CERTAIN SELECT DISCOURSES On those most Important Subjects requisite to be well understood by a CATECHIST In laying the FOUNDATION of Christian Knowledge in the Minds of Novitiates Viz. First DISCOURSES on I. The Doctrine of the TWO COVENANTS both LEGAL and EVANGELICAL And II. On FAITH and JUSTIFICATION By WILLIAM ALLEN SECONDLY DISCOURSES ON I. The COVENANT of GRACE or Baptismal Covenant Being Catechetical Lectures on the Preliminary QUESTIONS and ANSWERS of the CHURCH-CATECHISM II. Three CATECHETICAL LECTURES on Faith and Justification By THOMAS BRAY D. D. LONDON Printed by S. Hawes in the Year MDCXCIX TWO DISCOURSES The FIRST of the NATURE ENDS and DIFFERENCE OF THE TWO COVENANTS And the SECOND A PRACTICAL DISCOURSE ON FAITH SHEWING The Nature and Difference of that Faith which is Justifying and that which is Not and the Reason of that Difference By WILLIAM ALLEN THE PREFACE THE following Discourse upon the NATURE ENDS and DIFFERENCE of the TWO COVENANTS may be well reckon'd the Opus Palmare of the Judicious Mr. WILLIAM ALLEN though nothing came from the Pen of that very judicious Writer which may not be esteemed among the best in its Kind And even in his Polemick Discourses such was his Discretion and Temper that every Thing he spoke was very convincing but never provoking so that he had the Happiness which few Controvertists enjoyed that even his Adversaries wou'd not mention him without Expressions of Esteem But the Character I had from two most Excellent and Learned Bishops not many Years since deceased of the subact Judgment of this truly Great Man and particularly as it appeared in this Tract of the TWO COVENANTS were sufficient with me to value with a particular Regard whatever came from him and This in a more especial Manner The learned Bishop Williams who had been intimate with him said of him That though be was the most candid Person living and never heard him pass harsh Censures of Men and their Writings yet such was that Awe with Respect to him which the greatest Men in those Times as well as himself found upon their Spirits that whenever they gave Dr. Tillotson a Turn at his Tuesday's Lecture at St. Lawrence if they should happen to cast an Eye upon Mr. ALLEN in the Congregation they could not help being under some Concern lest an Expression should drop out of their Mouths which could not bear the Test And the Reverend Bishop LLOYD being ask'd his Opinion concerning the Reprinting this Discourse of the TWO COVENANTS He advis'd it with these Words By all Means It was that Tract of Mr. ALLEN made me a Divine I never met with the Person who did not easily allow this Excellent Prelate to be the greatest Scripturist perhaps of any Age. A Man indeed like Apollos mighty in the Scriptures And this Tract of Mr. ALLEN is a Key of excellent Use to the Opening of them as it discovers in the different Oeconomies and Dispensations of the Law and the Gospel the Aim of God in both to be the same Namely the selecting to himself a Church out of the wicked World and the tying the same in the closest Bonds of Allegiance to him by Covenant but yet by such as tho' different in Appearance and Circumstances according to the Difference of Times and Persons yet agreeing in the main Design of Erecting and Preserving a Church to God and the Salvation of Men thro' one Mediator Jesus Christ And that the Old and New Testament are but as distinct Editions of the same Covenant in Substance The Occasion of Printing it in Folio after a former Edition in 8 vo but before all his Works were collected in folio was to prefix it to the Lectures on the Preliminary Questions and Answers of the Church Catechism the Subject of the Baptismal Covenant to which this of Mr. ALLEN 't was thought wou'd be the best Introduction And that they would most naturally cohere together the one treating upon that great and comprehensive Subject the Doctrine of the Covenant in general the other of the Covenant of Grace into which we Christians are baptiz'd in particular And both Tracts were bound up together to be bestow'd into the Parochial Libraries then begun and which God be prais'd still continue to be dispers'd so far as the Stock of Books will reach in some of the poorer Livings throughout the Kingdom The Design of these Parochial Libraries is to supply the Ministers in such mean Cures as will not enable them to furnish themselves with Necessary Books To supply them I say with the Means whereby they may be enabled to declare unto the People both by Preaching and Catechising the whole System of Christian Doctrine so as to be able with St. Paul at their Departure whether by Death or Cession to call them to Record that they have not shunned to declare unto them the whole Counsel of God Acts 20 27. And as in a Scheme of such Libraries the Books ought to be adapted to the whole System and the several Parts thereof so they cou'd not be form'd upon a better Plan it was suppos'd than that of the Two Covenants and more especially the Covenant of Grace or Baptismal Covenant On the Nature Terms and Conditions of the same both the Mercies on God's Part and the Conditions to be perform'd on ours On the great Mediator and Mediation by which it was obtain'd for us by what Assistance and Means we shall be enabled to perform it under what sacramental Seals we entred into it and lastly on that Repentance after Breach of Covenant whereby alone we can be re-instated in the Divine Favour Under these Heads is comprehended the whole System of Saving Doctrine at least of Catechetical according to that best Plan thereof ever exhibited by any Church Antient or Modern the Catechism of the Church of England And the same in a more enlarg'd Manner ought to be the Subject of the Concionatory Scheme But tho' it be infinitely desireable with Regard to the Eternal Salvation of both Minister and People that the former should not shun both in the Catechetical and Concionatory Method thus to declare unto them the whole Counsel of God and in thus doing they will no doubt be judg'd to have duly fed the Flock of Christ which he purchased with his Blood and over which the Holy Ghost hath made them Overseers Acts 20 25. yet how is it possible humanly speaking to do this without the Help of Books And those not a few as would appear when the several Articles of Christian Faith necessary to be believ'd included in the general Summary thereof call'd the Apostle's Creed come to be considered more especially when the vast Series and Chain of Duties of the Christian Life necessary to be practised shall be drawn out into a View of the Particulars Each of the former requires particular Explanations and Proof and of the latter particular States of their several Natures together with proper Application And as often entire Tracts are written upon
therefore no Man that owns himself a Christian ought to be silent when the Creed is rehearsed in Divine Service but every particular Person ought to signifie his firm Belief and Assent to the same by openly and solemnly rehearsing it together with Christ's Ministers I say by openly and solemnly rehearsing it for because that this Body of Christian Truths ought in the most open and solemn manner to be confess'd our Church has appointed that the Creed should not only be rehears'd and pronounc'd by every particular Member of the Congregation so often as it occurs in Divine Service but also that it should be done standing In the Creed Libertas Ecclesiast p. 458 we do professedly says the Learned Faulkner acknowledge the Three Persons in the Glorious Trinity to be the only true God and our only Lord and a standing posture well becometh a Servant in his professed owning and attending upon his Master We openly declare every one for himself in the Words I believe the Ground of our Christian Hope and Comfort that in believing in the Father who made the World and in the Son who Died and Rose again Ascended and shall judge all Men and in the Holy Ghost that we have Expectation in the Church of God and the Communion of Saints of obtaining Forgiveness of Sins a Resurrection and Everlasting Life and do also acknowledge all these Articles of the Christian Faith And a standing Gesture is very suitable to any solemn Declaration of our Minds in Matters of moment and concernment And as the open Profession of Faith includeth a stedfast Resolution to continue firm in the Acknowledgment of the Christian Doctrine this in particular is so properly signified by the standing Gesture that standing to a thing Deut. 25.28 and in several other Scriptures signifies an asserting and professing a thing with Resolution so that you ought both openly with an audible Voice to Rehearse your Belief after the Minister in Divine Service And to signifie your stedfast Resolution to stick to your Faith and to remain unshaken in such your Belief you ought to stand up when you so Rehearse and Profess it 3. But yet farther 3. It may remotely imply God's Command to all Christians to confess him upon other occasions This Word Rehearse may be interpreted remotely to imply that other great Christian Duty which may lye upon you and that is frankly and openly to own the Belief and Perswasion of any or all these Christian Truths when at any time there shall be occasion given for such a Declaration tho' it may be to the hazard of your Lives and the loss of Goods Livelihood or all that is dear to you or tho' you shall suffer the utmost Scorn and the Reproaches of profane and wicked Men for such your Belief and Confession And the two great Occasions for such a Declaration are when the Superiour Powers shall demand it in order to persecute you for the same or when through a general Indifference to Religion impious and wicked Men do take courage to run it down and that the more for the Cowardice of the Orthodox Professors of it as if afraid or asham'd to own it But upon both these or on any other occasion you must be ready always to give an Answer to every Man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear 1 Pet. 3.15 First Now as to the first of these Occasions the Primitive Christians were often put upon this Duty of openly and publickly Confessing their Faith when such a Confession was certain to bring upon them the severest Torments that the Malice of Men or Devils could inflict For the then Princes of the World were Pagans and Worshippers of false Gods who would often force the Christians either to Renounce their Belief in the one True God the God of Israel and in Christ his only Begotten Son or they would tear their Flesh with burning Pincers would throw 'em to be devoured by wild Beasts rend their Limbs asunder on Racks and put 'em to infinite other Tortures But such was the Constancy of those Christians that they would not through Fear dissemble their Faith but would openly before the Heathen Tribunals declare their Belief of the True God and of Jesus Christ his only Begotten Son And this their Declaration of their Christian Faith in the Language of the Scripture and of the Ancient Church was call'd a Confessing of Christ and the Persons that did so were intituled with the Glorious Name of Confessors And thus to confess Christ by openly declaring your Belief in Him and in God the Father and God the Holy Ghost and likewise your Belief in any other the Articles of the Christian Faith whatever should be the danger in so doing is expresly made your Duty Rom. 10.9.10 and has Salvation promis'd as the Reward of it If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved for with the heart man believeth unto Righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto Salvation Where you see that an open Confession and Profession of your Faith with the Mouth is made as necessary to Salvation as to Believe it in the heart Secondly A second Occasion for a frank and open owning of the Great Truths of Christianity is when through a general Indifference to Religion impious and wicked Men do take Courage to run it down and that the more for the Cowardice of the Orthodox Professors of it as if afraid or asham'd to own it God be praised it is not now made by the Powers that are above us in this Nation a Matter worthy of Death or of Sufferings for any to own himself an Orthodox Believer yet so many are the profane and ungodly Persons the Men of no Religion abroad in the World that they will scoff at those who seem to believe and dare to own the Principles of Christianity And so few are those who have the Courage to stand up in Vindication of the Truth the Generality of Lay-Christians Gallio like seeming to care for none of these things and thinking it only the Clergy's Business to contend earnestly for the Faith that the Adversaries to Religion are mightily embolden'd thereby to bear it down deriding all serious Christians and true Believers as a Company of credulous and easie People and applauding themselves as the only Men of Reason and Free because Licentious Thinkers But now whenever it shall be the Lot of any of you to fall amongst such who will scoff at you for believing and professing that you believe the Articles of the Faith you must boldly oppose 'em and let 'em know that you are not afraid nor asham'd of the Gospel of Christ nor to own your selves Christians Rom. 1.16 And you must not through Fear Bashfulness or Cowardice dissemble such your Faith lest God if you deny or dissemble your owning of him here should
11.25 that is That it is the Seal of that Covenant which was Purchas'd by and Ratify'd in his Blood But such as have been throughly Catechized as they have been made to Understand the Terms and Conditions of the Covenant of Grace both the inestimable Priviledges made over to them on God's part and those very reasonable Conditions to be perform'd on their own so they have been also taught that One main End of Communicating in the Lord's Supper is to Ratify and Confirm and Seal this Covenant of Grace between God and Us. And then those that have been taught this cannot come Ignorantly to the Lord's Supper nor consequently are in such danger of coming Unworthily I. Of Receiving Vnworthily for Ignorance of the Nature and Consequence of that Blessed Ordinance is generally as much the cause as any thing that any do approach Unworthily to it Nor if the People of our Nation had been ever throughly Catechized II. Of not Receiving at all would so many Abstain as commonly do from ever coming at all for if all Men were throughly instructed in the Nature Terms and Conditions of their Covenant which it is the Business of Catechizing to do as they would then easily discern that it is the highest and most inestimable Priviledge in the World to be took into such a Covenant of Grace wherein they have God Almighty Engaging himself and putting his Seal to it in the Sacrament to make good to them the most inestimable Blessings Pardon and Happiness on the most reasonable Conditions Repentance Faith and Gospel Obedience So if they did rightly understand this they would then account it as it really is the highest Priviledge in the World to be Confederates with God in so advantagious a Covenant and would think they could never often enough Partake at the Lord's Table whereby the oft'ner they come they do more and more secure to themselves those inestimable Benefits made over to us by the Covenant of Grace and Engage as themselves more closely to God so God himself more inviolably as it were to make good those Blessings to them No surely if all Christians had been but Catechized in those Points both what a mighty Priviledge it is to be in Covenant with God and that Receiving of the Sacrament is the Rite of God's own Appointment of Confirming to our selves all the Benefits of this Covenant we should then have our People Daily crouding to the Lord's Table which they do now so profanely turn their Backs upon we should not then need so much to invite and entreat Persons to come but they would of their own accord Embrace all Opportunities of more and more Ensuring to themselves these most invaluable Benefits by often coming In a word A Man is no more fit to partake of the Lord's Supper that does not well understand the Nature and Terms of that Covenant which he does therein Ratify and Seal with God than he is fit to Seal to Covenants and Leases whose Conditions and Obligations he never had so much as Read over to him nor does he know them But Catechizing is the appointed and most proper Means of gaining a competent Measure of Understanding in the Nature and Terms of the Covenant of Grace Without having been Catechized therefore a Man cannot be well expected to partake worthily of the Lord's Supper And this is the Second Use to which Catechizing does therefore serve to prepare you that you may be sit and worthy Communicants at the Lord's Table Thirdly III. Catechizing is Requisite to Persons being Edifyed by Preaching Catechizing is very useful to render you Capable to receive Edification by the Preaching of the Word and to your Profiting by Sermons That is certainly the true and only edifying Preaching which does most plainly lay open before you the Meaning the Reasons and the Importance of any Article of your Faith whereby you may best know God and the Necessity of serving him and which does most clearly Explain to you the Nature and true Extent of your Christian Duties whereby you may know what it is you have to do and may be freed from all causless Doubts and Scruples about the way of your Happiness And lastly which does give you the most convincing Arguments and Reasons to move and stir you up faithfully to discharge your manifold Obligations to God your Neighbour and your selves Such as this is truly Edifying Preaching because this will if you do duly attend to it build you up perfect Christians in the Knowledge and Practice of true Religion And now One that has been Catechized so as to have a general Understanding in the Nature of his Covenant when such a One hears a Sermon upon any particular Point of that Covenant whereby he has more fully explain'd to him the Nature and Attributes of God and his Saviour's Mediation and of his own Duty than formerly in Catechizing could be done and when he hears any good Reasons and Motives given whereby he should seriously apply himself to live so and so as becomes the Servant of such a God and such a Saviour and one that professes to pay him such Obedience When a Catechized Understanding Person hears such Preaching is this he finds his Understanding more enlightned with Heavenly Truths and his Will and Affections more bent upon doing as he has been Instructed and so as in all reason he ought he accounts such a Sermon truly Edifying and himself Edify'd thereby But the Ignorant and Uncatechized part of the World when they hear a Sermon for want of Discretion to judge of its real Worth such look only at some such trifling Consideration as the Vehemence and Noise of the Speaker and if there be but enough of that as generally there is the greatest Shew where there is the least of Substance tho' they are made to know no more than they did before of the Importance of any Article of their Faith or of the Nature and Extent of any Duty of Religion they are however stunn'd into Admiration of they know not what utterly dis-regarding the most instructing and really edifying Preaching to the very great Prejudice of their Souls and the utter hinderance of their Improvement by our Ministry in all useful and substantial Knowledge Besides it is a mighty Help to the gaining Understanding in any Science whatsoever especially the Christian Religion to have a general View given one of the whole which it is the Business of Catechizing to do and to see how one Point depends upon another and do all sweetly agree together For not to mention other Advantages by this a Man shall be able to judge the better of the Usefulness and Weight of any Sermon or Religious Discourse on any particular Point as whether it does throughly Explain it or does not take in what does more properly belong to some other Matter And by this a Man shall be able also to judge whether the Preacher Builds upon the Foundation Gold Silver precious Stone or Wood Hay
our Saviour does therefore direct us And thus he does usually Gild over his Errors Thus especially he Gilds his Errors where the Light of the Gospel does most clearly shine as here with the Resemblance of Divine Truth especially in those Churches and Countries where the Light of the Gospel does most clearly shine And I think I cannot do you better Service than to Instance in some of those pernicious Errors both in Faith and Practice of this Kind which do at present Infest this Church and Nation that so you may be Caution'd against the Entertainment of them And First It is usual with Satan here amongst us I. When under the plausible Appearance of Advanceing God's Honour in some of his Attributes he renders him Odious and Despis'd in Others Vnder the plausible Appearance and Colour of Advancing God's Honour in some of his Attributes to render him Odious and Despised in other Thus for Instance By infusing into Men's Hearts a Belief that God has Created the far greatest Part of the World on purpose to manifest his Dominion and Power and Justice in Damning them afterwards for their Sins he Robs him of the Honour of being a Gracious Merciful and Good God to the utter abolishing of all Veneration towards him and Love of him Insomuch that the very Atheist who denies there is a God does not so much Affront him as even a sober Heathen thought as those who think so Dishonourably of him II. When under the Colour of Advancing Gospel truths he propagates Heresies which do undermine Religion and the Necessity of a holy Life Secondly Vnder the Colour of Setting up as the most precious Gospel Truths some Opinions that seem to have a great Resemblance of Truth he brings in such Heresies into the Church as do utterly undermine Religion and the necessity of a good Life Thus by his Teaching that Christ has so Paid the whole Debt for our Sins that the vilest Wretch that Lives need no more but be perswaded that he is an Elected Person and that the Promises belong to him on the Assurance of his particular Election and that such a Faith as this will save him But by Vertue of such an Opinion of Satan's infusing no doubt you shall too often find an Envious Malicious Viper a Covetous Worldling a Rebel and an Adulterer even before his Sins are Repented of talk of Recumbing and Leaning upon Christ and Roling upon the Promises as they are pleas'd to express it with more Assurance than the best and holiest Livers and the faithfullest Servants of Christ III. When he teaches to prefer some eminent Christian Duty or some Part of a Duty or one Way of performing a Duty to the disparagement of another Thirdly A most fatal and mischievous Delusion of Satan rise amongst us in this Nation at this Day is his Teaching Men to prefer some Eminent Christian Duty or One Part of a Duty or One way and manner of performing a Duty to the Disparagement of another Thus you shall often see some careless whether they come to Prayers or not so they can be but at the Sermon and others on the contrary say they care not whether they shall hear a Sermon in their Lives so they can have but Prayers But the most notorious Cheat he puts upon Men is his infusing into their Hearts to Prefer One Part of a Duty to the utter Contempt of the other Thus because in the Worship of God in Prayers and Praises to perform this with an Hearty inward Devotion is principally required and we are commanded that since God is a Spirit Christians must Worship him in Spirit and in Truth As to prefer Prayer to the neglect of Preaching or Sermons to the Contempt of Prayer Hence vast Numbers of Men do conclude that Outward Reverence by Kneeling lifting up the Eyes and the like is a meer Outward Ceremony not at all necessary under the Gospel insomuch that God is now most highly Dishonour'd even in our Publick Assemblies where we come to do him Honour by the shameful want of Reverence appearing in most People by sitting at their very Prayers So true it is what One said That such a rude and slovenly Kind of Religion As also praying in Spirit to the regard of Bodily Worship hath made its way into the World by this Policy of Satan and such a shameful Carelessness in Divine Worship that should a Stranger to our Religion come into our Assemblies he could not by the Carriage of the Generality of People imagine what they were doing and that they were Worshiping of the glorious Majesty of Heaven would perhaps be one of the last Things he could Conjecture And Extemporary Prayer to the utter Contempt of Forms of Prayer But the most fatal Error of this Kind the most mischievous to the Church and Nation and to Men's Souls therein Is the Preferring a way of performing a Duty that is Vnpracticable by the Generality of Christians to the utter Disparagement of another more easy and no less acceptable way of discharging it This is eminently seen in Advancing Extemporary Prayer as the only Spiritual way of Worshiping and in raising Prejudices in the Minds of Christians against Forms of Prayer as not Spiritual enough if at all Lawful It is very certain that the far greatest Part of Christians are utterly unable to Conceive for themselves much less before others such Prayers or Praises as are proper for their Occasions and fit to be Offer'd in Decency and Honour to so Great and Wise a Majesty as God is And this consider'd if Prayers of other Godly Men's nay of a whole Church's composing must not be Us'd does it not necessarily follow that this Principal of all Christian of all Natural Duties must suffer if not a total Neglect at least-wise that it must be very indecently and rudely Perform'd and in too familiar a manner with God as is too usual Why woful Experience does plainly shew us that for this very Reason it does And therefore By this latter Means Satan has utterly Defeated those excellent Helps we have in our Church and brought in a great Neglect of Publick Family and private Devotion tho' no Church through the Care of its Pious Bishops and Pastors did ever Abound with more excellent Forms and Helps and those better fitted for Publick Family and Private Devotion than our Church does at this Day yet upon the account of Men's Prejudices which they have been taught to Entertain against Forms of Prayer as not Lawful or not Expedient or not Spiritual enough never did Persons so sadly Profane the Worship and Service of God so heartlesly join in the Common-Prayer so scandalously throw aside Family Religion and so universally I fear neglect Private Devotion as now they do I fear that those who so zealously decry Forms of Prayer and that on purpose to Advance in its stead a more Spiritual way of Worship as they think will take it ill that
than throughly to understand both the Meaning and Importance of every Doctrine of Faith and the Nature and Extent of every Christian Duty And lastly since a good End can never be obtain'd without the Knowledge and Use of due and proper means the Nature therefore and Use of Prayer and the Nature and End of Sacraments must be a most necessary part of Christian Knowledge So much must our Appetites after Knowledge in the most Excellent of Humane Arts and Science be Renounc'd in comparison of our Desires after a competent Measure of Divine Knowledge But Lastly III. When out of Pride Prejudice and contradiction to all Sacred Truths we set up our own Carnal Imaginations Fleshly Reasonings against those Spiritual Notions and those Mysterious Articles of our Faith which are deliver'd to us in Scripture Above all we must Renounce that prevailing Appetite in such as are of most Depraved and Corrupt Minds viz. The setting up their own Imaginations and Fleshly Reasonings against those Spiritual Notions and those more Mysterious Articles of Faith which are delivered to us in the Scripture In the more depraved Nature of some Men there is a great deal of Untowardness and Difficulty to submit to the sacred Truths Revealed to us by Christ in the Gospel as to Matters of Faith or such Articles as are necessary to be believ'd One that is conceited of his own Wisdom strength of Parts or Improvement in Knowledge will not submit his Reason to entertain Notions which he cannot Comprehend and Penetrate The Carnal Mind which is Enmity against God Rom. 8.7 will disdain to have his Understanding baffl'd or puzzl'd with sublime Mysteries of Faith he will quarrel at any thing too high for his Wit to reach or too Knotty for him to unloose How can these things be What Reason can there be for this I cannot see how this can be true This Point is not intelligible And perhaps he finds fault with the whole Body of the Scriptures either because some things are obscure to him or the Phrase is not queint and fine enough Thus the Carnal Mind treateth the Dictates of Faith and the Word of God But far be it from Christians thus to indulge their own Carnal Reasonings and Self-Conceits in opposition to what God has Reveal'd to us as necessary to be Believ'd by us For certainly the Infinite Wisdom both knows what is fittest to be taught and reveal'd to us and in what Manner and Method he had best to express himself Those that did thus proudly despise the Wisdom of God measuring it according to their own Talent of Wit and Understanding did at first and do to this Day most fatally miscarry for it is written 1 Cor. 1.19 I will destroy the Wisdom of the Wise and will bring to nothing the Vnderstanding of the Prudent But our Duty is to submit our Understanding to Almighty God to be Inlighten'd by his infinite Wisdom Casting down Imaginations and every high thing that exalteth it self against the Knowledge of God and bringing into Captivity every Thought to the Obedience of Christ 2 Cor. 10.5 There is a great deal of Vertue and Grace in an Obedient Understanding and therefore to the Disciples who were so dispos'd To them it was given as our Saviour tells us Matth. 13.11 To understand the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven but to them who are not prepar'd with an humble Mind it is not given Nor is this an hard Imposition upon Mankind to oblige 'em to believe what is above our Reason to Comprehend It is sufficient that the Holy Scriptures which do deliver such Articles of Faith as necessary to be Believ'd are sufficiently witnessed to be Divine Revelations and that there is nothing contain'd in the Articles or Mysteries themselves which is contrary or contradictory to that Reason which God has given to Man But that there should be any thing in an Article of Faith which though it be above our Reason to Comprehend especially in this its State of weakness must yet be Believ'd will not seem hard if we consider that there are many Appearances even in Nature it self which no Man has been yet found who could give a tolerable account for and yet the truth of their being so and so cannot be call'd in question This Humour of opposing Reason to Revelation proceeds from meer Pride In short this Humour of opposing our own Fleshly Reasonings against those Divine Revelations which we cannot now in this State of Imperfection so fully Comprehend proceeds meerly from the Pride of those Men who disdaining to own the Decays of our Reason as well as of other the Powers of the Soul ever since the Fall which every modest Man's Experience does make him too sensible of in a Thousand Instances do over-value their Talent of Wit far beyond what they ought And this therefore being such a proud Luciferian Temper it ought to be Renounc'd as the most Impious of all the Sinful Lusts of the Fleshly Mind And let this suffice to be spoke concerning our Renouncing of the Sinful Lusts of that sort The Corrupt Will what and how to be Renounc'd 2. Let us next consider the WILL and the Innate Corruption which Residing in that Faculty renders it Fleshly and tending in all its Choices towards the Creature and so the proper Matter of the Christian's Renunciation And as to this Faculty we are to consider how that God gave to Man a Righteous Law which was to be the Rule of his Will and while it was conformable to this it was conformable to the Will of God and consequently Beautiful and Regular but instead thereof there is now a Law of Sin and Death Rom. 8.2 And this Law subdues the Law of the Mind and brings the Soul into Captivity to the Law of Sin Rom. 7.23 And the Will being thus Captivated is made Carnal and filled with Enmity against God and that Law which he once planted in us to be the Rule of our Will so that it is not subject to the Law of God neither indeed can be whilst we remain Unregenerate Rom. 8.7 But in its corrupt State being always Averse to the Directions of God's Laws and Right Reason it perversly chuses those things which please only the Senses and so becomes in the most proper and immediate Sence of the Word a Sinful and Fleshly Lust But as obstinately bent as the Corrupt Will is found to be against complying with the Laws of God which would guide our Souls upwards we must bring our selves to that Habit of Self-denial so as readily to submit our Wills to God's Laws to be Governed by 'em the reason is we are not our own and therefore our own depraved Wills ought not to bear Rule in us but we are God's Creatures and his Subjects and Servants and therefore his All-wise Will and Pleasure should be the Rule and Measure of and preside over all our Actions And this it must do in the most difficult Cases when his
consequently does extreamly tend to create in our Hearts an utter Hatred to all Sin So hereby we are taught that Christ has made a full perfect and sufficient Sacrifice and Satisfaction for the Sins of the whole World And such lastly is the Belief for I need not now stand to mention every Artiticle that all our Bodies shall rise again at the General Resurrection that then we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ to Receive a Just Sentence for whatever we have done in the Body whether it be good or bad for this will make us careful how to lead our Lives so in this World that we may not be Condemn'd in the next These now are some of those Articles of our Christian Faith and are such Divine Truths as are more particularly necessary to be Believ'd by us as containing in them the greatest reason in the World to restrain us from all manner of Sin and to encourage us in the Practice of all Religious Duties And yet are Doctrines withal of extraordinary force to remove all Conceit out of our Minds concerning our own Merits and to make us rely solely upon God's Mercies in Christ for the Acceptance of our most Holy Performances And let this suffice as to the first Thing proposed which was to declare unto you something in general of the Nature of the Objects or of those Truths to be Believ'd the Articles of our Christian Faith And now Secondly I will also shew you what it is to BELIEVE these Truths so as to make us capable of Life and Happiness And if it be ask'd how we must Believe these things What it is to Believe those Truths so as to make us capable of Life and Happiness why we must be so throughly and firmly perswaded of their undoubted Truth as to be accordingly Influenc'd as I have now said by the Belief thereof to the Practice of Good Works and then to betake our selves to Jesus Christ to Intercede with the Father for their Gracious Acceptance Our Belief thereof must be Operative Practical I say our Faith must be such as does Influence us to a Good Life for such is the Faith that St. Paul tells us is now required in the Christian Religion in order to Salvation Gal. 5.6 In Jesus Christ says he neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor Vncircumcision but Faith which worketh by Love Some render the words and that more rightly Faith that is perfected by Love which does more expresly signify the Apostle's meaning that that Faith which will save us must be such as is perfected by the addition of those Duties which we owe to God and our Neighbour And St. James does with great Industry shew that the Christian Faith which has the Promise of Justification and Salvation is a Powerful Practical Belief and that none other has any Promise What says St. James 2.14 doth it profit my Brethren tho' a Man saith he hath Faith and hath not Works can Faith save him Faith if it have not Works is dead being alone ver 17. and is no more than what the Devils have for the Devils believe and tremble ver 19. Such was the Faith of Abraham and of all the Saints And the Faith indeed for which the Holy Patriarchs and Saints were Renown'd of Old and are now so highly Rewarded in Heaven was a Powerful Practical and Working Faith indeed which excited them to the highest and the hardest Acts of Obedience that it was possible for Men to perform Thus Heb. 11.17 18. we read that by Faith Abraham when he was tryed offered up Isaac and he that had received the Promises offered up his only begotten Son and he a Son too in whom God had promised him great Blessings And yet at God's Command he readily Obeyed believing that God would be as good as his Promise to him tho' it was by Raising him again from the Dead By Faith Moses when he was come to Years refused to be called the Son of Pharaoh 's Daughter chusing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of Sin for a season esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt for he had respect to the recompence of reward ver 24 25 26. It was a great Temptation to Moses to be made a Prince if he pleased in which Estate he might enjoy the highest Pleasures this World could afford but he Believing that God would infinitely reward him for his Self-denial in refusing such Worldly Honours and Pleasures chose rather to be one of those mean Persecuted People the Children of Israel By Faith Thousands of Blessed Saints before us endured tryals of cruel Mockings and Scourgings yea moreover of Bonds and Imprisonments they were Stoned they were Sawn asunder were Tempted were Slain with the Sword they wandred about in Sheep-skins and in Goat-skins being destitute afflicted tormented of whom the world was not worthy they wandred in Desarts and in Mountains and in Dens and in Caves of the Earth Heb. 11.35 36 37 38. They were terrible Sufferings which the Servants of God in former times have been put to undergo but as dreadful as they were being supported with a firm Belief that they should be infinitely recompenced for their Sufferings and Losses they thereupon chearfully underwent the severest that the Wit or Malice of Men or Devils could invent or inflict upon ' em Such a powerful practical working Faith indeed was that for which the Holy Patriarchs and Saints were of Old Renown'd and are now Rewarded in Heaven A Faith I say which excited them to the highest and hardest Acts of Obedience that it was possible for Men to perform And such a Powerful Practical Active and Working Principle is Faith And such an Operative and Practical Principle is Faith whenever the Things believed are of great Importance or Concernment to us whensoever the things Believed are of great Importance or Concernment to us Some things indeed as an Excellent Person does well observe are of such a Nature that the Belief or Knowledge of 'em goes no farther but rests in it self as the Knowledge or Belief of bare Speculative Truths that do not at all Concern us but some things again are of such a Nature as being once firmly and truly believ'd and known carry a Man out to Action Thus for Example If you should hear another threaten'd that he should certainly be Kill'd if he stir out of his House to morrow it would not hinder you from going Abroad tho' you firmly believe the Threatning because it is a Truth in which you are not Concern'd But the Person so threatned if he does throughly believe the danger will certainly not stir out of his House that Day because it is a Truth that he is very much Concerned in On the other side If you shall hear of a Promise made to another Person of a Thousand Pound if he will be at the Pains to go but to such
hereunto do our Antinomians teach their Disciples That saving Faith is nothing but our Perswasion or absolute concluding within our selves That our Sins are pardoned and that Christ is ours But this is a most false and dangerous account of Divine Faith False because God has no-where in Scripture told any Man amongst us that he in particular is Justified and shall be certainly Saved And Dangerous also because it tends to nourish Presumption in Men's Hearts and to make 'em Believe better of their State than it is God does indeed declare in his Word to all Men in General and Conditional Terms Mark 16.16 That whosoever believeth shall be saved and That Blessed are they who keep his Commandments that they may have right to the Tree of Life Rev. 22.14 And all Christians are to examine themselves whether they be in the Faith and to prove their own selves 2 Cor. 13.5 and if upon strict search he finds himself to have Repented throughly to have Believed practically and to have Obey'd sincerely he may have strong Hopes that his Sins are pardon'd and his Righteousness through Christ accepted only because the Heart is deceitful above all things so that no Man knoweth it Jer. 17.9 Let him be careful he does not deceive himself with false shews of Faith and Repentance and let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall 1 Cor. 10.10 But as for a Divine Faith which is a full Perswasion founded upon the Testimony of God in Scripture no Man can be said to have that concerning his own Acceptance because no Man has any Scripture-Revelation testifying it to him in particular And if Persons of Antinomian Principles shall say that the Assurance kindled in the Heart by the Spirit of God is a Divine Testimony to them and therefore may be sufficient to denominate such Assurance a Divine Faith then it must be granted by 'em that the written Word of God is not a sufficient Rule of Faith as not containing all Truths necessary to be Believed in order to Salvation amongst which they count this particular Assurance to be the chief which Persons of Protestant Principles will not own Nor indeed can any so far derogate from the Perfection of Scripture as to say that other Truths are necessary to be Believed in order to Salvation besides what are contained therein except it be such who are not afraid of those Words wherewith the Holy Canon is closed Rev. 22.18 If any Man shall add unto these things God shall add unto him the Plagues of this Book So that those Revelations only which are contained in Scripture are the proper Object of a Divine Faith But whatever is revealed in the Word a Christian must Believe And whatever is revealed in the Word a Christian must Believe as true for the Authority of God who declar'd it such And in the Holy Writings are contain'd Declarations of Divers kinds some of less others of greatest Consequence whereof the first need not to be so expresly apprehended but the latter must be both clearly Apprehended and firmly Believed A very great part of these Scripture-Truths of Consequence to be Believed are those various Precepts of Holy Living and Duties to God our Neighbour and our selves declared in the Gospel as necessary to be discharged by us in order to Salvation And it is as necessary an Act of Faith as any to Believe that our sincere Obedience to all the Divine Commandments is an indispensable Condition of Life and Happiness Again in the Holy Scriptures as we have Promises of inestimable Rewards to those who shall walk uprightly in the fear of God and on the other side Threatnings of the severest Punishments and that to all Eternity to all such as shall persist in Rebelling against Him So as to both these Promises and Threats we are to be undoubtedly perswaded of the Truth of 'em and that God's Veracity and Sincerity in the delivery therein is such that not a tittle of either shall fail But since neither the Fear of God's Threatnings nor the Encouragements of his Promises can prevail upon us in this our corrupt State to perform a perfect and unsinning Obedience to all God's Commands so that the best of Men will be found Sinners before God and will need a Mediator to compass their Reconciliation with him amongst all the Divine Revelations 3. Therefore 3. The Articles of our Christian Faith the chief amongst Scripture-Truths necessary to be Believ'd because 1. Therein are declar'd the only Method of Reconciliation betwixt God and Man through Jesus Christ and especially we are to be thus undoubtedly perswaded of the infallible Truth and Certainty of those main and fundamental Truths of Scripture the Articles of our Christian Faith wherein are declared the only Method of Reconciliation betwixt God and Man through our Saviour Jesus Christ as well as the strongest Motives to a Holy Life The Articles of our Creed do import as has been already spoke and shall hereafter by God's Assistance be fully explain'd and prov'd this comfortable Scheme of Divine Truths viz. That a God of infinite Perfection and most Glorious Attributes did at first create and give us our Being and that the same Almighty Father has from the beginning and will for ever exercise a Wise Just and Gracious Providence over all his Creatures that Man the work of his hands having rebell'd against his Maker God the Father did in his wise and good Providence so order it that His only Begotten Son taking our Nature upon him and being God-Man should come into the World amongst us and afterwards return to our Father which is in Heaven to mediate a Reconciliation betwixt him and us And to the end his Mediation might be effectual to salve the Dishonour done to God by our Revolt and reduce us to our Allegiance and Obedience to him that this Second Person in the Glorious Trinity did take upon him to discharge a Threefold Office viz. that of Prophet Priest and King By the first whereof he declar'd to us that Covenant and those Conditions on which God would receive us to Mercy By the second that of Priest he made way through the satisfaction he gave for the breach of our first Covenant for the Divine Goodness to receive us to Favour according to the Terms of the second and does still interceed with the Father for our Acceptance in the performance of such Conditions And by his Kingly Office he so governs by his Holy Spirit and Righteous Laws those who abandoning the Kingdom of Satan are admitted into his Kingdom the Holy Catholick Church that they shall be made meet for the Inheritance of the Saints in Light And in the Execution also of this his Royal Office having by his Almighty Power rais'd all Men from the Dead he will come again to judge 'em according to their Works forgiving the Offences of those who are penitent and allotting them to an Everlasting Life of Happiness and dooming the Impenitent to
Leaning and Rolling themselves upon the Promises of Christ for Salvation But for any to expect to be Justify'd and Accepted by God without forsaking their evil Ways and without working out also their own Salvation with fear and trembling that is without being extreamly careful themselves to be Obedient to God's most Holy Laws is gross Hypocrisie and will miserably deceive us Hypocrisie is with vain Shews and Pretences to deceive our selves or others and to be only Hearers or Believers of the Word and not Doers is to deceive our selves St. James tells us 1. 22. And a greater than he even our Blessed Saviour himself hath assured us Mat. 7.21 That not everyone who saith unto him Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but he that doth the Will of his Father which is in Heaven And as for the Pretence they have to live securely in unrepented Habits of Sin that the Grace and Mercy of Christ is more Magnify'd the greater Sinners they are I answer That the greater Sinners they have been the greater is the Mercy which Forgives 'em when they do repent according to that of the Apostle Rom. 5.20 21. Where Sin abounded Grace did much more abound that as Sin hath reigned unto Death even so might Grace reign through Jesus Christ our Lord. But to make the Magnifying of God's Grace a Reason for Security whilst Men continue in Sin this indeed was a false Conclusion that some in the First Times as well as now were apt to draw from St. Paul's Doctrine of Justification but which that Great Apostle rejected with the utmost Indignation and Abhorrence in the next Chapter v. 1 2. What shall we say then Shall we continue in Sin that Grace may abound God forbid How shall we that are dead to Sin live any longer therein No sure the Doctrine of Christianity tho' it lays aside the Original Law of Righteousness and the Law of Moses from being either of 'em a Rule of Righteousness in conforming to which we shall be Justify'd yet this Doctrine most strictly obliges us to a sincere Reformation from all former Sins and to a Newness of Life as the indispensible Condition of being Justify'd by God Nor is there the least occasion given us by this Doctrine to value our selves upon our own Righteous Performances when it is only of Grace that we are able to do any thing which is good and the Acceptance of the Good we do is owing to the Mediation of Christ who obtained such Gracious Terms and Conditions of Justification for us Which Considerations as I have already made appear do sufficiently shew that we are Justify'd freely by God's Grace in Christ and do exclude all Grounds and Occasion of Boasting A summary account of justifying Faith In a word and to conclude this whole Point the only Faith or Belief that will Justifie and Save us must be such a full Perswasion of the Truth of Christianity and all its Great Doctrines those I mean which are in a peculiar manner call'd the Articles of our Christian Faith it must be such a through Perswasion I say of those great and powerful Truths as will purifie us in Heart and Life and will effectually excite us to live up to the Rules of Christianity and make us sincerely and heartily to Obey God in all his most Holy and Righteous Laws And it must be such withal as will cause us to depend solely upon God's Mercies in Christ for the Acceptance of our imperfect Righteousness to our Justification And all those kinds of Faith call 'em what you will which are barren of unfruitful in Good Works or if they stir us up to encounter some Difficulties do not bear us up under all Temptations nor enable us to perform the more difficult Instances of Christian Duty and Obedience those which are most contrary to our Lusts and Interests as well as the more easie which are agreeable to our Profit or Pleasure The Faith that is not powerful enough to carry us through all Temptations is defective to the great Purposes of Justifying and Saving us The necessity of our often incalculating such a Faith And moreover I must acquaint you that the necessity of a working Faith to that end as it is the great Doctrine of Christianity so it ought to be throughly explain'd and often insisted upon by us Ministers of the Gospel for fear of People's Mistakes in this matter which will be most dangerous to their Souls And accordingly St. Paul lays a solemn Charge upon us Tit. 3.8 that we should in the same manner I have already done explain and inculcate the Doctrine of Faith unto you This is a faithful Saying and these things I will that thou affirm constantly that they which have Believed in God might be careful to maintain Good Works for these things or these Doctrines are profitable unto Men. THE XXXI Lecture I Believe in God the Father Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth I Have already shew'd you what it is to Believe that our Faith must be such as rectifies and renews our Corrupt Nature as moves us to the performance of the most difficult Instances of Christian Duty and such as after all causes us to relie solely upon the Mercies of God in Christ for the Acceptance of our imperfect Obedience to our Justification And now by the Divine Assistance I shall proceed to explain unto you all those sacred Truths contain'd in your Creed which are of such mighty Importance And there are not a few such powerful and practical Truths imply'd in this one Article I Believe in God the Father Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth Towards the full Explication of which that it may effectually work a blessed Change both in our Hearts and Lives I will do these Things I. I will in some measure declare unto you the Nature and Infinite Perfections of that Divine Being which we call God I Believe in God II. I will prove to you that this Infinitely perfect Being out of his Infinite Power Wisdom and Goodness made the Heaven and the Earth and all Things both Visible and Invisible therein contain'd Maker of Heaven and Earth III. I will explain and prove that this same God who made the Heaven and the Earth does now exercise a most Wise Just and Good Providence over it and every thing therein contain'd which is the Importance of the Word Almighty in this Article as shall be shew'd hereafter IV. I might here demonstrate to you that there is but one God for so the Nicene Creed which is but a Paraphrase upon this does teach us I Believe in one God And Lastly that in the Vnity of the Godhead there is a Trinity of Persons Father Son and Holy Ghost I Believe in God the Father And the other two Persons are also mention'd in their proper place But because I would be as little guilty as possible in this Exposition of repeating hereafter what I have said before I shall referr the Doctrine of
the several Points both Doctrinal and Moral How can it be expected any Minister should sufficiently discharge his Duties by thus instructing them without the Supplies of such Books written on the several Subjects both general and particular No it is not possible out of the mean Profits of most Parishes scarce sufficient to provide the mere Necessaries of Life he should be capable to buy himself such necessary Helps It was for these Reasons thought a great Work of Piety or Charity to the Souls of Men not the least wanted in this Nation where there are more Cures of Souls unprovided of necessary Maintenance than in any Establish'd Church perhaps throughout Christendom to furnish as many as possible with Parochial Libraries Some of which tho' slenderly provided of Books at first may probably in time become well replenish'd And as such Parochial Libraries are form'd in the main Part thereof the Didactical on the Plan of the Doctrine of the Covenant consider'd both in its general Nature and its particular Terms both Mercies on God's Part and Conditions to be perform'd on ours on the Means by which we shall be enabled to perform our Covenant Engagement On the Seals of the Covenant and on Repentance after Breach thereof And the first general Doctrine in such Plan being the Doctrine of the Two Covenants on which Subject Mr. ALLEN having written so judiciously in the following Tracts as not to be omitted in any one Library and is therefore so material an Ingredient in the whole Collection so it was thought not improper here to give some Account thereof and with what View it has been publish'd so as to appear Introductory as it were to all that follows As to the Discourse on Faith annext to his Discourse on the Two Covenants that also has its peculiar Excellency as coming from the Pen of so judicious a Person And being so stated by him as not to exclude Conditions in the Covenant necessary to be perform'd on our Part in order to our Justification through CHRIST is very requisite to be perus'd in order to the better understanding the Covenant it self and was therefore annex'd by the Author himself to his former Discourse on the Two Covenants A DISCOURSE OF THE Nature Ends and Difference OF THE Two Covenants THE mistake of the unbelieving Jews about the true import of God's Promise to Abraham and of the Law of Moses was a principal cause of the rejecting Christ and his Gospel and their own Salvation thereby To rectifie which mistake the Apostle St. Paul used various Reasonings according to the various Errors contained in it In which Reasonings of his there being some things hard to be understood there are others again which probably mistaking the Apostles reasonings against the Jewish Notion of Justification by Works ran into a contrary Extream thinking they might be Saved by Faith without Works as on the conrary the incredulous Jews thought they might be Saved by Works without Faith And if many in our days had not run into somewhat alike Extream through a misunderstanding also of the Apostles Writings labour and pains would not have been so necessary as now they are to rectifie their mistake and to prevent it in others To the end therefore that the plain Truth may the better appear touching God's Promise to Abraham touching the Law of Moses and the Apostles arguings about these I shall very briefly endeavour these seven Things I. To open the Nature and Design of God's Promise to Abraham And to shew II. For what end the Law was added to the Promise III. By what Faith and Practice the Iews under the Law were saved IV. That the Law contained a Covenant different from that with Abraham V. The grand mistakes of the unbelieving Iews and St. Paul's counter-arguings touching both the Law and the Promise VI. The Mistake of some pretended Christians in the Apostles days Touching the Doctrine of Justification by Faith without Works VII That the Doctrine of St. Paul and St. James about Faith and Works in reference to Justification do not differ I shall begin with the first of these CHAP. I. The Nature and Design of God's Promise to Abraham I Shall endeavour to open the Nature and Design of God's Promise to Abraham Which Promise is also called the Covenant Act. 3.25 Gal. 3.17 In doing of which these eight things will come under consideration 1. What the Nature of this Promise is in general 2. What the Design of it is 3. What are the special Benefits promised 4. What the Extent of it is 5. The Security given by God for the performance of it 6. That this Promise was Conditional 7. What the Condition of it was 8. What we are to understand by God's accounting Abraham's Faith to him for Righteousness Sect. 1. Of the Nature of it in general This Promise I take to be of the same nature with that which in the Gospel is called the New-Covenant It 's true indeed they greatly differ in the Administration the one being but general implicite and obscure and the other more particular express and perspicuous But though in this they differ yet in their general nature they agree in one and are the same For 1. This Covenant as delivered to Abraham was confirmed in Christ as well as the Gospel afterwards Gal. 3.17 and that 's a Character of the New-Covenant Mat. 26.28 2. The Gospel is said to have been Preached to Abraham in the Promise that was made him Gal. 3.8 3. He was justified by Faith which he could not have been but by vertue of a New-Covenant And it was by Faith in the Promise made to him by God by which he was justified Which two things supposed it necessarily follows That that Promise was of the Nature of the New-Covenant 4. St. Paul argues against the erroneous Jews in his Epistles to the Romans and Galatians the necessity of Evangelical Faith unto Justification now under the Gospel from Abraham's being justified by Faith and from God's setting him forth for a Pattern and Example to all after-Ages of his justifying both Jews and Gentiles upon the Condition of Believing The strength of which arguing seems to depend upon this supposition That the Promise by the belief of which Abraham was then justified and the Promise in the Gospel by the belief of which Men are now justified do both agree and are one in the general nature of them And upon these grounds and under this notion of the Promise to Abraham I intend to discourse of it But when I consider for what reason he that is least in the Kingdom of God is said to be greater than John the Baptist though not Abraham himself nor any of the Prophets were greater than he and when I consider likewise how ignorant the Apostles were for a time touching the necessity of the Death and Resurrection of Christ notwithstanding the many plainer Revelations thereof in the Prophets than we find Abraham had I cannot I confess think that Abraham had or
act with that Decency and Becomingness as shall advance the Reputation thereof Hence the Lawyer as he cannot ordinarily endure except he be a profligate Person his Profession of the Law nor the Physician his nor the Tradesman his to be run down Expos'd and made Ridiculous so each of these will be as much as possible for maintaining in their several Dealings a Reputation of Fairness and Honesty as that alone which will raise and Preserve an Esteem for them And how then comes it about that a Christian can endure to hear his Christian Profession reproach'd and scorn'd by reason of his scandalous Living Whence is it but from the greater Zeal Men generally have for the Honour of their worldly Callings and Professions than for the Honour of their Christian Religion Profession and Calling And now therefore Thirdly Let me Exhort you An Exhortation therefore to Christians to stand upon the Dignity of their Christian Name and Profession to stand upon the Dignity of your Christian Name and Profession by living such good Lives as may be an Honour not a Disgrace unto it Let me therefore Admonish you from this very Name wherewith you are Honoured to render your selves wholly conformable to those Christian Principles and Doctrines to which you have given up your Names to be governed by and which being taught you in your Catechism I shall by God's leave with all the Plainness and in the most useful manner I can explain unto you And pray let me Entreat you my Dear Youth seriously and diligently to hearken to me your Spiritual Father that studies no less the Eternal Interest of your Souls and to make you Heirs of Heaven than your Natural Parents do your Temporal Interest to gather you Riches and to leave you Estates in this World You have been Ask'd and you have Answer'd to your Christian Name and you see with what Title you are dignify'd viz. with the Name of Christians And First Wonder not at what I say those Titles of Honour I. As that which is more considerable than Titles of Honour which we daily hear sounding in our Ears and which are so much admired and doted upon I mean the Titles of Emperors Kings Dukes Earls Lords ought to be accounted as very inconsiderable in respect of our Christian Title They are but Earthly Glories and will soon decay and vanish away but this is of a Divine Original which will never fade but will Ennoble you to all Eternity I beseech you therefore seriously consider this and let a due Honour and Regard to so worthy a Name continually admonish every one of you that you never commit in your whole Lives any thing that does unbecome it I do also Secondly II. Because of that near Alliance there is between the Christian Name and Profession Entreat every One of you to consider the near Alliance there is betwixt your Christian Names and your Christian Profession insomuch that they both began and will both end together In your Baptism you put on both your Name and your Profession of Christianity together and if ever you should abjure your Religion which God forbid you must also therewith abjure your Christian Names so near are they linkt one with another And therefore let this ever admonish you to Adorn your selves with Christian Graces Temperance Chastity Charity Justice Piety and not to defile your selves with Heathenish Brutish Vices Drunkenness Uncleanness Cruelty Infidelity Thirdly III. Because the primitive Christians did in vertue of the Christian Name resist the fiercest Temptations And is it Examples of this good Use of your Christian Name that you want Why the Christians of old took Courage from this very Name whereby they overcame all their Enemies both Bodily and Ghostly the World the Flesh and the Devil and encourag'd themselves thereby to the Discharge of their Christian Duties In the Vertue of this Name they extinguisht their Lusts they overcame Tyrants they put to flight the Devil Their Persecutors with Fire and Fagot and all manner of cruel Torments would have forc'd them to Blaspheme Christ to sacrifice and burn Incense to Devils to worship Idols But they in the midst of Flames and Torments would answer with Smiles on their Faces We are Christians we cannot do these Things Forbear your Assemblies and Church-meetings would the Heathen Persecutors say We are Christians and must not therefore Forsake the Assembling our selves together would they answer Such great things did the Primitive Christians perform under the Power of the Christian Name And let your very Christian Names likewise my Christian Youth encourage you to all manner of Vertuous and Religious Practices in imitation of those Blessed Primitive Christians and to the Examples of those that shall come after you IV. Because of the Indecency of Living unsuitable to the Christian Name and Profession Nay Fourthly Look upon it ever as a most monstrous piece of Wickedness for Christian Men to live Antichristian Heathenish Lives but on the contrary ever look upon your selves as you are Christians bound even in Decency to Abstain from all Appearances of Evil 1 Thess 5.22 What shall you that have given up your Names to Christ and are in Covenant with God fight the Devil's Battels Know you not that your Bodies are the Members of Christ and shall you take the Members of Christ and make them the Members of an Harlot God forbid 1 Cor. 6.15 Shall you that are Heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven walk in Darkness Have you Renounced the Devil the World and the Flesh and shall you for all that yield your selves slaves to the Devil the World and the Flesh You Believe the Gospel and all the Articles of your Christian Faith and shall any of you live as those that neither know nor fear God nor dread the Devil You have vowed Obedience to God and shall you trample under Foot all Laws Divine and Humane You have been dedicated to God and have given up your Names to him in your Baptism and shall you live as if you had been Listed in Satan's Service Nothing so contrary so contradictory as these things V. That to quite other Purposes we gave up our Names to be Christians Alas Consider Fifthly That you have given up your Names unto Christ for other Reasons than that you should fight under the Devil's Banner and do the works of the Flesh Namely that you might ever live to the Honour of God You have been call'd forth out of the World not that you should add by your own to the Iniquities of the Times but to nobler Purposes that you might re-establish the World now tottering and ready to sink under the weight of Wickedness that you might re-establish it I say by the Practice of all Christian Graces and Vertues And for that reason it is you must consider that you Christians are called the Salt of the Earth Matth. 5.13 the Light of the World ver 14. A Candle put upon a Candlestick that
with it for no sooner had Mary anointed the Feet of Jesus with her costly Ointment but the house was filled with the Odour of it Joh. 12.3 Oyls and Ointments were what Wrestlers were formerly wont to use to prepare 'em for the Combat for being of a piercing Nature when Chased in they would supple the Joints and strengthen the Sinews very much It shall enter like Oyl into thy Bones Psal 109.18 and thereby greatly enable the Body for Action make it Nimble and Vigorous and fit for noble Exercises And lastly they were wont anciently to Embalm the Bodies of their Dead therewith as you may see Joh. 19.14 to preserve 'em even after Death from Stench and Corruption It is a more peculiar Blessing than any the greatest Treasures and procures better Security to our Persons and Estates And now the Advantages of a Good Name have something therein resembling but indeed far exceeding each of these so as to render it much better than precious Ointment For in the first place an excellent Reputation and Fame for extraordinary Perfections Divine Graces and vertuous Performances is infinitely more valuable than the most precious Treasures for besides that it is a more peculiar Blessing than large Mannors and Possessions Banks of Gold or Silver than Indian Stones and all things that are accounted precious by Worldlings and Usurers for these are things which are common to the worst as well as best of Men Besides this I say an high Esteem and Reputation for Goodness is a better Security by far than the greatest Wealth Now the Fundamental reason of some Men's amassing so much Wealth together is because they think they shall provide thereby against all the ill Events of Fortune and shall have wherewithal to send for themselves in times of difficulty and scarcity of Friends But whereas in Dearths Famines Persecutions and Invasions the more Wealthy any Man is the more he is the Object of Envy and subject to Rapine and Violence The very Reputation of Uprightness and Integrity Goodness Mercy Charitableness will be a safe Retreat and Shelter against the Storm And this alone has deliver'd many a One from Injuries and Barbarous Usage whom bolted Doors and barr'd Gates and Armed Men to guard 'em could not protect against the Insults of an Enraged Multitude and the Plunders of an Intruding Souldiery It is a necessary Qualification to the Episcopal Promotion Next a good Reputation and an Honourable Esteem amongst Men for worthy Qualities is a necessary Qualification of those who are to be Consecrated to the Dignity of Bishops and of the Priest-hood it being requir'd that such must have a good Report of those who are without 1 Tim. 3.1 Credit and Reputation do yield an unspeakable Comfort to a Man 's own self It is comfortable to a Man 's own self when he has the Approbation of Wise and Good Men giving the same Testimony as his own Conscience to his worthy Designs and Performances For which reason the Wise-man tells us Prov. 15.13 That a good Report maketh the Bones fat whereas a Person labouring under the Infamy of scandalous Vices has both his own Conscience and other men's Contempt of him piercing him to the very Soul And with respect to others A Good Name sends forth a Savour more sweet And smells sweet in the World than the most precious Ointments to the Delight of all that are round about him whereas the very Name of an Unjust Oppressor and Exactor of a Riotous and Debaucht Liver of a Knavish or Perfidious Villain is a Nusance and Offence to the Neighbourhood he dwells in and he is Hated farther than he was ever seen What shall I say A Good Name and Reputation in the World It renders a Person capable of doing Good in it renders a Person capable of doing Good amongst Men. It gives Weight to his Counsels Authority to his Reproofs Nay and not only his Presence but the very Imagination that he is Present is enough to give a Check to any base and unworthy Action or wicked Design Because I delivered the Poor that cryed and the Fatherless and him that had none to help him unto me men gave Ear and waited and kept Silence at my Counsel Job 29.12.21 Whereas if a Person of known or but suspected Vices tho' Backt with the Power of a Master of a Parent nay of a Magistrate if such a One pretends to correct Sin or to enjoin the strict Observation of any Duty that Part of Religion is thought the worse of and slighted the more for his concerning himself about it And as a Good Name renders a Man capable of doing much Good so to have the Approbation of others to his worthy Designs puts Life and Vigour into his Contrivances for the Publick And active in Promoting it It makes him Active and Zealous in the Prosecution of 'em and gives Refreshment to his tired Thoughts and Spirits under the Fatigues of compassing ' em And to Crown all when such a One comes to Die his Death is lamented as a publick Loss or some Judgment befall'n the Age or Place which was not worthy of him His Memory is sweet and precious whereas that of the Infamous stinks worse than his very Carcass or as the Wise-man says The Memory of the Just is blessed but the Name of the Wicked shall rot Prov. 10.7 So Valuable in it self is that sort of Honour which consists in the high Esteem and Reputation of the Wise and Vertuous Part of Mankind concerning a Person occasion'd by the excellent Qualities and divine Graces shining in him or upon the account of some extraordinary Actions perform'd by him And yet for your farther Satisfaction A desire of Reputation and Credit is a thing implanted in our Natures by God that it is not only in it self a valuable Blessing but may with due Regulations be desir'd enjoy'd and carefully retain'd by us I am to tell you That God himself who is not the Author of Sin has implanted in the Nature of every Man a love of his Credit and a desire to have a Good Name amongst Wise and Vertuous Persons and this the Divine Wisdom has done that this desire of Credit and Reputation might be a Spur to excite us to Vertuous Performances and a Bridle to restrain us from lashing out into Sinful Extravagances Hence that of the Apostle Wilt thou not be afraid of the Power Do that which is Good and thou shalt have Praise of the same Rom. 13.3 And indeed Lastly It is a Duty incumbent upon all Christians to preserve their Reputation untainted and as much as possible unsuspected of Evil. And to preserve a Reputation untainted and unsuspected of Evil is a Duty enjoin'd us by his Laws So the Apostle Phil. 2.15 Be blameless ye Sons of God without Rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse Nation amongst whom shine ye as Lights in the world And in the 1 Thes 5.22 we are Enjoin'd to
Innocence was Enjoyn'd to Dress and keep the Garden or e're he could Freely eat of every Tree thereof Gen. 2.15 16. And since his Fall it is as well the Duty as it is the Curse of all his Posterity that In the sweat of our Brows we must eat of our Bread Gen. 3.19 So that every Child of Adam must now with great Industry and Application Employ himself in order to obtain the Necessaries or Conveniencies of this Life It was indeed from the very Beginning and even in Paradise it self our Duty to be Employ'd but it is now both our Duty and Punishment that we must Employ our selves even to the taking of Pains every Man in his proper Calling And that Calling which every Man is to Employ his Time in must be such as Providence has fitted him with Abilities for It must be such as Providence has fitted him with Abilities for As God hath distributed to every Man as the Lord hath Called every one so let him walk 1 Cor. 7.17 God hath distributed to every Man some proper Gift or other and therefore every Man must Glorify God in some peculiar Calling or other And to whatsoever particular Calling any Man's peculiar Abilities do fit him to that he is to look upon himself And such he is preparatively Called and appointed to by God with due Abilities as preparatively Call'd or Appointed by God and lawful Authority in Church or State is to determine his Call God does not ordinarily himself Point out any Person by an express Designation as he Called Bazaleel and Aholiab by Name to do the Work of the Tabernacle Exod. 31.2 But he distributes his Talents variously to all Persons on some he bestows the Gifts of Honours and Fortunes as to Magistrates and Gentlemen to some the Gifts of Good Parts and Learning as to Scholars of whatsoever Profession and to some Skill in Trade and in Arts as to Dealers and Artificers and to the Inferior and Poorer sort of Men he gives Health and Limbs and whatever fits 'em for Toil and Labour And to some he gives the whole Ten Talents to Trade withal to their Master's Use that is Authority Riches Learning Skill in Business and Strength of Body and Mind and accordingly of all he will require an Account how they have Employ'd their Talents For unto whom much is given of him shall much be required Luk. 12.48 And the unprofitable Servant shall be cast into outer Darkness Matth. 25.30 To whatsoever Calling he is appointed he must employ himself therein to God's Glory and his own and the publick Good Lastly whatever Calling any Person is appointed to by the Divine Providence he must Employ himself therein to the Glory of God and to his own and the Publick Good In the first place to the Glory of God for that is to be the main End of whatever we do 1 Cor. 10.31 and also to his own and his Families Good For he that provides not for his own especially for those of his own House he hath denied the Faith and is worse than an Infidel 1 Tim. 5.8 And also as every Man is a Member of the Body Politick he is bound to employ his Time and Parts and Pains for its Welfare for God requires that As every Man has received the Gift that accordingly they should minister the same one to another as good Stewards of the manifold Grace of God 1 Pet. 4.10 And no Member of Church or State of what Rank or Quality soever he be but must Employ or Interest himself for the Publick Good For God hath so tempered the Body or Humane Societies together that the Members should have the same care one of another and whether one Member suffers he would have all the Members suffer with it as in the Natural Body or one Member be Honoured he would have all the Members rejoice with it 1 Cor. 12.24 25 26. So that it is necessary you see that every Person should betake himself to some Calling or Business And now the Question will be What is to be Renounced with respect to the Callings of this World And First It behoves all Persons utterly to Renounce such Callings and Professions of Men in the World as are directly sinful and wicked I. All Persons must renounce such Callings and Professions as are directly sinful and wicked Such are Bawds Pimps Juglers Conjurers and the like Impious ways of living whereby some Wretches do so notoriously Minister to the Devil's Kingdom and so directly promote the Ruine of Souls that to Name 'em is to Condemn 'em and there need be no more said to render 'em odious to all those who have any the least degrees of vertuous Principles remaining in their Souls I shall only tell you that the Guilt contracted by these is so exceeding Great and a sufficient Repentance for Crimes so very Black so near to impossible that you must so far Renounce 'em as to Detest the very Thoughts of Embarking your selves ever in these or any other Callings whereby Sin is immediately and necessarily serv'd and the Damnation of those Souls for whom Christ Died so directly procur'd Secondly It concerns all Persons to Renounce all such Callings as tend to the Hurt not the Good of the Publick II. Such as tend to the Hurt not the Good of the Publick The Publick Good is the great End of all the divers Callings of Men as you will see 1 Cor. 12. And consequently nothing ought to be took up as a Calling which Impoverishes or Corrupts the Manners of a People And upon this Account therefore I shall not doubt to Arraign and I wish the Magistrate would Universally Condemn the Calling of such who keep Tipling-houses meerly to harbour Vagabonds and loose People and to draw Men into Riot and Excess to the great Impoverishing of many Families and the Creating of scandalous Breaches betwixt Husbands and their Wives An Inn-Keeper whose House is well situated for the Entertainment of the Traveller upon his lawful Occasions is of great use in the Commonwealth And tho' there be more of Temptation in his Calling than most others yet if he takes care to prevent as much as possible all Swearing and Drunkenness within his Doors all Lewdness and Wantonness amongst his Servants and will do all he can to discourage Rioting to unseasonable Hours he will thereby do good Service to God as well as his Country by such his Calling and so Conscientiously manag'd But your mere Ale-house-keeping where the whole Trade is to inveigle Persons into Ill-husbandry to the Expence of their Time and Money and with all the Shifts and Contrivances to detain 'em when they are got in is so great a Pest to this Nation occasions so much Immorality and Licentiousness so much Swearing and Profaness Lewdness and Wantonness such miserable Poverty amongst the lower Rank of House-keepers such Brawls and Contentions betwixt Husbands and Wives and yields so much Harbour and gives so much Encouragement to Thieves
to live in Obedience to Government and therefore these as great as they be are esteem'd but Just and Equal So here in the Government of God over us The Pleasures and Profits of Sin to compass which Men will Transgress the Laws of Heaven are but short true it is but yet being present and the Punishments Threaten'd to 'em being apprehended by most Sinners to be at a great distance they are therefore generally prevailing and Men for that Reason do venture to Transgress the Laws of God a Thing of worse Consequence than the Violation of Humane Ordinances and therefore it is no other than what can be expected from the Justice and Wisdom of the supreme Governour of the World to inflict such infinite and eternal Punishments In short Divine Vengeance as well as Humane must be such as will Over-balance the Reasons and Motives to Sin And the Pleasures and Profits of Sin being present and the Divine Punishments not taking place but in another World according to the Fundamental Rules and Reasons of Government they must be Infinite and Eternal and all little enough or otherwise they will not be sufficient to secure our Obedience to the Laws of Heaven So that there is no Strength in this Argument of Sinful Men against the Justice of Eternal Torments in the behalf of their Lusts whereby they would perswade you as well as themselves into a most dangerous Security and withdraw you from or slacken you in your Duty Secondly Nor are the Duties of our Religion hard Sayings which no Man can bear II. That the Duties of Religion are hard sayings which no Man can bear as they will likewise plead All the Duties enjoin'd us in the Gospel respect either God our Neighbour or our Selves Those to God as we find 'em laid down in pure and undefiled Christianity undefiled I say with the Inventions of Men are no superstitious senseless and uncouth Observances so much the matter of all other Worships besides the Christian but are all of 'em indeed a most Reasonable Service Those which respect our Neighbour are no other than Acts of Justice Peace and Charity the contrary of which would destroy Humane Society or make us Beasts of Prey one to another And as to those Duties we owe to our selves why they are no other than that we should truly and justly value our selves neither overmuch by Pride nor too little by letting base Lusts to reign over us or the inferiour part of our Nature to Domineer it over our Reason and Understanding the Superiour and in all Equity the Governing Part of us And what is there hard in all this that we should quarrel with our Duty except we count it hard that God who has made us reasonable Creatures would not suffer us to Transform our selves into unreasonable Brutes Thirdly And this is a sufficient Answer also to that other Pleading of sinful Men That they are made of Flesh and Blood and therefore sure God will not require Men upon the Forfeiture of Salvation if they do not to mortify the Flesh III. That they are made of Flesh and Blood and that therefore sure God will not require Men upon the forfeiture of Salvation if they do not to mortify the flesh For these Men who Plead thus ought to consider that they consist of Soul and Spirit as well as of Flesh and Blood and as the Soul is Superiour and the Governing Part within us so it is highly reasonable it should have the Obedience of the Other And this is all the Mortification which Religion puts the Flesh to It would keep it in Subjection to the Dictates of Right Reason and that is all And tho' this Mortification of the Flesh is to be exercis'd by Imposing some Severities sometimes upon the Body as by Fasting and Watching c. Yet this is no more to be complain'd of than that Refractory Children and Servants and Subjects must be sometimes kept up under Discipline as there shall be occasion Nay but Lastly say these Men God has set us in a World full of Temptations and abounding with sensual Delights and Pleasures and he therefore who has Plac'd us in it sure will not command us upon Pain of Damnation to Overcome those strong Temptations and to Deny these Pleasures of the World Lastly that God has set us in a World full of Temptations and abounding with sensual Delights and Pleasures and that he therefore who has placed us in it will not command us upon Pain of Damnation to over-come those strong Temptations and to deny these Pleasures of the World And we 'll grant it that he has Plac'd us in a State of Probation and Trial where we have sensual Pleasures and Delights and many other Temptations besetting us on the one side as well as the Rewards of Heaven awaiting us on the other and where were the Vertue and what Place would there be for Reward if there were not those Difficulties to overcome But in short there is not any thing Unreasonable nor a Hardship unsupportable in any thing that God has Enjoin'd us for the same Almighty Goodness which gives us the Command to do these things gives us also the Will and Power to Obey and besides proposes to us Enjoyments infinitely surpassing those Worldly Pleasures as the Rewards of such Obedience And so I have given you sufficient Answers to those false and fallacious Argueings of sinful Men against the Necessity of a Holy Life I know 'em to be too common in the Discourses of such Persons who love their Lusts and therefore I thought it requisite to fortify you against them But to proceed Fifthly Wicked Men will not be content by the secret Influence of their Examples and Company only nor by their false and fallacious Arguments to Tempt you to Sin but Will moreover sometimes add Kindnesses and Promises to oblige you to do ill Things and on the contrary will much discourage you nay sometimes Threaten you to forbear your Duty V. Wicked Men will add Kindnesses Promises to Oblige us to do ill Things and on the contrary will much discourage us nay sometimes Threaten us to forbear our Duty The Kindnesses of Friendship are of all things the most Engageing and if your Choice of a Friend has not been so discreetly and happily made but he happens to be a wicked Man who upon the Score of former Obligations laid upon you will require in Return that some ill Thing should be done by you to serve his Interest you will be drawn thereby into a very great Snare for besides that there is in very many whom we call Good-natur'd Men such an Easiness of Mind that they can hardly deny any thing to those who have once Oblig'd 'em but are ready to Pleasure and Comply with 'em tho' in things most directly contrary to their own Minds and Inclination Besides this if you should refuse to Gratify in any thing One that has done you former Kindnesses the World will
as Religion And when grown prevalent and common it does strangely take off the sence and fear of Hurt in the most Unchristian Practices Custom I say does still amongst Christians constrain Persons to do many ill Things even contrary to their Nature and Inclinations as well as Religion Hence among the Men of Honour as they would be thought shall many become even Self-murderers meerly in Compliance with Custom insomuch that those Persons who of all Men living have most reason to preserve their Lives having all their good Things they can ever expect in this World yet desperately spill one another's Blood in your cursed Duels It is no Inclination in these Men I dare say to be so Prodigal of their dear Lives that makes 'em so desperately throw 'em away but meerly out of a Cowardly Fear they should be branded with Disgrace for not complying with so common a Custom amongst Persons of their own Character So again among Persons of all Ranks you shall have Men of no manner of Inclinations to intemperate Drinking yet when they come to any Great Man's House where it is the Barbarous and Brutish Custom of Drinking Men hard Yet at such times they will not scruple to Exceed very far It is the Custom of the Place they 'll say and they were forc'd to it they could not help it And Custom also when grown prevalent and common among Societies of Men will strangely take off the Sence and Fear of Hurt in the most Unchristian Practices Custom takes off the Sence and Fear of Hurt in the most Vnchristian Practices Hence amongst Sea-men and Souldiers the most outragious Whoredoms and Adulteries and the most execrable Oaths and Curses are hardly accounted amongst the number of Sins And all the Arts of Cheating and Over-reaching nay of downright Lying and Swearing to the Soundness and Goodness of bad Commodities is little scrupled amongst some sort of Dealers the thing is grown so common And Custom it is which is so commonly Pleaded for the Omission of most necessary Duties as well as the Commission of most horrid Sins Hence do Multitudes make not the least scruple of Absenting their whole Lives from the Blessed Sacrament because it is so common amongst many to do so Thus powerful you see are the Evil Customs of the World so as almost to force Men whether they will or no to do many ill things and what is worse to seare their Consciences in the Commission of the worst Sins and in the Omission of the chiefest Duties A Christian must couragiously and vigorously renounce and withstand the Force of all sinful Customs whatsoever And now what must a Christian do in this Case Custom we know is a Second Nature and when it has been of a long Date Time out of Mind as the Phrase is it pleads Prescription and obtains the Force of a Law amongst Men. So that be a Custom never so contrary to Honesty Sobriety to common Sence and Reason or any the Laws of Christianity an old Custom must not be broken it is the Custom of the Place and must be kept up Such are the Sentiments of the Vulgar in this matter But you must resolve with all Courage and Stedfastness like true Souldiers of Jesus Christ to Renounce and Withstand the Force of all sinful Customs whatsoever and not to suffer your selves to be over-born thereby into any sinful Compliances When Christianity was first Preach'd amongst Men such barbarous and brutish Customs had of a long time prevail'd over the greatest Part of the Heathen World that many Practices which the meer Light of Nature would teach Men to Abandon as Sins and Wounds of Conscience Were as the Learned Dr. Hammond observes Embrac'd by whole Nations at once and continued in without any Check as innocent sinless Qualities Nature and Reason being so early engag'd and silenc'd by popular Custom and vicious Education that many knew it not to be a Sin to Steal or Rob if they were so cunning as not to be taken others to Kill and Eat their Aged Parents conceiving that by this means they gave 'em a more Honourable Burial others to throw themselves murderously into the Flames to accompany their Dead Princes out of the World Many the like irrational Sins through some local Customs got the Reputation not only of sinless and lawful but of laudable also But all who Embrac'd Christianity as they were obliged by their Baptismal Vow to forsake those and the like Heathenish Customs for to such this Vow did particularly relate so they did presently beat them down wherever the Christian Religion prevail'd insomuch that in few Ages there were not the least Footsteps thereof remaining And so must you likewise vigorously withstand all Customs that are Immoral wherever and by whomsoever and how long soever they have obtain'd Such only as are Immoral are to be Renounced I do say All Customs that are Immoral For I do not mean that a Christian must turn Cynick a dogged and sower Lump of Earth surly and uncivil and quarrelling with the innocent Modes of Humane Society That is as much a Fault on the other side to think that Christianity the calmest and the sweetest Religion in the World does oblige Men to ill Manners But those Customs the Force of whose Temptations I would have you all to Resist and utterly to Renounce are such as I before mention'd and which are apparently sinful and wicked either tending to lessen the Guilt of Sin or to make it none at all I am sensible there is something of Difficulty in this Part of our Warfare above any other Barely to refuse Compliance with but much more to oppose Evil Men in their sinful Customs and and Practices will mightily provoke their Indignation He sails against the Wind that does so and swims against the Stream He shall have Multitudes will thwart him and will load him with hard Reproaches will call him singular and precise Fool for his Pains and what not He must have a great deal of Courage that opposes a Multitude in doing Evil or will not comply with 'em in it But such must the Souldier of Jesus Christ be One that dares Incur the greatest Displeasure rather than shrink from his Duty and One that will not be afraid to shew his Dislike of any vicious Customs when there is just Occasion for it And this indeed is true Courage The greatest Courage required to this Part of a Christian's Warfare to despise all Opposition in the way of Duty and he that can Unconcernedly pass through a Multitude Reproaching and Vilifying him for his Pains in Pursuit of Vertue is more Heroick and Brave than he that with his Sword in his Hand cuts open a way to the Taking of a Fort. He that Reproves a Sin or Renounces an Ungodly Custom may have more of true Fortitude than he that Pushes on through drawn Swords for it is a sign he fears not those Weapons which wound deepest an embitter'd and
that there is a certain Distemper of Mind called Curiosity which as it is of like Nature so it is of full as hurtful and mischievous Effects to the Mind as that Distemper is to the Body which stirs up Persons to eat Chalk or Coals or Trash or whatever affords either none at all or a very ill Nourishment Such is the Curiosity of Knowing Evil which was the thing that ruin'd our first Parents and afterwards Solomon and since him many other Persons Such are they who have a great desire to tast those Pleasures which are in Sin and by tasting of 'em their Minds are defil'd and their Morals corrupted and it is seldom that they do ever after return to have a right Judgment of Good or Evil. Thus hurtful is the Knowledge of some things so that it is much better to be Ignorant thereof than to Know ' em Again there are others whose Curiosity gives 'em a strange Itch to know Hidden Things such as are not proper for Man to know Or not proper for Man to know as the Decrees of Predestination and the Counsels of God's Will which is the Ark that no mortal Eye ought to look into And many are wonderfully Inquisitive to learn the future Events of Kingdoms and States and of their own and others private Fortunes And therefore it is that they are so apt to give heed to every pretended Prophecy and tho' few are so very wicked as to Consult Evil Spirits themselves by Magical Arts yet Multitudes will make no scruple to Resort to Fortune-tellers and Conjurers and those that do consult 'em or are reputed to do tho' it be an Impiety so severely threaten'd Deut. 18.11 12. But all Curious Enquiries whatever into the Secrets of God's Providence are to be Renounc'd by us Christians as being the Gratifications only of a sinful Curiosity Secret things belong unto the Lord our God but those things which are Reveal'd unto us and our Children for ever that we may do all the words of his Law Deut. 29.29 II. When we do immoderately study to be Exquisitely Skilled in whatever humane Arts and Sciences to the Neglect or Contempt of Divine Knowledge 2. We must Renounce that as a sinful Lust of the Fleshly Mind which improportionably to the true worth of things is more desirous to furnish it self with the Knowledge of what concerns only this Mortal Life than with the Knowledge of those Divine Truths which direct us to Life Everlasting Now this is Life Eternal or that Knowledge which leadeth and directs us to Life Eternal That we know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent Joh. 17.3 But alas such is the Folly of the Carnally and Worldly wise that most Persons do neglect the Knowledge of God and the Christian Religion as if it were little worth when certainly in the End there is nothing will stand us in that stead as this sort of Knowledge Some there are whose whole search is for the Causes and Cures of Bodily Distempers and yet alas all is but Guess and Conjecture and an ordinary Malady not very seldom baffles the most Learned Physician and he sits down heavy in Disgrace and Disappointment But the Knowledge of God and Religion if duly apply'd never fails to cure the Soul of all its Infirmities nor will it fail to fill the Mind with the sweetest Comforts and Satisfactions Others you shall have who desire and care for nothing more than good Skill in the Laws of their Country whereby they may raise themselves good Estates in this World but alas such Knowledg can only serve a present Interest but by the Knowledge of our Christianity we may be able to provide our selves Bags that wax not old Eternal in the Heavens Some are wholly bent upon Merchandize and Trade but when the most Skilful Pilot shall split upon the Rocks or be foundred in the Sands he who has Heaven in his Eye may steer his Course without danger through the roughest Billows of Adverse Fortune And others there are who seem to aim at no higher Knowledge than how to Till their Land and feed their Cattle and when after all the Crop fails the most painful Husbandman he who knows the Laws of Christianity need not fear a joyful and a plentiful Harvest so excellent and useful is Divine Knowledge above all other Arts and Sciences The Knowledge of our Christian Religion as it serves to nobler Purposes so ought it to be prefer'd to any other Not that I would cast a Disparagement upon them they are the Gift of God and useful in their kind but the Knowledge of our Christian Religion as it serves to nobler and better Purposes so ought it to be prefer'd to any other and most study'd by every Christian And hence therefore does St. Paul when he comes at any time to speak of Divine Knowledge not only barely enjoin the Attainment of it as of other Vertues but does moreover add Prayers and Supplications to God to endow 'em therewith and to increase 'em therein We do not cease to pray for you and to desire that ye might be filled with the Knowledge of his Will in all Wisdom and Spiritual Vnderstanding that ye might walk worthy of the Lord in all pleasing being fruitful in every good Work and increasing in the Knowledge of God Col. 1.9 10. And again I cease not says he making mention of you always in my Prayers that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of Glory may give unto you the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in the Knowledge of him Eph. 1.16 17. So that tho' to be excellently well skill'd in any Art or Science whatsoever which terminates only in the Conveniencies of this Life be not only Lawful but Commendable yet it is a Profaneness fit to be Renounc'd by every Christian to prefer such to Divine Knowledge and to apply your Mind wholly to the attaining of such Skill to the Neglect of those Great and Important Truths the Knowledge of which is indispensably necessary to our Everlasting Happiness And therefore let your Profession and Calling be what it will you must make it your first Care and Study to know the Nature and Design of the Christian Religion The necessary Points of Christian Knowledge how that it is a Body of the most Excellent Principles and Laws all of 'em tending wholly to render you Holy and Good Livers and then to make you to depend upon the Mediation of Christ with his Father for his Acceptance thereof to your Justification You must also next make it more your Study to understand throughly the Covenant of Grace than the Nature and Obligation of any Humane Covenants or Contracts whatsoever And since we must build our Hopes upon the performance of particular Articles and as exactly as possible square our Lives according to each single Condition of the Covenant of Grace there can be nothing of more concernment to every Christian Lay as well as Clergy
a Place it will not make you go there because it is a Promise that you are not Concern'd in but the other Person if he be certainly perswaded the Promise will be made good to him will certainly go to the appointed Place because it is a Promise that he is Concerned in And so likewise as to the Case in hand That a sure Promise of the Pardon of our Sins and Eternal Happiness is made over to us in the Second Covenant on Condition we will forsake the Service of Satan and of Sin that we will Repent heartily Believe practically and Obey sincerely is a Truth that the Devils to their great Grief are fully perswaded of for they believe and tremble St. James tells us But this Faith of theirs does not put them upon Repentance and Amendment because those gracious Promises do not Concern them and they have no Promise of Salvation tho' they should Repent and Amend But as to us whom they do Concern and to whom they are made if we are really perswaded that if we amend we shall be certainly Saved we shall immediately upon such Perswasion seriously Repent of what has been done amiss heretofore and take care to Obey God for the future For every Man that hath this Hope in God purifieth himself even as he is pure 1 Joh. 3.3 In short the Articles of our Christian Faith are every one of 'em so many Motives and those the most powerful ones in the World to stir us up to a diligent Reformation of our Hearts and Lives They are in themselves the most obliging Arguments to it and with respect to us they are the most Concerning and Important Truths that can be containing in the meaning of 'em either Threatnings to scare us out of Sin or Promises to allure us to Obedience Either such Considerations as are apt to excite our Fears when we are in a Course of Impiety or are Grounds whereon we may build the vastest Hopes in the Performance of our Duty And if any One does not live accordingly a Godly Righteous and a Sober Life I dare be bold to say it is owing to some spice of Infidelity lurking in his Heart whereby he is not throughly perswaded of or does not actually consider these Truths But he that does throughly Believe and Consider them can hardly fail of being a Good Liver Thus necessary you see it is that our Belief of all the Articles of our Christian Faith be such as does Influence us to good Works And then after all II. To Believe savingly we must apply our selves to Jesus Christ to intercede w th God the Father for our Gracious Acceptance II. It must be a Belief that causes us to betake our selves to Jesus Christ to Intercede with God the Father for their Gracious Acceptance This I have formerly in the beginning of my Exposition insisted upon yet such is the growing Infidelity of the World with respect to this which is the most Essential part of Christian Faith that it would not be unseasonable should I again shew you that we must depend upon the Mediation of Christ with the Father for us that our imperfect Righteousness may be graciously accepted to our Justification This is that Act of Faith which is called in Scripture Believing in Christ and to such a Believing as this it is that our Justification is Attributed by St. Paul Gal. 2.16 Know this that a Man is not Justified by the Works of the Law but by the Faith of Jesus Christ even we have Believed in Jesus Christ that we might be Justified by the Faith of Christ and not by the Works of the Law for by the Works of the Law shall no Flesh be Justified And as this Act of Faith the Relying upon God's Mercies in Christ does wonderfully exalt the Divine Justice and Mercy so it leaves no place to the Creature to Attribute any part of its Happiness to it self but does utterly exclude all occasions of Boasting God hath set forth Jesus Christ his Son to be a Propitiation through Faith in his blood to declare his Righteousness for the Remission of Sins that are past through the forbearance of God Where is Boasting then it is excluded By what Law of Works nay but by the Law of Faith Rom. 2.25.27 So that it is not enough that we Believe punctually but it is moreover necessary that we rely also on God's Mercies in Christ that our imperfect Holiness may be accepted or otherwise even our Assent to all the Articles of the Christian Faith will not avail us to our Justification and Salvation which brings me Lastly To shew you what it is to Believe ALL the Articles of our Christian Faith What to Believe All the Articles of the Christian Faith And 1. To Believe them All does Import that we must Assent to all and every one of those great Articles of Christian Doctrine contain'd in the Apostle's Creed 1. To Believe ALL these Articles does Import that we must Assent with a through Perswasion of their undoubted Truth and of their Divine Authority to all and every one of those great Articles of Christian Doctrine contained in the Apostle's Creed This Collection or Summary of Christian Doctrine is called by St. Paul Rom. 6.17 That Form of Doctrine which was deliver'd to the Christians that is that Summary of Christian Doctrine to the Belief and Practice of which they were deliver'd up and solemnly Consecrated in their Baptism And the same is call'd 2 Tim. 1.13 The Form of sound words which was heard of the Apostle himself and we are commanded to hold it fast that is to take care not to depart from it in any part thereof And as we must not shrink from the Confession and Belief of any one of those Articles which have been Handed down to us from the Apostles in that Summary or Form of sound words which makes up the Body of our Christian Faith so we must content our selves with the Belief of All those saving Truths and must not think there is any thing more to be Believ'd by our selves or others as necessary to Salvation But especially Such as tend to destroy a good Life and send us to other Mediators than Christ to Intercede with the Father for its Acceptance no Articles of Christian Faith we must take care of possessing our Minds with a Perswasion of the Truth of such Articles as do tend to destroy what the true Genuine Doctrines of Christianity viz. All the Articles of our Christian Faith do Build as do all or most at leastwise of the New Articles impos'd upon the Belief of Christians in the Romish Church Some of those Articles in the Romish Creed do plainly take away the necessity of a Good Life as might be easily made appear were it proper here to inlarge on that Point And other Doctrines of that Church do as apparently take Men off from depending solely upon the Mediation of Christ with his Father that he would graciously accept
shall behold glorifie God in the Day of Visitation But ye are a Chosen People a Royal Priesthood an Holy Nation a Peculiar People These are every one of 'em most distinguishing Characters and do bespeak the Church of Christ and all its Members to be a Dedicated a Consecrated sort of People between whom and the rest of the World there is such a distinction made on the account of such their Dedication to God's Service as there is in the Church it self betwixt the Priesthood who are separated to the more immediate Service of God and the People in it They Expressions are all of 'em borrowed from the Old Testament and were the Characters then given to the Jewish Church And if we will be at the pains to look back into the Mosaick Law and see what separation and distinction they did import there we shall the better discern to what elevated degrees of Holiness they do signify us of the Christian Church to have been likewise separated and consequently to what a singular Life and Conversation we are upon that Score obliged Ye are a Chosen Generation an Holy Nation a Peculiar People The Jews chose from amongst the Nations of the Earth to serve God In all these Three Expressions he alludes to Deut. 7.6 where of the Church of the Jews it is said Thou art an Holy People unto the Lord thy God the Lord thy God hath Chosen thee to be a special People unto himself above all the People that are upon the face of the Earth All the People of the Earth besides were utterly estranged from God by their wicked Deeds and to all other Impieties had added this grand one That they had fallen into the basest Idolatry the Worship of the very Devils whereby they did own them to be their Soveraign Masters instead of God But God did select those People of the Jews from amongst all the Families of the Earth and gave 'em such excellent Laws and required such an exact Obedience to 'em and such a regular Conversation from 'em that it should raise even the Admiration of all the Nations of the Earth who should see or hear it Deut. 4.5 6 7. You see here what Peculiarity and Distinction these Words A Chosen Generation an Holy Nation a Peculiar People did import in the Jewish Church and the other of a Royal Priesthood did no less A Royal Priesthood This is an Allusion to Exod. 19.5 6. Now therefore if ye will obey my Voice indeed and keep my Covenant then ye shall be a Peculiar Treasure unto me above all People and ye shall be a Kingdom of Priests and an Holy Nation As the whole Nation of the Jews were separated from the rest of the World peculiarly to serve the True God so were the Order of Priesthood separated from amongst the rest of the Jews to a greater degree of Holiness and nearer Service to him than the rest of the Jews and for that reason viz. To signify a greater Purity in them than the common Jews Those very Outward Blemishes which were no Impediment to the other Jews but that they might approach God as far as to Lay-men was permitted were a Barr to the Priests that they could not thereupon Execute the Priestly Office Speak unto Aaron saying Whosoever he be of thy Seed in his Generations that hath any Blemish let him not appear to offer the Bread of his God for whatsoever man he be that hath a Blemish he shall not approach a blind Man or a lame or he that hath a flat Nose or any thing superfluous Levit. 21.17 18. And the reason is given before Vers 6. They shall be Holy unto their God and not profane the Name of their God for the Offerings of the Lord made by Fire and the Bread of their God they do offer therefore they shall be Holy So that as much as the whole Body of the Jews were to be separated and distinguished from the rest of the World yet the Priesthood were to be farther distinguished by a Peculiar Holiness Christians chose both from amongst Jews and Gentiles to a more peculiar Holiness And now to bring this to our present case Does St. Peter here in his Character of the Church of Christ call it a Chosen Generation an Holy Nation a Peculiar People Why what does it import but that the Members of Christ's Church must study to distinguish themselves as much now from the Infidel Part of the World whether Jews or Gentiles by Piety and Devotion towards God Justice and Charity towards their Neighbour and a subjecting of their Lusts and Appetites to right Reason which is the great Duty to themselves I say Christians must as much distinguish themselves from the profane Crew of Idolatrous and Wicked Heathens and Unbelieving Jews by an exact and regular and a better Life as the Jews were to distinguish themselves from the Idolatrous and Wicked Heathens in those days by a Ritual Holiness Nay And does he call us a Royal Priesthood Why this he does here and also Rev. 1.6 where we are told That Christ hath made us Kings and Priests unto God and his Father And what doth this import but that we are as much to exceed both Jews and Gentiles in holy Living as the Priests among the Jews were to excel the rest of the People in a Legal Purity and Cleanness Christians are to shew themselves to be Kings by their Victories over the World the Flesh and the Devil over Sin and Satan and they are to be as it were Priests because they are to present their Bodies a living Sacrifice Holy acceptable unto God which is our reasonable Service and are not to be conformed to this World but to be transformed by the renewing of their Minds Rom. 12.1 2. And are to offer up the Sacrifice of Praise continually the Praises of God Heb. 13.15 They are to offer charitable Alms which are called an Odour of a sweet smell a Sacrifice acceptable and well-pleasing unto God Phil. 4.18 This is the Importance of those high Expressions of St. Peter and this indeed do the following Words declare But ye are a Chosen Generation a Royal Priesthood an Holy Nation a Peculiar People that ye should shew forth the Praises of Him who hath called us out of Darkness into his marvellous Light And indeed so much it concerns us who are Members of Christ's Church to distinguish our selves from the rest of the World by our excellent Lives far above other People that our Blessed Saviour came into the World died and suffered all those stupendious Things recorded in the Gospel all on this very Design To purchase such a Body of Men that should more peculiarly and zealously serve God and to work and perswade us to it Thus Tit. 2.14 it is said That he gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all Iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar People zealous of good Works And hence were all his Discourses and Preachings to us especially
that most divine Sermon upon the Mount to raise all his Disciples and Followers to the highest Pitch and Perfection of Moral Vertue and Goodness He came not to destroy the Law and the Prophets but to fulfil them Matth. 5.27 that is to enlarge and encrease our Duties to God and Man and to our selves to make the Obedience of the Heart as necessary as that of the outward Man to make the very Thoughts of Uncleanness criminal as well as Adultery it self And in a word hence does he require of us his Members that our Light should so shine before Men that they might see our good Works and glorify our Father which is in Heaven ver 16. that is He requires that by the Eminence of all Divine Graces and Vertues shining in our Lives we should be as a Candle set on a Hill to enlighten the benighted and bewildred World straying in the darkness of Ignorance and Errour that they might find their way by the Brightness of our Examples to Heaven and Happiness And by the Savourliness lastly of our good Conversation he requires that we should be as Salt in the World to season the corrupted Manners of Men. Such strong Obligations lie upon us as Members of Christ's Church to be faithful in our Covenant that is to perform all due Obedience unto God Secondly Nor is the Consideration of our being Children of God II. As Children of God less fruitful of good Arguments shewing us those vast Obligations lying upon us faithfully and conscientiously to discharge our Covenant with him There is no relation that is which does speak more of Duty and Duty founded upon better Reasons than that of a Child to his Father A Wife owes some Duty and Observance to her Husband because the Husband is the Head of the Wife a Servant to his Master because from him he has Provision a Subject to his Prince because of Protection But a Child owes his very Life and Being and all that he has is originally derived from his Parent Children are bound to the strictest Obedience to their Parents as oweing to 'em their Being Especially this is so with the Children of God upon a double account both that of Creation and that of Adoption Consider us as the Children of God with respect to Creation and not only our Life and Being but all Things necessary to the support and maintenance of this Being of ours that it falls not back into Annihilation and Nothing is wholly owing to that God whose Off-spring we are according to that of the Apostle Acts 17.28 In him we live and move and have our Being for we are his Off-spring But consider us who are Baptized Christians farther as the Children of God by Adoption and then over and above our Being and all that belongs to it our Well-being also both in this and a better Life is wholly of his Gift For if Children of God as St. Paul does argue Rom. 8.17 then Heirs Heirs with God and joint Heirs with Christ so that if we suffer with him we shall be also glorified together Children of God as owing both Being and Well-being And now if for Life and Being and also for all that Well-being too which we have or hope to enjoy in this or the Life to come we wholly and entirely depend upon God our Father Do we not then owe to him as his Children all the Duty all the Observance and all the Diligence possible in the discharge of such Duty and Observance This the very Light of Nature teaches us but the Scripture does most expresly upon that very score of being his Children require of us A Son honoureth his Father and a Servant his Master says God by his Prophet Mal. 1.6 If I then be a Father where is mine Honour And if I be a Master where is my Fear And upon the same score of our being Children of God does St. Peter most earnestly exhort us to a Renunciation of the World and our filthy Lusts and to a faithful and careful discharge of our Duty to God our Father As Obedient Children says he 1 Epist 1.14 15. not fashioning your selves according to the former Lusts in your Ignorance but as he which hath called you is holy so be ye holy in all manner of Conversation And vers 17. If ye call on the Father that is profess your selves the Sons of your Heavenly Father who without respect of Persons judgeth every Man according to his Works can see Blemishes and will punish Faults as well in his Children as others if you profess your selves the Children of such a Father pass the time of your sojourning here in fear is the Inference the same Apostle makes from this Relation of being the Children of God And indeed except we do give up our selves sincerely and faithfully to obey God and in all Points to discharge our Covenant with him we are in effect not the Children of God however Baptized and so in Profession but in reality are the Children of the Devil and from him must expect our Reward So St. John assures us 1 Epist 3.8 9. He that committeth Sin is of the Devil that is he that committeth any act of known Sin is in that so far from being a Child of God that he is a Child of the Devil of whom and not of God he is an Imitator For whosoever is born of God doth not commit Sin for his Seed remaineth in him and he cannot sin because he is born of God That is as the Learned Hammond does Paraphrase upon the same place whosoever is a true Child of God keeps himself strictly from every deliberate Act of Sin and the reason is Because that contrary Principle of Regeneration or Son-ship from which he is said to be born of God if that continue to have any Life or Energy in it is utterly contrary and incompatible with Sin And then does follow that Characteristical distinguishing Mark he does give of a Child of God and a Child of the Devil shewing the grand difference between one and the other In this the Children of God are manifested and the Children of the Devil whosoever doth not Righteousness is not of God ver 10. In a word to conclude this Argument also As it is almost natural and therefore ever expected that Children should imitate the Life and Manners of their Parents and if they prove dissolute and of loose Behaviour it does usually redound to the Parents disgrace as generally supposed to proceed from slackness of Government so should we who are Children of God be Covenant-Breakers prove lawless and dissolute Livers it will extreamly tend to the Dishonour of our Heavenly Father whose Name is then hallowed amongst Men when we his profest Sons and Servants do dutifully and sincerely fulfil our Engagements to Him but on the contrary is then blasphemed when we live ungodly Lives So that this grand Favour and Privilege of being the Sons of God is another most powerful Argument to render us
faithful in our Covenant with Him And so likewise it is Thirdly To be an Inheritor of the Kingdom of Heaven III. As Inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven What restraint will it put upon a young Heir and how careful will it make him to please his Parents when a great Estate is like to descend upon him but yet so that he shall certainly be dis-inherited of it except he behave himself soberly and regularly and dutifully to those his Parents And if so how infinitely more circumspect and wary and diligent should we all of us be to please our Father which is in Heaven by discharging our Covenant-Engagements to him inasmuch as the Heavenly Inheritance is of infinite more value than an Earthly one can be I shall not stand now to give you a Description of that Exceeding Weight of Glory and of those Vast and Immense Treasures of Happiness which are laid up in Heaven for those who shall faithfully perform their Covenant with God I shall only in short shew you that such is the Nature and Constitution of the Covenant of Grace that there is no Hopes nor Expectations of ever obtaining it without a faithful discharge of all our Covenant-Engagements to God and if so then certainly there cannot be greater Obligations possible to the performance of ' em And as to the Nature of the Covenant of Grace surely one would think it were needless to prove that the Conditions of it must be performed or we cannot expect to inherit the Promises This is of the Nature of all Covenants whatsoever which consist of certain Promises and Benefits to be made good on one part not without certain Conditions to be performed on the other Kingdom of Heaven not to be expected but by those who are faithful in their Covenant And why then should any so fondly expect Justification and Happiness to be conferr'd upon 'em except they do Repent heartily Believe practically and Obey sincerely the only Conditions of this Covenant as has been often shewed Why sure none that look into the Gospel and see and consider how that all along Happiness is only promised to the Obedient can ever expect it upon other Terms But so it is that a sort of Antinomian Hereticks do spread abroad their pestilent Doctrines teaching that Christ by his Sacrifice and Satisfaction for us has purchased Justification and Happiness without any Conditions to be perform'd on our part and that what he has done will wholly excuse us from Duty and Obedience But this is one of the most Anti-christian Errors in the World as undermining the whole design of Christ's Coming and his Preaching the Gospel amongst us which was to tie us up to higher Rules of Righteousness than were before given to the Sons of Men. It was infinitely far from the Design of him who came to save and deliver us from the Power and Dominion as well as from the Guilt and Punishment of our Sins to do any thing that should encourage us in Sin and render us secure when at any time we commit it But that which Christ has done for us amounts to this that he has purchased by his Blood-shedding an Abrogation of the First Covenant wherein was no Happiness without an unsinning Obedience and then has procured for us this most gracious Covenant with these abatements of Rigour That we shall have all that unspeakable Bliss and the Inheritance of Heaven conferr'd on us on condition we shall repent of and forsake our Sins and knowingly and willingly not offend him for the future And a most encouraging Argument this will be to all considering and serious Persons to make 'em faithful and diligent to perform their Covenant No People either Jews or Gentiles ever before us had the like The Jews by the Law of Moses or the meer Covenant of Works had plainly and expresly the Assurances only of a Temporal Canaan and the Promises of a peaceable and prosperous Possession thereof to encourage their Duty And the poor Pagans had little Inducements to vertuous living more than the present Tranquility of Mind which arises from the meer Exercise of Vertue neither of 'em Considerations strong enough to bear us up against great Temptations to Sin and the difficulties in the way of our Duty But this one Consideration of an Eternal weight of Glory an Inheritance laid up in Heaven a Crown of Life infallibly ensured to those who shall be faithful unto Death This is enough to encourage us in Well-doing and to preserve us safe and innocent as it has done Thousands before us amidst all the Persecutions of Evil Men on the one hand or the Allurements of the World on the other withdrawing us or frighting us into Sin so that in the strength of the Hopes of such an Inheritance we may be prevail'd upon faithfully and conscientiously to discharge this our Covenant with God And thus you see what mighty Arguments the several Mercies of the Covenant made over to us on God's Part do yield us and what inviolable Obligations they do all of 'em lay upon us faithfully and conscientiously to discharge this our Covenant with God But IV. As having promised and vowed in our Baptism accordingly to discharge our Covenant w th God Fourthly and lastly Another vast Obligation lying upon us to do the same and which ought especially to be here considered is That Promise and Vow made for us in our Baptism accordingly to discharge this our Covenant Do'st thou not think that thou art bound to Believe and to Do as they have promised for thee That is the Question which is ask'd you to which you are taught to answer Yes verily and thereby to acknowledge the vast Obligations lying upon you on the account of that Promise and Vow to perform that your Covenant and a mighty Obligation too it lies upon us there being nothing more sacred and inviolable than a Vow made unto God and more severely punisht if it be ever violated The matter of a Vow sometimes not a Duty 'till vowed A Vow in general is defin'd to be a solemn Promise made unto God whereby we do in a peculiar manner engage our selves unto him to the performance of something And there are two sorts of these Vows which are to be distinguish'd according to the Matter of which the Vow is made For sometimes the Thing which we have vowed to do was not a Duty upon us till such time as we made such a Vow as when a Person does solemnly promise to God that he will set apart such a Portion of his Time such a Day of the Week for the more immediate Service of God in Fasting and Prayer or that he will devote such a part of his Estate or Gains for pious or charitable Uses Secondly again the matter of a Vow Sometimes antecedently incumbent upon us and such is the matter of our Baptismal Vow may be what was incumbent upon us before only the Vow is added to strengthen the
between Good and Evil. 101 The Mind of Man naturally desirous of encreasing Knowledge Experimental Knowledge of Sin clouds the Reason and stupifies the Sence of Spiritual things And even meer Curiosity after less Profitable things takes off from the Knowledge of God and our Selves and the Means of Happiness 102 By these Means he brings that Ignorance in Divine Matters which reigns in most Men's Minds And being spiritually Ignorant Men are easily led into whatever Sin and Misery This therefore another Wile of Satan's which must be carefully avoided 103 Thirdly By Bribing the Affections with something nearest our Hearts and rather than disoblige and lose which we will commit any thing that is Evil. And by whatever we most place our Affections upon does he still Inveigle us to do what is Forbidden And therefore our Saviour would have us bear that Indifferency of Affection towards our nearest Relations as to be able to Forsake them and their Interests rather than God Lastly By exciting their Lusts and Appetites after the forbidden Fruit by proposing the fairest Objects and most delicious Dainties to their Senses 104 And by the same Methods does he prevail to this day upon the far greatest part of Mankind to Rebel against God For Man being made up very much of Sense so that nothing enters into the Soul but through the Doors of our Senses we are easily prevail'd upon by what gratifies our Senses Especially the Senses of Seeing and Tasting 105 But our being taken only with Outward things is such an high Ingratitude to God who hath provided so much better for us and such an Abuse to our Souls which are capable of relishing higher Enjoyments as is not to be Endur'd 106 LECT XI What Temptations Satan levels against the Church of Christ God recovers out of the fallen Race of Mankind a Body of Men the Church to his Service Listed 'em under Jesus Christ to Fight against Satan The Devil enrag'd to have his Prey snatcht out of his Teeth continually Attacks it His first and chief Endeavours are utterly to destroy it from off the Face of the Earth 107 This he Endeavour'd to do in the Person of Abel And when afterwards Recruited in the Family of Seth yet he Reduc'd it again by the Bloody Posterity of Cain to Eight Persons in the Days of Noah When after the Flood God chose Abraham and his Posterity to be a special People unto himself Satan endeavour'd utterly to have Extinguisht that People by his Servant Pharaoh And in all Periods till our Saviour's coming he stir'd up the Idolatrous Nations their Neighbours especially the Four Monarchies to Harrass them But soon after that Christ appeared in the World did he most vigorously Exert his Malice against it 108 So that for the first 300 Years we hear of nothing but of bloody Persecutions The Emperors of Rome the Instruments but Satan the Instigator And wheresoever any Attempt is made to Convert a Country from Paganism he does instigate the Princes and People thereof to Persecute and Destroy the Preachers of the Gospel And he is no less Industrious to drive Christianity out of those Countries whereof it had once Possession And he has an Anti-Christian Party within the Bowels of Christendom most sadly weakning Christ's and most effectually promoting the Interest of his own Kingdom 109 And now all Christians are so far to Renounce Satan with respect to those his persecuting Temptations as to submit to the sorest Sufferings which Satan and his wicked Instruments can inflict rather than deny Christ or his Truths Secondly When those bloody Methods fail Satan then does endeavour so to corrupt Mens Notions of God and Religion that by their very Christianity they may dishonour him 110 This Politick Method of his discover'd to us under the Parable of a malicious Enemy coming privately in the Night and sowing Tares where the Husbandman had before sowed good Seed Like a skilful Husbandman he is choice about the Nature of the Seed the Temper and Preparedness of the Soil the Fitness of the Season and the Skilfulness of the Seeds-man First As to the Nature of the Seed he takes care his Heretical Opinions and Practices should bear some Resemblance of Divine Truth in order to conceal their Discovery Thus especially he Gilds his Errors where the Light of the Gospel does most clearly shine as here First When under the plausible Appearance of Advancing God's Honour in some of his Attributes he renders him odious and dispis'd in Others 111 Secondly When under the Colour of Advancing Gospel-Truths he propagates Heresies which do undermine Religion and the Necessity of a Holy Life Thirdly when he teaches to prefer some eminent Christian Duty or some part of a Duty or one Way of performing a Duty to the Disparagement of another As to prefer Prayer to the neglect of Preaching or Sermons to the contempt of Prayers As also Praying in Spirit to the regard of Bodily Worship And Extemporary Prayer to the utter Contempt of Forms of Prayer 112 By this latter Means Satan has utterly Defeated those excellent Helps we have in our Church and brought in a great Neglect of Publick Family and Private Devotion 113 Secondly As to the Temper and Preparation of the Soil in Churches where the Scriptures are Lockt up and Ignorance prevails he imposes the grossest Heresies as Articles of Faith Especially he introduces Idolatry and Superstition whereby he is most immediately and directly serv'd Thirdly As to the fitness of the Season he is dexterous in accommodating his Counsels his Actions and his manner of Acting to such Seasons as are most proper to his Purpose of seducing Men. 114 Hence in dark and ignorant Ages nothing so common as the Apparitions of Saints as was pretended to introduce the Belief of Purgatory Image-Worship and the like Superstitions And in Learn'd and Philosophical Ages he is as shy in appearing lest he should destroy the prevailing Sadducism Fourthly As to the skilfulness of the Seeds-man Satan is wonderfully Cunning in making choice of fit and proper Instruments and in furnishing those with the proper Arts of Deceiving and with suitable Qualities whom he employs to sow the Seed of corrupt Doctrine in the Souls of Men. 115 Such as place all Religion in Morality shall be adorn'd with Humanity Such as turn it all into Mystery shall be gifted with Canting 116 And yet sometimes the Crooked Serpent by Men seeming Godly will propagate Principles extreamly Immoral The most difficult Part of a Christian's Warfare is to preserve One-self untainted with Heretical Pravity colour'd over with the Varnish of Gospel-Truth But yet by trying it by proper Rules it may be done viz. First By its tendency to an Ill Life Secondly By its taking off from our Dependance upon the Mediation of Christ for the acceptance of a good One. 117 LECT XII Thirdly Satan's great Industry is to gain over to his Party or to Tempt to some scandalous Enormity such Persons as are more than ordinarily Eminent