Principles of Mankind; it bends its whole force to pull down and to de­stroy, but lays no Foundation to build any thing upon, in the stead of that which it pulls down.

It runs upon that great absurdity which Aristotle (who was always thought a great Master of Reason) does every where decry, as a Principle unworthy of a Philosopher, namely, a progress of Causes in In [...]initum, and without End; that this was the Cause [Page 289] of that, and a third thing of that, and so on without end, which amounts to just nothing; and finally resolves an infinite number of effects into no first Cause; than which nothing can be more unskilful and bungling, and less worthy of a Philosopher. But this I do not intend at present to insist upon, ha­ving treated largely on the same subject upon another Vide Serm. 1st, of the first Vol. Pub­lish'd by the Author. Occasion. I shall therefore proceed in the

Second place, to consider the Wisdom of Religion. The fear of the Lord is Wis­dom, so saith the Psalmi [...]t; it is true Wisdom indeed, it is the beginning of Wisdom, Caput Sapientiae, the top and perfection of all Wisdom. Here true Wisdom begins, and upon this Foun­dation it is raised and carried on to Perfection; and I shall in my follow­ing Discourse endeavour to make out these two things.

1. That true Wisdom begins and is founded in Religion, in the fear of God, and in the keeping of his Com­mandments.

[Page 290] 2. That this is the Perfection of Wis­dom, there is no Wisdom without this, nor beyond it.

First, True Wisdom begins and is founded in Religion, and the Fear of God, and Regard to his Laws. This is the first Principle of Wisdom, and the Foundation upon which the whole Design of our Happiness is to be built. This is in the first place to be sup­posed, and to be taken into Considera­tion in all the Designs and Actions of Men: This is to govern our whole Life, and to have a main influence upon all the Affairs and Concernments of it. As the first Principle of Humane Society, and that which is to run through the whole frame of it, is the Publick good; this was always to be taken in­to Consideration, and to give Law to all Laws and Constitutions about it: So Religion is the first Principle of Humane Wisdom, by which all our Actions are to be conducted and go­vern'd; and all Wisdom which does not begin here, and lay Religion for its Foundation, is preposterous, and [Page 291] begins at the wrong end; and is just as if in the forming of Humane So­ciety, every one in the settlement of the Constitution, and the framing of Laws, should have an eye to his own private and particular advantage, with­out regard to the Publick Good, which is the great End of Society, and the Rule and Measure of Government and Laws, and in the last issue and result of things, the only way to procure the setled welfare, and to secure the lasting Interests of particular Persons, so far as that is consistent with the Publick Good. And it would be a very preposterous Policy to go about to found Humane Society upon any other terms, and would certainly end in Mischief and Confusion.

And such is all the Wisdom of Men, in relation to their true Happiness, which does not b [...]gin with Religion, and lay its foundation there; which does not take into Consideration God, and his Providence, and a Future State of Rewards and Punishments after this Life. All Wisdom which does not not proceed upon a supposition [Page 292] of the truth and reality of these Principles, will certainly end in shame and disappointment, in misery and ruine; because it builds a House upon the Sand, which when it comes to be try'd by stress of weather, and assault­ed by violent storms, will undoubtedly fall, and the fall of it will be great.

And this Error every Man commits, who pursues Happiness by following his own Inclination, and gratifying his Irregular Desires, without any Consideration of God, and of the re­straint which his Laws have laid up­on us, not for his own Pleasure, but for our good. For when all things are duly Considered, and all Accounts cast up, it will appear upon a just Calculation of things, that all the re­straints which the Laws of God lay upon Men, are highly reasonable, and greatly for their benefit and advantage, and do not abridge us of any true Pleasure or Happiness; but are Wise and Merciful Provisions of Heaven, to prevent our harm and mischief; so that we are not Wise, if we act without [Page 293] regard to God, and his Laws, and are not willing to be govern'd by him, who loves us better than we do our selves, and truly designs our Happi­ness, and Commands us nothing but what directly tends to it. For the Laws of God are not Arbitrary Con­stitutions, and meer instances of So­veraign Will and Power; but Wise Rules and Means to procure and ad­vance our Happiness.

And in like manner, all that Wis­dom which Men use to compass their Worldly Designs, of Riches, and Greatness, without Consideration of the Providence of God, and Depen­dance upon it for the Success of our Affairs, is all perfect Folly and Mi­stake. For tho' the Design be never so well laid, and vigorously prosecuted, and no Means which Humane Wis­dom can devise for the attaining of our End have been omitted by us; yet if we leave God out of the Ac­count, we forget that which is Princi­pal, and signifies more to the Suc­cess of any Design, than all other things put together. For if God favours [Page 294] our Designs, the most impro­bable shall take effect; and if he blow upon them, the most likely shall mis­ca [...]ry. Whenever he pleaseth to in­ter [...]o [...]e, to cross the Counsels and De­sig [...] of M [...]n, the Race is not to the swift, nor the Battel to the strong; nei­ther yet bread [...]o the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favour to men of skill; but time and chance hap­pens to all.

So that it is great folly not to Con­sider the Providence of God in all our Designs and Undertakings, not to im­plore his Favour and Blessing, with­out which nothing that we take in hand can prosper. That which is Principal to any Purpose, ought to be considered in the first place, nothing being to be attempted either without or against it. And such is the Provi­dence of God in all Humane Affairs; it is more considerable to the promo­ting or hindering of any Event, than all things in the World besides; and therefore all Policy, which sets aside God and his Providence, is vain; because [Page 295] there is no wisdom, nor understand­ing, nor counsel against the Lord.

So likewise all that Wisdom which only considers and regards this short Life, and the narrow Concernments of it, and makes provision only for our welfare in this World; and there­fore can only be tempted with the hopes of Temporal Advantages, and terrified only with the danger of Tem­poral Evils and Sufferings; but hath no sense of an Immortal Spirit with­in us, no prospect of a Life after Death, no Consideration of a Happy or Miserable Eternity, of Rewards and Punishments, infinitely greater than all the Temptations and Terrors of Time and Sense; I say all this is a preposterous and pernicious Wis­dom, and proceeds upon a false Sup­position, and a quite contrary Scheme of Things to what really is; and con­sequently our whole Life, and all the Designs and Actions of it do run upon a perpetual mistake, and a false Stating of our own Case; and what­ever we do pursuant to this Mistake is foolish and hurtful, and so far [Page 296] from conducing to our true interest, that it is all either besides it, or con­trary to it; because we act upon a Supposal only of this Life, and a Be­ing only in this World, and that there is nothing either to be feared or hoped for beyond it; and being thus grosly mistaken, we set our hearts only upon Temporal Things, and study our present security and sa­tisfaction, and in all our Counsels and Actions are swayed only by the Consideration of Temporal Good and Evil, of the present Ease and Plea­sure, the Disturbance and Pain of our Fleshly and Sensual Parts; without any sense of our own Immortality, and of that Everlasting State which remains for us in another World.

But there is (my Brethren) most certainly there is another Life after this; we are not Beasts, if we do not make our selves so; and if we die, we shall not die like them, neither shall our last End be like theirs? For whatever we may think or wish, it will not be in our power to extin­guish our own Beings when we have [Page 297] a mind to be rid of them, and to chuse whether or no we shall live for ever.

And if this be a false Scheme of things which we have framed to our selves, and proceeded upon (as un­doubtedly it is) then our whole Life is one great Error, and a perpetual Mistake, and we are quite wrong in all [...]hat we design to do. Our Wis­dom ha [...] begun at the wrong end, and we have made a false Calcula­tion and Account of things, and have put our Case otherwise than it is; and the farther we proceed ugon this Mistake, our Miscarriage will be so much the more fatal in the issue. But if our Wisdom begin at the right end, and our Case be truly stated, that God hath put into these frail and mor­tal Bodies of ours, Immortal Spirits that shall live for ever; and hath sent u [...] into this World to so [...]ourn here for a little while, and to be disciplin'd and train'd up for Eternity; and that after a short proof and trial of our Obedience, we shall be translated into an Everlasting State of unspeakable [Page 298] Happiness or Misery, according as we have demeaned our selves in this World; if we believe this to b [...] truly our Case, our Interest is then plainly before us, and we see where our Happiness lies, and what remains for us to do, in order to the obtain­ing of it, and what we are to expect to suffer, if we do it not.

Now this Foundation being laid, it is evident, that the best thing we can do for our selves, is to provide for our Future State, and to secure the Everlasting Happiness of another Life. And the best way to do that, is to live in obedience to those Laws which our Maker, and our Soveraign, hath prescribed to us; and according to which he will one day Sentence us to Eternal Rewards or Punish­ments.

It is evident likewise, that all our sensual Appetites and Desires are to be bounded by the Rules of Reason and Virtue, which are the Laws of God; and that no present Ease and Pleasure, Trouble and Suffering, are [Page 299] to be considered and regarded by us, in competition with the things which are Eternal; and that Sin is of all o­ther the greatest Evil, and most mis­chievous to our main Interest, and therefore with all possible Care to be avoided; and that the favour of God is to be sought, and the Salvation of our Souls to be provided for at any pains and expence whatsoever, and even with the hazard and loss of our dearest Interests in this World, yea and of Life it self.

And now if this Matter hath been rightly stated, then Religion, and the Fear of God, is the first Principle and Foundation of true Wisdom, and that which we are to consider, and take along with us in all the Designs and Actions of our Lives; and all Wisdom which does not begin here, is prepo­sterous, and will prove folly in the issue.

Secondly, As Religion is the begin­ning of Wisdom, so it is the per­fection of it, it is the highest point of Wisdom in which we can be Instructed. [Page 300] The fear of the Lord (says Solo­mon, Prov. 15. 33.) is the instruction of Wisdom. A good Understanding (says David, Psal. 111. 10.) have all they that do his Commandments. The Practice of Religion is the perfection of Wis­dom; and he understands himself best, who lives most according to the Laws of God. And this I might shew, by instancing in particular Virtues, the practice whereof is much Wiser, and every way more for our Interest, than the contrary Vices; but this is too large an Argument to engage in, and therefore I shall content my self at present, briefly to shew, that the chief Characters and Properties of Wisdom do all meet in Religion, and agree to it.

The First Point of Wisdom is to understand our true Interest, and to be right in our main End; and in this, Religion will best instruct and direct us. And if we be right in our main End, and true to the interest of it, we cannot miscarry: but if a Man mistake in this, he errs fatally, and his whole Life is Vanity and Folly.

[Page 301] Another property of Wisdom is to be steady and vigorous in the Prosecu­tion of our main End. To oblige us hereto, Religion gives us the most powerful Arguments, the glorious Happiness, and the dismal Misery of another World.

The next Point of Wisdom is, to make all things stoop and become sub­servient to our main End. And where­ever Religion bears sway, it will make all other things subordinate to the Salvation of our Souls, and the Inte­rest of our Everlasting Happiness; as the Men of this World make every thing to submit and give way to their Covetous, and Ambitious, and Sensual Designs.

Another part of Wisdom is, to Con­sider the Future, and to look to the last End and Issue of things. It is a common folly among Men, to be so intent upon the present, as to have little or no regard to the future, to what will be hereafter. Men Design and Labour for this present Life, and [Page 302] their short continuance here in this World, without taking into serious Consideration their main Duration, and their Eternal Abode in another World. But Religion gives us a clear Prospect of a Life after Death, and overlooks Time, and makes Eternity always present to us, and minds us of making timely provision and pre­paration for it. It takes into Consi­deration our whole Duration, and in­spires us with Wisdom, to look to the End of things, and to what will be hereafter, as well as to what is pre­sent.

It is likewise a great Property of Wisdom, to secure the main Chance, and to run no hazard in that. And this Religion directs us to take care of, because the neglect of it will prove fatal.

Another Mark of Wisdom is, to lay hold of Opportunities, those espe­cially, which, when they are once past, will never return again. There are some Seasons wherein great things may be done, which if they be let [Page 303] slip, are never to be retrieved. A Wise Man will lay hold of these, and improve them; and Religion incul­cates this Principle of Wisdom upon us, that this Life is the opportunity of doing great things for our selves, and of making our selves for ever; this very day and hour may, for ought we know, be the last and only Opportunity of Repentance, and ma­king our Peace with God? Therefore to day, whilst it is called to day, let us set about this necessary work, lest any of us be hardned through the de­ceitfulness of Sin; to morrow it may be too late to begin it, and the Ju­stice of God may cut us off whilst we are wilfully delaying it; and the Opportunities of Saving our Immor­tal Souls may vanish, and be for ever hid from our eyes.

The next Property of Wisdom is, to foresee Dangers, and to take timely care to prevent them. The Prudent Man (saith Solomon) foreseeth the Evil, and hideth himself; that is, shelters and secures himself against it; but the sim­ple pass on, and are punished; that is, [Page 304] the Evil overtakes them, and their Folly is punish'd in their fatal Ru­ine. Now the greatest Danger is from the greatest Power; even from him who is able to save, and to destroy; I will tell you (says the Wisdom of God) whom ye shall fear; fear him, who after he hath killed, can destroy both Body and Soul in Hell.

Again, another main Point of Wis­dom is, to do as little as we can to be repented of, trusting rather to the Wisdom of Prevention, than to that of Remedy. Religion first teacheth Men Innocency, and not to offend; but in case we do, (as in many things we of­fend all) it then directs us to Repen­tance, as the only Remedy. But this certainly is folly, to Sin in hopes of Repentance, that is, first to make work for Repentance, and then run the hazard of it; for we may cer­tainly Sin, but it is not certain that we shall Repent. And if it were, yet it is great folly to lay in before hand, and to make work for trouble; Ne tu stultus homuncio es, qui malis veniam precari, quam non peccare, was [Page 305] a Wise Saying of old Cato; Thou are (says he) a silly Man indeed, who chusest rather to ask Forgiveness, than not to Offend. If a Man had the best Reme­dy in the World, he would not make himself sick to try the Virtue of it; and it is a known Comparison, and a very fit one, that Repentance is Ta­bula post Na [...]fragium, a Plank after Shipwreck. But I am greatly afraid that thousands of Souls, who have trusted to it, have perished before they could get to Land, with this Plank in their arms.

The last Character of Wisdom I shall mention is, In all things to con­sult the Peace and Satisfaction of our own Minds, without which nothing else can make us Happy; and this, Obe­dience to the Laws of God doth natu­rally procure. Great Peace have they (says David) that love thy Law, and no­thing shall offend them. The work of Righteousness, says the Prophet, shall be Peace, and the effect of Righteousness, quietness, and assurance for ever. The fear of God, and the keeping of his Commandments, is the best Preservative [Page 306] against the troubles of a guilty Conscience, and the terrifying appre­hensions of a Future Judgment. And this is the great Wisdom of Religion, that whosoever liveth according to the Rules and Precepts of it, prevents the chief Causes of discontent, and lays the surest Foundation of a perpetual satisfaction of Mind, a Jewel of inesti­mable price, which none knows but he that has it; and he that hath it, knows the value of it too well to part with it for the pleasures of Sin, which are but for a season, and which always prove bitt [...]rness in the end, and for the little sweetness which they yielded, leave a terrible sting behind them.

Thus have I briefly represented the Reasonableness and Wisdom of Reli­gion. It is of Infinite perfection, and of a vast influence and extent, it reach­eth to the whole Man, the Happiness of Soul and Body; and to our whole duration, the Happiness of this World and the next; for Godliness (that is true Religion and Piety) hath the [Page 307] Promise of this Life, and of that which is to come.

But now where are the Effects of true Religion, in the full compass and extent of it, to be found? Such real Effects as do in any measure bear a proportion to the power and perfection of their Cause. For nothing certainly is more Excellent and Amiable in its definition than true Religion is; but, alas! how imperfect is it in the Sub­ject, I mean in us, who ought to shew forth the power and perfection of it, in the Practice and Actions of our Lives, the best demonstration of the excellent frame and temper of our Minds.

What a conflict and strugling do the best Men find between their Inclina­tion and their Duty? How hard to reconcile our Practice and our Know­ledge, and to make our Lives to agree with the Reason of our Minds, and the clear Conviction of our Conscien­ces? How difficult for a Man, in this dangerous and imperfect state, to be in any measure either so wise or so good [Page 308] as he ought? How rare is it for a Man to be good natur'd, gentle, and easie to be intreated, without being often betray'd into some weakness and sinful compliances, especially in the bad Company of our Betters? How next to impossible is it to be strict and se­vere in our Lives, without being sower? to govern our Lives with that perpe­tual Caution, and to maintain that evenness of temper, as not to be some­times peevish, and passionate? and when we are so, not to be apt to say with Jonah, we do well to be angry?

There are two Precepts in the New Testament, that seem to me to be the nicest of all other, and hardest to be put in practice. One is that of our Blessed Saviour, Be wise as Serpents, and innocent as Doves. How hard is it to hit upon the just temper of Wisdom and Innocency; to be Wise, and hurt no body; to be Innocent, without be­ing Silly? The other is, that of the Apostle, be angry, and sin not. How difficult is this, never to be angry but upon just Cause; and when the Cause of our anger is just, not to be [Page 309] transported beyond due bounds, either as to the degree of our anger, or as to the duration and continuance of it? This is so very nice a Matter, that one would be almost tempted to think that this were in effect a prohibition of an­ger in any Case; be ye angry, and sin not; be ye so, if ye can, without Sin. I believe whosoever observes it, will find that it is as easie to suppress this Passion at any time, as to give way to it, without offending in one kind, or other. But to proceed,

How hard a Matter is it, To be much in Company, and free in Con­versation, and not to be infected by it? To live in the midst of a wicked World, and yet to keep our selves free from the Vices of it? To be tem­perate in the use of things pleasing, so as neither to injure our Health, nor to lose the use of our Reason, nor to of­fend against Conscience? To Fast often, without being conceited of it, and bargaining as it were with God for some greater Liberties in another kind; and without censuring those who do not tie up themselves to our [Page 310] strict Rules either of Piety or Ab­stinence? when perhaps they have nei­ther the same Opportunities of doing it, nor the same Reason to do it that we have; nay perhaps have a much better Reason for not doing just as we do: For no Man is to prescribe to o­thers his own private Method, either of Fasting, or of Devotion, as if he were the Rule, and his Example a kind of Proclamation, enjoyning all his Neighbours the same days of Fasting and Prayer which he himself, for Rea­sons best known to himself, thinks fit to observe.

And then how hard is it to be chear­ful, without being vain? and grave and serious, without being morose? to be useful and instructive to others, in our Conversation and Discourse, without assuming too much Authority to our selves? which is not the best and most effectual way of doing good to others; there being something in the Nature of Man, which had rather take a hint and intimation from another, to ad­vise himself, and would rather chuse to imitate the silent good Example [Page 311] which they see in another, than to have either his Advice or his Example im­posed upon them.

How difficult is it to have a Mind equal to every Condition, and to be content with mean and moderate things? to be Patient in Adversity, and Humble in Prosperity, and Meek upon sudden and violent Provocations? to keep our Passions free from getting head of our Reason, and our Zeal from out-running our Knowledge? to have a Will perfectly submitted and resigned to the Will of God, even when it lies cross and thwart to ours, so that what­ever pleaseth God, should please us? to be Resolute, when our Duty happens to be difficult and dangerous; or even to believe that to be our Duty (tho' it certainly be so) which is very incon­venient for us to do? to hold out and be unwearied in well-doing? to be careful to preserve our Lives, and yet upon a great Occasion, and when­ever God calls for them, to be content to lay them down?

[Page 312] To be Wise and Innocent; Men in Understa [...]ding, and yet in Malice Chil­dren? to have many great Virtues, and not to want that which gives the great lustre to them all, I mean real and unaffected Modesty, and Humility? In short,

How difficult is it, to have regard to [...]ll God's Commandments, and to hate every evil and false way? To have our Duty continually in our eye, and ready to be put in practice upon every pro­per Occasion? To have God, and the Consideration of another World, always before us, present to our Minds, and operative upon our Practice? To live as those that know they must die, and to have our thoughts perpetually awake, and intent upon the great and Everlasting Concernments of our Im­mortal Souls?

These are great things indeed, easie to be talkt of, but hard to be done; nay not to be done at all, without frequent and fervent Prayer to God, and the continual aids and supplies of his Grace; [Page 313] not without an earnest endeavour on our parts, a vigorous resistance of Temptations, and many a sore con­flict with our own perverse Wills and sensual Inclinations; not without a perpe [...]al guard and watchfulness over our Lives, and our unruly Appetites and Passions.

Little do unexperienced Men, and those who have taken no great pains with themselves, imagine what Thought and Consideration, what Care and At­tention, what Resolution and Firmness of Mind, what Diligence and patient continuance in well-doing, are requisite to make a truly good Man; such a one as St. Paul describes, that is perfect and en­tire, and wanting nothing; that follows God fully, and fulfils every part of his Duty, having a Conscience void of offence towards God, and towards Man. Who is there among us, that is either wise enough for his own direction, or good enough for the peace and satisfaction of his own Mind; that is so happy as to know his Duty, and to do it; as to have both the Understanding and the Will to do in all things as he ought?

[Page 314] After our best Care, and all our Pains and Endeavours, the most of us will still find a great many defects in our Lives, and cannot but discern great and manifold imperfections in our very best Duties and Services; insomuch that we shall be forced to make the same ac­knowledgment concerning them, which Solomon does concerning the imperfe­ction of all things under the Sun; that which is crooked cannot be made streight, and that which is wanting cannot be numbred. And when all is done, we have all of us reason to say, not only that we are un­profitable servants, having done nothing but what was our duty to do; but have cause likewise, with great shame and confusion of face, to acknowledge that we have been in many respects Wicked and Slothful Servants, and so very far from having done what was our duty to do, that the greatest part of the good which the most of us have done, is the least part of the good which we might and ought to have done.

[Page 315] The Practice of Religion, in all the Parts and Instances of our Duty, is work more than enough for the best and greatest Mind, for the longest and best order'd Life. The Commandment of God is exceeding broad; and an Obedi­ence in any good measure equal to the extent of it, extreamly difficult. And after all, as the Man in the Gospel said with tears to our Saviour, concerning the weakness of his own Faith, Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief, Mar. 9. 24. So the best of Men may say, and say it with tears too, concerning every Grace and Virtue wherein they excel most, ‘Lord, I aspire, I endeavour after it, be thou pleased to assist my weakness, and to help me by thy grace continually to do better.’

The Summ of all is this, If we be careful to do our best, and make it the constant and sincere endeavour of our Lives to please God, and to keep his Commandments, we shall be accepted of him: For God values this more than whole Burnt-Offerings and Sacrifices, more than thousands of Rams, and ten thousands [Page 316] of Rivers of O [...]l; because this is an essential part of Religion, To love God with all our hearts, and minds, and strength, and to love our Neighbours as our selves. The Duties comprehended in these two great Commandments, sin­cerely practised by us (though with a great deal of imperfection) will cer­tainly be acceptable in the sight of God, in and through the Merits and Mediation of Jesus Christ the Righteous. Blessed are they (saith St. John very plainly, in the conclusion of that ob­scure Book of his Revelation) Blessed are they that do his Commandments, that they may have right to the Tree of Life, Rev. 22. 14.

I speak now to a great many who are at the upper end of the World, and command all the Pleasures and Enjoy­ments of it; but the time is coming, and (whether we think of it or not) is very near at hand, when we shall see an end of all perfection, and of all that is desirable upon Earth, and upon which Men are apt to value themselves so much in this World; and then no­thing but Religion, and the Conscience [Page 317] of having done our Duty to God and Man, will stand us in stead, and yield true Comfort to us. When we are going to leave the World, how shall we then wish that we had made Religion the great business of our Lives; and in the Day of God's Grace and Mercy, had exercised Repentance, and made our Peace with God, and prepared our selves for another World; that after our departure hence, we might be ad­mitted into the presence of God, where is fulness of Joy, and at whose right hand are pleasures for evermore?

Let no Man therefore, of what Rank or Condition soever he be in this World, think himself too great to be good, and too Wise to be Religious, and to take care of his Immortal Soul, and his Everlasting Happiness in another World; since nothing but this will approve it self it to be true Wisdom at the last. All other things will have an end with this Life; but Religion and the Fear of God is of a vast extent, and hath an influence upon our whole duration, and, after the course of this Life is ended, will put us into the secure [Page 318] Possession of a Happiness which shall never have an end.

I will Conclude this whole Discourse with those words of our Blessed Savi­our, If ye know these things, happy are [...]e if ye do them. Which thou, who art the Eternal Spring of Truth and Goodness, grant that we may all know and do in this our day, for thy Mercies sake in Je­fus Christ; to whom, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, be all Honour and Glory, Dominion and Power, now and for ever.

Amen.

THE Connection of these words with the fo [...]mer is somewhat obscure, but it seems to be this. The Apostle had in the Verse before said, that the Divine Power of Christ hath by the knowledge of the Gos­pel given us all things that pertain to Life and Godliness; that is, by the [Page 320] knowledge of the Gospel we are furnish'd with all Advantages which conduce to make Men happy in the next Life, and Religious in this; and then it fol­lows, whereby are given unto [...]s exceeding great and precious Promises. Where [...]; this seems to refer to the whole of the foregoing Verse; as if it had bee [...] [...]id, ‘Christ by the Gospel hath given to us all things that conduce to our Fu­ture Happiness; and in order there­to, all things which tend to make Men holy and good.’ Or else Life and Godliness are, by a Hebraism frequent in the New Testament, put for a Godly Life. And then among all those things which conduce to a Godly Life, the Apostle instanceth in the Promises of the Gospel, which do so directly tend to make Men Partakers of a Divine Nature.

In the handling of these words, I shall,

First, Consider the Promises here spoken of; whereby are given unto us ex­ceeding great and precious Promises.

[Page 321] Secondly, The influence which these Promises ought to have upon us; that by these ye might be made partakers of a Divine Nature.

First, We will consider the Promises which are here spoken of; whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious Promises. And because the chief Pro­mises of the Gospel are here intended, I shall take occasion from this Text to handle the Doctrine of the Promises, which is frequently discours'd of in Divinity, but not always so clearly stated. And to this purpose, it will be proper to take into Consideration these four things.

1. What the Promises are which are here spoken of; whereby are given unto us Promises.

2. Why they are said to be so great and precious; exceeding great and pre­cious Promises.

[Page 322] 3. We will Consider the Tenour of these Promises.

4. When Men are said to have a right to them, so as they may apply them to themselves. These four Heads will comprehend what I have to say upon this Argument.

1. What the Promises are which the Apostle here speaks of; whereby are given unto us Promises. And no doubt the Apostle here intends those great and excellent Promises which Christ hath made to us in the Gospel. So that to satisfie our selves in this en­quiry, we need only to consider what are the Principal Promises of the Gos­pel. Now the great Promises of the Gospel are these three.

(1.) The Promise of the free Pardon and Forgiveness of our Sins, upon our Faith and Repentance.

(2.) The Promise of God's Grace and Holy Spirit to assist our Obedience.

[Page 323] (3.) The Promise of Eternal Life to Reward it.

(1.) The Promise of the Pardon and Forgiveness of our Sins upon our Faith and Repentance. The Gospel hath made full and clear Promises to this Purpose; that if we believe the Gospel, and will forsake our Sins, and amend our wicked Lives, all that is past shall be forgiven us, and that Christ died for this end, to obtain for us Remission of Sins in his Blood. The light of Nature, upon consideration of the Mercy and goodness of God, gave Men good hopes, that upon their Re­pentance God would forgive their sins, and turn away his wrath from them. But Mankind was doubtful of this, and therefore they used expiatory Sa­crifices to appease the offended Deity. The Jewish Religion allowed of no Ex­piation, but for legal impurities, and involuntary transgressions, such as pro­ceeded from ignorance and inadver­tency; but not for Sins of Presumption, and such as were committed with an bigh hand. If Men sin'd wilfully, there [Page 324] was no Sacrifice appointed by the Law for such Sins. But the Grace of the Gospel justifies us from the greatest Sins, upon our Faith and sincere Re­pentance. So St. Paul tells the Jews, Acts 13. 38, 39. Be it known [...]nto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the for­giveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the Law of Moses. There was no general Pro­mise of Pardon, nor way of Expiation under the Law; perfect Remission of Sins is clearly revealed, and ascertain'd to us only by the Gospel.

(2.) Another great Promise of the Gospel is the Promise of God's Grace and Holy Spirit to assist our Obedience. Our Blessed Saviour hath promised, that our Heavenly Father will give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him. 'Tis true indeed, there was a peculiar Promise of the Holy Ghost to the A­postles and Christians of the first Ages, which is not now to be expected; namely, an Extraordinary and Miracu­lous Power, whereby they were qualified [Page 325] to publish the Gospel to the World, and to give Confirmation to it. But now that the Christian Reli­gion is propagated and setled in the World, the great End and Use of these Miraculous Gifts is ceased: but yet the Spirit of God doth still concur with the Gospel, and work upon the Minds of Men, to excite and assist them to that which is good. And tho' this Operation be very secret, so as we cannot give an account of the manner of it, yet the effects of it are very sen­sible, and this influence of God's Holy Spirit is common to all Christians in all Ages of the World. This Proposi­tion is Universally true, and in all Ages and Times; If any Man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

It must be acknowledged, that the Spirit doth not now work upon Men in that sudden and sensible manner, as it did in the first times of Christianity; because then Men were strongly pos­sest with the prejudices of other Reli­gions, which they had been brought up in; and therefore as more outward means of Conviction were then necessary, [Page 326] so likewise a more powerful inter­nal Operation of the Spirit of God upon the Minds of Men, to Conquer and bear down those prejudices, and to subdue them to the Obedience of Faith. But now the Principles of Re­ligion and Goodness are more gradually instilled into the Minds of Men, by the gentle degrees of Pious Instruction and Education; and with these means the Spirit of God concurrs in a more Humane way, which is more suited and accommodated to our Reason, and offers less violence to the Nature of Men. So that this Promise of God's Holy Spirit is now made good to us, as the Necessity and Circumstances of our present State do require. God does not use such extraordinary Means for the producing of those Effects, which may be accomplish'd in a more ordinary way. The assistance of God's Holy Spirit is still necessary to Men, to encline and enable them to that which is good; but not in that manner and degree that it was necessary at first: Because the prejudices against Christi­anity are not now so great, and many of those Advantages which were necessarily [Page 327] wanting at first, are now supplied in an ordinary way; and therefore it is not reasonable now to expect the same extraordinary operation of the Spirit of God upon the Minds of Men, which we read of in the first beginnings of Christianity.

(3.) There is likewise the Promise of Eternal Life to Reward and Crown our Obedience. And this the Scripture speaks of, as the great Pro­mise of the Gospel, 1 Job. 2. 25. This is the promise which he hath promised us, even Eternal Life. And upon this account the new Covenant of the Gospel is preferred before the old Covenant of the Law, because it is establish'd upon better Promises. All the Special and Particular Promises of the Law were of Temporal good things, and these were the great Encouragements that were given to Obedience, under that im­imperfect Dispensation: but now God­liness hath not only the Promise of the Life that now is, but of that which is to come; as the Apostle tells us, 1 Tim. 4. 8. The Gospel hath clearly revealed to us a happy State of Immortality after this Life, of which Men had but [Page 328] very obscure and doubtful apprehen­sions. So the same Apostle tells us, 2 Tim. 1. 10. That it is now made ma­nifest, by the appearance of our Saviour J [...]sus Christ, who hath ab [...]lisbed Death, and hath brought Life and Immortality to light, through the Gospel. Holy Men had good hopes of it before; but they had no sure distinct apprehensions of it, no such full assurance concerning it, no such clear and express Promises of it, as the Gospel hath given us.

Thus you see what those great Pro­mises are which the Gospel hath given us, namely, the Promise of the Free Pardon and Forgiveness of our Sins, upon our Faith and Repentance; the Promise of God's Grace and Holy Spi­rit to assist our Obedience, and the Promise of Eternal Life and Happiness to Reward it. These are the three Eminent Promises of the Gospel, and in all probability those which the A­postle here calls great and precious Pro­mises, which brings me to the

Second Thing which I propounded to Consider, namely, why they are [Page 329] said to be exceeding great and precious; [...], the greatest and the most valuable Promises. And to satisfie us that they are such, the very Consideration of the B [...]essings and Benefits that they carry in them will be sufficient. If we Consider the Condition that Mankind was in, when God was pleased to make these gracious Declarations to us, we shall see great Reason to set a high value upon every one of these Promises. Mankind was extreamly de­generated, all Flesh had corrupted its ways, and the whole World was guilty before God, and liable to all that Mi­sery which the Sinner had reason to apprehend from the incensed Justice of the Almighty. We had forfeited that Happiness to which our Immor­tal Nature was designed, and, which made our Condition more sad, we were without strength to recover our selves out of it, by our Repentance for what was past (if God would have accepted of it) and by our Future Obedience. Now the Promises of the Gospel offer Relief to us in all these Respects, and thereby obviate all the [Page 330] difficulties and dis [...]ouragements which Mankind lay under.

The gracious Promise of Pardon frees us from guilt, and s [...]cures us from the terrible wrath of God, which our guilty Consciences did so much dread; and without this Promise, Mankind would have been under the greatest doubts and discouragements. For when Men are afraid their Sins are greater than will be forgiven them, they are apt to fall into Despair, and De­spair is an effectual bar to Repentance; for when Men think their Condition is desperate, they care not what they do.

And the Promise of God's Grace and Holy Spirit, to assist and enable us to do our Duty, does fully answer all the Discouragements and Objections from our own weakness, and the power of temptation. We may do all things through Christ strengthning us; and how weak soever we are of our selves, we are strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. If God be for us, who or what can stand against us? The [Page 331] Devil is a very powerful Enemy, and much too strong for Flesh and Blood to Encounter in its own strength; but there is another Principle in the World, which is Mightier and more Powerful than he, the Holy Spirit of God, who is always ready to help, when we do not repulse and refuse his assistance; Gre [...]ter is he that is in you, than he that is in the World, says the Apostle, 1 Joh. 4. 4. The Spirit of God dwell [...] in all those who are willing to admit him, and is ever ready to assist those who comply with his blessed Mo­tions, and do vigorously put forth their own endeavours.

And then the Promise of Eternal Life, that answers all the difficulties of our Obed [...]ence, and sets us above any thing that the World can threat­en us withal, for our Constancy to God, and his Tr [...]th. A Wise Man will be content to suffer any thing, or to quit any thing upon terms of far greater advantage: And what greater Consideration can be offered to encourage our Constancy and Obe­dience, than an Eternity of Happiness? [Page 332] So that the Apostle had Reason to call these exceeding great and valuable Pro­mises; so valuable, that if any one of them had been wanting, our Redemp­tion and Recovery had either been ab­solutely impossible, or extreamly diffi­cult. I proceed to the

Third thing I propounded, which was to consider the Tenour of these Promises; that is, whether God have made them absolutely to us, without requiring any thing to be done on our part, o [...] upon certain Terms and Con­ditions to be performed by us. That God may (if he please) make an Ab­solute Promise of any Blessing or Be­nefit to us, there is no doubt; and that God's grace does prevent many, and is beforehand with them, is as little to be doubted; the Spirit of God goes along with the Gospel, mo­ving and inclining Men to yield Obe­dience to it, many times before any inclination and disposition thereto on their parts. But as to this Promise of God's Grace and Holy Spirit, the great question is not about the first motion of it, but the continuance of this assistance, [Page 333] and the encrease of it; and this, I think may safely be affirmed, is promised only Conditionally, as also the Pardon of Sin, and Eternal Life. And concerning each of these, the Matter may quickly be decided, by plain Texts of Scripture.

Concerning the Promise of the grace and assistance of God's Holy Spirit, the Scripture takes notice of two Con­ditions. First, that we beg it earnest­ly of God: And this our Saviour ex­presseth by asking, seeking, and knock­ing, which signifies the importunity of our Requests; Our Heavenly Father will give his Holy Spirit to them that thus ask it. And then Secondly, That we improve and make use of the grace which God affords us; To him that hath, shall be given, and from him that hath not, shall be taken away even that which he seems to have. That is (as appears plainly from the scope of the Parable) to him that useth that grace, and those advantages which God af­fords him, more shall be given; but from him that makes no use of them, and therefore is as if he had them [Page 334] not, shall be taken away that which he but seems to have, because he makes no use of it.

Concerning the Pardon of Sins; The Scripture plainly suspends that upon the general Condition of Repentance, and the change of our Lives; Repent, that your Sins may be forgiven you: And upon the Condition of our forgiving others; If ye forgive Men their Tres­passes, then will your Heavenly Father also forgive you; but if ye forgive not Men their Trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your Trespasses, says our Saviour, Mat. 6. 14, 15.

And then the Promise of Eternal Life, is every where in Scripture sus­pended upon the Condition of Faith and Repentance, and Perseverance in well doing. He that believes (says our Saviour) shall be saved, which indeed implies the whole Condition of the Gospel. He that Believes; that is, he that effectually assents to the Doctrine of Christ, and is so perswaded of the truth of it, as to live according to it, shall be saved. But if Obedience were [Page 335] not included in the Scripture Notion of Faith, yet the Scripture elsewhere expresly makes it the Condition of our Eternal Salvation. Heb. 5. 9. Christ is there said to be the Author of Eter­nal Salvation to them that obey him; thereby implying, that none shall be saved by Christ, but those that obey the Gospel. Heb. 12. 14. Follow Holi­ness, without which no Man shall see the Lord. Rom. 2. 7, 8, 9. To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for Glory, and Honour, and Immorta­lity, God will give Eternal Life; but to them who are contentious, and obey not the Truth, that is, the Gospel, but obey Unrighteousness; Indignation, and Wrath, Tribulation and Anguish upon every Soul of man that doth Evil.

I cannot well imagine what can reasonably be answered to such plain Texts; but I will tell you what is commonly answered; namely, That God gives the Condition which he requires; and therefore though these Promises run in a Conditional Form, yet in truth they are absolute; because he that makes a Promise to another, [Page 336] upon a Condition which he will also perform, doth in effect make an ab­solute Promise. As if a Man promi­sed another such an Estate, upon Con­dition he pay such a Summ for it, and does promise withal to furnish him with that Summ, this in effect a­mounts to an absolute Promise of the Estate.

And this is very well argued, if the Case were thus. But God hath no where promised to work the Condi­tion in us, without the concurrence of our own Endeavours. God may, and oftentimes doth prevent Men by his Grace; but he hath no where pro­mised to give his Holy Spirit, but to them that ask it of him. And he hath no where promised to continue his grace and assistance to us, unless we will use our sincere Endeavours; nay in case we do not, he hath threatned to take away his grace and assistance from us. And if this be so, then the Promises of the Gospel do not only seem to be Conditional, but are really so. And it is a wonder that any Man should doubt of this, who considers [Page 337] how frequently in the New Testament the Gospel is represented to us under the notion of a Covenant, since a Cove­nant in the very nature of it doth im­ply a mutual Obligation between the Parties that enter into it. But if the Gospel contain only Blessings which are promised on God's part, without any thing required to be done and perform­ed on our part, in order to the obtain­ing of those Blessings, then the Gospel is nothing else but a Promise, or Deed of Gift, making over certain Benefits and Blessings to us; but can in no pro­priety of Language in the World be called a Covenant: But if there be some things required on our part, in order to our being made partakers of the Pro­mises which God hath made to us (as the Scripture every where tells us there is) then the Promises are plainly Con­ditional. To instance in the Promise of Forgiveness of Sins; Repent, that your Sins may be blotted out; that is, upon this Condition that ye Repent of your Sins, they shall be forgiven; and not otherwise. Can there be any plainer Condition in the World, than is in those Words of our Saviour? If ye forgive Men their Trespasses, your Hea [...]enly Father [Page 338] will also forgive your Trespasses; but if ye forgive not Men their Trespasses, nei­ther will your Heavenly Father forgive your Trespasses.

This is so far from being any preju­dice to the freeness of Gods grace, who is infinitely gracious in offering such great Blessings to us upon any Condi­tion that we can perform; yet it were one of the absurdest things in the World, to imagine that God should grant to Men forgiveness of Sins, and Eternal Life, let them behave them­selves as they Will.

Fourthly, The last thing I proposed for the explaining of this Doctrine of the Promises of God, was, to consider when Men may be said to have a right to these Promises, so as to be able upon good grounds to apply them to themselves? And the Answer to this is very plain and easie; namely, when they find the Conditions of these Promises in themselves; and not till then.

When a Man hath truly repented of his Sins, so as to forsake them, and lead a new Life; and when he does from his heart forgive those that have offended him, and hath laid down all [Page 339] animosity against them, and thoughts of Revenge, then hath he a right to the Promise of Pardon and Forgiveness, and may apply to himself in particular what the Scripture saith in general, that God will blot out all his Transgres­sions, and remember his Iniquities no more. When a Man doth constantly and earnestly implore the assistance of God's Holy Spirit, and is ready to yield to the motions of it, and does faithfully make use of that strength and assistance which God affords him, then he may expect the continuance of his grace, and further degrees of it. When a Man makes it the constant and sin­sincere endeavour of his Life, to please God, and to walk in all the Ordinances and Commandments of the Lord blameless, and is effectually taught by the grace of God to deny ungodliness, and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, and righteously, and godlily in this present World, then he may with comfort and joy wait for the blessed hope, and the glorious appearance of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ; then he may with confidence depend upon God, in sure and certain hope of that Eternal Life, which God, that [Page 340] cannot lie, hath promised. When he can say with St. Paul, I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith, then he may likewise triumph, as he did, henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness, which God the Righ [...]eous Judge shall give me in that day.

Upon these terms, and in these Ca­ses, Men may upon good grounds ap­ply to themselves these exceeding great and precious Promises of the Gospel; and so far as any Man is doubtful and uncer­tain of the performance of the Condi­tions which the Gospel requires, so far he must necessarily question his Right and Title to the Blessings promised. And if any Man think this Doctrine too uncomfortable, and be willing to re­ject it upon this account, I shall only say this, that Men may cheat them­selves, if they please, but most certainly they will never find any true and so­lid Comfort in any other. This is a plain and sensible account of a Mans Confidence and good hopes in the Pro­mises of God; but for a Man to apply any Promise to himself, before he finds [Page 341] the Condition in himself, is not Faith, but either Fancy, or Presumption.

And therefore it is a very prepo­sterous course which many take, to advise and exhort Men, with so much earnestness, to apply the Promises of God to themselves, and to tell them that they are guilty of great unbelief in not doint it. That which is pro­per to exhort Men to, is to [...]ndea­vour to perform the Condition upon which God hath promised any Blessing to us; and when Men find the Con­dition in themselves, they will with­out any great perswasion take Com­fort from the Promise, and apply it to themselves; but till they discern the Condition in themselves, it is im­possible for a Man that understands himself, to apply the Promise to him­self; for till the Condition be per­formed, he hath no more right to the Promise, than if such a Promise had never been made. And 'tis so far from being a Sin in such a Man, to doubt of the benefit of such a Promise, that it is his Duty to do so; and no Man that understands himself, and the [Page 342] Promises of God, can possibly do otherwise.

Therefore 'tis a vain and groundless trouble which perplexeth many Peo­ple, that they cannot apply the Promi­ses of God to themselves; whereas the true ground of their trouble should be this, that they have not been careful to perform the Condition of those Promises which they would apply to themselves; the other is an endless trouble; let them but look to the Con­dition, and the Promise will apply it self. I speak all this on purpose to free Men from those perplexities where­with many have entangled themselves, by false apprehensions of the Promises of God, either as if they were not made to us upon certain Conditions to be performed by us, or as if any Man could comfortably apply them to him­self, before he hath performed those Conditions upon which God hath made such Promises. For if Men will believe that which is not true, or expect things upon such terms as they are not to be had, they may trouble themselves Eter­nally, and all the World cannot help it.

[Page 343] I have now done with the First thing I propounded to speak to, namely the Promises which are here spoken of. The Second thing, (viz.) what Influence these Promises ought to have upon us, that by them we may be made Partakers of a Divine Nature, I shall reserve to ano­ther Opportunity.

I Made entrance into these words the last Day, in the handling whereof I proposed to do these two things.

First, To consider the Promises here spoken of; Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious Promises.

[Page 346] Secondly, The Influence which these Promises ought to have upon us; that by these ye might be partakers of a Di­vine Nature.

The first of these I have done with, and proceed now to the

Second, viz. The Influence which these Promises ought to have upon us; Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious Promises, that by these ye might be partakers of a Divine Nature. Not that we can partake of the Essence and Nature of God, as some have blas­phemously affirmed, pretending, in their canting and senseless Language, to be Godded with God, and Christed with Christ. In this sense it is impossible for us to partake of the Divine Nature; for this would be for Men to become Gods, and to be advanced to the State and Perfection of the Deity. But the word [...] doth frequently in Scripture sig­nifie a temper and disposition; and to be partakers of a Divine Nature, is to be of a Divine Temper and Disposition, to have our Corrupt Natures rectified and purged [Page 347] from all sinful Lusts, and irregular Passions, and from all Vicious and Corrupt Affections; and therefore it follows in the Text, having escaped the Corruption that is in the World through Lust; and besides this, giving all dili­gence, add to your Faith Virtue, and to Virtue Knowledge, and to Knowledge Temperance, and to Temperance Pati­ence, and to Patience Godliness, and to Godliness Brotherly-kindness, and to Bro­therly-kindness Charity. So that we are made partakers of a Divine Nature, as the Apostle here explains it, these two ways; by cleansing our selves from the Lusts of the Flesh, which the Apo­stle here calls the corruption or defile­ment which is in the World through Lust; and by a diligent endeavour after all Christian Graces, and Vir­tues, Faith, and Temperance, and Pa­tience, a sincere love of the Brethren, and an Universal Charity and good­will towards all Men.

And that this is the proper influ­ence and efficacy of the great Promises of the Gospel upon the hearts and lives of Men, the Apostle St. Paul fully declares [Page 348] to us, 2 Cor. 7. 1. Having th [...]re­fore these Promises, Dearly Beloved, let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of the Flesh, and Spirit; that is, from the lusts of the Flesh, and of un­cleanness, and from all evil and cor­rupt affections of the Mind, such as Wrath, Envy, Malice, Hatred, Strife, Revenge, Cruelty, Pride, and the like; perfecting holiness in the fear of God; that is, continually aspiring still more and more after further de­grees of Holiness, and Virtue, and good­ness, which are the great Perfections of the Divine Nature. And thus by a constant and sincere endeavour to cleanse our selves from all impurity of Flesh and Spirit, and by practising all the Virtues of a good Life, we shall by degrees raise and advance our selves to a Godlike temper and disposition, imita­ting in all our Actions the Goodness, and Mercy, and Patience, and Truth, and Faithfulness of God, and all those other Perfections of the Divine Na­ture, which are comprehended und [...]r the term of Holiness. This is that which the Apostle here calls partaking of a Divine Nature; or, as our Blessed [Page 349] Saviour expresseth it, to be perfect, as our Father which is in Heaven is per­fect.

This the Gospel designs to raise us to; and one of the great Instruments whereby this is effected, are those ex­ceeding great and precious Promises which I have insisted upon: And they are capable of effecting it these two ways.

First, By way of internal Efficacy and Assistance; and,

Secondly, By way of external Motive and Argument: Both these ways, some or other of these Promises have a mighty influence upon us (if we be not wanting to our selves) to raise us to a Godlike temper and disposition, that is, to the greatest perfection of Virtue and Goodness which we are capable of in this Life.

First, By way of internal Efficacy and Assistance. And this influence the Promise of God's Holy Spirit, and of the gracious help and assistance thereof, [Page 350] hath upon the Minds of Men, in­clining them to that which is good, and enabling them to do it. For the Holy Spirit is promised to us, in consi­deration and commiseration of that impotency and weakness which we have contracted in that degenerate and depraved Condition into which Man­kind is sunk; to help us, who are without strength to recover our selves, out of that evil and miserable state into which by wilful transgression we are fallen; to quicken us who are dead in Trespasses and Sins, (as the Scripture expresseth the Condition of unregenerate Persons) to raise [...]s to a new Life, and to che­rish this Principle of Spiritual Life, which is commonly weak at first, and to carry it through alldiscouragements and oppositions; to excite us conti­nually to our Duty, and to enable us to the most difficult parts of Obedi­ence, such as are most contrary to our natural inclinations, and against the grain of flesh and blood, to bear down the strength of Sin and Temptation; and in all our Conflicts with the World, and the Flesh, the Devil, and all the Powers of Darkness, to [Page 351] make us victorious over them; and, in a word, to be a Principle within us, more mighty and powerful than the Lusts and Inclinations of our evil Hearts, than the most obstinate and inveterate habits of Sin and Vice, and than all the Temptations and Ter­rors of sense. So that if we will make use of this assistance, and lay hold of this strength which God affords us in the Gospel, and (as the Apostle ex­presseth it) be workers together with God, we need not despair of Victory and Success; for our strength will conti­nually encrease, and the force and violence of our Lusts will be abated, God will give us more grace, and we shall walk from strength to strength, and our path will be (as Solomon says of the way of the Righteous) as the light which shines more and more unto the perfect day.

For the Holy Spirit of God con­ducts and manageth this great work of our Sanctification and Salvation from first to last, by opening our Hearts to let in the light of Divine Truth upon our Minds, by representing [Page 352] to us with advantage such Argu­ments and Considerations as are apt to perswade us to embrace it, and yield to it; by secret and gentle repre­hensions, softning our hard hearts, and b [...]nding our stiff and stubborn Wills to a compliance with the Will of God, and our Duty. And this is that great Work which the Scripture calls our Regeneration, and Sanctification, the turning us from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, a new Creation, and a Resurrection from the Death of Sin, to the Life of Holiness. And then by leading and directing us in the ways of Holiness and Obedi­ence; by quickning our Devotion, and stirring up in us Holy Desires and Dispositions of Soul, rendring us fit to draw near to God in Prayer, with a due sense of our own wants and un­worthiness, and an humble Confidence in the goodness of God, that he will grant us those good things that we ask of him; in supporting and comforting us in all our Afflictions and Suffer­ings, especially for Truth and Righte­ousness sake; and by Sealing and Confirming to us the Blessed Hopes [Page 353] of Eternal Life. Thus the Spirit of God carries on the Work of our San­ctification, and makes us Partakers of a Divine Nature, by way of inward efficacy and assistance.

Secondly, The Promises of the Gos­pel are apt likewise to have a mighty influence upon us by way of Motive and Argument, to engage and encou­rage us to cleanse our selves from all fil­thiness of flesh and Spirit, and to perfect holiness in the fear of God. For,

First, A full Pardon and Indemnity for what is past, is a mighty encou­ragement for us to return to our Duty, and a forcible Argument to keep us to it for the future. For since God, who hath been so highly injured and affronted by us, is so willing and ready to forgive us, as not only to provide and purchase for us the Means of our Pardon, by the grievous Suffer­ings of his dear Son, but to offer it so freely, and invite us so earnestly to ac­cept of it, and to be reconciled to him; the Consideration of this ought in all Reason, Ingenuity, and Gratitude, to [Page 354] melt us into Sorrow and Repentance for our Sins, and a deep sense of the evil of them, and to enflame our hearts with a mighty love to God, and our blessed Redeemer, who hath loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood; And to make us extreamly unwilling, nay most firmly resolved never more to offend that merciful and gracious God, who is so slow to punish, and so forward to forgive; and effectually to engage us to a dutiful and constant and chea [...]ful Obedience to God's holy Laws and Commandments, lest by our wil­ful transgression and violation of them, we should run our selves into a deeper guilt, and aggravate our Condemna­tion. Now that by the tender Mer­cies of our God we are made whole, we should be infinitely afraid to sin any more, lest worse things come to us; lest we relapse into a more incurable state, and bring a heavier load of guilt and misery upon our selves.

Secondly, The Promise of God's Grace and Holy Spirit is likewise a very powerful Argument and Encou­ragement to Holiness, and Goodness, [Page 355] engaging us to cleanse our selves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, that our Souls and Minds may be a fit Temple for the Holy Ghost, which will not dwell in an impure Soul: And likewise En­couraging us hereto, by this Consider­ation, that we have so unerring a Guide to Counsel and Direct us, so Powerful an Assistant to strengthen us with all might in the Inner Man, to stand by us in all our Conflicts with Sin and Satan, and to make us (as the Apostle expresseth it) more than Con­querours over all our Spiritual Enemies. For tho' we be weak, and our Lusts strong, our Enemies many, and Temp­tations mighty and violent; yet we need not be disheartned, so long as we know that God is with us, and the Grace of his Holy Spirit sufficient for us, against all the strength of Sin, and Hell; tho' our Duty be hard, and our strength small, yet we cannot fail of success, if we be sure that the Om­nipotent grace of God is always ready to second our sincere, tho' never so weak, Endeavours. So that when we see all the Enemies of our Salvation drawn up in array against us, we [Page 356] may encourage our selves, as the Pro­phet Elisha did his Servant, when he told him that an Host compassed the City with Horses and Chariots, and said, Alas! my Master, how shall we do? And he an­swered, fear not, for they that be with us, are more than they that be with them, 2 King. 6. 16. Or, as Hezekiah Com­forted the People, when they were a­fraid of the mighty force of the King of Assyria, 2 Chron. 32. 7, 8. Be strong and couragious, be not afraid nor dismayed for the King of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: For there be more with us, than with him. With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God, to help us, and to fight for us. This is the Case of every Christian; the force that is against us is finite and limited; but the Almighty God is on our side, and fights for us; and every one of us may say with St. Paul, Philip. 4. 13. I can do all things through Christ which strength­neth me.

Thirdly, The Promise of Eternal Life and Happiness, if duly weighed and considered, hath a mighty force in it [Page 357] to take us off from the Love and Pra­ctice of Sin, and to encourage our Obedience, and patient continuance in well-doing. The assurance of enjoying unspeakable and endless Happiness in another World, and of escaping ex­tream and eternal Misery, is a Consi­deration of that weight, as one would think could not fail of its efficacy up­on us, to put all temptations to Sin out of countenance, and to bear down before us all the difficulties and dis­couragements in the way of our Duty. And if this make no impression upon us, if Heaven and Hell be of no weight with us, it will be in vain to use any other Arguments, which in Compari­son of this, are but as the very small dust upon the balance. For if on the one hand the hopes of perfect Comfort, and Joy, and Felicity, perpetual in du­ration, and vast beyond all imagina­tion, such as [...]ye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor hath entred into the heart of Man to conceive: And if on the other hand, the dread of the terrible wrath of God, and of the vengance of Eter­nal Fire, together with the insupport­able torments of a guilty Conscience, and [Page 358] the perpetual stings of bitter remorse and anguish for the wilful folly of our wicked Lives, and the rage of horri­ble despair of ever getting out of so miserable a State; If neither of these Considerations, if both of them will not prevail upon us to cease to be evil, and to resolve to be good, that we may obtain one of these Conditions, and may escape the other; there is no hope that any words that can be used, any Arguments and Considerations that can be offered, should work upon us, or take place with us. He that is not to be tempted by such hopes, nor to be terrified by such fears, is proof against all the force of perswasion in the World.

And thus I have done with the two things which I proposed to consider from these words; the Nature of these Promises, and the Influence they are apt, and ought to have upon us, to raise us to the perfection of Virtue and Good­ness, which the Apostle here calls our being Partakers of a Divine Nature. All that now remains is, to make some [Page 359] useful Reflections upon what hath been discoursed upon these two Heads.

First of all, If we expect the Bles­sings and Benefits of these exceed­ing great and precious Promises of the Gospel, we must be careful to perform the Conditions which are indis­pensably required on our parts. It is a great mistake, and of very per­nicious consequence to the Souls of Men, to imagine that the Gospel is all Promises on God's part; and that our part is only to believe them, and to rely upon God for the performance of them, and to be very confident that he will make them good, tho' we do nothing else but only believe that he will do so. That the Christian Re­ligion is only a Declaration of God's good will to us, without any expe­ctation of Duty from us; this is an Error which one could hardly think could ever enter into any who have the liberty to read the Bible, and do attend to what they read, and find there.

[Page 360] The Three great Promises of the Gospel are all very expresly contain'd in our Saviour's first Sermon upon the Mount. There we find the Promise of Blessedness often repeated; but ne­ver absolutely made, but upon Cer­tain Conditions, and plainly required on our parts; As Repentance, Hu­mility, Righteousness, Mercy, Peace­ableness, Meekness, Patience. For­giveness of Sins is likewise Promised; but only to those that make a Penitent acknowledgment of them, and ask Forgiveness for them, and are ready to grant that Forgiveness to others, which they beg of God for them­selves. The gift of God's Holy Spirit is likewise there Promised; but it is upon Condition of our earnest and importunate Prayer to God. The Gospel is every where full of Pre­cepts, enjoyning Duty and Obedi­ence on our part, as well as of Pro­mises on God's part, assuring Blessings to us; nay of terrible threatnings also, if we disobey the Precepts of the Gospel. St. Paul gives us the summ of the Gospel in very few and plain [Page 361] words, declaring upon what terms we may expect that Salvation which the Gospel offers to all Men, Tit. 2. 11, 12, 13, 14. The grace of God which bring­eth Salvation hath appeared to all Men; teaching us, that denying ungodliness and worldly Lusts, we should live soberly, and righteously, and godly in this present world, looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might re­deem us from all iniquity, and purisie unto himself a peculiar People, zealous of good works. And then he adds, These things speak and exhort, and rebuke with all authority; Intimating, that tho' Men were very averse to this Do­ctrine, it ought to be inculcated with great Authority and Earnestness, and those who opposed and despised it, to be severely rebuked: And with great Reason, because the contrary Doctrine does most effectually under­mine and defeat the whole Design of the Christian Religion.

[Page 362] Secondly, From hence we learn, that if the Promises of the Gospel have not this effect upon us, to make us Partakers of a Divine Nature, it is our own fault, and because we are want­ing to our selves. God is always ready to do his part; if we do not fail in ours. There is a Divine Power and Efficacy goes along with the Gospel, to make way for the entertainment of it in the hearts of Men, where they put no bar and obstacle to it. But if Men will resist the Motions of God's Blessed Spirit, and quench the light of it, and obstinately hold out against the force of Truth; God will with­draw his Grace and Holy Spirit from them. The Gospel would raise us to the perfection of all virtue and good­ness; and the Promises of it are ad­mirably fitted to relieve the infirmi­ties and weakness of Humane Nature, and to renew us after the Image of God, in Righteousness, and true Holiness; to take us off from Sin and Vice, and to allure us to Goodness; and to assist and encourage us in the practice of it: But if we will not comply with the [Page 363] gracious Design of God in the Gospel, and suffer these Promises to have their due influence and efficacy upon us; we wilfully deprive our selves of all the Blessings and Benefits of it, we reject the Counsel of God against our selves, and receive the Grace of God in vain; and and by rejecting and de­spising his Promises, we provoke him to execute his Threatnings upon us.

Thirdly, and Lastly, If the Promi­ses of the Christian Religion are apt in their own Nature to work this great effect upon us, to make us like to God, and to bring us to so near a re­semblance of the Divine Perfections, to make us Good, and Just, and Mer­ciful, and Patient, and Holy in all manner of Conversation, to purge us from our Iniquities, and to make us a Peculiar and Excellent People, zealous of good works; I say if this be the pro­per tendency of the Gospel, and the Promises of it, how doth this up­braid the degenerate state of the Chri­stian World at this day? which does so abound in all kind of Wickedness and Impiety; so that we may cry [Page 364] out as he did, upon reading the Gospel; Profectò aut hoc non est Evan­gelium; aut nos non sumus Evangelici; ‘Either this is not the Gospel which we read, and the Christian Reli­gion which we profess; or we are no Christians.’ We are so far from that pitch of goodness and Virtue which the Christian Religion is apt to raise Men to, and which the A­postle here calls the Divine Nature, that a great part of us are degene­rated into Beasts and Devils, wal­lowing in abominable and filthy Lusts, indulging our selves in those Devilish Passions of Malice and Hatred, of Strife and Discord, of Revenge and Cruelty, of Sedition, and Disturbance of the Publick Peace, to that degree, as if the Grace of God had never appeared to us to teach us the contrary. And therefore it concerns all those who have the face to call themselves Chri­stians, to demean themselves at ano­ther rate, and for the Honour of their Religion, and the Salvation of their own Souls, to have their Conversation as becometh the Gospel of Christ; and by departing from the Vicious practices [Page 365] of this present Evil World, to do what in them lies to prevent the Judgments of God which hang over us; or if they cannot do that, to save themselves from this untoward Ge­neration.

THIS Epistle was written by St. Peter, who was the Apostle of the Circumcision, to the dispersed Jews, who were newly Con­verted to Christianity; And the De­sign of it is to Confirm and Establish them in the Profession of it; and to [Page 368] instruct them how they ought to demean themselves towards the Hea­then or Gentiles, among whom they lived; and more particularly to arm and prepare them for those Sufferings and Persecutions, which he foretels would shortly overtake them for the Profession of Christianity, that when they should happen, they might not be surprised and startled at them, as if some strange and unexpected thing were come upon them; at the 12 v. of this Chapter, Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery Tryal which is to try you; that is, do not won­der and be not as [...]onish'd at it, as if some strange thing hapned unto you.

And then he instructs them more particularly, how they ought to be­have themselves under those Tr [...]als and Sufferings, when they should happen; not only with Patience, which men ought to exercise under all kinds of Sufferings, upon what Account and Cause soever; but with Joy and Cheer­fulness; considering the Glorious Ex­ample and Reward of them, v. 13. but rejoyce, in as much as ye are partakers [Page 369] of Christs Sufferings; that when his Glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding Joy: And at the 14. ver. he tells them, that besides the En­couragement of so great an Example, and so glorious a Reward, they should be supported and assisted in a very extraordinary manner, by the Spirit of God resting upon them in a glo­rious manner, as a Testimony of the Divine Power and Presence with them; v. 14. If ye be reproached for the Name of Christ, happy are ye, for the Spirit of Glory and of God resteth upon you; or, as it is in the best Copies, for the Spirit of Glory and of Power, even the Spirit of God res [...]eth upon you; that is, the Glorious Power of the Divine Spi­rit is present with you, to comfort and bear up your Spirits under these Sufferings. But then he cautions them, to take great Care, that thei [...] Sufferings be for a good Cause, and a good Conscience; v. 15. But let none of you suffer as a M [...]therer, or as a Thief, or as an evil-doer, (that is, as an Offender in any kind against Human Laws, made to preserve the Peace and good Order of the World) [Page 370] or as a busy-body in other mens mat­ters; (that is, as a pragmatical Per­son, that meddles out of his own Sphere, to the Disquiet and Distur­bance of Human Society:) For to suffer upon any of these Accounts, would be matter of Shame and Trou­ble, but not of Joy and Comfort: But if they suffer'd upon Account of the Profession of Christianity, this would be no Cause of Shame and Reproach to them; but they ought rather to give God Thanks for cal­ling them to suffer in so good a Cause, and upon so glorious an Ac­count. V. 16. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian (if that be his only Crime) let him not be ashamed, but let him glori [...]ie G [...]d on this behalf; for the time is come, that Judgment must begin at the House of God; (that is, the wise and just Providence of God, hath so or­der'd it at this Time, for very good Reasons and Ends, that the first Ca­lamities and Sufferings should fall upon Christians, the peculiar People and Church of God, for their Tryal, and a Testimony to the Truth of that Religion, which God was now planting [Page 371] in the World:) And if i [...] first begin at us, (that is, at us Jews, who were the ancient People of God, and have now embraced and entertained the Re­velation of the Gospel) what shall the end be of them, that obey not the Gos­pel of God? (that is, how much more severely will God deal with the rest of the Jews who have crucified the Son of God, and still persist in their Infidelity and Disobedience to the Gospel?) And if the righteous scarce­ly be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? (that is, if good Men be saved with so much Difficulty, and must through so many tribulations en­ter into the kingdom of God, what will become of all Ungodly and Impe­nitent Sinners? Where shall they ap­pear? How shall they be able to stand in the Judgment of the great Day?) From the Consideration of all which, the Apostle makes this In­ference or Conclusion, in the last ver. of this Chapter, Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God, com­mit the keeping of their Souls to him in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

[Page 372] Thus you see the Connexion and Dependance of these words, upon the Apostle's foregoing Discourse. I shall explain the several Expressions in the Text, and then handle the main Points contained in them.

The Expressions to be explained are these: What is meant by those that suffer according to the will of God? what by committing the keeping of our Souls to God, [...]s unto a faithful Creator? and what by well-doing?

1. What is meant by suffering ac­cording to the will of God? This may be understood of Suffering in a good Cause, such as God will approve: But this is not so probable; because this is mentioned afterwards, in the following Expressions of committing the keeping of our Souls to God in well­doing; that is, in suffering upon a good Account: And therefore the plain and genuine Sense of this Expression, seems to be this; that those who according to the good Pleasure of God's Will, and the wise dispensation of his Providence, [Page 373] are appointed to suffer for his Cause, should demean themselves so and so; Let them that suffer ac­cording to the will of God; that is, those whom God thinks fit to call to Suf­fering. And this agrees very well with the like Expression, Chap. 3. of this Epist. ver. 17. for it is better, if the will of God be so, (that is, if God have so appointed it, and think it fit) that ye suffer for well-doing, than for evil-doing.

Secondly, What is here meant by committing the keeping of our Souls to God, as to a faithful Creator? That is, to deposit our Lives, and all that be­longs to us, in a word our selves, into the Hands and Custody of his Mer­ciful Care and Providence who made us; and therefore we may be sure will faithfully keep what we commit to him: For as we are his Creatures, he is engaged to take care of us, and will not abandon the work of his own hands. Besides that, he hath Promi­sed to be more especially concerned for good Men, to support them in their Sufferings for a good Cause, and to [Page 374] Reward them for it; and he is faith­ful that hath promised.

And therefore there is great Rea­son and great Encouragement, in all our Sufferings for God's Cause and Truth, to commit our Souls to his Care and Custody: Our Souls, that is (as I said before) our Lives, and all that belongs to us; in a word, our selves: For so the word Soul is frequently used both in the Old and New Testament, Psal. 7. 5. Let the Enemy persecute my Soul, and take it; that is, my Life; for so it follows in the next words; yea, let him tread do [...]n my Life upon the Earth. And Psal. 54. 3. Oppressors seek after my Soul. And Psal. 59. 3. they lie in wa [...]t for my Soul; that is, my Life. And Psal. 16. 10. Thou wilt not leave my Soul in Hell; my Soul, that is, my self, thou wilt not suffer me to continue in the Grave, and under the power of Death, but wilt raise me up to Life again. And so likewise in the New Testament, Mar. 8. 35. Whosoever will save his life, shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the Gospels, the same shall save it. The same word which is here rendred [Page 375] Life, in the very next Verse is ren­dred Soul; For what shall it profit a Man, if he shall gain the whole World, and lose his own Soul? that is, his Life. And so likewise Jo [...]. 12. 25. He that loveth his Life, shall lose it: And he that hateth his Life in this World, (in the Original the Word signifies Soul) He that hateth his Life in this World (that is, who neglecteth and exposeth his Life in this World, for the sake of Christ) shall keep it un­to Life Eternal. And Luke 9. 25. that which the other Evangelists render by the word Soul, or Life, he renders himself; for what is a Man advantaged, if he gain the whole World, and lose him­self? And so here in the Text, to commit the keeping of our Souls to God, is to commit our selves to his Care and Providence.

Thirdly, What is here meant by committing our selves to him in well-do­ing? By well-doing is here meant, a fixt Purpose and Resolution of doing our Duty, notwithstanding all ha­zards and sufferings; which is call'd by St. Paul, Rom. 2. 7. A patient continuance [Page 376] in well-doing. It signifies some­times acts of Goodness and Charity; but in this Epistle it is taken in a larger sense, for Constancy and Re­solution in the doing of our Duty; as Chap. 2. 15. for so is the will of God, that with well-doing (that is by a Re­solute Constancy in a good Course) ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish Men. And ver. 20. But if when ye do well, and s [...]ffer for it (that is, if when ye suffer for well-doing) ye take it pati­ently, this is acceptable with God. And Chap. 3. ver. 6. As long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement; that is, are Resolute and Constant in doing your Duty, notwithstanding all Threatnings and Terrors. And ver. 17. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well-doing, than for evil-doing; that is, for your Religion and Constancy in so good a Cause, as Christians, and not as Criminals upon any other account.

So that the plain meaning of the words is, as if the Apostle had said, wherefore being forewarned of Suffer­ing and Persecution for the Cause of Religion, the summ of my direction [Page 377] and advice upon the whole matter is this; that since it is the will of God that ye should suffer upon this ac­count, commit your selves in the con­stant discharge of your Duty, and a good Conscience, to the particular Care and Providence of Almighty God, as the faithful Creatour.

And now I come to handle the par­ticular Points contained in the words; and they are these Three.

First, That when Men do suffer really and truly for the Cause of Re­ligion, they may with confidence com­mit themselves (their Lives and all that is dear to them) to the particular and more especial Care of the Divine Providence.

Secondly, Always provided, that we do nothing contrary to our Duty, and a good Conscience; for this the Apo­stle means, by committing our selves to God, in well-doing. If we step out of the way of our Duty, or do any thing contrary to it, God's Providence will [Page 378] not be concerned for us, to bear us out in such Sufferings.

Thirdly, I shall Consider what ground of Comfort and Encouragement the Consideration of God, as a faithful Cre­atour, affords to us in all our Suffer­ings, for a good Cause, and a good Conscience.

First, When Men do suffer really and truly for the Cause of Religion, and God's Truth, they may with confidence and good assurance commit themselves, (their Lives and all that is dear to them) to the particular and more especial Care of his Providence. In the handling of this, I shall Con­sider these three things.

1. When Men may be said to Suffer really and truly for the Cause of Re­ligion; and when not.

2. How far they may rely upon the Providence of God, to bear them out in these Sufferings.

[Page 379] 3. What [...]ound and Reason there is to expect the more Particular and E­special Care of God's Providence, in case of such Sufferings.

1. When Men may be said to Suffer really and truly for the Cause of Religion, and God's Truth; and when not. In these Cases.

First, When Men Suffer for not renouncing the true Religion, and because they will not openly declare against it, and Apostatize from it. But it will be said, that in all these Cases the question is, what is the true Reli­gion? To which I answer; That all Discourses of this Nature, about Suf­fering for Religion, do suppose the truth of some Religion or other. And among Christians, the truth of the Christian Religion is taken for grant­ed, where ever we speak of Mens Suffering Persecution for it. And the plainest Case among Christians, is, when they are Persecuted, because they will not openly deny and renounce the Christian Religion. And this was generally [Page 380] the Case of the Primitive Chri­stians; they were threatned with Tor­tures and Death, because they would not renounce Jesus Christ, and his Re­ligion, and give demonstration there­of, by offering Sacrifices to the Hea­then-gods.

Secondly, Men do truly suffer for the Cause of Religion, when they are Per­secuted only for making an open Pro­fession of the Christian Religion, by joyning in the Assemblies of Christians for the Worship of God; tho' they be not urged to deny and disclaim it, but only to conceal and dissemble the Profession of it, so as to forbear the maintenance and defence of it up­on fitting Occasions, against the Ob­jections of those who are Adversaries of it. For to conceal the Profession of it, and to decline the defence of it, when just occasion is offer'd, is to be ashamed of it; which our Saviour In­terprets to be a kind of denial of it, and is opposed to the confessing of him before Men, Mat. 10. 32, 33. Whoso­ever shall confess me before Men, him will I also confess before my Father which [Page 381] is in Heaven: But whosoever shall deny me before Men, him will I also deny be­fore my Father which is in Heaven. And this by St. Mark is express'd by being a­shamed of Christ; that is, afraid and ashamed to make an open profession of him, and his Religion; Mark 8. 38. Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me, and of my words, in this adulte­rous and finful generation, of him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father, with the holy Angels.

And this likewise was the Case of the Primitive Christians under the mo­derate Emperors, when the Persecution of them was not so hot, as to drive them to a denial of Christ; provided they would be contented to conceal and dissemble their Religion; in that case they did not hunt them out, nor Prosecute them to renounce their Re­ligion, if they made no discovery of themselves. But yet they who suf­fered, because they would not conceal their Profession of Christianity, did truly suffer for the Cause of Reli­gion.

[Page 382] Thirdly, Men do likewise truly suf­fer for the Cause of Religion, when they suffer for not betraying it, by any indirect and unworthy means; such as among the Primitive Christians was the delivering up their Bibles to the Heathen, to be burnt and destroyed by them: For to give up that holy Book, which is the great Instrument of our Religion, is in Effect to give up Christianity it self, and to Consent to the utter extirpation of it.

And such likewise is the Case of those, who suffer in any kind for not contributing to break down the Fences of Religion in any Nation, where the Providenc [...] of God hath given it a Le­gal Establishment and Security; or, in a word, for refusing to countenance and further any Design, which visibly tends to the Ruine of Religion: For to destroy Religion, and to take away that which hinders the Destruction of it, are in Effect much the same thing.

[Page 383] Fourthly, Men do truly suffer for the Cause of Religion, when they suf­fer for the Maintenance and Defence of any necessary and Fundamental Ar­ticle of it, tho they be not required to renounce the whole Christian Re­ligion: For what St. Paul says of the Article of the Resurrection of the dead is true of any other necessary Article of the Christian Religion, that the Denyal of it, is a Subversion of the whole Christian Faith; because it tends directly to the overthrow [...]ng of Christianity, being a Wound given to it in a Vital and Essential Part. And this was the Case of those, who in any Age of Christianity have been perse­cuted by Hereticks, for the Defence of any Article of Christianity.

And I cannot but observe by the Way, that after the Heathen Pe [...]secu­tions were ceased, Persecution was first begun among Christians by Hereticks; and hath since been taken up, and carried much beyond that bad Pattern, by the Church of Rome; which, be­sides a standing Inquisition in all Countries, [Page 384] which are entirely of that Reli­gion; (a Court, the like whereto, for the clancular and secret Manner of Proceeding, for the unjust and arbi­trary Rules of it, for the barbarous Usage of Mens Persons, and the Cru­elty of its Torments, to extort Confes­sions from them, the Sun never saw erected under any Government in the World, by Men of any Religion what­soever.) I say, which, besides this Court, hath by frequent Croisadoes for the Extirpation of Hereticks, and by many Bloody Massacres in France and Ireland, and several other places, de­stroyed far greater numbers of Chri­stians, than all the ten Heathen Per­secutions; and hath of late revived, and to this very Day continues the same or greater Cruelties, and a fier­cer Persecution of Protestants, if all the Circumstances of it be considered, than was ever yet practised upon them; and yet whilst this is doing almost be­fore our eyes, in one of our next neigh­bour Nations, they have the Face to complain of the Cannibal Laws, and bloody Persecutions of the Church of England; and the Confidence to set up [Page 385] for the great Patrons of Liberty of Conscience, and Enemies of all Com­pulsion and Force in Matters of Re­ligion.

Fifthly, Men do truly suffer for the Cause of God and Religion, when they suffer for asserting and maintain­ing the Purity of the Christian Do­ctrine and Worship; and for opposing and not complying with those gross Errors and Corruptions, which Super­stition and Ignorance had in a long Course of Time brought into the Christian Religion. Upon this Account many Good People suffer'd in many past Ages, for resisting the growing Errors and Corruptions of the Church of Rome, which at first crept in by Degrees, but at last broke in like a mighty Flood, which carryed down all before it, and threatned Ruin and Destruction to all that opposed them. Upon this Account also, infinite Num­bers suffered among the Waldenses and Albigenses, in Bohemia, and in England, and in most other Countries in this Western Part of Christendom: And they who suffer'd upon this Account [...] [Page 386] suffer'd in a good Cause, and for the Testimony of the Truth.

Sixthly, and Lastly, Men do truly suffer for the cause of Religion, when they suffer for not disclaiming and re­nouncing any clear and undoubted Truth of God whatsoever; yea though it be not a Fundamental Point and Ar­ticle of Religion.

And this is the Case of those many Thousands, who, ever since the IV. Council of Lateran, which was in the Year 1215, (when Transubstantiation was first defin'd to be an Article of Faith, and necessary to Salvation to be believ'd) were persecuted with Fire and Sword, for not understand­ing those words of our Saviour, this i [...] my Body, (which are so easily capa­ble of a reasonable Sense) in the absurd and impossible Sense of Transubstantia­tion. And though this disowning of this Doctrin, be no express and di­rect Article of the Christian Religion; yet it is a Fundamental Article of right Reason and common Sense: Because the admitting of Transubstantiation, does [Page 387] undermine the Foundation of all Cer­tainty whatsoever, and does more im­mediately shake the very Foundation of Christianity it self. Yea, tho' the Christian Religion were no ways con­cerned in this Doctrine, yet out of reverence to Reason and Truth, and a just animosity and indignation at confident nonsense, a Man of an ho­nest and generous Mind would as soon be brought to Declare or Swear, that twice two do not make four, but five, as to profess his belief of Tran­substantiation.

And tho' all Truths are not of equal Consequence and Concernment, yet all Truth is of God; and for that Reason, tho' we are not obliged to make an open profession of all Truths at all times, yet we are bound not to deny or renounce any Truth, nor to make profession of a known Falsehood or Error: For it is meerly because of the intrinsical Evil of the thing, that it is impossible for God to lie; and the Son of God thought it worth his coming into the World, and laying down his Life, to bear witness to the Truth. So [Page 388] he himself tells us, Joh. 18. 37. To this End was I born, and for this Cause came I into the World, that I should bear wit­ness to the Truth.

Thus I have shewn you in these plain Instances (to which most other Cases may be reduced) when Men may be said to suffer truly for the Cause of Religion, and Truth.

I shall mention two or three Cases wherein Men may seem to suffer for the Cause of Religion, but cannot truly be said to do so.

First, When Men rashly expose themselves to danger, and run upon sufferings for the sake of Religion. Thus several of the Primitive Christi­ans voluntarily exposed themselves, when they were not called in que­stion, and in the heat of their Af­fection and Zeal for God and Religi­on, offered themselves to Martyrdom, when none enquired after them. This, in the gracious interpretation of God, who knowing the sincerity of their Zeal, was pleased to overlook the indiscreet [Page 389] forwardness and rashness of it, might be accepted for a kind of Mar­tyrdom: but cannot in Reason be ju­stified, so a [...] to be fit to be made a Pattern, and to be recommended to our imitation. For tho' God may be pleased to excuse the weakness of a well-meaning Zeal; yet he can ap­prove nothing but what is Reason­able.

To suffer chearfully for the Cause of God and his Truth, when he calls us to fight this good fight of faith, and to resist unto blood; and when we are reduced to that strait, that we must either die for God and his Truth, or deny them; to suffer I say in this Case with Courage and Patience, is one of the Noblest of all the Christian Vir­tues. But to be perfect Volunteers, and to run our selves upon Sufferings, when we are not called to them, looks rather like the Sacrifice of Fools; which tho' God may mercifully excuse, and pardon the Evil of the action, for the good Meaning of it; yet he can never perfectly approve and accept of it. But I think there is little need nowa-days [Page 390] to caution men against this rash­ness; it is well if they have the Grace and Resolution to Suffer when it is their Duty, and when they are called to it.

Secondly, Nor can Men be truly said to Suffer for the Cause of Religion, when they Suffer not for their Faith, but their Fancy, and for the wilful and affected Error of a mistaken Con­science. As when Men suff [...]r for indif­ferent things, which in heat and pas­sion they call Superstition and Idoltary; and for their own false Opinions in Religion, which they mistake for Fun­damental Articles of the Christian Faith. In this Case, their mistake about these things will not change the Nature of them, nor turn their Sufferings into Martyrdom; and yet many Men have certainly Suffered for their own mis­takes. For as Men may be so far deluded, as to think they do God good service, when they kill his fa [...]thful Ser­vants; so likewise may they be so far deceived, as to Sacrifice their Lives, and all that is dear to them, to their own culpable Errors and Mistakes. [Page 391] But this is Zeal without Knowledge [...] not the Wisdom which descends from a­bove, but that which comes from be­neath, and is like the fire of Hell, which is heat without light.

Thirdly, and Lastly; Nor can Men truly be said to Suffer for the Cause of God and Religion, when they Suffer for the open Profession and Defence of Truths not necessary. For tho' a Man be obliged to make an open Profession of all Fundamental and Necessary Truths; yet he is under no such Obligation to make Profession of Truths not necessary at all times; and unless he be called to deny them, he is not bound either to declare or defend them; he may hold his peace at other times, and be silent about them, especially when the open Profession of them will probably do no good to others, and will certainly do hurt to our selves, and the zealous endeavour to propagate such Truths will be to the greater prejudice of Charity, and the disturbance of the publick peace of the Church.

[Page 392] It was a good Saying of Erasmus (if we understand it, as I believe he meant it, of Truths not necessary) adeo invis [...] sunt mihi discordi [...], ut veritas etiam contentiosa displiceat: I am (says he) so perfect a hater of discord, that I am even displeased with truth, when it is the oc­casion of contention. As a Man is never to deny Truth, so neither is he obli­ged to make an open Profession of Truths not necessary, at all times; and if he Suffer upon that account, he cannot justifie it to his own Pru­dence, nor have Comfort in such Suf­ferings; because he brings them need­lesly upon himself; and no Man can have Comfort, but in Suffering for do­ing his Duty.

And thus I have done with the first thing I proposed to enquire into; namely, when Men may be truly said to Suffer for the Cause of Religion?

I proceed now to the

Second Enquiry; namely, how far Men may rely upon the Providence [Page 393] of God, to bear them out in such Sufferings?

To which I Answer; That provided we do what becomes us, and is our Duty on our part, the Providence of God will not be wanting on his part, to bear us out in all our Sufferings for his Cause, one of these three ways.

First, To secure us from that vio­lent degree of Temptation and Suf­fering, which would be too strong for Humane Strength and Patience; Or,

Secondly, In case of such extraordi­nary Temptation and Trial, to give us the extraordinary Supports and Comforts of his Holy Spirit; or else,

Thirdly, In case of a Temporary Fall and Miscarriage, to raise us up by Repentance, and a greater Resolu­tion and Constancy under Sufferings. I shall speak severally to these.

[Page 394] 1. Either the Providence of God will not be wanting to secure us from that violent degree of Temptation and Suffering, which would be too strong for Humane Strength and Patience to bear. And this is a great security to good Men, against the fears of a final Miscarriage, after all their Labours, and Pains, and Sufferings in a Reli­gious Course, by being over-born at last by the assault of a very violent and powerful Temptation. Not but that the best of Men ought always to have a prudent distrust of themselves, so as to keep them from security; ac­cording to the Apostle's Caution and Counsel; be not high minded, but fear; and let him that stands, take heed lest he fall; because, 'till we come to Hea­ven, we shall never be out of the dan­ger and possibility of falling: But yet for all this, we may hope, by the sin­cerity and firmness of our Resolution, under the usual influences of God's Grace, to acquit our selves like Men, in ordinary Cases of Temptation and Suffering.

[Page 395] And to this end, we should repre­sent to our selves those exceeding great and precious Promises, which he hath made to Good Men, and his merciful Providence, which continually watcheth over them, and steers their course for them in this World, among those ma­ny Rocks which they are in Danger to split upon; that he is able to stablish us in the Truth, and to keep us from falling, and to present us faultless before the presence of h [...]s Glory with exceeding joy, and to preserve us to his heavenly Kingdom; and that if we do not for­sake him, and forfeit his Care and Pro­tection, he will keep us by his mighty power through faith unto Salvation; either by his merciful Foresight and Prevention of those Temptations, which would probably be too hard for us; or if he thinks fit they should be­fal us, by supporting us under them in an extraordinary Manner.

For I doubt not, but that the best Men do own their Security and Per­severance in Goodness, much more to the merciful Providence of God, [Page 396] preventing the Assaults of violent and dangerous Temptations, than to the Firmness and Constancy of their own resolutions. For there are very few Per­sons of so firm and resolute Virtue, but that one time or other, a Temptation might assault them upon such a Disad­vantage, as would in all probability not only stagger them, but bear them down. Now herein th [...] [...]ovidence of God towards good [...] very re­markable, in secu [...] [...] [...]rom those Temptations, which [...] [...]oo st [...]ong for them to grapple wi [...]al; like a kind and tender Father, who, if he be satisfied of the dutiful Disposition of his Child to­wards him, will not try his Obedi­ence to the utmost, nor permit too strong a Temptation to the contrary to come in his way. So the Psalmist represents God's tender Regard and Consideration of the Frailty and Infir­mity of his Children, Psal. 103. 13, 14. Like as a Father pitieth his Children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him: For he knoweth our frame, he remembreth that we are dust; that is, he conside­reth us as men, and deals with us ac­cordingly. Provided we be sincere, [Page 397] he will not suffer us to be set upon by Temptations that are too big for us. Andtherefore our blessed Saviour makes it one of the Petitions of that excellent Prayer, which he hath recommended to us; Lead us not into Temptation; that is, we should every day beg of God, that his Providence would keep us out of the Way of great and dangerous Temptations, as knowing that this will be a greater Security to us, than any strength and resolution of our own.

Secondly, Or in case of such violent and extraordinary Temptations, the Provi­dence of God will not be wanting to give us the extraodinary Support and Comfort of his Holy Spirit, to bear us up under them. The Providence of God did take Care of Good Men in all Ages, and did afford Comfort to them, under great Tryals and Sufferings; but God never made so express and general a Promise of this, to all good Men, as he hath done by the Christi­an Religion. Never was so constant a Presence and Influence of the Di­vine Spirit vouchsafed and assured to [Page 398] Men under any dispensation, as that of the Gospel; wherein the Spirit of God is promised to all that sincerely embrace the Christian Religion, to reside and dwell in them; not only to all the purposes of Sanctification and Holiness, but of Support and Comfort under the heaviest Pressures and Suf­ferings. For which Reason the Go­spel is called the Ministration of the Spi­rit; and is upon this account said to be more Glorious than any other Reve­lation which God had ever made to Mankind.

We are naturally apt to be very much disheartned and cast down at the apprehension of great Sufferings, from the consideration of our own weakness and frailty; but the Spirit of Christ dwells in all true Christians, and the same Glorious Power, which raised up Jesus from the dead, works mightily in them that Believe. St. Paul useth very high Expressions about this Matter, Eph. 1. 19. That ye may know (saith he, speaking to all Christians) what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who b [...]lieve, accord [...]ng [Page 399] to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he rai­sed him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand. So that every Chri­stian is endowed with a kind of Om­nipotence, being able (as St. Paul speaks of himself) to do and to endure all things, through Christ strengthning him. Of our selves we are very weak, and the Temptations and Terrors of the World are very powerful; but there is a Principle residing in every true Christian, that is able to bear us up against the World, and the power of all its Temptations. Whatsoever is born of God (saith St. John) overcometh the world; for greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. The Holy Spirit of God, which dwells in all true Christians, is a more powerful Principle of Resolution, and Courage, and Patience, under the sharpest Trials and Sufferings, than that Evil Spirit which rules in the World is, to stir up and set on the Malice and Rage of the World against us. Ye are of God, little Children (he speaks this to the youngest and weakest Christians) Ye are of God, little Children, and have [Page 400] overcome; because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. The Malice and Power of the Devil is very great; but the Goodness and Power of God is greater. And therefore in case of extraordinary Temptation, good Men, by virtue of this Promise of God's Ho­ly Spirit, may expect to be born up and comforted in a very extraordinary and supernatural manner, under the greatest Tribulations and Sufferings for righteousness sake.

And this was in a very signal and remarkable manner afforded to the Primitive Christians, under those Fierce and Cruel Persecutions to which they were exposed. And this may still be expected, in like Cases of extraordina­ry Sufferings for the Testimony of God's Truth. If ye be reproached (saith St. Peter, in this 4th Chap. ver. 14.) for the Name of Christ, happy are ye; for the Spirit of Glory and of God resteth upon you. The Spirit of God is here promi­sed to strengthen and support all that Suffer for the Name of Christ, in a very conspicuous and glorious man­ner, according to that Prayer of St. [Page 401] Paul, Col. 1. 11. That Christians might be strengthned with all might, according to God's Glorious Power, unto all Pati­ence, and Long-suffering, with joyfulness. For when God is pleased to exercise good Men with Trials more than Hu­mane, and such Sufferings as are beyond the common rate of Humane Strength and Patience to bear, he hath engaged himself to endue and assist them with more than Humane Courage, and Re­solution. So St. Paul tells the Corin­thians, who had not then felt the ut­most rage of Persecution, 1 Cor. 10. 13. No Tempt [...]tion or Trial hath yet befallen you, but what is common to Man; that is, nothing but what is frequently in­cident to Humane Nature, and what by Humane strength, with an ordinary assistance of God's Grace, may be grapled withal. But, in case God shall call you to extraordinary Suffer­ings, he is faithful that hath promised, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with the temp­tation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it; that is, as he hath ordered and appointed so great a Temptation or Trial to befall you, so he will take care that it shall have a [Page 402] happy issue, by enabling you to bear it, by affording you grace and strength equal to the violence and power of the Temptation. For, as he is said to fall into temptation, that is Con­quered by it; so he is said to get out of it, or escape it, who is enabled to bear it, and, in so doing, gets the better of it. And for this we may rely upon the faithfulness of God, who hath Pro­mised that we shall not be tried above our strength; either not above the strength which we have, or not above the strength which he will afford us in such a case.

And why then should we be daunted at the apprehension of any Suffering whatsoever, if we be secured that our Comfort shall be encreased in propor­tion to our Trouble, and our strength in proportion to the sharpness and weight of our Sufferings? Or else,

Thirdly, In case of Temporary fall­ing, the Providence and Goodness of God will give them the Grace and Op­portunity of recovering themselves from their fall by Repentance. For [Page 403] the Providence of God may sometimes, for wise Ends and Reasons, see it fit to leave good Men to their own Frail­ty, and to faint and fall shamefully under Sufferings, so as to renounce and deny the Truth; sometimes to punish their vain Confidence in them­selves; as in the case of Peter, who declared more Resolution, and bare it out with a greater Confidence, than any of the Disciples, when he said to our Saviour, tho' all men forsake thee, yet will not I; and yet after this he fell more shamefully than any of the rest, so as to deny his Master with horrid Oaths, and Imprecations, and this, tho' our Saviour had prayed particularly for him, that his Faith might not fail. From which Instance we may learn, that God doth not engage himself absolutely to secure Good Men from falling, in case of a great Tempta­tion and Tryal; but if they be sin­cere, he will not permit them to fall finally, though he may suffer them to miscarry grievously for a time, to covince them of the Vanity of their Confidence in themselves and their own Strength.

[Page 404] Sometimes God my suffer Good Men to fall, in order to their more glorious Recovery, and the greater Demonstration and Triumph of their Faith and Constancy afterwards; which was the Case of that happy In­strument of our Reformation here in England, Arch-bishop Cranmer, who after he had been so great a Champion of the Reformation, was so overcome with Fear, upon the Apprehension of his approaching Sufferings, as to sub­scribe those Errors of the Chuch of Rome, which he had so stoutly oppo­sed a great part of his Life: But he did not long continue in this State, but by the Grace of God, which had not for­saken him, was brought to Repen­tance; and when he came to suffer, gave such a Testimony of it, and of his Faith and Constancy, as was more glorious, and more to the Confirmation of the Faith of others, than a simple Mar­tyrdom could have been, if he had not fallen; for when he was brought to the Stake, he put his right Hand(withwhich he had signed his Recantation) into the Fire, and with an undaunted Constancy [Page 405] held it there, til it was quite burnt, for a Testimony of his true Repent­ance for that foul Miscarriage; and when he had done, gave the rest of his Body to be burnt, which he endured with great Courage and Cheerfulness to the last. So that he made all the amends possible for so great a Fault; and the Goodness of God, and the Power of his Grace was more glorified in his Repentance and Recovery, than if he had never fal­len.

But what shall we say, when not­withstanding these Promises of ex­traordinary Comfort and Support, in case of extraordinary Sufferings, so great Numbers are seen to faint in the day of Trial, and to fall off from their Stedfastness? Of which there were many sad Instances, among the Primitive Christians, and have like­wise been of late in our own Times, and n places nearer to us. This I confess is a very melancholy Consideration, but yet I think is capable of a suffici­ent Answer.

[Page 406] And first of all, let this be establish'd for a firm and undoubted Principle, that God is faithful to his Promise; and therefore we ought much rather to suppose in all these Cases, that there is some Default on our part, than any Failure and Unfaithfullness on God's Part. Thus St. Paul, determines in a like Case, when the Promise of God seemed not to be made good to the Jews, he lays the Blame of it on their Unbelief, but acquits God of any Un­faithfulness in his Promise, Rom. 3. 3, 4. For what if some did not believe, shall their unbelief make the Faith (or Fideli­ty) of God without effect? God forbid: Yea, let God be true, but every man a lyar. This I confess does not answer the Difficulty; but yet it ought to incline and dispose us, to interpret what can fairly be offer'd for the Removal of it, with all the Favour that may be on God's side. I say then,

Secondly, That when good Men fall in Case of extraordinary Temptation, and recover again by Repentance, and give greater demonstration afterwards [Page 407] of their Constancy and Resolution, in the Cause of God and his Truth, the Faithfulness of God in his Pro­mises is sufficiently vindicated, as in the Cases I mentioned: Because the Pro­mise of God is not absolute, that good Men shall be preserv'd from falling; but that the Temptation shall have a h [...]p­py issue, and that they shall not finally miscarry. For Promises of this Nature are to be interpreted by us, and un­derstood, as we do our Saviour's Prayer for Peter before his Fall, that his faith should not fail finally; but though he fell through too much Confidence in himself, he should, through the Grace of God assisting him, be enabled to recover by Repentance.

Thirdly, The Sincerity or Insinc [...]rity of Men in the Profession of the true Religion, is a thing which we can­not certainly know, because we do not see into Mens Hearts; but he who knows the heart, and trys the Spirits of Men in a Ballance, cannot be deceiv'd in this Matter; and where men are not sincere, the Promise of God is not concerned to hinder them from [Page 408] discovering themselves; and the Fall of such Persons, is no Reflection upon the Faithfulness of God. And it is reasonable enough to presum [...], that this may be the Case of not a few, and that (like Simon M [...]gus) after they have made a very solemn Profession of Christianity, their hearts may not be right in the sight of God.

Fourthly, If we put the Case at the hardest, that some that were very sin­cere, after they have h [...]ld out a great while, under the Extremity of Tor­ments, have at last fainted under them, and yielded to the Malice and Cruelty of their Persecutors, and in this Amazement and Distraction have not long after expired, without any Testimony of their Repentance; In this Case, both Reason and Charity ought to restrain us from passing any very positive and severe Sen­tence upon the State of such persons. For what do we know, but God whose Goodness will certainly make all the Allowance to Human Frailty that Reason can require; (For he knows whereof we are made; and remembers [Page 409] that we are but dust; he mercifully con­siders every Man's Case, and weighs all the Circumstances of it in an exact Ballance;) I say who can tell, but that in such a Case as I have mentioned, God may graciously be pleased to accept such a degree of constant Suffering of great Torments for so long a time, for a true Martyrdom, and not expect a more than Humane Patience and Resolution, where he is not pleased to afford more than Humane Strength and Support; and whether he may not look upon their failing and miscarriage at last, in the same rank with the indeliberate actions of Men in a Frenzy, and be­sides themselves?

And thus God may be said with the temptation to make a way to escape, or, to give a happy issue to it; since they were enabled to bear it, 'till being distra­cted by their Torments, their Un­derstandings wer [...] thrown off the hinges, and incapable of exercising any deliberate acts of Reason. And with­out some such equitable consideration of the Case of such Persons, it will be very hard to reconcile some appearances [Page 410] of things with the goodness of God, and the faithfulness of his Pro­mise.

However, it will become us to ab­stain from all uncharitable and per­emptory censure of the final Estate of such Persons, especially 'till we our selves have given greater and better testimony of our Constancy; and in the mean time, to leave them to the Righteous and Merciful Sentence of their Master and ours, to whose Judg­ment we must all stand or fall.

I am sure it will very ill become those, who by the Providence of God have escaped those Sufferings, and are at present out of danger themselves, to [...]it in Judgment upon those who are left to endure this terrible Conflict, and have perhaps held out as long, or longer, than they themselves would have done in the like Circumstances. Let us rather earnestly beg of the God of all grace and patience, that he would endue us with a greater measure of Patience and Constancy, if he see fit to call us to the exercise of it; and (which we [Page 411] lawfully may, after the Example of our Blessed Saviour) that if it be his will, he would let this Cup pass from us, and not try us with the like Sufferings, lest we also be weary, and faint in our Minds. I come now to the

Third, and last Enquiry which I proposed; what Ground and Reason there is, for good Men to expect the more Peculiar and Especial Care of God's Providence in case of such Sufferings?

The Providence of God extends to all his Creatures, according to that of the Psalmist, the Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his Works. But he exerciseth a more par­ticular Providence towards Mankind; and more peculiar yet towards those who study to please him, by obeying his Laws, and doing his Will. He that is assured of his own heart, that he loves God, and would do or suffer any thing for him, can have no cause to doubt but that God loves him, and is concerned for his Happiness. No Man was ever afraid of God, that [Page 412] was not conscious to himself that he had offended him, and by the wilful breach of his Laws had put himself out of the care of his Providence. But on the contrary, if our hearts give us this Testimony, that we have made it our sincere endeavour to please him, we are naturally apt to have good as­surance and confidence of his favour and good-wil [...] towards us. This com­fort the Mind of every good Man is apt to give him, from his own Rea­son, and the natural Notions which he hath of God.

But to free us from all doubt in this Matter, God himself hath told us so, and given us plentiful assurance of it in his word, Psal. 11. 7. The Righteous Lord loveth Righteousness, his countenance doth behold the upright; that is, he will be favourable unto them. Psal. 33. 18. Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him; upon them that hope in his mercy. The eye of God, signifies his watchful Care and Provi­dence over good Men. So that besides the sure and well-grounded Reasonings, from the Essential Perfections of the [Page 413] Divine Nature, the mercy and good­ness of God; we have a more sure word of Promise, in [...]the express declarations of God's Word, and more particularly in the case of great Temptations and Sufferings. For can we think, that the Scripture saith in vain, Wait on the Lord, and be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart? M [...]ny are the af­flictions of the Righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of all? The steps of a good Man are ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth in his ways; tho' he fall, he shall not utterly be cast down, for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand? The Salvation of the Righteous is of the Lord, he is their help in time of trouble. The same Promises we find in the New Testament. All things shall work together for good, to them that love God. God is faithful, who hath promised, that he will not suffer you to be tempted above what ye are able, but will with the temptation make a way to escape. And to mention no more; Hold fast the Profession of your Faith with­out wavering, he is faithful that bath Promised; viz. to support you under Sufferings, and to reward them.

[Page 414] Thus much for the first Point, name­ly, that when Men do suffer truly for the Cause of Religion, they may with confidence commit themselves to the more Peculiar Care of the Divine Pro­vidence.

FROM these words I proposed to Consider these three Points.

First, That when Men do Suffer really and truly for the Cause of Re­ligion, they may with confidence com­mit themselves (their Lives, and all [Page 416] that is dear to them) to the peculiar and more especial Care of the Divine Providence.

Secondly, This we may do always, provided that we be careful of our Duty, and do what is required on our Part; and that neither to avoid Suffer­ings, nor to rescue our selvesout of them, we do any thing contrary to our Duty and a good Conscience; for this is the meaning of committing our selves to God in well-doing.

Thirdly, To shew what Ground of Comfort and Encouragement the Con­sideration of God, under the Notion of a Faithful Creator, does afford to us, under all our Sufferings for a good Cause and a good Conscience.

The First of these Points I have treated on at large in my former Dis­course. I proceed now to the

Second, Namely, when in all our Sufferings for the Cause of Religion, we may with Confidence and good Assurance, commit our selves to the peculiar and more especial Care of [Page 417] God's Providence [...] This is to be un­derstood, always provided that we be careful of our Duty, and do what is required on our part; and that neither to avoid Sufferings, nor to rescue our selves out of them, we do any thing contrary to our Duty and a good Con­science. And this I told you was the meaning of committing our selves to God in well-doing; for if we either neglect our Duty, or step out of the Way of it, by doing things contrary to it, the Pro­vidence of God will not be concern'd to bear us out in such Sufferings. So that in our Sufferings for the Cause of God and Religion, to commit our selves to him in well-doing, may reaso­nably comprehend in it these follow­ing Particulars.

1. Provided always, that we neg­lect no lawful Means of our Preserva­tion from Sufferings, or our Delive­rance out of them: In this Case Men do not commit themselves to the Pro­vidence of God, but cast themselves out of his Care and Protection; they do not trust God, but tempt him, and do as it were try whether he will [Page 418] stand by us, when w [...] desert our selves; and bring us out of Trouble, when we would take no Care, would use no Endeavours to prevent it. If we will needlesly provoke Trouble, and run our selves upon sufferings; if we will neglect our selves, and the Lawful Means of our preservation; if we will give up, and part with those Securities of our Religion, which the Providence of God, and the Laws of our Country have given us; if we our selves will help to pull down the Fence which is about us; if we will dis­arm our selves, and by our own Act ex­pose our selves naked and open to Dan­ger and Sufferings; why should we think in this Case, that God will help us; when we would not help our selves, by those lawful Ways, which the Provi­dence of God had put into our hands?

All Trust in God, and Dependance upon his Providence, does imply, that we joyn Prayer and Endeavour toge­ther; Faith in God, and a prudent and diligent use of Means: If we la­zily trust the Providence of God, and so cast all our Care upon him, as to take none at all our selves, God will take [Page 419] no Care of us. In vain do we rely upon the Wisdom, and Goodness, and Power of God; in vain do we impor­tune and tire Heaven with our Pray­ers, to help us against our Enemies and Persecutors, if we our selves will do no­thing for our selves: In vain do we hope that God will maintain and de­fend our Religion, against all the se­cret Contrivances and open Assaults of our Enemies, if we, who are united in the Profession of the same Religi­on, and in all the Essentials of Faith and Worship, will for some small Differences in lesser Matters, which are of no moment, in Comparison of the things wherein we are agreed: I say, if for such slight matters, we will divide and fall out among our selves; if when the Enemy is at the Gates, we will still pursue our Heats and Animosities, and will madly keep open those Breaches, which were foolishly made at first; what can we expect, but that the common Enemy should take the Advantage, and enter in at them; and whilst we are so unseasonably and senselesly contending with one another, that they should take the [Page 420] Opportuity which we give them, to destroy us all.

2. Provided likewise, that we do not attempt our own Preservation or Deli­verance from Suffering, by evil and un­lawful Means: We must do nothing that is contrary to our Duty, and to a good Conscience; nor comply with any thing, or lend our helping Hand thereto, that apparently tends to the Ruin of our Re­ligion, neither to divert and put off Suffe­rings for the present, not to rescue our selves from under them; because we cannot with Confidence commit our selves to the Providence of God, but in well [...]doing.

This is an Eternal Rule, from whence we must in no Case depart, That men must do nothing contrary to the Rules and Precepts of Religion, no not for the sake of Religion it self: We must not break any Law of God, nor diso­bey the lawful Commands of lawful Authority, to free our selves from any Sufferings whatsoever; because the Goodness of no End can sanctifie Evil Means, and make them lawful: We must not speak deceitfully for God, nor [Page 421] lye, no not for the Truth; nor kill men, though we could thereby do God and Religion the greatest Service. And tho' all the Casuists in the World should teach the contrary Doctrine, (as they generally do in the Church of Rome) yet I would not doubt to oppose to all those the single Authority of St. Paul, who expresly condemns this Prin­ciple, and brands it for a d [...]mnable Doctrine, that Evil may be done by us, that Good may come. Rom. 3. 8. And not as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm thas we say, let us do evil, that good may come, whose damnation is just. St. Paul it seems looked upon it as a most devilish Calumny, to insinuate that the Christian Religion gives the least Countenance to such damnable Doctrines and Doings as these; and pronounceth their Damnation to be just, who either teach any such Principle as the Doctrine of Christianity, or practise according to it.

Let those look to it, who teach, That a right Intention, and a good End, will render things, which are o­therwise evil and unlawful, not only [Page 422] lawful to be done by us, but in many Cases meritorious; especially where the good of the Church, and the Ex­tirpation of Heresie are more immedi­ately concerned. Of this Nature are the Doctrines of Equivocation and Mental Reservation, and the Lawful­ness of such Artificial ways of Lying, to avoid the Danger of the Law, when they are brought before Hereti­cal Magistrates; and this is the com­mon Doctrine of the most learned Ca­suists of all Orders in the Church of Rome: And such likewise are their Do­ctrines, of the Law [...]ulness of extir­pating Hereticks, by the most barba­rous and bloody Means, and of break­ing Faith with them, tho' given by Emperours and Princes, in the most publick and solemn manner; both which are the avowed Doctrines of their General Councils, and have fre­quently been put in Practice, to the Destruction of many millions of Chri­stians, better and more righteous than them [...]elves. But we have not so l [...]arned Christ, who have heard him, and been taught by him, as the truth is in Je­sus. They who are rightly instructed [Page 423] in the Christian Religion, are so far from thinking it lawful to do any thing that is evil, to bring others under suf­fering, that they do not allow it in any Case whatsoever, no not for the Cause of God and Religion, and to free them­selves from the greatest Sufferings that can be inflicted upon them.

3. Provided also, that we do trust the Providence of God, and do indeed commit our selves to it; relying upon his Wisdom and Goodness, and entire­ly submitting and resigning up our selves to his Will and Disposal, both as to the Degree and the Duration of our Sufferings; believing that he will do that for us, which upon the whole matter, and in the final issue and re­sult of things, will be best for us. That Blessing, wherewith Moses the Man of God blest the People of Israel before his Death, doth belong to good Men in all Ages: He loveth his People, and all his Saints are in his hand: Deut. 33. 3. Innumerable are the Pro [...]ises in Scripture concerning the merciful Providence and Goodness of God, to­wards those who trust in him, and hope [Page 424] in his Mercy. Psal. 32. 10. Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: But he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about. Psal. 33. 18 [...] 19, 20, 21, 22. Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him: Upon them that hope in his mercy: To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul wait­eth for the Lord: he is our help and our shi [...]ld. For our heart shall rejoyce in him: Because we have trusted in his holy name. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, ac­cording as we hope in thee. Psal. 34. 22. The Lord redeemeth the soul of his ser­vants: And none of them that trust in him shall be desolate. Psal. 37. 39, 40. But th [...] salvation of the Righteous is of the Lor [...], he is their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them and deliver them: He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them because they trust in him. Psal. 31. 19. O how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the Sons of men! Psal. 55. 22. Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the right [...]ous to be moved. Psal. 125. 1. [Page 425] They that trust in th [...] Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but a [...]id [...]th for ever. Esa 26. 3, 4. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trus [...]eth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: For in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.

4. Provided yet further, that we pray earnestly to God for his Graci­ous Help and Assistance, for his mer­ciful Comfort and Support under Suf­ferings; that he would be pleased to strengthen our Faith, and to encrease and lengthen out our Patience, in pro­portion to the Degree and Duration of our Sufferings.

All the Promises which God hath made to us, are upon this Condition, that we earnestly seek and sue to him for the Benefit and Blessing of them. Psal. 50. 15. Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorifie me. Ezek. 36. 37. After a great Deliverance, and many Bles­sings promised to them, this Condi­tion is at last added, Thus saith the [Page 426] Lord God, I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them. And this likewise is the tenor of the Promises of the New Testa­ment, Mat. 7. 7. Ask, and it shall be gi­ven you: seek, and ye shall find: knock, and it shall be opened unto you. And in this very Case that I am speaking of, God expects that we should apply our selves to him, for Spiritual Wis­dom and Grace, to behave our selves under Sufferings as we ought: Jam. 1. 2, 3, 4. Where speaking of the manifold Temptations that Christians would be exercised withal; he directs them to pray to God for Wisdom to demean themselves under Persecutions, with Patience, and Constancy, and Chear­fulness, My Brethren account it all joy, when ye fall into divers Temptations; (meaning the Temptations and Try­als of Suffering in several kinds) Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have its perfect work. And because this is a very difficult Duty, and re­quires a great deal of Spiritual Skill, to demean our selves under Sufferings as we ought, therefore he adds in [Page 427] the next words: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that gi­veth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

And this earnest application we are to make to God, for his grace and sea­sonable help in time of need; not to put him in mind of his Promise, but to testifie our dependance upon him, and expectation of all good from him. And we must likewise use great importu­nity in our Prayers to God, to assist us and stand by us in the day of Trial, and the hour of Temptation. And therefore our Saviour heaps up seve­ral words, to denote the great earnest­ness and importunity which we ought to use in Prayer, bidding us to ask, and seek, and knock. And to shew that he lays more than ordinary weight upon this Matter, and to encourage our importunity, he spake two several Parables to this purpose; the first, Luke 11. 5. of the Man who by meer importunity prevailed with his Friend to rise at midnight to do him a kind­ness, which our Saviour applies to en­courage our importunity in Prayer, [Page 428] ver. 9. And I say unto you, ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. The o­ther is the Parable of the importunate Widow, and unjust Judge, related by the same Evangelist, Luke 18. 1. with this Preface to it; and he spake a Para­ble unto them to this end, that Men ought always to pray, and not to faint. And to speak the truth, they seem at first sight two of the oddest of all our Sa­viour's Parables, if the design of them were to insinuate to us that God is to be prevailed upon, by the meer importu­nity of our Prayers, to grant our Re­quests: but our Blessed Saviour, who best knew his own meaning, tells us, that all he design'd by it, was only to signifie, that we ought always to pray, and not to faint; that is, to continue instant in Prayer, and not to give over after once asking, as if we despaired of prevailing. Not that meer importu­nity prevails with God to give us those things which he is otherwise unwilling to grant; but because it becomes us to be fervent, and earnest, to testifie our Faith and Confidence in the goodness of God, and the deep sense we have of [Page 429] our own weakness, and wants, and unworthiness; and likewise that we set a true value upon the Blessings and Favours of God, as worth all the ear­nestness and importunity we can use: And in this decent and sober sense, the success of our Prayers may truly be said to depend upon our importunity; not that it is necessary to move God to grant our Requests, but that it be­comes us to be thus affected, that we may be the more fitly qualified for the Grace and Mercy which God is willing to confer upon us.

I have been the longer upon this, to give us a right notion of this matter, and that we may the more distinctly understand the true Reason why our Saviour does require so much earnest­ness and importunity of Prayer on our part; not at all to work upon God, and to dispose him to shew mercy to us (for that he is always inclinable to, when ever we are fit for it) but only to dispose and qualifie us to receive the grace and mercy of God, with greater advantage to our selves.

[Page 430] Fifthly, Provided moreover, that we be not confident of our selves, and of the force and strength of our own Re­solution. We know not our selves, nor the frailty and weakness of our own Resolution, 'till we are tried. 'Tis wise Advice which Solomon gives us, and never more seasonable than in the day of trial, Prov. 3. 5, 6, 7. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not to thine own understanding; in all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths; be not wise in thine own eyes; that is, be not conceited and confident of thine own wisdom and strength, or ability in any kind; there is a secret Providence of God, which mingles it self with the actions and spirits of Men, and disposeth of us unknown to our selves; and what we think to be the effect of our own strength and resolu­tion, of our own wisdom and contri­vance, proceeds from an higher Cause, which unseen to us, does steer and go­vern us. So the Wise Man observes, Prov. 20. 24. Man's goings are of the Lord, how can a Man then understand his own ways? And therefore we have rea­son every one to say with the Prophet, [Page 431] Jer. 10. 23. O Lord, I know that the way of Man is not in himself, it is not in Man that walketh to direct his steps. Our feet will soon slip, if God do not uphold us by his hand. Remember how shame­fully the chief of our Lord's Disciples miscarried, by too much confidence in himself, I mean St. Peter; in whose fall we may all see our own frailty; if God do but permit the Devil to have the winnowing of us, there will be a great deal of chaff found in the best of us. What St. Paul said of himself, 2 Cor. 12. 10. When I am weak, then am I strong, we shall all find true, when it comes to the trial; we are then strong­est, when, in a just sense of our own weakness, we rely most upon the strength and power of God.

Sixthly, Provided furthermore, that according to our ability we have been much in the exercise of Alms and Charity. For well-doing, or doing good, is sometimes taken in a narrower sense, not improper here to be mentioned, tho' perhaps not so particularly intend­ed here in the Text, for works of Cha­rity and Alms. As Heb. 13. 16. But to [Page 432] do good, and to communicate (that is, to the necessities of the Poor) forget not, for with such Sacrifices God is well plea­sed. This kind of well-doing is a spe­cial Preservative in times of Evil; there is no kind of Grace or Virtue to which there are in Scripture more spe­cial Promises made, of our Protection and Preservation from Evil and Suf­fering, of Support and Comfort under them, and Deliverance out of them, than to this of a Charitable and Com­passionate Consideration of those who labour under want or Suffering. Psal. 37. 3. Trust in the Lord, and do good, so shalt thou dwell in the Land, and verily thou shalt be fed: And ver. 19. speaking of Righteous or Merciful Men, They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, and in the days of Famine they shall be sa­tisfied. Psal. 41. 1, 2. Blessed is he that considereth the Poor, the Lord will de­liver him in time of trouble; the Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive, and he shall be blessed upon the Earth; and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his Enemies.

[Page 433] There are likewise in the Apocry­phal Books Excellent Sayings for the encouragement of Charity, as that which will be particularly considered and rewarded to us in the times of Danger and Distress, in the days of Affliction and Suffering, Tob. 4. 7, 8, 9, 10. Give Alms of thy substance, and turn not thy face from any Poor Man, and the face of God shall not be turned away from thee; if thou hast abundance, give Alms accordingly, if thou hast but a little, be no [...] afraid to give according to that little, for thou layest up for thy self a good treasure against the day of necessity, because that Alms do deliver from death, and suffereth not to come into darkness. Ecclus. 3. 31. Speaking of him that gives Alms, and is ready to do Kindness to others, He is mindful of that which may come hereaf­ter; and when he falleth he shall find a stay. And, Chap. 29. 11, 12, 13. Lay up thy treasure according to the Command­ment of the most High, and it shall bring thee more profit than Gold, shut up alms in thy store-houses, and it shall deliver thee from all affliction, it shall fight for [Page 434] thee against thine Enemies, better than a mighty shield, and strong spear.

I have often said it, and am verily perswaded of it, that one of the best [...]igns of Gods Mercy and Favour to this poor Nation, is, that God hath been pleased of late years to stir up so gene­ral a disposition in Men to works of Alms and Charity, and thereby to re­vive the Primitive Spirit of Christi­anity, which so eminently abounded in this Grace, and taught those who believed in God, to be careful to maintain and pract [...]se good works. And nothing gives me greater hopes that God hath Mercy still in store for us, than that Men are so ready to shew Mercy; there are great Objects to exercise our Charity upon in this time of the gene­ral suspension of Trade and Business, from an apprehension of approaching troubles; by reason whereof, both the numbers and the necessities of the Poor are greatly and daily increased among us; and besides the Poor of our own Nation, God hath sent us great numbers from abroad; I mean those who are fled hither for shelter, from [Page 435] that violent storm of Persecution which hath lately fallen upon them for the Cause of our common Religion. Ac­cording to the compassion we shew to them, we may expect that God will either preserve us from the like Suffer­ings, or graciously support us under them. What do we know, but that God is now trying us, and hath pur­posely put this opportunity into our hands, of preventing, or mitigating, or shortning our own Sufferings, accord­ing as we extend our Charity and Pity to those who have suffered so deeply for the Cause of God, and his truth.

Seventhly, Provided in the last place, and above all, that we be sincere in our Religion, and endeavour to be universally good, and holy in all man­ner of Conversation, and to abound in all the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, to the praise and glory of God. This is the largest sense of well­doing, and the most necessary of all the rest, to prepare us for Sufferings, and to give us Courage and Constancy under them; and likewise to engage the Providence of God to a tender care [Page 436] of us, and Concernment for us, if he shall [...]ee it fit to bring us into a State of Suffering.

But if we live in open Contempt and Violation of God's Laws, if we make no Conscience of our Ways and Acti­ons, we cannot possibly have any well grounded Trust and Confidence in God, for he hates all the workers of iniquity, and his Providence sets it self against them for evil. Bad Men draw many Mischiefs and Inconveniencies upon themselves, as the Natural Con­sequence of their Actions; but besides this, the Vengeance of God haunts and pursues Evil-doers, and his just Providence many times involves them in many Difficulties and Dangers, be­sides and beyond the Natural Course of things: Upon the wicked (says David) he will rain snares: So that as ever we expect the comfortable Effects of the Divine Care and Providence, we must live in a dutiful Obedience to God's Holy Will and Laws.

Bad Men may make a Profession of the true Religion, and may in some [Page 437] sort believe it, tho' they do not live according to it; and yet perhaps for all this, out of meer Generosity and Obstinacy of Mind, they cannot bear to be threatned and terrified out of the Profession of the Truth; and will endure a great deal of Trouble and Inconvenience, before they will renounce it; knowing themselves to be so far in the Right, that they stand for the Truth, and hoping per­haps thereby to make some amends for their bad Practice. But when all is done, nothing gives a Man true Courage and Resolution, like the Te­stimony of our own Hearts, concern­ing our own Sincerity, and the Con­science of well-doing. And on the contrary, he that hath not the Reso­lution and Patience to mortifie his Lusts, and to restrain his Appetites, and to subdue his irregular Passions, for the sake of God and Religion, will not easily bring himself to submit to great Sufferings upon that Account. There is considerable Difficulty in the Practice of Religion, and the resolute Course of a Holy Life; but surely it is much easier to live as Religion [Page 438] requires we should do, than to lay down our Lives for it; and (as I have told you upon another Occasion) he that cannot prevail with himself to live like a Saint, will much more hardly be perswaded to die a Martyr. I pro­ceed to the

Third Point, namely, what ground of Comfort and Encouragement the Consideration of God under the Noti­on of a faithful Creator, does afford to us under all our Sufferings for a good Censcience and a good Cause. Let them that suffer according to the will of God, commit the keeping of their Souls to him, in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator. And in this I shall be very brief.

And this is a firm ground of Com­fort and Encouragement to us, under all our Sufferings for God, to consider him as the Author of our Beings, or as it is exprest in the Text, as a faithful Creator; one that is not fickle and in­constant in his Affection and Kindness to his Creatures; but is true to his own Design, and will not abandon and forsake [Page 439] the Work of his own Hands: So great a Benefit as that of our Beings, free­ly conferr'd upon us, is but an earnest of God's further Kindness to us, and Fu­ture care of us; if by our ill Carriage towards him, we do not render our selves unworthy and incapable of it: That we are God's Creatures, is a Demonstration that he hath Kindness for us; if he had not, he would never have made us; as it is excellently said in the Wisdom of Solomon, Cap. 11. 23. 24. Thou hast mercy upon all, for thou lovest all the things that are, and abhorrest nothing which thou hast made: For never wouldst thou have made any thing, if thou hadst hated it. And ver. 26. Thou sparest all, for they are thine, O Lord, thou lover of Souls.

To whom then may be with so much Confidence commit our selves, as to him who freely gave us our Be­ing? From whom may we expect so tender a Regard and Consideration, of our Case, and all the Circumstan­ces of it; as from this great Founder and Benefactor? For he that made us knows our Frame, and whereof we are [Page 440] made, and how much we are able to bear; he considers our Strength, or rather our Weakness, and what Cou­rage and Resolution he hath endued us withal, and what Comfort and Support we stand in need of in the day of Tribulation. And as they who make Armour, are wont to try that which they think to be good and well temper'd, with a stronger Charge, not to break and hurt it, but to prove and praise it. So God exerciseth those whom he hath fitted and t [...]mpered for it, with manyfold Temptations, that the tryal of their faith, as St. Peter ex­presseth it, 1 Pet. 1. 7. being much more precious th [...]n of gold tried in the Fir [...], may be found unto praise, and honour, and glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

So that this Consideration that we are God's Creatures, does (as I may say) oblige him in Faithfulness to his own Act, and in Consequence of his bringing us into Being at first, to be concern'd for us afterwards, so as never to abandon us, nor quite to take away his loving-kindness and Mercy from us; till we are good for [Page 441] nothing, and do in a manner cease to be what he made us, that is Reasonable Creatures. A Person or People must have proceeded to the utmost degree of degeneracy, when God will consi­der them no longer as his Creatures, nor shew any Pity or Favour to them; things must be come to ex­tremity, when God deals thus with us, as he threatned the People of Is­sr [...]el, Isa. 27. 11. When the boughs are withered, they shall be broken off, and set on fire: for it is a People of no under­standing: therefore he that made them, will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them, will shew them no fa­vour.

And now I have done with the three Points which I proposed to handle from this Text, and the Discourse which I have made upon them, does all along apply it self, by dir [...]cting us how we ought to commit our selves to the Pro­vidence of God, in all Cases of Dan­ger and Suffering, especially for the Cause of God and his Truth, viz. in the faithful discharge of our Duty and a good Conscience, and by a firm [Page 442] Trust and Confidence in the Wisdom and Goodness of the D [...]vine Providence, not doubting but that he who made us, and knows our frame, will have a tender Care of us, and not suffer us to be tempt­ed above what we are able.

And as to our present Danger, and that Terrible Storm which threatens us, let us pray to God, if it be his will, to divert it; but if otherwise he hath de­termined, to fit and prepare us for it. And let us be fervent and earnest in our Prayers to him; not that he is mo­ved by our importunity, but that we may thereby be qualified and made fit to receive the Mercy which we beg of him.

And let us take this Occasion to do that which we should have done with­out it, to brea [...] off our Sins by Repen­tance, and to turn every one of us from the evil of our ways [...] that hereby we may render God propitious to us, and put our selves under the more imme­diate Care and Protection of his Provi­dence; that we may prevent his Judg­ments, and turn away his wrath and [Page 443] displeasure from us, as he did once from a great and sinful City and Peo­ple, upon their sincere Humiliation and Repentance, Jonah 3. 10. where it is said of the People of Niniveh, That God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way, and God repented of the evil that he had said that he would do unto them, and he did it not. Above all, let us be sincere in the profession of our Religion, and conscientious in the Practice of it; nothing will bear us up under great Trials and Sufferings, like the testi­mony of a good Conscience, void of of­fence towards God and Men.

I will conclude this whole Dis­course with those Apostolical Bles­sings and Prayers, Colos. 1. 10, 11. That ye may walk worthy of the Lord, unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, strengthned with all might, according to his glorious Power, unto all patience, and long-suffering, with joyfulness. And 2 Thes. 2. 16, 17. Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God even our Father, who hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting Consolation [Page 444] and good hope through Grace, comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word, and work. To him be Glory and Dominion, for Ever, and Ever,

Amen.

THese words our Blessed Saviour spake of himself, whilst he was upon Earth; in which he tells us, that he was sent by God into the World, and had a certain Work and Imployment appointed him during his Abode in it. A great Work indeed! to instruct, and reform, and save Mankind. [Page 446] A Work of great Labour, and Pains, and Patience, not to be done in a short time; and yet the time for do­ing it was not long after he came into the World: It was a good while be­fore he began it, and after he began it, the time of Working was not long, before the Night came and put an End to it: I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: The night cometh when no man can work.

But this which our Saviour here speaks of himself, and which properly belongs to him, and no other; may ye [...] be accommodated to every Man, with some Allowance for the Diffe­rence and Disproportion. For tho' every Man be not sent by God into the World, after so peculiar a manner, and upon so particular and vast a De­sign: Yet upon a general Account, every Man is sent by God into this World, and hath a Work given him to do in it, which he is concern'd vigo­rously to mind and to prosecute with all his Might. And tho' every Man be not sent to save the whole World, as the Son of God was, yet every Man is sent by God [Page 447] into the World, to work out his own Sal­vation, and to take Care of that in the first Place, and then to promote the Salvation of others, as much as in him lies. So that every one of us may, in a very good Sense, accommo­date these Words of our Saviour to himself: I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: The night cometh when no man can work.

I shall therefore at this time take the Liberty to handle these words ac­cording to this moral Accommodation of them, and apply what our Saviour here says of himself to every Man that cometh into the World: And this I shall do, by shewing these three things.

First, That every Man hath a Work assigned him to do in this World, by him that sent him into it; and may in some Sense say, as our Blessed Saviour did of himself, I must work the works of him that sent me.

Secondly, That there is a certain and [Page 448] limited time for every Man to do this Work in. While it is day.

Thirdly, That after this Season is ex­pired, the [...]e will be no further Opor­tunity of working. The Night cometh when no man can work.

First, Every Man hath a Work as­signed him to do in this World, by him that sent him into it; and may in some sense say, as our Blessed Sav [...]our did of himself; I must work the works of him that [...]ent me. God who made man a reasonable Creature, and hath endowed him with Faculties, where­by he is capable of knowing and ser­ving him; hath appointed him a Work and Service suitable to these Faculties: And having infused an im­mortal Soul into this Earthy Body, hath certainly designed him for a State beyond this Life, in which he shall be for ever happy or miserable, according as he useth and demeans him­self in this World.

So that the Work which every one of us hath to do in this World, is to [Page 449] prepare, and fit our selves for that E­ternal Duration which remains for us after Death: For the Life which we live now in this World, is a time of Exercise, a short state of Probation and Tryal, in order to a durable and end­less state, in which we shall be im­mutably [...]ixt in another World. This World, into which we are now sent for a little while, is as it were God's School, in which immortal Spirits, clo­thed with Flesh, are trained and bred up for Eternity; and therefore the best, the only sure way to be happy for ever, is, so to improve the short and uncertain time of this Life, that we may approve our selves to God in this World, and enjoy him in the next; or (as St. Paul expres­seth it) that having our fruit unto Ho­liness, our end may be everlasting Life.

And this Work consists in these three things.

First, In the Care of our own Salva­tion.

Secondly, In doing what we can, to promote the Salvation of others.

Thirdly, And in order to both these, in the careful Improvement and good Husbandry of our time.

[Page 450] First, In the Care of our own Salva­tion. And this consists in two things.

1. In the Worship of Almighty God.

2. In the careful and conscientious Practice and Obedience of his Holy Laws.

1. The Care of our own Salvation con­sists in the pious and devout Worship of Almighty God; that we honour him, and pay him that Homage and Respect, which is due from Creatures to him that made them, and is the great Sove­raign, and Judge of the World; that we have an inward Reverence and E­steem of him, and that we express this by all solemn externalacknowledgments of him; as by praying to him for the sup­ply of our Wants; by praising him for all the Blessings and Benefits which we have received at his Hands; and that we set apart constant and solemn times for the Performance of these Duties; and that when we are employed in them, we be serious, and hearty, and attentive to what we are about, and perform every part of Divine Worship with those Cir­cumstances of Reverence and Respect, which may testifie our awful Sense of [Page 451] the Divine Majesty, and our inward and profound Veneration of him, with whom we have to do. And this is that which is directly and properly Reli­gion.

2. This Care of our own Salvation, does consist likewise in the conscienti­ous and constant Obedience and Pra­ctice of all God's Holy Laws, in the Conformity of our Lives and Actions to the Laws which he hath given us, whether they be natural or written up­on our Hearts, or made known to us by the Revelation of his Word; that we govern our Passions by Reason, and moderate our selves in the use of sen­sual Delights, so as not to transgress the Rules of Temperance and Chasti­ty; that we demean our selves to­wards others, and converse with them with Justice and Fidelity, with Kindness and Charity.

These are the Sum of the Divine Laws, and the Heads of our Duty to­wards our selves and others; all which are more powerfully enforced upon us, by the Revelation of the Gospel, and the plain Promises and Threatnings of it; the Faith of Christ being the most firm and effectual Principle both of Piety [Page 452] towards God, and of Universal O­bedience to all his particular Com­mands.

And this is the great work which God hath sent us to do in the World; so the Wise Man sums up our Duty, Eccl. 12. 13. Fear God, and keep his com­mandments, for this is the whole duty of man. The Fear and Reverence of the Divine Majesty, is the great Foundati­on and Principle of Religion, but Obe­dience to God's Laws is the Life and Practice of it. God does not expect that we should spend the greatest part of our time, in the immediate Acts of Religion, and in the solemn Duties of his Worship and Service, but only that we should allot a fitting Proportion of our time to these, according to the Cir­cumstances of our Condition in this World, and the Example of Holy and Good Men that are in the like Circum­stances with our selves: For such is the Goodness of God, that he does not only allow us to provide for the Ne­cessities and Conveniencies of this Life, but hath made it our Duty so to do. It is one of the Precepts of the Gospel, which the Apostle chargeth the Bishops and Teachers of the Gospel to inculcate [Page 453] frequently upon Christians, that they which have believed in God, should be careful to maintain good works; that is, to employ themselves in the works of an honest Calling for necessary uses; that is, for the support of their Families, and the relief of those who are in want and necessity. And the Apostle lays great weight and stress upon this, as a very great Duty, Tit. 3. 8. This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God, might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto Men; that is, of general benefit and advantage to Mankind.

So that no Man's Calling is a hin­drance to Religion, but a part of it; and by performing the Duties of Piety in their proper Seasons, and spending the rest of our time in any honest and useful Employment, we may make our whole Life a perpetual serving of God; we may glorifie God in our eat­ing and drinking, and in all other law­ful and useful actions of Life; in ser­ving the Occasions and Necessities of Life, with Sobriety and Temperance, and in managing our Worldly Commerce [Page 454] with Justice and Integrity, we may serve God, and perform consider­able Duties of Religion.

So that provided we do nothing that is sinful, and manage the Actions and Concernments of this Life, with a due regard and subserviency to the great interests of Eternity, we may do the work of God all the while we are pro­viding for our selves, and employed in the works of an honest Calling: For God, who hath designed this Life in order to the other, considers the ne­cessities of our present state, and al­lows us to make provision for it.

There are some Persons indeed, whose Birth and Condition sets them above the common Employments of Life, and the Works of an ordinary Calling: But these also have a work given them to do; for God hath sent no Man into the World to no purpose, and only to take his pastime therein; neque enim ita generati sumus à natura, ut ad ludum & jocum facti esse videa­mur; sed ad severitatem potius, & quae­dam studia graviora atque majora; for [...]e are not (says Tully de Off. Lib. 1.) so framed by Nature, as if we were made for sport and jest; but for more serious [Page 455] Employments, and for greater and weigh­tier business; and those who are tied to no particular Calling, may allow so much larger portions of their time to Religion, and the Service of God; and God likewise expects from them, that they should be useful to Mankind in some higher and nobler way, ac­cording to the publickness of their sta­tion, and influence. Such Persons may be serviceable to their Country, and the Affairs of Government, and in the care of publick Justice, and may em­ploy their time in preparing and ren­dring themselves more fit for this Ser­vice. They may find a great deal of work to do in the good government of their Families, and in the prudent care and management of their Estates, and in reconciling differences among their Neighbours, and in considering the necessities of the Poor, and providing for their supply.

So that besides the proper work of Religion, and the more immediate Ser­vice of God, every Man in the World, how exempt soever his Condition be from the common care an [...]gdrudgery of Humane Life, may find work e [...]ough wherein he may usefully employ all his [Page 456] time, and provide for his own, and for the common benefit of Mankind: And God expects it as a Duty from such, that every Man should employ himself in some work or other, suitable to the station in which God hath pla­ced him in this World.

Secondly, The work which God hath given us to do in the World, consists in doing what we can to further and promote the Salvation of others: This chiefly lies upon us, who are the Mi­nisters of God, and to whom the word of Reconciliation is committed. We are more especially Commissioned and Ap­pointed for this work, and are Ambas­sadors for Christ, to beseech Men in his stead to be reconciled to God. We are sent by God in a more peculiar man­ner, and appointed for this very work, to watch for Mens Souls, and to be the Instruments and Means of their Eternal Happiness. And there­fore we who are sent by God in a more peculiar manner, and have this work assigned to us to do in the World, ought to be very vigorous and indu­strious in i [...] [...] And this, whether we consider the Nature of our Employ­ment, or the Glorious Reward of it.

[Page 457] First, If we consider the Nature of our Employment, both in respect of the Honour and the Happiness of it; 'tis the most Honourable work that Mortal Man can be employed in; 'tis the same in kind, and in the main end and design o [...] it with that of the Blessed Angels, for we also are Mini­string Spirits, sent forth by God to Mi­nister, for the good of those who shall be heirs of Salvation. We are the Mes­sengers and Ambassadors of God to Men, sent to treat with them about the terms of their Peace and Reconciliation with God, to offer Salvation to them, and to direct them to the best ways and means of procuring it. Nay, we have the Honour to be employed in the very same work that the Son of God was, when he was upon Earth, to see [...] and to save them that are lost; and to call Sinners to Repentance; and to carry on that work, whereof he him­self [...]aid the Foundation when he was in the World. And what greater Ho­nour can be put upon the Sons of Men, than to help forward that glori­ous Design and Undertaking of the Son of God, for the Salvation of Man­kind.

[Page 458] And 'tis an Employment no less Happy than Honourable; 'tis not to drudge about the mean and low Con­cernments of this Life, a perpetual toil and care about what we shall eat and drink, and wherewithal we shall be cloath­ed, which is the business of a Worldly Employment; but it is a direct and immediate seeking of the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness, and a con­tinual endeavour to promote these. It does not consist in the labour of our Body, and in Bodily toil; but in the delightful exercise of our Minds, about the best and noblest Objects, God, and Heaven, and Eternity; in an ear­nest and faithful endeavour by all wise ways and means to gain Souls to God, and to turn Sinners from the error of their ways, and to prevent their Eter­nal Ruine and Destruction; and next to the procuring of our own Happi­ness, to be instrumental to the Hap­piness of others, which is certainly the most pleasant and noble work that we can possibly be employed in; especial­ly if we consider, that by the very nature of our Employment, we do at the same time, and by the very same means, carry on both these designs, of [Page 459] the Salvation of our selves, and o­thers. So St. Paul tells Timothy, when he exhorts him upon this very Conside­ration, to give hi [...]self wholly to this Blessed Work; because, says he, in doing this, thou shalt both save thy self, and them that hear thee, 1 Tim. 4. 16. And when two of the greatest and best designs in the World, our own Hap­piness, and the Salvation of others, do so happily meet in one, and are jointly carried on by the same labour; this ought to be a great spur and incite­ment to us, to be vigorous and un­wearied, and abundant in the work of the Lord; and a mighty encourage­ment to us to preach the word, to be in­stant in season, and out of season, and to be Examples to others, in Word, in Conversation, in Charity, in Spirit, in Faith, in Purity; as St. Paul chargeth Timothy in the most solemn and aw­ful manner, before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing, and his Kingdom, 1 Tim. 4. 12. and 2 Tim. 4. 1. And then,

Secondly, If we consider the glorious Reward of this work. If we be Faith­ful and Industrious in it, it will advance [Page 460] us to a higher degree of Glory and Happiness in the other World: They that be wise (says the Prophet, Dan. 12. 3.) shall shine as the brightness of the Firmament, and they that turn ma­ny to righteousness, as the Stars for ever and ever. They that are industrious in this work, as they are worthy of double honour in this World, so they shall shine with a double glory and lustre in the other.

But tho' this work of promoting the Salvation of others, be chiefly incum­bent upon those whose Office it is to attend upon this very thing; yet we are all of us concerned in it, accord­ing to the advantages and opportuni­ties we have for it. Every Man is concerned to help forward the Salva­tion of his Brother, and not to let him perish, if he can help it; and it is in every Man's power to contribute some­thing to this Blessed Work of saving others, by seasonable Counsel and Ad­vice, by kind and gentle reproof, but especially by a Holy and Exemplary Conversation, by a shining Virtue, which hath a silent power of perswa­sion, and I know not what secret [Page 461] charm and attraction to draw and al­lure others to the imitation of it.

Thirdly, And in order to both these, the saving of our selves, and others, this work which God hath given us to do in the World, consists in the care­ful use and good husbandry of our time; for without this, neither of the other can be promoted and carried on to any purpose. Time is the season and opportunity of carrying on of any work, and for that reason is one of the most valuable things; and yet nothing is more wastfully spent, and more prodigally squandred away by a great part of Mankind than this, which next to our Immortol Souls is of all other things most precious; because upon the right use or abuse of our time, our Eternal Happiness or Misery does de­pend. Men have generally some guard upon themselves, as to their Mony and Estates, and will not with eyes open suffer others to rob and deprive them of it; but we will let any body al­most rob us of our time, and are con­tented to expose this precious Treasure to every bodies rapine and extortion; and can quietly look on, whilst Men thrust in their hands, and take it out [Page 462] by whole handfuls, as if it were of no greater value than Silver was in Solo­mon's days, no more than the stones in the street. And yet when it is gone, all the Silver and Gold in the World cannot purchase and fetch back the least moment of it, when perhaps we would give all the World for a very small part of that time, which we parted with upon such cheap and easie terms.

Good God! what a stupid and sense­less Prodigality is this! do we consider what we do, when we give away such large portions of our time to our ease and pleasure, to diversion and idleness, to trifling and unprofitable Conversa­tion, to the making and receiving of impertinent visits, and the usual and almost inseparable attendants thereof, spiteful observations upon them that are present, and slandering and back­biting those that are absent; (For the great design of most People in visits, is not to better one another, but to spie and make faults, and not to mend them; to get time off their hands, to shew their fine Cloaths, and to recommend themselves to the mutual contempt of one another, by a plentiful imperti­n [...]nce;) when we part with it by wholesale [Page 463] in sleep and dressing, and can spend whole Mornings between the Comb and the Glass, and the After­noon at Plays, and whole Nights in Gaming, or in Riot, and Lewdness, and Intemperance; in all which People com­monly wast their Mony and their time together!

Nay how do even the best of us misplace this precious Treasure; and tho' we do not employ it to wic­ked purposes, and in Works of Iniqui­ty, yet we do not apply it to the best and noblest use, to the Glory of God, and the Good and Salvation of Men! By thus laying out this Treasure, we might lay up for our selves treasures in heaven, and help others on in the Way thither.

Thus our Blessed Saviour employed his precious time, in going about doing good, in all kinds and upon all Occasi­ons, healing the Bodies, and enlightning the Minds, and saving the souls of men: This was his Business, and this was his delight; it was his meat and drink, and his very Life, he spent himself in it, and sacrificed his Ease, and his Safety, and his Life to these great Ends, for which he came into the World; he [Page 464] considered the Goodness and the Greatness of his work, and the little time he had to do it in, which made him incessantly industrious in it, and to run the Race which was set before him with great speed, and to work while it was day, because he knew the night would come when no man can work. And this brings me to the

Second thing, I observed from the Text, namely, that there is a certain and limited time for every man to do this Work in, while it is day: I must work the works of him that sent me, whilst it is day. And this day comprehends all the Oportunities of our Life, which will soon be over, and therefore had need to be well spent. A great part of our Life is past, before the Sea­son of Working begins; it is a great while before the use of our Reason begins, and we come to have our Sen­ses exercised to discern between Good and Evil; be [...]ore our Understandings are ripe for the serious Consideration of God and Religion, and for the due Care of our Souls, and of the Eternal Con­cernment of another World; so that this first part of our Life is in a great Measure useless, and unprofitable to [Page 465] us, in regard to our great Design. For Infancy and Childhood are but the Dawnings of this Day, and no fit time to work in; and Youth, which is as the Morning of this day, tho' it is the Flower of our Time, and the most pro­per season of all other for the Remem­brance of God, and the Impressions of Religion; yet it is usually possest by Vanity and Vice; the common Custom and Practice of the World, hath devo­ted this best part of our Age to the worst Employments, to the Service of Sin and of our Lusts. How very few are there that lay hold of this Opportu­nity, and employ it to the best Purpo­ses! And yet the following Course of our Lives, doth in a great measure de­pend upon it; for most Persons do con­tinue and hold on in the Way in which they set out at first, whether it be good or bad. And those who neglect to im­prove this first Opportunity of their Lives, do seldom recover thems [...]lves af­terwards. God's Grace may seize upon Men in any part of their Lives; but ac­cording to the most ordinary Methods of it, the Foundations and Principles of Religion and Virtue are most com­monly laid in a pious and virtuous Education. [Page 466] This is the great Opportunity of our Lives, which setleth and fixeth most Men, either in a good or bad Course; and the Fortune of their whole Lives does usually follow it, and de­pend upon it.

'Tis true indeed our Day continues many times a great while longer, and we are to work while it continues; and 'tis never too late to begin to do well, and to enter upon a good Course: but there is no such proper and advantagi­ous Season for the beginning of this work, as in our youth and tender years. This is the accepted time, this is the day of salvation. God's Grace is then most for­ward and ready to assist us; and we are then least of all indisposed for the receiv­ing of the Impressions of it; and the Im­pressions of it do then go deepest into our minds, and are most lasting and du­rable. But if we neglect this Opportunity, we provoke God by Degrees to with­draw his Grace, and to take away his ho­ly Spirit from us, and by degrees we set­tle in vicious Habits, and are every day more and more hardned through the deceit­fulness of sin. It is never too late to work while the day lasts; but the sooner we be­gin this work, and set about it in good [Page 467] earnest, the easier we shall find it; if we defer it late, every step will be up the Hill, and against the Grain.

Thirdly, After this Season is expired, there will be no [...]urther Oportunity of working; when this day is once at an end, then cometh the night when no man can work. The Night is a time unfit for work, when we can hardly do any thing, if we had never so great mind to it; and there is such a Night coming upon every one of us, and Wo be to us if we have our work to do when the Night overtakes us.

There is usually an Evening before this Night, when it will be very difficult for us, and next to impossible, to do this work; and this is the time of Sick­ness and Old Age, in which men are com­monly unfit for any work; but most of all that which requires the whole force and vigour of our Minds, the business of Religion. If we attempt this work then, we shall go very heartlesly about it, and do it very imperfectly, and be forc'd to slubber it over, and to huddle it up in great haste and confusion, and so as we can hardly hope that God will accept it. For how unfit are Men to do any thing, when they are full of the Sense of their [Page 468] own Infirmities, and Life it self is be­come so great a Burthen to them, that they are hardly fit to stand under it! how uncapable shall we then be of doing the greatest and most momentous work of our Lives, when our Faculties are almost quite spent and worn out, and all the Powers of Life ar [...] decayed in us; when our Understandings are dark and dull, our Memories frail and treacherous, and our hearts hard & deceitful above all things! When Sickness and old Age overtake us, we shall then find to our sorrow, that sufficient for that day is the evil thereof; we shall have need then of nothing else to do, but to bear our Infirmities with patience and decency; and it is well if we can rally together of the broken Forces of our Reason, so much as may be a sufficient Guard to us against Pee­vishness and Discontent; we had need then have nothing else to do, but to be old and weak, to be sick and die.

Besides, how can we expect that God should accept of any work that we do at such a time? with what face can we put off God with the dregs of our Life? or how can we hope that he will be pleased with the service of those years, which we our selves take no pleasure [Page] in? if we offer the lame in Sacrifice, is it not evil? and if we offer the blind, is it not evil? offer it now to thy Gover­nour, and see if he will be pleased with thee?

And Sickness is commonly as bad a time as Old Age, and usually in [...]um­ber'd with greater Difficulties, and clog'd with more Indispositions. If a violent Distemper seize upon us, it ma­ny times takes away the use of our Rea­son, and deprives us of all opportunity of Consideration; it makes us both in­sensible of the danger of our Condition, and incapable of using the means to a­void it. And if we have neglected Reli­gion before, and have put off the great work of our Life to the end of it, our opportunity is irrevocably lost; for there is nothing to be done in Religion, when our Reason is once departed from us; the night is then come indeed, and darkness hath overtaken us; and tho' we be still alive, yet are we as unfit for any work, as if we were naturally dead.

And this is no such rare and extraor­dinary Case; for it happens to many; and every Man that wilfully defers the work of Religion and Repentance to a [Page 470] hour, hath Reason to fear that he shall be thus surprized in his Sin, and Security, and by the just Judgment of God deprived of all the opportunity of Life and Salvation, while he is yet in the Land of the Living.

But if God be more merciful unto us, and visit us with such a Sickness, as leaves us the use of our Understandings; yet all that we do in Religion at such a time, proceeds from so violent a Cause, from the present terror of Death, and the dreadful apprehension of that Eternal Misery which is just ready to swallow us up, that it is one of the hardest things in the World, not only for others, but even for our selves, to know whether our Resolutions, and this sudden and hasty Fit of Repentance be sincere or not. For it is natural, and almost unavoidable, for a Man to Re­pent and be sorry for what he hath done, when he is going to Execution: But the Great Question is, what this Man would do, if his-Life were spa­red? whether his Repentance would hold good, and he would become a new Man, and change his former course of Life, or relapse into it again? And it is by no means certain, that he [Page 471] would not be as bad as he was before: Because we see many, who, when they lie upon a Sick Bed, give all imagina­ble testimony of a deep Sorrow, and a hearty Repentance for their Sins, who yet upon their Recovery return to their former Sins with a greater appe­tite, and make themselves ten times more the Children of wrath than they were before. So that all the work that we can do at such a time, ought not to be much reckoned upon, and can give us little or no Comfort; because it is so infinitely uncertain whether it be real and sincere, and whether the effect of so violent a Cause would last and con­tinue, if the Cause were removed. Therefore we should work while it is day; for whatever we do in this Evening of our Lives, will be done with very great diffi­culty, and with very doubtful success.

But besides this Evening, there is a night coming when no man can work; Death will seize upon us, and then our state will be irrecoverably concluded; after that it will be impossible for us to do any thing towards our own Salvati­on, or to have any thing done for us by others; the Prayers of the living will not avail the dead, as the Tree falls so it [Page 472] lies; there is no wisdom, nor counsel, nor de­vice in the grave whither we are going; therefore, according to the Counsel of the Wise Man, what our hand findeth to do, let us do it with our might.

This Counsel concerns all Ages and Persons. I will apply it to the young, in the words of the wise Preacher, Eccles. 12. 1. Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou sh [...]lt say, I have no pleasure in them. To them who are in the vigour of their Age, in the words of the Prophet, Isa. Ch. 55. 6. Seek the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near. And to them that are old, in the words of another Prophet, Jer. 13. 16. Give glory to the Lord your God, before he causeth darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark Mountains, and while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness. And let us every one of us, of what Age or Condition soever, apply it to our selves, in the words of our Blessed Saviour here in the Text, I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is Day: the Night cometh, when no Man can work.