and Recollection of Thought which our Publick Prayers command and without which we shall offer but the Sacrifice of Fools The more Men are affected with the Prayers of a Family at home the more sacred and awful will the publick Service in the House of God appear to them if attentive and devout there much more so here and the more they feel the Comfort of joint Devotions in their own Houses the more desirous will they be of and the more benefited and refreshed by the Harmony of a full Choir of Saints in the Holy Temple I 'm afraid this pious Custom is now-a-days too much neglected some grudging to take so much Time from their other Employments as this Duty requires and others on Evenings especially making themselves unfit for the Performance of it by tarrying long at the Wine and enflaming themselves with Strong Drink and some truly thinking it too precise and puritanical a Thing to be practis'd now-a-days But these last should have a Care how they throw ill Names upon what our Religion has made our Duty and what has all along been observ'd by the best Men in the World and they would do well to consider those Words of our Lord Mark 8.38 Whosoever shall be asham'd of me and of my Words in this adulterous and sinful Generation of him also shall the Son of Man be asham'd when he cometh in the Glory of his Father and of the Holy Angels Is it a fitting Reason that a thing so excellent as this should be despis'd and disus'd because those that in other Matters dissent from us are so careful to observe it Let their Piety in this Instance rather shame us into Amendment that we may be behind them in no Good Work and leave them no Occasion of Caviling and making Objections against our Church by reason of the careless indifferent Religion of some that are of our Communion In particular this Neglect of Family-Devotions is often thrown in our Teeth and the best way to take off the Aspersion is heartily to set about the Practice of the Duty 'T is our great Happiness were we duly sensible of it that we are Members of the most Primitive Church in the World and the greatest Encouragers of True Piety and Religion and methinks we should be very careful had we any Love for this Church any desire that it should flourish and prosper not to disparage it by our so disagreeable Conversation Other Sects and Parties we see extraordinary diligent to gain Honour and Reputation by all means to their Profession that their Antagonists may discover no Flaw or Indecency no Breach of the Orders and Customs they have embrac'd while we that have the best Cause are generally the worst Managers of it For Shame let us at length grow wise and live up to what we profess in this and every other Particular and transcribe the excellent Rules of our Church in our Conversation let us act like true Sons of the Church of England as well as talk as such and then no Doubt but God and his Truth will prevail We are as a City built upon a Hill a Light set in an eminent Place many envious Eyes are upon us and rejoyce to see our Taper burn dim and our City defil'd by Wickedness and Impurity wherefore we should be the more careful to trim our Lamps and purge out our Stains and shine brightly in the midst of a crooked and perverse Generation That these Men seeing our good Works may at length glorifie our Heavenly Father by a Hearty Union and Communion with us and return to the Fold which they have so groundlesly deserted As for such as grudge Time for this Duty of praying in their Families let them consider whether they can indeed improve it more to their Advantage whether the Gain of a little Money is to be compar'd to having the Blessing of God and the Guidance and Protection of his good Providence And whether their Time was not chiefly given them to worship God in and to make Provision for another World And as for such as make themselves unfit for this Holy Duty by Night Revels and Intemperance they can't but be sensible that that 's a very ill Excuse such as they should blush and be asham'd of and a Fault which it highly concerns them speedily to amend remembring that Drunkards are in that black List of such as shall not enter into the Kingdom of Christ and of God 1 Cor. 6.10 Having thus shewn that Prayer is not only the Priviledge but the Duty of a Christian and how far the Obligation to this Duty does extend I proceed to the Third and last thing to be done which is to shew what is requir'd in order to the effectual Performance of this Duty and what St. Paul says 1 Tim. 2.8 added to the Importunity recommended in the Parable we are now discoursing upon will doubtless make our Prayers to be availing The Apostles Words are these I will that Men pray every where lifting up Holy Hands without Wrath and doubting and of these Requisites I shall first discourse and then of Importunity First If we would be accepted at the Throne of Grace we must lift up Holy Hands The Word in the Original signifies pure and undefil'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 't is an Allusion to the Custom of the Jews who constantly us'd the Ceremony of washing before they pray'd which was intended to signifie the Necessity of a clean Heart in order to Acceptance with God For God is a Being infinitely Pure and Holy and that cannot behold Iniquity and into whose Presence no unclean thing can enter and therefore the Sacrifice of the Wicked as Solomon observes must needs be an Abomination to him and bring down a Curse rather than a Blessing and the Prayer of the Upright only his Delight Prov. 15.8 More particularly by this Expression of lifting up Holy Hands is meant these three Qualifications First That the Suppliant be one of a good Life or if he has not formerly been so repents and is sincerely resolv'd to live as becomes the Gospel of Christ for the future For how can he that is a Rebel to God a Traytor and Judas to his Saviour and that will obey none but the Devil and his own vile Lusts how can such an one think that God should hearken to his Requests who consumes God's Blessings upon his Lusts Jam. 4.3 as St. James expresses it and as S. Paul Turns the Grace of God into Lasciviousness and sins still more that Grace may still abound and is encourag'd by God's Goodness to persist in his Wickedness He only can with Reason expect to be heard by a Holy God who is either actually pious and good or heartily desires and intends to be so Secondly By lifting up Holy Hands is meant Purity of Intention unmix'd Desires of advancing the Glory of God and of the Supply of our real Needs and of promoting our Eternal Salvation That is no Man must
are now considering says expresly He that exalteth himself shall be abased and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted and the humble Publican went down to his House justified rather than the haughty Pharisee so beneficial and highly valuable both with God and Man is Humility of Spirit But on the contrary to be opinionated and proud of ones Vertue is a great Misfortune as well as Fault and brings a great deal of a peculiar sort of Trouble and Uneasiness along with it 'T is a Thing hated both by God and Men and is despis'd and disgrac'd by every Body To what would otherwise be really praise-worthy it brings the greatest Disparagement in the World and if a Man's Conversation be but indifferent and like other Mens then nothing makes him more ridiculous than much to value himself upon what is of so little or no Excellency And what a Pain 't is for Men that look upon themselves as extraordinary Persons to see others so far from that Opinion as rather to slight and deprecate them may easily be imagin'd And indeed 't is the Mishap of this sort of People always to meet with such kind of Entertainment as this Men setting themselves on purpose to tease and worry 'em that if possible they may make them ashamed and weary of a thing so generally hated But besides this peculiar sort of Vexation and Uneasiness that attends spiritual Pride there is something much worse to be said of it viz. that 't is almost impossible for Men infected with this Vice ever to improve in Religion and grow better For in the Nature of the Thing nothing slackens Diligence and Industry more than this without which no progress can be made in any thing or at best a very slow one especially where there are such Difficulties to be struggled with as in Religion and what signifies Instruction or Reproof unless it be to gall and enrage him to a Man that thinks his Vertue very extraordinary if not compleat already And besides God from whom we derive all our Sufficiency resists the proud and therefore as Solomon says no wonder if when pride cometh then cometh destruction and a haughty Spirit be the forerunner of a fall Besides as the Condition of Mankind is now to be proud of Vertue is to be proud of Imperfection for such is the Vertue even of the best Men upon Earth nay 't is to be proud of that which is not for no Man that is proud of his Vertue is indeed Vertuous that poverty of Spirit being wanting which gives the Value to all Religious Actions and renders them acceptable in the Sight of God And it not only pollutes and unhallows what might otherwise deserve the Name of Vertue but as was hinted before it keeps a Man from growing better it blinds him that he cannot discern his Faults and he is so taken up with admiring his Excellencies and with the Pharisee thanking God that he is not as other men are Extortioners Unjust Adulterers or the like that his great Defects pass unobserv'd by him And with the Man in the Fable he is so busie in gazing upon things above himself that he perceives not the Dangers under his feet till he falls into them Having thus endeavour'd to shew what is the Grace of spiritual Humility and how excellent and highly beneficial a Grace it is and how vile and mischievous the contrary Vice is destructive of all Religion and hateful both to God and Man I proceed now in the Last Place to shew how highly this Vertue shall be rewarded which is exprest thus in the Close of this Parable He that humbleth himself shall be exalted That is in short Mens Humbleness of Mind in point of Vertue their Self-Annihilation and returning all the Glory of their Good Actions to God as the Author of whatever is commendable in them and without priding themselves in their present Attainments pressing on still to greater Degrees of Perfection and Heavenly Life This shall in the World of Eternal Felicity and Glory be rewarded with the Impression of a near Resemblance to that Divine Fountain of Holiness and Perfection whom here they acknowledg'd to be the Giver of every good and perfect gift They shall then see him as he is and they shall be like him No Failures no Slips or Imperfections no Avocations from the happy Employment of Admiring and Loving God shall be There which in this Life are the perpetual Clogs and Vexations of a Holy Soul but with their Faculties free and vigorous they shall fully enjoy this supreme Good without Interruption to all Eternity This is that which makes a Heaven this is to enjoy the Happiness of God himself and this Heaven and this Happiness shall be the Portion of the poor in Spirit who here ascribe to God the Praise and Glory of their vertuous Actions And their Humbling themselves before his Majesty in a deep Sense of the Vileness and Ingratitude of their Sins which the best Man living is not wholly without shall be rewarded with the Pardon of them they shall be lifted up from their Prostration at the Feet of their God and Saviour and be received into his Bosom and Joy extraordinary Joy shall be in Heaven in the Presence of the Holy Angels for their Repentance They shall be exalted from the State of Penitents to that of Friends nay Sons of God and all Tears for the Future shall be for ever wip'd from their Eyes and they shall participate of the Joy of their Lord from Everlasting to Everlasting And such an Exaltation as this is no doubt an abundant Recompense for all the Pains of spiritual Mortification and a Repentance so rewarded will never be repented of To conclude therefore If we hope to have a share in that ineffable Felicity which shall be the Reward of this Humility of Spirit we have been discoursing of we must make it our Endeavour to tread the Path that leads to it We must humble our selves before God according to the Measures above described that he may exalt us in due time And as without whom we can do no good Thing we must with all Earnestness and Importunity beg his gracious Assistance who was meek and lowly in Heart that we may follow his Steps and return him all the Glory of our pious Advances who worketh in us to will and to do of his good Pleasure and be so duly affected with Shame and Sorrow for our Wickednesses as with the Publican in bitter Remorse and with sincere Purposes of Amendment to smite upon our Breasts and say God be merciful to us miserable Sinners The PRAYER O Meek and Lowly Jesus who resistest the Proud and givest Grace to the Humble and hast plac'd Poverty of Spirit in the Front of thy Beatitudes as the Foundation and Ground-work of thy Holy Religion Teach me this excellent Grace I humbly beseech thee and grant that I may hate and shun Pride above all Things as the most dangerous and destructive Vice which defiles every thing however otherwise commendable and excellent and naturally tends to the Pit of Destruction And to allay all vain Tumors that shall arise give me O Blessed Saviour a true Sense of the Corruption of my Nature my many heinous Violations of my Duty my vile Ungratitude to thee my greatest Benefactor and the great Imperfections of ev'n my best Services and that whatever I have done that is praise-worthy is owing to thy gracious Assistance and that of my self I can do nothing that is good O may I therefore never arrogate to my self what should be wholly thine nor despise any Man like the haughty Pharisee who have nothing my self but what I have receiv'd from thee but in sincere Humility of Spirit return thee all the Glory saying after I have done all that I can I am still an Unprofitable Servant and have done but what was my Duty to do And grant that in an humble Sense of my still great Defects considering what vast Assistances I have had I may smite upon my Breast and say with the Publican God be merciful to me a miserable Sinner Grant this thou meek and humble Lamb of God for the sake of thine own Tender Mercies Amen and Amen FINIS
and the great Obligation we have to imitate this Example of our merciful God To forgive one another in Imitation of the Divine Example is first to forgive such as have injured us freely and without Reserve and that though they still continue to shew themselves our Enemies and are ready to do us fresh Mischiefs when it lies in their Power For thus as we have seen God dealt with us miserable Sinners he first lov'd us and while we were yet Sinners and consequently in open Hostility and Rebellion against him even when he sent his Son to dye for us and be the Propitiation for our Sins He took pity upon us when we were still adding new Wickednesses to our long Account and when we deserved nothing but eternal Misery thought upon Mercy And in Imitation of this our Lord commands us to love our Enemies not to render Evil for Evil but contrariwise Blessing that so we may be the Children of our Father which is in Heaven For to use our Saviours Enforcement of this if those only share in our Affections or Esteem who are as beneficial and kind to us as we to them what Thank have we Self-Love and Interest may there be the Motives and very little of True Piety and Goodness nay even the very worst of Men may be as eminent for such Sort of Charity as the best Publicans and Sinners as our Lord observed doing the same But Christians should be of a more Godlike Temper their Charity more free and disinteressed the greater and more frequent their Injuries the more ready should they be to pardon and forgive and not only be reconciled after a seven-fold Wrong but after one repeated seventy times seven And our Saviour has likewise further inforced this by his own Example who with his last Breath pray'd for the Forgiveness of his cruel Murtherers Secondly We must not only forgive such as but little deserve it but likewise in Correspondence to our divine Pattern whether they desire it or no For thus it was in God's Forgiveness of Sinners he prevented us by the Riches of his compassionate Goodness and entreated us his rebellious Creatures first by his Prophets then by his only Son to be reconcil'd to him and embrace their Pardon And thus those that will be Imitators of God as dear Children must likewise do Rather than Enmity should continue we must seek to our Enemies to be reconcil'd though they were the first that offered the Offence And this however hardly it may sound is not only our Duty by Vertue of that general Conâ—â—â—d of forgiving one another as God has forgiven us but is expresly commanded by our compassionate Saviour Mat. 18.15 which occasion'd that Question of St. Peter Vers 21. How often shall I forgive my Brother Upon which our Lord deliver'd this Parable his Words are these and deserve our serious Attention Moreover if thy Brother trespass against thee go and tell him his Fault between thee and him alone If thy Brother trespass against thee or as we usually express it first did the Injury or gave the Affront go thou to him stay not till he comes and acknowledges his Fault to thee for that 's a thing Men are very backward in doing either for fear or for Shame or out of Pride and Greatness of Spirit as it must be term'd or for other Reasons and Time usually widens such Breaches and encreases Strangeness and Aversion But go thou therefore to him in Meekness and the Spirit of Forgiveness and with Resolutions of passing by all further Unkindnesâ—â— and it may be reproacheâ— for your good Will calmly tell him his Fault expostulate the Case with him and in all Likelyhood he will hear thee a right Understanding between you will ensue and thou shalt gain thy Brother This is indeed to be like God in this great Excellence of forgiving Injuries and is as a most noble Expression of christian Charity so we see very plainly commanded by our Lord and should be taken into our serious Consideration in order to our agreeable Practice Thirdly We must not only so far forgive as not to revenge but in Imitation of the divine Pattern of Forgiveness set before us be ready to do all Acts of Kindness and Beneficence to our Enemy as Occasion shall serve and his Needs require Remembring the Words of our great Master Do good to them that hate you and pray for those that despightfully use you and persecute you for so sâ—â— ye be the Children of the Highest who is 〈◊〉 to the unthankful and to the evil And we must endeavour to confirm the new made Agreement by more than ordinary Expressions of good Will that we may heap Coals upon our Enemies Head to melt him into a Correspondent Charity and likewise that there may be no Place left for our Enemy or our selves to doubt the Sincerity of our Forgiveness For the smoothest Words may be rotten and deceitful and the not revenging an Injury may be for want of Power or Opportunity but when to good Words beneficial Actions are added then may a Man well be thought to love and forgive not in Word only but in Deed and in Truth This is Christian Forgiveness of Injuries or Ephes 4. ult in the Apostle's Words the forgiving one another if any have a Quarrel against any even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven us i.e. freely and intirely though their Malice still cotinues against us nay to go and offer 'em Forgiveness and Reconciliation tho' they neither desire nor deserve it and to accompany our Forgiveness with Acts of Kindness and good Turns But what has been said upon this Account must have a Limitation lest it bound indiscriminately upon all Men and at all Times that is in all Instances of Wrong it thwart and run Counter to other Duties of our holy Religion Now in order to our being inform'd of the just Limits of this great Duty we must consider that Injuries may be of three Sorts affecting either Men's Persons their good Names or their Estates And each of these may be either in Danger of Ruin by the Injuries of a wicked Man or only greatly damag'd or the Injury may be but small and trifling and such as brings no considerable and lasting Ill Effects along with it Now such Injuries as threaten Ruin to a Man in any of those Respects ought not to be silently let pass nor the Man so forgiven as to have no Notice taken of him and such a legal Prosecution of him as is necessary to secure a Man's Person or to vindicate or recover his blasted Reputation and to preserve his Estate all or either of which would be ruin'd by the injurious Person if tamely let alone a legal Prosecution in such Cases as these is allow'd by the Law of God and Nature as well as that of the Land And the Case is proportionably the same as to Injuries that greatly endamage a Man in any of those Respects before mentioned And were all
Affections and cannot afford to take any pains to be Religious are frequently heard to say They serve God as well as they can and they can do no more and that such a Religion as we urge Men to is much too hard for Flesh and Blood 'T is a Law fitter for Angels than Men and tho they wish they could observe and do it and can't but consent to the Excellency of it in the Inner Man yet they find a Law in their Members warring against the Law of their Minds and bringing them into Captivity to the Law of Sin and so the good that they would they do not and the evil that they would not that they do And they take up with this as a sufficient Excuse and because God is infinitely merciful and good they think he will accept the Plea of the great Hardship of his Commands and their Inability to perform them instead of Obedience to them But as the Lord in the Parable said to his slothful Unprofitable Servant Out of their own Mouths will I judge those wretched Persons that thus mock and abuse God and deceive their own Souls into Ruin For if God be infinitely good and merciful then certainly he will not expect any Thing from Men beyond their Ability nor command their Service and Obedience any farther than they are able to pay it And consequently what this merciful and good God commands by All Men to be done without any Exception or Dispensation and threatens Eternal Misery to such as shall dare wilfully to disobey him this Every Man no question is able to perform through the Divine Grace and Assistance which as I have before prov'd is in sufficient measure given to every Man And to deny this is in effect to charge God with the greatest Cruelty Oppression and Injustice that is possible For what less is the giving Men such Commands as they are not able to perform and withal threatning and actually inflicting unconceivable Torments for such are those of Hell upon all that shall be found disobedient to the impracticable Law This would be indeed to require Brick without Straw as the Egyptian Task-masters did and then to lay on Stripes for a Failure in the Work nay 't would be infinitely worse because the Punishment for Irreligion and not improving our Talents is infinitely greater and shall be inflicted to all Eternity Since therefore God knows whereof we are made and remembers that we are but Dust and can tell how difficult his Commands will be to us and how proportionable our Ability is to keep and do them better than we our selves for 't is he that hath made us and gave us our natural Powers and Faculties and the Superadditions of Grace and Aid from Above since he is infinitely good and will not overload his Creatures nor exact impossible Tasks or such as are extremely difficult and but one degree below impossible since he is likewise infinitely just and will not damn Myriads of poor Wretches to all Eternity for not making an impossible Improvement of their Talents and expects only that they should give a reasonable Account according to what they have received from him From all this it will follow Not that therefore a Man shall be excus'd for pleading Inability but that every Man is Able through the never deficient Grace of that good God to such as heedfully attend to it to keep his holy just and good Commands and make Improvement suitable to the Talents he hath receiv'd and if for all this he perish his Blood will be upon his own Head Wherefore let no Man for the future be so Impious as to charge God with expecting impossible Services from his Creatures or think to palliate his Irreligion by crying out of the extreme Hardship of living like a Christian but let every Man set heartily and sincerely about his Duty and he will find that God's Grace will be sufficient for him to his daily Improvement and that the Ways of Religion are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace I come now to the last Thing to be consider'd in this Parable which is That the Condition of the diligent Improvers of their Talents will be unspeakably happy but the Condition of the Unprofitable beyond Expression miserable and that both in this World and in the next First The Condition of the diligent Improvers of their Talent will be unspeakably happy both in this World and that above In this World a quiet and serene Conscience will be to them a continual Feast the Sense of having perform'd their Duty according to their Ability of having been good Stewards of the Grace of God bestow'd upon them and that they can give a sincere Account though not a perfect one to their great Master when he shall come to look into their Behaviour in their Stewardship this will fill their Breasts with unspeakable Satisfaction their Soul will be calm and their Thoughts at Rest in Conscience of their Fidelity their Life not imbitter'd with anxious Fear and Dread of a sad After Reckoning but like that of a faithful Servant who is in his Master's Favour steady and easie and moving cheerfully in the Circle of his Duty and in joyful Expectation of the Reward of his Diligence when his great Lord shall advance him from the State of a Servant to that of a Friend and Bosom Favourite nay of a Coheir with himself of the Joys and Felicities of the Eternal Kingdom of Heaven And besides this Serenity and Satisfaction of Mind and comfortable Prospect of so glorious a Recompense of Reward which are Blessings of the first Magnitude and to which nothing in this World is comparable the improving Christian shall have more Talents given him more Grace shower'd down upon his Soul what the Slothful have forfeited shall be conferr'd upon him and he shall abound still more and more in every good Word and Work And what Condition can approach nearer to the state of Heavenly Glory than that of a holy Soul thus plentifully stor'd with the divine Grace And if Grace and Glory differ only in degree and the One be but the Completion and Perfection of the other a Soul so filled with Grace as the improving Soul will be must needs live a Heaven upon Earth and have frequent Antepasts of Glory And in that other World when the Glory shall be reveal'd that is prepared for them that love and serve our Lord Jesus in Sincerity then will their Happiness be as ineffable as endless It is express'd in this Parable by entring into the Joy of our Lord that is partaking of his Glories and Felicities in the Presence of the Immortal God They shall be conducted after having given a good Account of their Stewardship by the Blessed Angels into the Presence of the great King of Heaven where they shall see him face to face and with wondring Eyes and enravish'd Hearts behold his Glory gaze upon his Splendors and nearly view his Beauty who is the Fountain of
Perfection He who is Light it self and in whom is no Darkness at all will hide nothing of his Glory from the Eyes of their pure and prepar'd Minds but communicate the Knowledge of his most Excellent Nature to the utmost Capacity of their Beatified Souls and make 'em full of Divine Gladness with the Joy of his Countenance Their Apprehensions shall be clear'd and brightned their Faculties act upon this best of Objects vigorously and without any Hindrance or Distraction and every View of the Divine Beauty shall discover new Graces and Perfections for God is an Immense and Fathomless Ocean of Beauty as Plato excellently expresses it and their Capacities by every such View shall be enlarg'd and made still more and more capacious for the Reception of a following greater Manifestation And so their Love and Admiration of this Divine Being always increasing and their Enjoyment of him compleat and sull to the utmost of their Capacity their Joy and Happiness will be like that of God himself because springing from the same Fountain Unspeakable and Eternal And since the Reward of a Pious Industry will be such an Exceeding and Eternal Weight of Glory methinks we should take off our Affections from these lower Goods and doat no longer upon these vain and worthless Trifles nor throw away our Love upon that which satisfieth not and spend our Labour for that which is not Bread but make it our great Endeavour to be rich towards God and by improving the Talents he hath given us lay up a Treasure in Heaven 1 Cor. 2.9 Remembring That Eye hath not seen nor Ear heard neither can it enter into the Heart of Man to conceive the things which God hath prepar'd for them that love him And certainly that Diligence is well bestowed which shall be rewarded with a Crown of Glory Eternal in the Heavens But with the Unprofitable and Slothful Servant it is not so neither in this World nor in the next In this World the Lashes of a guilty Conscience will be unto him a Continual Torment the Sense of his having carelesly neglected his Duty and not performing according to his Ability the Just Commands of his great Lord but being an Unfaithful Steward of the Grace of God bestowed upon him and that he is far from being able to give in a good Account when his Lord shall come expecting the Improvement of his Talent This will fill his Breast with unspeakable Trouble and Perplexity and imbitter all his Worldly Enjoyments with the Mixture of Anxious Fear and Dread of a severe After-Reckoning and the terrifying Expectation of his sad Fate that will ensue will be to him even like a Hell upon Earth and cruciate his Soul with unspeakable Pangs and Agonies And which is much worse still the Grace that has so long lain unimprov'd shall at length be taken from him and the Man as desperate and irreclaimable be given over and as 't were seal'd up to Remediless Misery And in the next World at that great Day when he shall be actually call'd to give Account of his Works the Dire Sentence of Depart from me ye Cursed into Everlasting Fire prepar'd for the Devil and his Angels shall strike him through with Horror and Confusion and he shall be driven into Outer Darkness where he shall Eternally bewail his Miserable Condition and gnash his Teeth in bitter Remorse for bringing himself to that Place of Torment by slothfully neglecting the Improvement of that Divine Grace with which he might if he would have work'd out his Salvation Crying out to Eternal Ages in utter Despair and most tormenting Agonies of Soul O that I had consider'd in that my Day the things that did belong unto my Peace but now they are for ever hid from mine Eyes And now for a Conclusion of this Discourse Here is in this Parable we see on the one Hand all the Encouragement in the World to Diligence and Industry and a Lively Improving Piety such as more and more Abundance of Grace with all the Blessed Attendants of it in this World and a full Enjoyment of God himself in Heaven And on the other side here is what if duly consider'd will make any Man afraid of Spiritual Sloth and Idleness and not dare to neglect the Improvement of his Talent for if he does he shall be depriv'd of God's Grace here and doom'd to Eternal Misery at the Day of Judgment Wherefore let us seriously consider what has been now commented upon this Parable and beg of God so to bless it to our Good that we may be inclin'd by it to make a due Improvement of the Talents he has committed to our Management to his Honour and Glory and our own Eternal Salvation The PRAYER MOST Glorious God the Fountain of Perfection whom I humbly acknowledge to be the Giver of every good and perfect Gift I beseech thee assist me with thy Grace that according to thy Just Expectation I may make a suitable Improvement of the Talents I have receiv'd from thy Bounty to thy Glory and the Publick Good And may my Industry be excited by this great Consideration That thou wilt certainly call me to give an Account of my Improvement and very speedily perhaps and wilt proportionably reward or punish me in the Eternal World I thankfully own most merciful Father that thou hast given me sufficient Grace wherewith to arrive at the End of my Hopes and art not at all wanting to me in this unspeakable Gift O may I not be wanting to my self and neglect and bury this Precious Talent but with Diligence and Carefulness endeavour to work out my Salvation with it in Fear and Trembling Remembring what Confusion I shall be in how utterly without Plea or Excuse when for my Wicked Slothfulness thou shalt consign me to outer Darkness since thou didst enable me to perform all thou expectedst from me And may the unspeakably Happy Condition of the Diligent encourage me to an Active Persevering Piety and always to abound in the Work of thee my Lord since I know my Labour shall not be in vain but be rewarded with still larger Additions of thy Grace in this World and with the Participation in great Degrees of thy Glory in the next O God assist me more and more with this thy Heavenly Grace and may I always gratefully acknowledge from whom I have receiv'd it and return thee all the Praise of what I shall do well by thy Assistance and always fear lest by my Negligence I forfeit it That so faithfully improving the Talent thou hast here committed to my Trust I may at the great Day of Retribution hear these Blessed Words Well done good and faithful Servant enter thou into the Joy of thy Lord. Which grant O Gracious God for the Sake of Jesus thy Beloved Amen PARABLE IX Of the Covetous Rich Fool. Luke xii 16 17 18 19 20 21. And Jesus spake a Parable unto them saying The Ground of a certain Rich Man brought forth plentifully And
Duty of a good Steward is thus represented in the 42d Verse of this 12th of Luke Who then is that faithful and wise Steward whom his Lord shall make Ruler over his Houshold to give them their portion of Meat in due season That is To give the Family their Portion in due Season is the Duty of a Faithful and Good Steward Now the Race of Mankind is God's great Family in the World and some of the Members of this his Family he has made Choice of as his Stewards and Purveyors to provide for the rest and has according entrusted them with such a share of his Revenue to some more to some less as in his infinite Wisdom he has thought most fit and order'd them to expend it to the Advantage of his Houshold that every one be provided for according to his Needs and that no Man be suffer'd as much as in them lies to be miserable and perish And this he requires should be done faithfully after a moderate Provision first made for themselves and Relatives as they shall answer it at that great Audit when every Man must give Account of his Stewardship The Rich Man then in the Gospel being as every other Rich Man is God's Steward to provide for such as were in Necessity and Want according to the Abundance God had given him 't is an easie Matter to answer the Question he propos'd to himself upon his great Increase What shall I do because I have no room where to lay my fruits Why act like a good Steward for thy great Master and let the Houses of the Poor be the Granaries for the Abundance of thine Increase Charity to the Necessitous is the best Way of bestowing Abundance and as many Ways as there are of expressing that Charity which are innumerable so many Ways are there of disposing of what is more than needful for our own comfortable Support To Feed the Hungry to give Drink to the Thirsty Harbour to distressed Strangers Cloaths to the Naked Visits of Comfort and Relief to the Sick and Freedom to Prisoners to be a Father to the Fatherless and a Husband to the Widow and the like this is to discharge a good Stewardship this is what every Rich Man ought to do with his Abundance And Blessed is that good Servant whom his Lord when he cometh shall find so doing Of a truth saith our Lord his Master will make him Ruler over all that he hath he will commit still more of his Reuenue to his Management bless him with greater Prosperity and Increase and at last he shall be received into the Joy of his Lord and Reign with Christ his Great Master in Glory for ever Whoever therefore has Abundance needs not much to perplex himself how he shall bestow it for the Poor are always with us and for the Relief of their Necessities not the Gratifying our own Luxurious Desires must God's Extraordinary Blessings be laid out Let us now in the Fourth Place consider the great Wisdom of not setting our Hearts upon nor eagerly pursuing Riches and disposing of them as Religion directs if it shall please God in an extraordinary Manner to bless us with them If Riches increase set not your Heart upon them is excellent Advice of the Royal Psalmist Psal 62.10 and very true is that of St. Paul to Timothy Ephes 1.6 10. that while some have coveted after Mony they have err'd from the Faith and pierc'd themselves through with divers Sorrows and that Godliness with Content is great Gain and therefore wise indeed is that Man that knows how to be content with his present Portion and by setting his Affections upon more noble Objects escapes the Snare of coveting after Wealth He is free from the most dangerous Passion the Love of Mony being the root of all Evil and is secure of Quiet and Satisfaction amidst all the Turns and Varieties of Fortune the great Uncertainties of a false and fickle World If Poverty should become his Lot he is prepar'd for 't he knows there is no Stability in this World 's Good and therefore values it accordingly and remembers that he has a much greater Treasure in a better Place of which none can deprive him and which he shall enjoy to Eternity and upon that fixes his Affections and longs for the Happy Time when he shall take Possession of it While he hath a plentiful Fortune he acts like a good Steward of his great Lord and enjoys the Comforts of it by letting those share with him that want a Supply and thanks God that he is so blessed as to give rather than receive and in every respect makes the best use he can of what he has to the Advancement of the Glory of his great Patron and the Good of his Brethren and then can step securely though Dangers and Misfortunes threaten if God thinks fit to divert them and continue to him what he has he knows he can do it if not he knows that all will end for the best at last and so chearfully resigns what God before had lent him he is satisfied that Happiness does not consist in Abundance and that a good Conscience is a continual Feast and therefore his main Endeavour is to preserve a good Conscience a Soul clear and unspotted and with that coarse Fare will relish well and a homely Garment sit easie upon him and such Necessaries as these he that feeds the Ravens and cloaths the Lillies will surely provide for him And he that is thus dispos'd must needs be in perpetual Tranquility and Peace and very wise consequently in taking that Course which helps him to those inestimable Blessings As for the Wisdom of disposing of abundance when God thinks fit to bless a Man with it according to the Direction of Religion in the Relief of the Poor and Needy there needs nothing more to recommend it to Christians than for them to read the latter Part of Mat. 25. where we are informed that the Expresses of Men's Charity shall at the great Day of Judgment be particularly enquir'd into and the Charitable rewarded infinitely with Glory and Happiness in Heaven and the Uncharitable doom'd as accursed Persons to depart from God the Fountain of Bliss into Everlasting Torments prepar'd for the Devil and his Angels And if so to direct our Steps in this World as to avoid the Miseries of Hell and arrive at the unspeakable Happy Kingdom of Heaven be the greatest Wisdom then is it the greatest Wisdom by a Charitable Disposal of Mens Abundance to the Poor to make Provision against that great Day of final Retribution when Charity shall be so particularly enquired into and so highly rewarded There remains nothing now to be done but to urge what has been said upon Mens Practice We have seen in this Discourse how great Folly 't is eagerly to desire and pursue Abundance of Wealth that 't is very uncertain whether ever such Desire shall be gratified or no and that there is no Satisfaction in
miserable Wretch is he unnatural to Himself and Ungrateful to his God who by his Obstinacy shall frustrate so great Tenderness of God as this and break through so many Obligations to his own Ruin and with Devilish Pride and Sullenness starve and famish his Soul rather than Pray to God to Relieve and Help him How many of those that call Themselves Christians are thus wretchedly miserable God and their own Consciences know best but let not any Man be deceiv'd 't is not only a Privilege now but is become a necessary Duty and by the Neglect of it we shall not only lose the Benefit consequent upon the Peformance of it but receive the Punishment due to the Breach of the Laws of God which in all probability will be so much the more severe as the Benefit would have been great For nothing is more provoking than to have great Favours and Condescensions such as is this slighted and despis'd And thus much may suffice to prove that Prayer is not only the Privilege but the Duty of every Christian I proceed in the Second Place to shew How far the Obligation to this Duty does extend Our Lord in the Proeme to this Parable says That Men ought always to pray and S. Paul 1 Tim. 2.8 says I will that Men pray every where 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in every Place and Ephes 6.18 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 upon every Occasion with every Opportunity and 1 Thess 5.17 he joyns both together and commands that we pray 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without Intermission So that 't is a Duty that extends to all Times and Places to all Seasons and States and Conditions of Life and as at all Times we stand in need of the Favour and Blessing the Protection and Support the Mercy and Forgiveness of God so 't is at all Times our Duty to beseech it of him But this will need a farther Explication For this Praying without ceasing or Intermission cannot be understood in the strictest Sense as if there were to be no Cessation of the Act for that would be impossible and there are many other Things that we are as much oblig'd to which will take up great Portions of our Time Many Necessities of Nature there are that must be adverted to and supplied many honest Employments that must be follow'd many other Christian Graces that must be exercised and sometimes even innocent Recreations must take place there being as Solomon says a Time for all Things a Time to Weep and a Time to Laugh a Time to Mourn and a Time to Dance This as well as other Affirmative Commands does Obligare semper as the Schools distinguish but not pro semper that is There is no Time or Season or Place so exempt but that in due Circumstances we are oblig'd to this Duty but it does not oblige as Negative Commands do to every Moment without any Exception There is no Minute of our Life but the Commands Thou shalt do no Murder Thou shalt not commit Adultery Thou shalt not Steal and the like do oblige us to observe them but there are very many Portions of our Time wherein such Precepts as these Be Afflicted and Mourn and Weep and the contrary to it Rejoyce evermore and Pray without ceasing and the like neither do nor can oblige To keep our Minds in an habitual Frame and apt Disposition for the Performance of these Duties in proper Circumstances is all that is expected from us But more particularly to Pray always or every where and without ceasing is to do these Three Things First 'T is to be very frequent in offering up pious Ejaculations or short mental Prayers as Occasion shall offer which will be very often and the most usual and common Occurrences of Life may be improv'd to this sort of Devotion without the least Hindrance or Encroachment upon any other Employments In the Field in the Shop in the Bed when Sleep departs in a Journey every where and at all Times this may be done without Expence of Time without Shew or Observation and is a Service highly acceptable to God and keeps the Mind in an excellent Frame and Temper and is out of Danger of being polluted by Hypocrisie and other base and little Ends which too often mingle with our more set and publick Prayers And the Soul may more vigorously dart forth these short Accidental Breathings and storm Heaven more successfully by these quick lively Efforts than by whole Armies of Words and Legions of long-breath'd Petitions which are rather apt to tire the Soul and rebate the Edge of her Devotion Of this Nature is the Prayer which our Lord has taught the Church the whole far from long and the particular Petitions very short but withall full and comprehensive to Admiration In Imitation whereof have the wise Compilers of our Liturgy divided the Service into short Collects and comprised their Sense in as few Words as is possible that so the Mind may be more intent and recollect and have time to breath as 't were between each of them and return with fresh Vigour and Spirit to the succeeding parts according to our Lord 's express Advice Use not vain Repetitions when ye pray and that of the Wise Preacher Eccl. ◠2 Be not rash with thy Mouth and let not thine Heart be hasty to utter any Thing before God for God is in Heaven and thou upon Earth therefore let thy Words be few And this way of Ejaculatory Devotion comes very near to Praying without ceasing in the strictest Sense and much resembles that Heavenly Employment of those Rev. 4.8 Who rest not Night and Day saying Holy Holy Holy Lord God Almighty which was and is and is to come But Secondly To Pray always is never willingly to omit the Morning and Evening and Noon-day Returns of our more set and solemn private Addresses to the Throne of Grace the Morning and Evening especially which is the least Homage we can pay to the Almighty and which are Seasons the most of all in our power to employ as we think fit The Morning and Evening Sacrifice was constant among the Jews the Fire was ever Burning upon the Altar and never was suffer'd to go out David pray'd Morning and Evening and at Noon and God heard his Voice yea seven Times a Day did he praise him because of his Righteous Judgments and Daniel made his Petition three Times a Day towards Jerusalem as the Jews Custom was The Morning and Evening are the two Extremes of the Day and the Noon is like an intermediate Link between them that is joyned to both and so makes one continued Day so that he that prays Morning and Evening and at Noon may not improperly be said to spend the Day in Prayer and to continue instant in it And how very fitting it is that these Returns should without any wilful Intermission be observ'd will soon appear to any one that considers For First As for our private Morning Devotions our Preservation from
finally wanting in a sufficient Degree to such as sincerely embrace it and co-operate with it And as our Lord expresses it in another Parable Mark 4.26 which for its near Resemblance to this and the next I think it needless Particularly to discourse of The Kingdom of God or of Grace is as if a Man should cast Seed into the Ground and should sleep and rise Night and Day and the Seed should spring up and grow he knoweth not how from the Blade to the Ear and to the full Corn in the Ear and when the Fruit is ripe he putteth in the Sickle because the Harvest is come That is tho' good Men's Progress in Religion often-times be not so quick and hasty as they may and wish yet though almost insensibly it may daily grow and increase and at last the perfect Fruits of Righteousness be visible in their Conversations Therefore let not a slow Improvement discourage any Man that is sincerely desirous of making still higher Advances but let him hold fast what he already hath do his best Endeavour still to grow in Grace and the Fruits of the Spirit and then with Patience wait upon God for a more plentiful Increase In the last place this Increase of the Word must be proportionable to the Quantity of the Seed that is sown and to the Strength and Powers of the Soil in which it is sown that is it must be according to every Man's Ability and the Opportunities he hath had of Improvement in some Thirty in some Sixty and in some an Hundred-Fold When a Husbandman sowes his Seed if he sowes in great Plenty and upon good Ground we know he expects to reap in a proportionable Abundance and when he sowes more sparingly and the Soil be not capable of so great an Increase his Expectations are accordingly And so it is in Religion from such as are of pregnant Parts and Abilities able to entertain and consider and make the best Use of the Word of God that is sown in their Hearts and likewise enjoy the great Blessing of excellent Instruction and have the whole of Christianity set before them in a true Light all the Duties and Rewards and Punishments of it so that there is all that can be done in order to an abundant Increase from such Men as these God will expect much Fruit even the Increase of an Hundred-Fold they must abound in every good Word and Work and the Word of God dwelling so richly in them Line upon Line Precept upon Precept Treasures of Instruction heap'd one upon another a scanty penurious Increase will not be accepted much less a total and intire Barrenness excus'd For so St. Paul Heb. 6.7 8. The Earth that drinketh in the Rain that cometh upon it and bringeth forth Herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed receiveth Blessing from God but that which beareth Thorns and Briars is rejected and nigh unto Cursing whose End is to be burn'd And our Lord in very plain and express Terms says the same Luk. 12.48 Unto whomsoever much is given of him shall much be required and to whom Men have committed much of him they will ask the more But because all Men are not of Abilities alike nor have the same Opportunities of Instruction and Improvement where there is any Defect either in the sowing of the Seed or in the Capacity of the Soil God will proportionably abate in his Expectations of Increase But though he will not expect the same Degree of Increase from every Man yet he will expect some if not an Hundred-Fold yet Sixty or if not Sixty yet at least Thirty And if this be true in what a miserable Condition are Myriads of the Hearers of the Word who receive the Seed in great Plenty and Abundance and are able likewise to bring forth a considerable Increase and yet are as unfruitful as if their Souls had lain always fallow and were never cultivated and impregnated by the Means of Spiritual Instruction Let such be entreated by the Love of God and their own immortal Souls to look about them and shake off that stupid Numness and Insensibility that so fatally besets them and bethink themselves how sad their Condition will be when at the great Harvest the End of the World when God will gather the ripe Fruits and dispose them in his heavenly Garner when at that great Day our Lord shall expect Fruit from the Seed that he hath sown upon their Hearts and shall find nothing but Briars and Thorns Wickedness and Impurity Let them bethink themselves what a sad Condition they will be in when their Unfruitfulness shall be punish'd with everlasting Burnings and the Number and Sharpness of the Torments of Hell increas'd upon them because when they knew their Lord's Will they did not prepare themselves to do according to it Let them consider that though God bears long with them and frequently importunes them to a more serious Reflection upon their Ways that they would turn their Feet unto his Testimonies and be no longer unprofitable Hearers but Doers of his Word yet it will not be always so there will be an End of this Day of Grace and Forbearance and how soon God alone can tell and perhaps this Discourse may be the last Invitation to a new Life which some that hear it may ever have or at least the last that shall be attended with that Divine Grace and Assistance which alone can make it fruitful Wherefore now while it is call'd to day harden not your Hearts lest God should swear in his Wrath that you shall never enter into his Rest Consider what our Lord says upon this Account in this of Mat. 13.12 Whosoever hath to him shall be given and he shall have more Abundance but whosoever hath not from him shall be taken away even that which he hath The plain Meaning of which is this He that hath made good Use of the Grace he hath already receiv'd and the Instructions he hath already heard shall receive abundantly more Grace far greater Assistances and much larger and more frequent Showers of the divine Blessing than ever formerly he did Christ will come in to him and sup with him and he with him as 't is express'd Rev. 3.20 that is will freely communicate to him of his divine Favours and Refreshments and there shall be mutual Festivity and Joy between them his Saviour will take him into the nearest Relation to himself for he hath told us that whosoever shall do the Will of his Father which is in Heaven the same is his Brother and Sister and Mother that is as tenderly regarded by him as those dearest Relatives And how must that Soul thrive and flourish which is thus plentifully water'd with Showers above and enrich'd with Streams issuing from the Fountain of Goodness But on the contrary How intolerable will be his Misery that neglects and disregards these Sermons of the Gospel and is not a Doer of the Word but a careless Hearer only deceiving sadly
to redeem their mis-spent Time and talk of nothing but Raptures and of reaching great Hights and Eminencies of Piety when all on the suddain they are at a Stand there 's a Lyon in the Way a right Hand must be cut off or a right Eye put out i. e. some Favourite Vice must be cashier'd if they move any further and that 's a hard Saying and the Men begin to cool a Stifness seizes their over-heated Limbs and a senseless Torpor invades every Part of 'em Mark 10.21 and like the young Man in the Gospel whom our Lord began to love for his discreet Answers and towardly Disposition when they must part with their Riches to the Poor and deny themselves their corrupt Desires and Inclinations and take up their Cross and follow their Saviour Then they become sad and with Grief and Dissatisfaction leave him and fold their Hands and return again to their Dream of Vanity Just like those in the former Parable compar'd to stony Ground who receiv'd the Word at first with Joy but having not sufficient Deepness of Earth i.e. for want of through Consideration and beholding the smooth Side of Religion only endure but for a while and in Time of Temptation and Difficulty fall away and their forward Piety becomes dry and wither'd Or like those mention'd in another Parable Luke 14.28 which was spoken upon this very Account and which for its great Affinity with this Part of the Parable we are now upon I shall not particularly discourse of who begin to build and sit not down first and count the Cost whether they be able to finish and so proceeding no further than Foundation become the Scorn of all Men. But Secondly as a State of careless Inadvertency to the things of Religion is like Sleep in its Cause and Beginning so likewise is it in its Progress and Effects For like Sleep it locks up all the Powers and Faculties of the Soul and suspends their Action it dulls its Apprehension and makes it take Evil for Good and Good for Evil it vitiates its Reasoning and makes it draw false and fantastick Consequences and Conclusions and therefore corrupts its Will and Affections and makes its Choices strangely foolish and ridiculous such as preferring Earth before Heaven a little Ease and imperfect Pleasure here before Rivers of ineffable Pleasures that are at God's right Hand for evermore and the like The lower Life is in this Case predomimant and wild Dreams and incoherent Fancies make up such Men's Divinity and their Rule of Life and Manners In short the Life of such Men is but a Dream their Notions like those of Men in a Slumber dark hovering and uncertain their Discourse about religious Marters broken disjointed unconcluding full of Fallacies and dangerous Sophistry to cheat themselves of all Expectation here and Enjoyment hereafter of what is their greatest nay their only Happiness Their Actions are like those done in a Dream too extravagant brutish and unaccountable startled at Chimaera's and the Shadows of Danger and insensible of the Approaches of real and substantial Misery though just ready to overtake them fond of a Bundle of Feathers in love with an aery Nothing whilst their true Interest is not in all their Thoughts And to compleat the Parallel they are as deaf to all Reproofs as Men asleep as little affected with good Instruction and Advice and so bewitch'd with the Fanci'd Sweetness of their Slumber that they are as loath to be awaken'd And when by rudeer Applications they are like Men that have taken too large a Dose of Opium they are presently o'ercome with Heaviness and shut their Eyes against all Conviction and fall asleep again And the final Event is this that as natural Drowsiness cloaths a Man with Raggs so the moral will cloath him with Shame and utter Confusion And now from this short Parallel which I have drawn between the Sleep of the Soul and the Body as we may see the Fitness of the Expression in the Parable so we may learn what Guard to keep upon our selves to prevent our infernal Enemies sowing his Tares or making us become as such by his wicked Insinuations and Suggestions 'T is while Men thus sleep are thus thoughtless and inadvertent to Religion and taken up with the Gaieties and Pleasures of this World which like pleasant Dreams entertain the Fancy and Imagination with much Delight but soon vanish and become utterly unprofitable then it is that this subtle Enemy makes use of his Opportunity and unobserv'd steals in his wicked Injections which divert the Soul still more and more from attending to her main Interest and promote this spiritual Slumber so long 'till too often it becomes chronical and habitual and an utter Oblivion of all religious Obligations an incurable Numness and Stupidity of Soul God knows too often follows and Men become like Tares empty of all substantial Goodness and at best but Christians in Name and Shew and fit for nothing but when God shall see fit to be gathered up from among the Wheat and burnt Wherefore it highly concerns all those that hope to be sav'd not to sleep as do others but to watch and be sober to awake to Righteousness and walk circumspectly not as Fools diverted by every Feather and gay Appearance but as Men that are wise to Salvation always in a Posture of Watchfulness and Defence Fixing our Attention upon our Duty and the exceeding great Reward of it and often reflecting upon that intolerable Misery which will certainly be the Consequence of such fatal Slumberings and still pressing on with greater Courage as the Difficulties of Religion increase upon us and daily endeavouring still more and more to shake off dead Stupidity to Religion which so easily besets us and to rouze up the Faculties and employ 'em upon those noblest of Objects patiently receiving Instruction and Reproof rejecting every Notion and Opinion that would destroy the Necessity of a good Life and studiously avoiding Idleness and Sloth and according to our Lord 's most excellent Advice adding Prayer to Watchfulness that we enter not into Temptation This Course if we take we shall defeat this generally prevailing Stratagem of the subtle Tempter and being always in a Readiness to resist him make him fly from us with Shame and Disappointment And our Souls will then grow more and more substantial in Piety and abound in it as the good Corn and at length being grown ripe for the Glories and Felicities of Heaven be gather'd in Peace and laid up in Repositories of eternal Rest and Safety as in the blessed Garner of our Lord. Thirdly this Parable informs us of the Time of Discovery of the Tares the hypocritical Religionists namely the Time of bringing forth Fruit When the Blade was sprung up and brought forth Fruit or when the Grain appear'd in the Ear then appear'd the Tares also Then appear'd the Difference between the good Corn and the Cockle which at first coming up look'd as flourishing
prevent their running into Courses ruinous and to shield 'em from the mischievous Assaults of wicked Spirits And to mention but one Place more St. Paul charges Timothy 1 Tim. 5.21 Before or as in the Presence of God and of Jesus Christ and of the elect Angels that he would observe those things he had taught him without Prejudice or Partiality Which plainly supposes that there were Angels then present as Observers and Witnesses of what they were doing and discoursing It being then thus plain from Scripture that the blessed Angels are Observers of Mens Lives and Actions especially of those of Christians as by God's Appointment and as Ministers of his divine Government I shall not trouble my self to make curious Enquiries into the Reasons why God appoints Angels to observe and minister to us since nothing escapes his own all-seeing Eye and his own all-mighty Arm can do whatsoever he pleases in Heaven and in Earth in the Sea and in all deep Places Nor of what Rank and Order those Angels are and how many that are thus employ'd And whether every Man has a particular Angel assign'd him as his Guardian and the Inspector of his Actions Which things are too high for us Mortals we cannot attain unto them But shall make this good Use of this Particular relating to our Practice That since we are under the Inspection of such pure and holy Spirits and whose Concern for our Happiness is very great since they are Witnesses of our most secret Actions and though invisible and unobserv'd themselves are our curious Observers Methinks we that are our selves but in one Rank of Being below 'em here and shall hereafter be equal to them should not endure to be found by 'em wallowing like Swine in the Filth of Sin degrading our selves to a Level with the Beasts that perish and in base Hypocrisy pretending to be Christians when indeed we act like Infidels Nay too often like Devils incarnate How do those good Spirits tho' they may pity our deplorable Condition yet withal despise and abominate the servile Baseness of such excellent Natures Who notwithstanding they have such glorious Hopes yet quit their heavenly Reversion for the low Enjoyments of this contemptible Earth Methinks Shame should deter us from vile and impious Actions if nothing else and the Thoughts of the Dignity of our Nature not suffer us to act so much beneath our selves and a Man not brutishly impudent should not endure to expose himself to the Observation of an Angel in such vile Circumstances as he would be loath to be found in by any Man he reverences and respects nay by a Servant or a Child And as the Angels are Observers of Human Actions so are they God's Intelligencers to give him account of them not that God needs such Information for every thing lies naked and open to his own all seeing Eye but for the greater Order and Decorum of his Government And this their Office they perform with great Diligence and Watchfulness and ardent Zeal for his Glory for no sooner were the Tares discerned by 'em to be among the good Corn the formal empty Christians to be intermix'd with the sincerely good but they hasten to give account of it to their great Master and as not being able to indure the great Dishonour reflected upon God and the purest of Religions by their base Hypocrisy and impious Conversation they offer with his Permission to remove those evil Doers those not only unprofitable but wicked Servants as unworthy to continue any longer in so sacred a Society as that of Christians Wilt thou that we gather them up say they wilt thou permit us to weed this thy great Field of those noxious Tares to cull out the empty nominal Christians and exert that Power thou hast given us to their deserved Ruin that the Residue of thy Servants may see it and fear and keep from their Abominations And that those blessed Spirits that angelick Host is able to perform this Service no Man can doubt that remembers how one Angel in one Night destroy'd all the First-born in Aegypt Now this their Diligence and Watchfulness in the Service of God and Zeal for his Glory should put us upon a holy Emulation of doing God's Will on Earth as it is done in Heaven That is that we who here on Earth Luk. 20.36 are but a little lower than the Angels and shall in Heaven be equal to them should now endeavour to be as like them as we can and with the utmost Chearfulness Alacrity and Diligence perform the Duty our great Governour has set us and with a prudent Zeal endeavour in our several Stations by discountenancing Vice and encouraging and promoting Vertue to the utmost of our Power to advance the Glory of God and the Interest and Reputation of our holy Religion If Magistrates would take due Notice of those that live scandalously and wickedly and not bear the Sword in vain but be as they ought to be a Terrour to Evil-Doers and praise and encourage those that do well if the Governours of the Church who are stil'd Angels in Scripture would act like the Angels in this Parable and curiously inspect the Religion of their Charge and by such Methods as the Laws allow either turn the Tares into good Seed which though impossible in Nature yet may be and I hope often is done in Religion or pluck 'em up if stubborn and irreclaimable if Governours of private Families warm'd with the like holy Zeal would take the like Measures and either reform their irreligious Servants and Dependents or else rid themselves of 'em and bring 'em to due legal Punishment If this wholesome Course were taken with due Diligence Watchfulness and Prudence Vice would soon be dishearten'd and Vertue more and more thrive and Increase God's Honour would be vindicated the Credit of Religion redeemed our own temporal Happiness advanced and innumerable Souls sav'd that otherwise would for ever have perish'd And this would be a Work truly worthy of Christians 't is an angelick Undertaking and every Man that prays hallow'd be thy Name thy Kingdom come thy Will be done in Earth as 't is in Heaven is bound in his own Sphere and according to his best Ability to promote what is contain'd in those Petitions to the Glory of God and the Interest of Religion as he expects and hopes to have an Answer of the following Petitions and receive his daily Bread and have his Trespasses forgiven him and to be preserved or supported in Temptation and delivered from Evil. The fifth thing this Parable informs us of is the Reason why God will not suffer the Angels as yet to gather out the Tares from among the good Seed to discriminate Hypocritical from sincere Christians and give them their due Punishment namely lest while they gather up the Tares they root up also the Wheat with them and therefore he suffers both to grow together until the Harvest That is in other Words the Reason of
necessary Advice even to the best Man living be watchful and strengthen the things that remain which are ready to die for I have not found thy Works perfect before God And what our Lord says Rev. 16.15 deserves to be seriously consider'd Behold I come as a Thief blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his Garments lest he walk naked and they see his Shame By a Cry being made at Midnight behold the Bridegroom cometh go ye forth to meet him is very lively and movingly represented how unexpectedly the Day of Judgment shall surprize the drouzy World and how suddain for any thing we can tell to the contrary the Time of our Death may be which is to us the Forerunner of it Midnight is a Time of great Silence and destin'd to Rest and a Forgetfulness of the Toils and Troubles of the Day and then suddain Outcries and Alarums are doubly scaring and affrighting and seize with an inexpressible Confusion Horror and Consternation And thus when Men are in the Midst of their Wickedness that spiritual Night employ'd in Deeds of Darkness given up to Ease and Luxury and forgetful of the great Business of working out their Salvation then shall that Time of Sorrows steal upon them as a Thief in the Night the terrifying Cry shall be made behold the great Judge of the World cometh go ye forth to meet him For when they shall say Peace and Safety says the Apostle Then suddain Destruction cometh upon them as Travail upon a Woman with Child and they shall not escape 1 Thes 5.3 Then shall the Kings of the Earth and the great Men and the rich Men those that were thought happy upon Earth instead of going out to meet this Judg hide themselves in Dens in Rocks and Mountains and say to the Mountains and Rocks fall on us and hide us from the Face of him that sitteth on the Throne and from the Wrath of the Lamb for the great Day of his Wrath is come and who shall be able to stand Rev. 6.15 16 17. And no wonder if a guilty Wretch dreads to go meet his angry Judg and all on the suddain with all his Stains and Pollutions about him appear before his Tribunal who hateth Iniquity and into whose Presence no unclean thing can enter And who is a consuming Fire to those who by their obstinate Impieties have provoked him to become their Enemy And since all this is so a Man of any Thought and that has any Apprehension of the sad Condition of being thus surpriz'd and hurried into the other World by so quick and unforeseen a Summons which no Man is sure shall not be his Case since many have been call'd away with little or no Warning that have no more expected than we do now a Man of any Thought and Apprehension of things will surely be mov'd by such Considerations to shake off that fatal Drouziness which too easily besets him and by a constant Attendance to his Duty and Preparation for his Departure hence be ready chearfully to obey his great Master's Call whether at Even or at Midnight or at the Cockcrowing or in the Morning lest coming suddainly he find him sleeping By the wise Virgins arising and trimming their Lamps when that Midnight Cry was made is represented the more than ordinary Care that even good Persons ought to take when by Age or the Violence of any Distemper the Time of their Departure hence seems to be near approaching to enliven their Piety and by putting a Recruit of Oyl into their Lamps acquiring new Degrees of Sanctity and warming their Souls with greater Ardors of Devotion and holy Love prepare to go chearfully to meet their Lord. Then is the Time when every sincere Christian should endeavour to adorn his Soul with all the Graces of the holy Religion he professes to improve every remaining Minute of his Time to this best of Purposes to redeem the many Hours formerly mispent in Vanity and Folly and by frequent Contemplation of the infinite Glory Sanctity and Bliss of that heavenly World to which he then so sensibly draws near inflame his Defires of being at the End of his wearisom Journey to it and fit himself for the spiritual unspotted Enjoyments of that happy Place by having as little Commerce as is possible with this World below and have his Conversation in Heaven which will so quickly be the Place of his everlasting Abode By the foolish Virgins saying to the wise give us of your Oyl for our Lamps are gone out is represented the Want of Preparation among the careless and inconsiderate for this so great and suddain Change and their mighty Consternation upon it and the vain and insignificant Courses they will take in their Surprize to make up if possible their own Defects by borrowing of others that have Souls better furnish'd with Piety than theirs And by the wise answering not so lest there be not enough for us and you and bidding them go rather and buy for themselves is shewn that 't is utterly groundless to expect at that great Day of Retribution when every Man shall be rewarded according to his own Works to fare the better for the Sanctity of others and that every Man has enough to do to work out his own Salvation and must keep his Lamp alive with his own Oyl must nourish his Soul with his own Vertue for there was never nor ever shall be any meer Man so holy and excellent but must return this same Answer as the wise Virgins did to such as should beg them to bestow some of their Vertues or Merits upon them not so lest there be not enough for our selves and you And if this be true what will become of the Popish Doctrin of Works of Supererrogation If the best Man in the World has but Vertue enough to secure his own Condition and that through infinite Mercy too and upon Account of the all-sufficient Merits of Christ where is there any left for him to bestow upon others But this is one of those doctrins that bring much Mony into their Coffers and therefore right or wrong they 'l be sure to maintain it By the Bridegroom's coming while those foolish Virgins went about so unlikely an Employment as then immediately to furnish their Lamps with Oyl which before were unregarded and suffer'd to go out and the Door before they were provided being shut is represented the Invalidity generally speaking of a Death-Bed Repentance that 't is too late to begin to be good when the Bridegrom comes and those that would enter with him into the Marriage Chamber must be ready and prepar'd by a previous Course of holy Living and that for some considerable Time This Hurry of the foolish Virgins at that Time to get Oyl for their Lamps was only the Effect of the Terrors of that Midnight Call had it not been for that they would have drouz'd on still in their thoughtless Way of living and in all Probability had it prov'd a false Alarm they
them that hate you Mat. 5.44 and Rom. 12.20 If thy Enemy hunger feed him if he thirst give him Drink and in this Parable our Lord proposes to our Imitation the Example of a Samaritan taking great Care of an unfortunate Jew though there could be no greater Enmity than between the Jews and the Samaritans and that grounded upon what of all things makes Ill Will the most inveterate Diversity of Opinion in Religion And indeed 't would be a barbarous Piece of Cruelty and Inhumanity if I should let a Man perish without any Commiseration or Help from me when I am able to give it him because he has formerly it may be been unkind or injurious to me or is of a different Religion and of a Nation that is in Hostility with that to which I belong This certainly is not doing as I would be done to nor loving my Neighbour as my self for every Man in a religious Sense is my Neighbour 't is more like the Rage of a Tiger than the Bowels of a Man or the Malice of a Devil than the Charity of a Christian As for Charity to Strangers and Foreigners that is expresly commanded in several Places of Scripture particularly 1 Pet. 4.9 where what we translate use Hospitality one to another is in the Original 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Be kind to Strangers Hob. 13.2 and by the Author to the Hebrews the Probability of receiving Angels unawares in that Disguise as Abraham and Lot did Gen. 18.3 and 19.2 is made the Motive to it And how excellent a Piece of Charity this is and how conducive to the Prevention of much Sin and Misery I need not spend much Time to prove There are few that have liv'd any considerable Time in the World and have seen more Parts of it than one but have some Time or other either tasted the Comfort of an hospitable Disposition or smarted for the Want of it and such Men are the fittest to tell their Thoughts of either That is how inhumane 't is to be without Bowels to an indigent Stranger and how happy Mankind would be in every Place were the Orders of the great Governour of the World duly observ'd in this Matter And as for wicked-Persons who deserve the least Compassion of any if they are in other Respects real Objects of Charity their Wickedness must not put a Bar to it for we are to imitate the Example of the merciful God who is kind and Beneficent to the unthankful and to the evil But all this is to be understood with Respect only to the really necessitous and helpless whose Wants and Calamities are not feign'd and who are unable to help themselves to better Circumstances For there are a very vile Sort of People who make a Trade of going about from House to House and with doleful Accents and a forlorn Appearance and formal Complaints endeavour to melt People into Compassion towards them who yet are far from being Objects of this Sort of Charity their Necessities being counterfeit or at least they being very well able to supply them by their own Labour if they would 'T is well known how gainful they make this lazy Course of Life how unwilling they are to work when any would employ them how much abominable Debauchery there is in those vagrant Societies and how great a Pest they are to the Publick they being no better than a Band of Villains and Robbers and unprofitable idle Drones that live upon the Labour and Spoil of others and are no Way useful or serviceable themselves And therefore to relieve their pretended Necessities is to encourage the worst Men living in a Course of Life highly dishonourable to God injurious to the State and ruinous to their own Souls Nay further 't is to deprive those that indeed deserve our Charity of considerable Supplies which are though insensibly bestow'd upon those vile Wretches and were it computed what some charitable Persons give in a Year in Mony to common Beggars at their Doors or otherwise 't would amount to a Sum big enough to cheer the Hearts of many Fatherless and Widows and decay'd Houskeepers that are in greater Want than those Vagrants though not so whining and so affectedly nasty and ragged And 't would be worth while for a Person that has us'd hitherto to scatter his Charity among those counterfeit Objects of it to try the Experiment what such Gifts would amount to in a Twelve Month's Time by laying aside what he would otherwise have bestow'd that Way whenever he is importun'd by such Wretches for an Alms and then see whether he can't dispose of it to better Purpose Indeed Labour and Correction is the best Sort of Charity to such Kind of Beggars And would Men in Authority resolve to do their Duty in this Matter and other Persons resolve to send such Vagabonds away empty and with Reproof and Shame the Case would soon be altered and they would find it better to work than starve and look upon honest Industry more eligible than the Lash Much Wickedness would by this Means be prevented and it would be a double and treble Charity 't would provide for the Happiness of both Body and Soul of such as should be reformed by it from such a hellish Course of Life 't would be a great Benefit to the Publick and Men would find themselves more able to support such as are really oppress'd with Want and utterly unable to help themselves And such Behaviours as this to sturdy Vagrants however harsh and severe it may seem to some indiscreetly compassionate Persons is plainly commanded by the great Apostle 2 Thes 3.10 He that will not work neither let him eat He that Will not work that is that appears to be able to labour but rather chuses an idle wandring Life and there is not One in Twenty of our common Beggars but are of this Sort hail and lusty and strong and in more Heart and better fed than many honest and industrious People And they that can travel as they do around the Kingdom we can't suppose whatever they may pretend to be incapable of Labour Indeed sometimes a real Object of Charity may present it self at ones Door or Abroad such as the blind and aged and maimed and the like and these no Question ought to be reliev'd but there being so many Counterfeits and the ill Consequence of misplacing ones charity upon them being so very great He is very indiscreet in bestowing his Alms that will not be first very well satisfied whether they are what they pretend to be and deserve his Charity or no. But this Severity must be used with Prudence and he that does deserve Correction as a Vagrant may yet by some calamitous Accident in following his lew'd Trade be at present in urgent Necessity of Relief and here the Way is first to supply the Necessity and afterwards in due Time to superadd the Correction For I must let no Man how wicked soever perish if I can prevent
in Time of Sickness the whole Man is dejected and the Spirit which should bear up his Infirmity is then it self for the most part wounded through the near Prospect of the other World and the bold Accusations of Conscience which then unless quite sear'd is loud and clamorous Then the Man is least of all able to help himself and the Charge of Sickness is great and he that was poor in Health when sick is doubly poor and indeed there is no greater Object of Pity and Compassion than a poor sick Man And as all Charity must be universal without excepting even Enemies so in this case our Enemies should be the Objects of our Charity to choose For upon a sick-Bed 't is most likely that they will be reconcil'd and 't is highly necessary than then they should be for Sickness often ends in Death and no Man can tell but that Sickness which his Enemy then lies under may be his last And 't is a miserable thing to die in Enmity And therefore before it be too late whoever is at variance with a sick Man should go to him and endeavour a Reconcilement if he hath injur'd the sick in any respect he should ask his Pardon and make him Satisfaction and Restitution and if the sick Man has injur'd him he should go to him to let him know that he freely forgives him and desires that all Ill-Will may be at at End for the future And at that Time when the Spirit is usually more softned and compliant than in Health and the Soul more awaken'd and sensible of her Duty 't is very probable he will hearken and the Man will gain his Brother And 't is a great Charity indeed to ease a sick Man's Mind of the devilish and tormenting Passions of Malice and Revenge it provides for Peace and Amity for the future should he recover and should he dye it makes his Account much easier at the Day of Judgment 3. As for Charity to such as are depriv'd of their Liberty the Manner of it consists in visiting and discoursing comfortably to them and in endeavouring by the best Methods we can to procure their Enlargement and in the mean time in helping them to Necessaries and perswading their Keepers to be kind to them and use them tenderly And if they are imprison'd for Grimes 't is to endeavour to make them sensible of the Guilt of them before God and that unless they sincerely repent of them an eternal Bondage in Chains of Darkness and in the lowest Hell shall come in the Place of the Dungeon their Iron Shackles and temporary Confinement And the Objects of this Piece of Charity are as before all Enemies as well as Friends Strangers and Foreigners as well as Neighbours and Acquaintance Under this Head of the Manner of expressing our Charity to the Necessitous it is proper to enquire what Preference may be made of one Object of Charity before another if more should offer themselves than one Man can relieve at least at the same time For our Direction in this matter St. Paul has left us two general Rules the one Gal. 6.10 where he says as we have Opportunity let us do good unto all Men but especially to those that are of the Houshold of Faith in which we are taught to prefer Christians before Heathens and Infidels when there is no Help but one must be preferr'd and among Christians to prefer in like Circumstances the pious and sincerely good before such as live not agreeably to their holy Profession for such only as have the Power of Godliness are properly of the Houshold of Faith The other Rule is in 1 Tim. 5.8 in these Words If any provide not for his own especially those of his own House or Kindred he has denyed the Faith c. and here we are directed if a Preference must be made to make it in Favour of our Friends and Relatives before such as are Strangers to us But these Rules must be thus explained As first where 't is impossible for us to comply with all Opportunities of doing good there this Preference is to be made but when we can we must do good to all And secondly When the Necessities of pious Christians and our Friends and Relations are equally great and urgent with those of the impious and Strangers to us there likewise our Charity should begin at Home But thirdly when the Distress of an Ill Man or a Stranger is greater and more urgent than that of a good Man or my Friend and Relative so that the former will be in danger of perishing unless immediately reliev'd and the latter will not but may safely tarry longer Then there must be no Respect of Persons but the greatest Necessity where-ever it be found must be first reliev'd I shall add but one thing more relating to the Manner of expressing our Charity and that is what St. Peter advises 1 Pet. 4.9 that it be done without grudging The Word in the Original is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies murmuring or an unwillingness in doing any thing as if 't were torn and forc'd from one rather than proceeded from a free Inclination And this hateful churlish way of Alms-giving St. Paul likewise expresly forbids and says our Charity must not be shewn grudgingly 2 Cor. 9.7 or as of Necessity and Rom. 12.8 He that sheweth Mercy let him do it with Chearfulness according to the Example which God himself hath set us Who giveth to every Man liberally Jam. 1.5 and upbraideth not And here I can't but admire and adore the infinite Goodness of God who has not only oblig'd us to the Substance of this Duty but has so order'd the very Circumstantials of it that the necessitous may be reliev'd with as much Decency and Ease to themselves as can be and the Alms of others look rather like their own Propriety as the Payment of a Debt or restoring of a Pledge or bestowing a Reward and that their Souls might not be griev'd by Frowns and Taunts and unkind Language when they receive Supply for the Needs of their Body For Man as well as God loves a chearful Giver and a Benefit that comes hardly and with Shews of Unwillingness is much lessened in its Value and a Man of a generous Spirit would prefer a Mite given with a free Heart and Words of Kindness before the Largess of an Emperour if he must suffer Upbraidings for it and opprobrious Treatment Super Omnia Vultus accessere Boni says Horace All the Delicates at his Friends Entertainment would have relish'd but very indifferently had not a chearful Countenance assur'd him of his Welcome And if a free Charity be given in secret too Mat. 6.4 as our Lord himself directs the poor Man will not be so much as put to the Blush for what he receives and will come short of the rich in nothing that is necessary and be free from the Vexations that attend an opulent Condition and the Advantage
where shall be weeping and gnashing of Teeth And thus much may suffice to be spoken to the second Enquiry How we are to express our Charity to the proper Objects of it in what Manner and in what Measure But before I proceed to what remains to be done according to the propos'd Method I think it will not be amiss to enquire whether in the Expresses of our Charity to the sick Danger of infection will not excuse from visiting them To this I answer first in general that Danger of Infection will not excuse all from visiting the sick For 't would be strangely inhumane and contrary to this Christian Pity and Compassion which we are now discoursing of to desert a poor helpless Creature in his greatest Necessity only because there is a Probability of falling into the like Calamity And would any Man be willing to be serv'd so himself Some then ought even in Case of Contagion to visit and attend the sick but who are they for every one will be ready to shift it from himself In the first place I think the nearest Relations of the Party ought to do it for they have a double Tye upon them that of Nature as well as of Religion and among these Relations those that are the most disengag'd from Business and the Affairs of this World and have therefore the least Obligation to come into other Company where there may be Danger of spreading the Infection further and likewise such as have the fewest Dependents upon them That is Private and single Persons are oblig'd to this Duty before those that are of more publick Callings and have Families and among these he that is most free and disengag'd and capable withal is the most oblig'd If there be no Relations of the infected Person whether he be Poor or Rich Friend or Enemy Good or Bad the Case is the same or none that will venture upon such hazardous Attendance I think the nearest Neighbours are oblig'd to do it i.e. the single and disengag'd from a Necessity of publick Converse For those that have Wife and Children and Families their Charity must begin at home to take care of their own Relatives is the prime Obligation and the Safety of a whole Family is in most Cases to be preferr'd to that of a single Person And those whose necessary Employments call them into much Company are bound to avoid what would endanger their bringing Infection to that Company and that for the same Reason as before because the Safety of many is generally to be preferr'd to that of one And those upon whose Life depends under God the Maintenance and Support of divers Persons for the sake of those Persons should be very careful to preserve themselves Only this ought to be observ'd by such as upon these and the like Accounts cannot personally visit and attend the infected Person viz. That they take great care to procure others that may do it and according to their Ability and the Wants of the Person to send Supplies of all things necessary And there are very many who though they will not venture their Lives for Conscience sake and to gain the Reward of being merciful in the other World yet for Mony they will do it and therefore such Encouragements must not be wanting from those that are of Ability As for Physicians and Clergy-Men whose Professions engage them to converse with great Numbers of People how far they are oblig'd in this Matter I think may be resolv'd thus If only one Person in a Parish or Neighbourhood or but a few in comparison with the whole Body of Men be contagiously sick to me it seems that neither Physician nor Divine are in such case oblig'd personally to visit them but rather to forbear and only to convey to them by other Hands what is needful for their Bodily and Ghostly Health respectively The Reason is because the Physicians and Divines being often sent for to divers Families must either not go after they have visited an infected Person and so neglect their Duty and many suffer and some perish for want of their Assistance or if they should go would very probably endanger the whole Neighbourhood And therefore the Safety of great Numbers of People being to be preferr'd before that of one or but a few they ought I think in this Case to keep at distance But when a Contagion spreads so that it becomes epidemical and the greater Number of Persons are seiz'd with it then the Case is alter'd and then I think both Physicians and Divines are bound to visit personally For in such Case to send Relief by other Hands whether Medicines or ghostly Comfort and Advice would by reason of the Numbers of the sick become impracticable and 't would be unreasonable for the sake of a few that were well to deprive a greater Number that are sick of the great Benefit of personal Visits of Physicians which for many Reasons prove more effectual than prescribing at a Distance and of the Comfort of the Prayers and more close and particular Discourses of Divines which no doubt are much more beneficial and make a deeper Impression upon the Soul than several Advices and Exhortations sent in Writing And Divines in this Case seem to be more oblig'd than Physicians though the Obligation is very strong upon Physicians too and that because the Safety of the Soul is infinitely to be preferr'd before that of the Body And if it perishes it perishes for ever and will at length involve the Body too in the same eternal Ruin And for a Shepherd to desert his Flock in their greatest Necessity to leave the Care of their Souls when there is the greatest Need of his Help and the infernal Lyon roaring about seeking whom he may devour This I think is the greatest Barbarity and most base betraying that great Trust that is possible The good Shepherd says our Lord giveth his Life for his Sheep And he the great Shepherd and Bishop of our Souls set the Example but the Hireling fleeth because he is a Hireling and careth not for the Sheep and the Wolf catcheth and scatters and devours them John 10.12 13. We should remember that God is infinitely powerful and can protect even from the noisom Pestilence if he thinks fit and nothing more intitles a Man to the peculiar Protection of the Allmighty than a faithful Discharge of his Duty And however it may fare with us here there is a glorious Recompence reserved for so great a Charity in a better World Proceed we now to the third and last thing to be done upon this Subject which is to shew what great Encouragement we have to this excellent Duty of Charity or what a Blessedness it is to be able thus to give rather than to Receive and that both with Respect to this World and that to come For in the first place with Relation to this World What can be a greater Pleasure to a Generous Spirit than to be the Happy
what Instruction he hath met with in the School of Righteousness what plenty of Religious Discourses and Exhortations he has enjoy'd and how frequently he has felt Motions from within to a still more and more holy and exemplary Life He that hath experienc'd all this in a great degree that hath had his pregnant natural Capacity well cultivated by an early and excellent Instruction and had the whole of Religion plainly laid before him in all the Doctrines Duties Rewards and Punishments of it and been often and affectionately exhorted to live accordingly in all holy Conversation and Godliness and has frequently felt secret internal Motions and Perswasions to it this Man has received much more than One Talent at the hands of God and God will expect from him a proportionable Improvement and he must abound in every good Word and Work For unto whomsoever much is given of him shall be much requir'd and to whom Men have committed much of him they will ask the more But because all Men are not of equal Abilities naturally neither have the same Opportunities of Instruction and Improvement nor the same immediate Impulses of the Blessed Spirit where there is any defect in these Respects God will abate proportionably in his Expectations and he that received the One Talent had he gained but One other with it would have been call'd a good and faithful Servant and been receiv'd into the Joy of his Lord. Let us all therefore endeavour to grow in Grace according to the measure of this unspeakable Gift to perform our Duties each in his Station and according to his Ability faithfully and industriously that when our Lord comes to make Enquiry into each ones Improvement of his Talent and call for every ones particular Account we may all from the least to the greatest chearfully give it up and receive the immense Reward of a sincere Diligence For In the third Place There will most certainly be a Time when our Great Lord will come to take Account of every Man's Improvement of the Grace that was given him and reward every Man according to his Deserving That there will certainly be a Day of Judgment both of Quick and Dead when every Man shall be rewarded according to that he hath done in the Body whether it be good or evil is a Truth so evident from Scripture that those who have read and do believe those Writings can make no doubt of it And the Proof of this from Reason has been so convincingly manag'd by several Learned Pens particularly of late by Dr. Sherlock in his Excellent Discourse upon Judgment that I think nothing can be added to it I shall only therefore Collect such a Description of that Great Day and the Proceedings in it out of the Revelations where it is the most movingly represented as may incline us all with the greatest Diligence and immediately by self-Examination and Amendment of every evil Way to prepare for that great Audit that we may give up our Accounts with joy and not with grief In the 20th Chapter of the Revelations ver 12. after the divine Apostle had given a Description of the Appearing of the great Judge upon his Throne I saw a great White Throne says he and him that sat on it from whose face the Earth and the Heaven fled away and there was found no place for them He proceeds I saw the dead small and great stand before God and the Books were opened And another Book was opened which is the Book of Life and the dead were judged out of those Things that were written in the Books according to their Works and the Sea gave up the dead that were in it and Death and the Grave deliver'd up the dead which were in them and they were judged every man according to their Works And whosoever was not written in the Book of Life was cast into the Lake of Fire That is The Records shall then be laid open wherein every Man's Receipt of Grace is enter'd and those whose Works shall be found proportionably good according to the Assistance they have receiv'd from Above or in the Stile of the Parable that have made an answerable Improvement to the Number of Talents committed to them their Names shall be written in the Book of Life and they received into the eternal Joy of their Lord. But those who can then give no good Account of their Talents shew no suitable Improvement in Holiness according to the measure of Grace they have received shall never see Life but be cast into the Lake of Fire which is the second Death And because so very few will be so wise as to make due Preparation for this great Day of Account by improving the Grace God has given them to the great Ends for which it was design'd therefore as 't is describ'd Rev. 3.15 The Kings of the Earth and the great Men and the rich Men and the chief Captains and the mighty Men and every Bond-man and every Freeman many of all Qualities and Conditions from the highest to the lowest shall hide themselves in Dens in Rocks and Mountains and say to the Rocks and Mountains fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the Throne and from the Wrath of the Lamb for the great Day of his Wrath is come and who shall be able to stand May these Terrors of the Lord perswade us to provide in this our day for the Things that belong to our Peace before they be hid from our eyes looking for by frequent Meditation and hastning unto by a diligent Improvement of our Talents the coming of this dreadful day of God and being above all things careful That we be found of him in Peace without spot and blameless for God will bring every secret Thing into Judgment whether it be good or evil and exactly adapt every Man's Recompense to his Work Which brings me to the next Thing I am to consider in this Parable namely Fourthly That at that great Day of Account when every Man's Work is fully known and his Improvement compar'd with what he has receiv'd the Diligent shall not only in general be receiv'd into the Joy of their Lord and the unprofitable cast into outer Darkness but the most Diligent those that have made the greatest Improvement shall receive the greatest share of Happiness And those that have been most careless and Unprofitable shall be doom'd to the greatest misery That is in short there will be degrees of Happiness or Misery respectively awarded to Men according to the degrees of their Holiness or Impiety I know this has been much question'd by some and wholly deny'd by others and their main Reason against it I conceive to be this That since the Happiness of the Just in Heaven consists in the Vision of God or the Excellencies and Beauties of the Divine Nature which will fill a holy Soul with eternal and inexpressible Delight for so St. John expresses the Bliss of Heaven by seeing God as