find any of those Virtues that I have mentioned condemned and forbidden A clear Evidence that Mankind never took any exception against them but are generally agreed about the Goodness of them Fourthly God hath shewn us what is good by External Revelation In former Ages of the World God revealed his will to particular Persons in an extraordinary manner and more especially to the Nation of the Jews the rest of the World being in a great measure left to the conduct of natural Light But in these later Ages he hath made a publick Revelation of his Will by his Son And this as to the matter of our Duty is the same in Substance with the Law of Nature For our Saviour comprehends all under these two general Heads the love of God and of our Neighbour The Apostle reduceth all to three Sobriety Justice and Piety The grace of God that brings Salvation hath appeared to all men teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly righteously and godly in this present World So that if we believe the Apostle the Gospel teacheth us the very same things which Nature dictated to Men before only it hath made a more perfect discovery of them So that whatever was doubtful and obscure before is now certain and plain the Duties are still the same only it offers us more powerful Arguments and a greater Assistance to the performance of those Duties so that we may now much better say than the Prophet could in his days He hath shewed thee O Man what is good and what it is that the Lord requires of thee Fifthly and lastly God shews us what is good by the motions of his Spirit upon the Minds of Men. This the Scripture assures us of and good Men have experience more especially of it though it be hard to give an account of it and to say what motions are from the Spirit of God and what from our own Minds for as the wind blows where it listeth and we hear the sound of it but know not whence it comes nor whither it goes so are the Operations of the Spirit of God upon the Minds of Men secret and imperceptible And thus I have done with the three things I propounded to speak to All that now remains is to make some Inferences from what hath been said by way of Application First Seeing God hath so abundantly provided that we should know our Duty we are altogether inexcusable if we do not do it Because he hath shewed thee O Man what is good and what the Lord requires of thee therefore thou art inexcusable O Man whosoever thou art who livest in a contradiction to this light God hath acquainted us with our Duty by such ways as may most effectually both direct and engage us to the practice of it we are prompted to it by a kind of natural Instinct and strong impressions upon our Minds of the difference of good and evil we are led to the knowledge and urged to the practice of it by our Nature and by our Reason and by our Interest and by that which is commonly very prevalent among Men the general voice and consent of Mankind and by the most powerful and governing passions in Humane Nature by hope and by fear and by shame by the prospect of advantage by the apprehension of danger and by the sense of honour and to take away all possible excuse of ignorance from us by an express Revelation from God the clearest and most perfect that ever was made to the World So that when ever we do contrary to our Duty in any of these great Instances we offend against all these and do in the highest degree fall under the heavy Sentence of our Saviour This is the Condemnation that light is come into the world and men loved darkness rather than light Secondly You see hence what are the great Duties of Religion which God mainly requires of us and how reasonable they are Piety towards God and Justice and Charity towards Men the knowledge whereof is planted in our Nature and grows up with our Reason And these are things which are unquestionably good and against which we can have no exception things that were never reproved nor found fault with by Mankind neither our Nature nor our Reason riseth up against them or dictates any thing to the contrary We have all the Obligation and we have all the Encouragement to them and are secure on all hands in the practice of them In the doing of these things there is no danger to us from the Laws of Men no fear of displeasure from God no offence or sting from our own Minds And these things which are so agreeable to our Nature and our Reason and our Interest are the great things which our Religion requires of us more valuable in themselves and more acceptable to God than whole Burnt-offerings and Sacriâ—ices more than thousands of Rams and ten thousands of Rivers of Oyl more than if we offered to him all the Beasts of the Forest and the Cattle upon a thousand Hills We are not to neglect any Institution of God but above all we are to secure the observance of those great Duties to which we are directed by our very Nature and tyed by the surest and most sacred of all other Laws those which God hath riveted in our Souls and written upon our Hearts And that Mankind might have no pretence left to excuse them from these the Christian Religion hath set us free from those many positive and outward observances that the Jewish Religion was incumbred withall that we might be wholly intent upon these great Duties and mind nothing in comparison of the real and substantial Virtues of a good Life Thirdly You see in the last place what is the best way to appease the displeasure of God towards a sinful Nation God seems to have as great a Controversie with us as he had with the People of Israel and his wrath is of late years most visibly gone out against us and proportionably to the full measure of our Sins it hath been poured out upon us in full Vials How have the Judgments of God followed us And how close have they followed one another What fearful Calamities have our eyes seen enough to make the ears of every one that hears them to tingle What terrible and hazardous Wars have we been ingaged in What a raging Pestilence did God send among us that swept away thousands and ten thousands in our streets What a dreadful and fatal Fire that was not to be checked and resisted in its course 'till it had laid in Ashes one of the Greatest and Richest Cities in the World What unseasonable weather have we had of late as if for the Wickedness of Men upon the Earth the very Ordinances of Heaven were changed and Summer and Winter Seed-time and Harvest had forgotten their appointed Seasons And which is more and sadder than all this what dangerous attempts have been made upon our
the Lord thy God require of thee c. The First being a meer question there needs no more to be said of it only that it is a question of great importance What is the most effectual way to appease God when we have offended him For who can bear his indignation and who who can stand before him when once he is angry Let us consider then in the Second place the way that Men are apt to take to pacifie God and that is by some external piece of Religion and Devotion such as were Sacrifices among the Jews and Heathen Shall I come before him with Burnt-offerings This is the way which Men are most apt to chuse The Jews you seâ— pitched upon the external parts of their Religion those which were most pompous and solemn the richest and most costly Sacrifices so they might but keep their Sins they were well enough content to offer up any thing else to God they thought nothing too good for him provided he would not oblige them to become better And thus it is among our selves when we apprehend God is displeased with us and his Judgments abroad in the Earth we are content to do any thing but to learn Righteousness we are willing to submit to any kind of external Devotion and Humiliation to Fast and Pray to afflict our selves and to cry mightily unto God things some of them good in themselves but the least part of that which God requires of us And as for the Church of Rome in case of publick Judgments and Calamities they are the inquisitive and as they pretend the most skilful People in the world to pacifie God and they have a thousand solemn devices to this purpose I do not wrong them by representing them enquiring after this manner Shall I go before a Crucifix and bow my self to it as to the high God And because the Lord is a great King and it is perhaps too much boldness and arrogance to make immediate Addresses always to him to which of the Saints or Angels shall I go to mediate for me and intercede on my behalf Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of Pater-Nosters or with ten thousands of Ave-Marys Shall the Host travel in procession or my self undâ—rtake a tedious Pilgrimage Or shall I list my self a Souldier for the Holy War or for the Extirpation of Hereticks Shall I give half my Estate to a Convent for my Transgression or chastise and punish my Body for the Sin of my Soul Thus Men deceive themselves and will submit to all the extravagant Severities that the Petulancy and Folly of Men can devise and impose upon them And indeed it is not to be imagined when Men are once under the Power of Superstition how ridiculous they may be and yet think themselves religious how prodigiously they may play the Fool and yet believe they please God what cruel and barbarous things they may do to themselves and others and yet be verily perswaded they do God good Service And what is the Mystery of all this but that Men are loath to do that without which nothing else that we do is acceptable to God They hate to be reformed and for this Reason they will be content to do any Thing rather than be put to the Trouble of Mending themselves every thing is easie in comparison of this Task and God may have any Terms of them so he will let them be quiet in their Sins and excuse them from the real Virtues of a Good Life And this brings me to the Third Thing which I principally intended to speak to The Course which God himself directs to and which will effectually pacifie him He hath shewed thee O Man what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love Mercy and to walk humbly with thy God In the handling of which I shall First Consider those several Duties which God here requires of us and upon the Performance of which he will be pacified towards us Secondly By what Ways and Means God hath discovered these Duties to us and the Goodness of them He hath shewed thee O Man what is good c. I. We will briefly consider the several Duties which God here requires of us and upon the Performance of which he will be pacified towards us What doth the Lord require of thee but to do Justly and to love Mercy and to walk humbly with thy God It was usual among the Jews to reduce all the Duties of Religion to these three Heads Justice Mercy and Piety under the first two comprehending the Duties which we owe to one another and under the third the Duties which we owe to God 1. Justice And I was going to tell you what it is but I considered that every Man knows it as well as any Definition can explain it to him I shall only put you in mind of some of the principal Instances of it and the several Virtues comprehended under it And First Justice is concerned in the making of Laws that they be such as are equal and reasonable useful and beneficial for the Honour of God and Religion and for the publick good of Humane Society This is a great Trust in the discharge of which if Men be byassed by Favour or Interest and drawn aside from the Consideration and Regard of the publick Good it is a far greater Crime and of worse Consequence than any private Act of Injustice between Man and Man And then Justice is also concerned in the due Execution of Laws which are the Guard of private Property the Security of Publick Peace and of Religion and Good Manners And Lastly In the Observance of Laws and Obedience to them which is a Debt that every Man owes to Humane Society But more especially Justice is concerned in the Observance of those Laws whether of God or Man which respect the Rights of Men and their mutual Commerce and Intercourse with one another That we use Honesty and Integrity in all our Dealings in Opposition to Fraud and Deceit Truth and Fidelity in Opposition to Falshood and Breach of Trust Equity and good Conscience in Opposition to all kind of Oppression and Exaction These are the principal Branches and Instances of this great and comprehensive Duty of Justice the Violation whereof is so much the greater Sin because this Virtue is the firmest Bond of Humane Society upon the Observation whereof the Peace and Happiness of Mankind does so much depend 2. Mercy which does not only signifie the inward Affection of Pity and Compassion towards those that are in Misery and Necessity but the Effects of it in the actual Relief of those whose Condition calls for our Charitable Help and Assistance By feeding the Hungry and cloathing the Naked and visiting the Sick and vindicating the Oppressed and comforting the afflicted and ministring Ease and Relief to them if it be in our Power And this is a very lovely Virtue and argues more Goodness in Men than mere Justice
doth For Justice is a strict Debt but Mercy is Favour and Kindness And this perhaps may be the Reason of the different Expressions in the Text that when God barely commands us to do justly he requires we should love Mercy that is take a particular Pleasure and Delight in the Exercise of this Virtue which is so proper and agreeable to Mankind that we commonly call it Humanity giving it its Name from our very Nature In short it is so excellent a Virtue that I should be very sorry that any Religion should be able to pretend to the Practice of it more than our own 3. Piety To walk humbly with thy God To walk humbly in the fear of the Lord so the Chaldee Paraphrase renders these Words And this Phrase may comprehend all those Acts of Religion which refer immediately to God A firm Belief of his Being and Perfections an awful Sense of him as the dread Soveraign and righteous Judge of the World a due Regard to his Service and a reverent Behaviour of our selves towards him in all Acts of Worship and Religion in Opposition to Atheism and a Prophane Neglect and Contempt of God and Religion a new and monstrous kind of Impiety which of late Years hath broke in upon us and got head among us not only contrary to the Example of former Ages but in Despight of the very Genius and Temper of the Nation which is naturally devout and zealous in Religion Or else this Phrase of walking humbly with God may refer more particularly to the Posture and Condition of the People of Israel at that time who were fallen under the heavy Displeasure of God for their Sins And then the Duty required is that being sensible how highly God hath been offended by us by the general Corruption and Viciousness of the Age which like a Leprosie hath spread it self almost over the whole Body of the Nation and by that open Lewdness and those insolent Impieties which are daily committed amongst us I say that being deeply sensible of this we do with all Humility acknowledge our Sins to God and repent of them and implore his Mercy and Forgiveness and resolve by his grace to turn every one from the evil of our ways and from the wickedness that is in our hands which God grant we may every one do this Day according to the pious design and intention of it And if we be sincere in this Resolution who can tell but God may turn and repent and turn away his anger from us that we perish not Nay we have great reason to believe that he will be pacified towards us So he hath declared Isa 1. 16. Wash ye make you clean put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes cease to do evil learn to do well seek judgment relieve the oppressed judge the fatherless plead for the widdow come now and let us reason together saith the Lord though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow though they be red like crimson they shall be as wooll But if we continue unreformed God will say to us as he does there to the people of Israel To what purpose is the multitude of your Sacrifices unto me your calling of Assemblies I cannot away with it is iniquity even the solemn meeting and when ye spread forth your hands I will hide mine eyes from you when ye make many prayers I will not hear To which let me add that excellent Saying of the Son of Syrach to this purpose Ecclesiastic 34. 25 26. He that washeth himself after the touching of a dead body if he touch it again what availeth his washing So is it with a Man that fasteth for his Sins and goeth again and doth the same things Who will hear his Prayer or what doth his humbling profit him II. Let us consider by what ways and means God hath made known these Duties to us and the goodness and the obligation of them He hath shewed thee O Man what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee I shall mention Five ways whereby God hath discovered this to us 1. By a kind of natural Instinct 2. By natural Reason 3. By the general vote and consent of Mankind 4. By external Revelation 5. By the inward Dictates and Motions of God's Spirit upon the Minds of Men. First By a kind of natural Instinct by which I mean a secret impression upon the Minds of Men whereby they are naturally carried to approve some things as good and fit and to dislike other things as having a native evil and deformity in them And this I call a natural Instinct because it does not seem to proceed so much from the exercise of our Reason as from a natural propension and inclination like those Instincts which are in Brute Creatures of natural affection and care towards their young ones And that these Inclinations are precedent to all reason and discourse about them evidently appears by this that they do put forth themselves every whit as vigorously in young persons as in those of riper Reason in the rude and ignorant sort of People as in those who are more polish'd and refin'd For we see plainly that the young and ignorant have as strong impressions of Piety and Devotion as true a sense of gratitude and justice and pity as the wiser and more knowing part of Mankind A plain indication that the Reason of Mankind is prevented by a kind of natural instinct and anticipation concerning the good or evil the comeliness or deformity of these things And though this do not equally extend to all the instances of our Duty yet as to the great lines and essential parts of it Mankind hardly need to consult any other Oracle than the meer propensions and inclinations of their Nature as whether we ought to reverence the Divine Nature to be grateful to those who have conferred benefits upon us to speak the truth to be faithful to our promise to restore that which is committed to us in trust to pity and relieve those that are in misery and in all things to do to others as we would have them do to us And this will further appear if we consider these two things 1. That Men are naturally innocent or guilty to themselves according to what they do in these things So the Apostle tells us Rom. 2. 14 15. When the Gentiles which have not the Law do by nature the things contained in the Law these having not the Law are a Law unto themselves and do shew the effect of the Law written in their hearts their Consciences also bearing witness and their thoughts by turns that is according as they do well or ill accusing or excusing them There is a secret comfort in innocence and a strange pleasure and satisfaction in being acquitted by our own Minds for what we do But on the contrary when we contradict these natural Dictates what uneasiness do we find in our own breasts Nay even before the
this Pattern hath been since not only closely followed but out-done by the Doctrines and Practices of the Church of Rome as we have too much Reason to remember upon this day But to proceed in the farther explication of the Text the meaning whereof in short is this that the ritual and instrumental parts of Religion and all Laws and Duties concerning them are of less Value and Esteem with God than those which are of a moral Nature especially the great Duties and Offices of Piety and Humanity of the love of God and of our Neighbour And if we consider the matter well we shall see the Reason of it to be very plain because natural and moral Duties are approved of God for themselves and for their own sake upon account of their own natural and intrinsical Goodness but the ritual and instrumental parts of Religion are only pleasing to God in order to these and so far as they tend to beget and promote them in us they are not naturally good in themselves but are instituted and appointed by God for the sake of the other and therefore great Reason there is that they should be subordinate and give way to them when they come in competition with one another For this is a known Rule which takes place in all Laws that Laws of less importance should give way to those that are of greater quoties Leges ex circumstantiâ— colliduntur ita ut utraque servari non potest servanda est lex potior When ever two Laws happen to be in such circumstances as to clash with one another so that both of them cannot be observed that Law which is better and of greater consequence is to be kept And Tully gives much the same Rule in this matter In comparing of Laws says he we are to consider which Law is most useful and just and reasonable to be observed From whence it will follow that when two Laws or more or how many soever they be cannot be observed because they clash with one another ea maxime conservanda putetur quae ad maximas res pertinere videatur It is reasonable that that Law should be observed which is of greatest Moment and Concernment By what hath been said we may learn what is the meaning of this Saying which our Saviour more than once cites out of the Prophet I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice From the words thus explained I shall take occasion to prosecute the two Propositions which I mentioned before namely First That Natural Religion is the Foundation of Instituted and Revealed Religion Secondly That no Instituted Religion was ever designed to take away the obligation of Natural Duties but is intended to establish and confirm them And both these are sufficiently grounded in the Reason of our Saviour's Discourse from this Rule I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice I. That Natural Religion is the Foundation of Instituted and Revealed Religion and all Revealed Religion does suppose and take for granted the clear and undoubted Principles and Precepts of Natural Religion and builds upon them By Natural Religion I mean obedience to the Natural Law and the performance of such duties as Natural Light without any express and supernatural Revelation doth dictate to Men. These lye at the bottom of all Religion and are the Great and Fundamental Duties which God requires of all Mankind as that we should love God and behave our selves reverently towards him that we should believe his Revelations and testifie our dependance upon him by imploring his aid and direction in all our necessities and distresses and acknowledge our obligations to him for all the Blessings and Benefits which we receive that we should moderate our Appetites in reference to the Pleasures and Enjoyments of this World and use them temperately and chastly that we should be just and upright in all our Dealings with one another true to our word and faithful to our trust and in all our words and actions observe that Equity towards others which we desire they should use towards us that we should be kind and charitable merciful and compassionate one towards another ready to do good to all and apt not only to pity but to relieve them in their misery and necessity These and such like are those which we call Moral Duties and they are of eternal and perpetual obligation because they do naturally oblige without any particular and express Revelation from God And these are the Foundation of Revealed and Instituted Religion and all Revealed Religion does suppose them and build upon them for all Revelation from God supposeth us to be Men and alters nothing of those Duties to which we were naturally obliged before And this will clearly appear if we consider these three things First That the Scripture every where speaks of these as the main and Fundamental Duties of the Jewisâ— Religion Secondly That no Instituted Service of God no positive part of Religion was ever acceptable to him when these were neglected Thirdly That the great Design of the Christian Religion was to restore and reinforce the practice of the natural Law 1. That the Scripture every where speaks of these as the main and Fundamental Duties of the Jewish Religion When our Saviour was ask'd which was the first and great Commandment of the Law he answered Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy strength and thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self One would have expected he would have given quite another Answer and have pitched upon some of those things which were so much magnified among the Jews and which they laid so much weight upon that he should have instanced in Sacrifice or Circumcision or the Law of the Sabbath but he overlooks all these as inconsiderable in comparision and instances only in those two great heads of Moral Duty the love of God and our Neighbour which are of natural and perpetual obligation and comprehend under them all other Moral Duties And these are those which our Saviour calls the Law and the Prophets and which he says he came not to destroy but to fulfill Mat. 5. 17 18 19 20. Think not that I am come to destroy the Law or the Prophets I am not come to destroy but to fulfill for verily I say unto you 'till Heaven and Earth pass one jot or one title shall in no wise pass from the Law 'till all be fulfilled Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least Commandments and shall teach men so he shall be call'd the least in the Kingdom of Heaven but whosoever shall do and teach them the same shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven For I say unto you that except your Righteousness shall exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven That our Saviour doth not here speak of the Judicial or Ceremonial Law of the Jews but of the Duties of the Moral Law
The most Reverend D r. IOHN TILLOTSON late Arch-Bishop of Canterbury Several Discourses Viz. Of the great Duties of Natural Religion Instituted Religion not intended to undermine Natural Christianity not destructive but perfective of the Law of Moses The Nature and Necessity of Regeneration The Danger of all known Sin Knowledge and Practice necessary in Religion The Sins of Men not Chargeable on God By the Most Reverend Dr. JOHN TILLOTSON Late Lord Arch-Bishop of Canterbury Being The FOURTH VOLUME Published from the Originals By Ralph Barker D. D. Chaplain to his Grace LONDON Printed for Ri. Chiswell at the Rose and Crown in St. Paul's Church-yard 1697. THE CONTENTS SERM. I. Of the great Duties of Natural Religion with the Ways and Means of knowing them MICAH VI. 6 7 8. WHerewith shall I come before the Lord and bow my self before the high God shall I come before him with burnt-offerings with Calves of a year old Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of Rams or with ten thousands of Rivers of Oyl shall I give my first-born for my transgression the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul He hath shewed thee O Man what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God Page 1. SERM. II. Instituted Religion not intended to undermine Natural MATTH IX 13. But go ye and learn what that meaneth I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice p. 43. SERM. III IV. Christianity doth not destroy but perfect the Law of Moses MATTH V. 17. Think not that I am come to destroy the Law or the Prophets I am not come to destroy but to fulfill p. 85 113. SERM. V VI VII VIII IX Of the Nature of Regeneration and its Necessity in order to Justification and Salvation GALAT. VI. 15. For in Christ Jesus neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor Uncircumcision but a new Creature p. 139 165 191 217 241. SERM. X XI The Danger of all known Sin both from the Light of Nature and Revelation ROM I. 18 19. For the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of Men who hold the truth in unrighteousness because that which may be known of God is manifest in them for God hath shewed it unto them p. 267 305. SERM. XII Knowledge and Practice Necessary in Religion JOHN XIII 17. If ye know these things happy are ye if ye do them p. 343. SERM. XIII Practice in Religion necessary in proportion to our Knowledge LUKE XII 47 48. And that Servant which knew his Lord's will and preparâ—d not himself neither did according to his will shall be beaten with many stripes But he that knew not and did commit things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes For unto whomsoever much is given of him shall be much required and to whom Men have committed much of him they will ask the more p. 373. SERM. XIV XV. The Sins of Men not chargeablâ— upon God but upon themselves JAMES I. 13 14. Let no Man say when he is tempted I am tempted of God for God cannot be tempted with evil neither tempteth he any Man But every Man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed p. 403 447. SERMON I. Of the great Duties of Natural Religion with the Ways and Means of knowing them MICAH 6. 6 7 8. Wherewith shall I come before the Lord and bow my self before the high God shall I come before him with burnt offerings with Calves of a year old Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of Rams or with ten thousands of Rivers of Oyl shall I give my first born for my transgression the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul He hath shewed thee O man what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God IN the beginning of this Chapter the Prophet tells the People of Israel that the Lord had a Controversie with them and that he might direct them how to take up this quarrel he brings in one making this enquiry in the name of the People Wherewith shall I come before the Lord and bow my self before the high God That is by what kind of Worship or Devotion may I address my self to him in the most acceptable manner by what means may I hope to appease his displeasure To satisfie this enquiry he first instanceth in the chief kinds of Sacrifices and Expiations that were in use among the Jews and Heathens Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings the constant Sacrifice that was offâ—red to God by way of acknowledgment of his Dominion over the Creatures with Calves of a year old which was the Sin-offering which the High-Priest offered for himself Or will he rather accept of those great and costly Sacrifices which were offered upon Solemn and Publick Occasions such as that was which Solomon offered at the Dedication of the Temple Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of Rams or with ten thousands of Rivers of Oyl Or if none of these will do shall I try to attone him after the manner of the Heathen by the dearest thing in the World the first-born of my Children Shall I give my first-born for my tranâ—gression the fruit of my Body for the sin of my Soul If God was to be appeased at all surely they thought it must be by some of these ways for beyond these they could imagine nothing of greater value and efficacy But the Prophet tells them that they were quite out of the way in thinking to pacifie God upon these terms that there are other things which are much better and more pleasing to him than any of these Sacrifices For some of them were expresly forbidden by God as the offering up of our Children and for the rest they were not good in themselves but meerly by vertue of their Institution and because they were commanded But the things which he would recommend to them are such as are good in their own nature and required of us by God upon that account He hath shewed thee O Man what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love merâ—y and to walk humbly with thy God So that in these words you have First An Enquiry which is the best way to appease God when he is offended Wherewith shall I come before the Lord and bow my self before the high God Secondly The way that Men are apt to take in this Case and that is by some external piece of Religion and Devotion such as Sacrifice was both among Jews and Heathen Shall I come before him with Burnt-offerings c. By which questions the Prophet intimates that Men are very apt to pitch upon this course Thirdly The course which God himself directs to and which will effectually pacifie him He hath shewed thee O Man what is good and what doth
and not Sacrifice which Saying is quoted by him out of the Prophet Hosea chap. 6. 6. I desired mercy and not sacrifice and the knowledge of God more than burnt Offerings which Text our Saviour cites and applies upon two several Occasions the considering and comparing of which will give full Light to the true meaning of it The First is here in the Text upon occasion of the Pharisees finding Fault with him for conversing with Publicans and Sinners the other is Matth. 12. 7. where the Pharisees blaming the Disciples of our Saviour for plucking the Ears of Corn on the Sabbath day our Saviour tells them if ye had known what this meaneth I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice ye would not have comdemned the guiltless that is if they had understood the true Nature of Religion and what Duties of it are chiefly and in the first place to be regarded they would not have been so forward to censure this Action of his Disciples So that the plain meaning of this Saying is this that in comparing the parts of Religion and the Obligation of Duties together those Duties which are of moral and natural Obligation are most valued by God and ought to take place of those which are positive and ritual I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice that is rather than Sacrifice according to the true meaning of this Hebrew Phrase which is to be understood in a comparitive Sense as is evident from the Text it self in Hosea I desired mercy and not sacrifice and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings if they cannot be observed together let Sacrifice be neglected and the work of Mercy be done And the Reason of this seems very plain because shewing Mercy or doing Good in any kind is a prime Instance of those moral Duties which do naturally and perpetually oblige but Sacrifice is an instance of positive and ritual Observances and one of the chief of the kind so that when moral Duties and ritual Observances come in Competition and do clash with one another the Observation of a Rite or positive Institution is to give way to a moral Duty and it is no Sin in that case to neglect the Observation of such a Rite yea though it were commanded and appointed by God himself And though this may seem to be a breach of the letter of the Law yet it is according to the true mind and meaning of the Law it being a tacit condition implyed in all Laws of a ritual and positive Nature provided the observance of them be not to the hindrance and prejudice of any Duty which is of a higher and better nature in that case the Obligation of it does for that time give way and is suspended And this will appear to be the true meaning of this Rule by comparing more particularly the Instances to which our Saviour applies it His Disciples passing through the Corn on the Sabbath Day and being hungry pluckt the Ears and did eat this our Saviour does justifie to be no Breach of the Law of the Sabbath because in that case and in such Circumstances it did not oblige for the Disciples being call'd to attend upon our Saviour to be instructed by him in the things which concerned the Kingdom of God that is in the Doctrine of the Gospel which they were to publish to the World this Attendance hindred them from making necessary Provisions against the Sabbath they in obedience to their Master being intent upon a better Work but that they might not starve the necessities of Nature must be provided for and therefore it was fit that the Law of the Sabbath which was but positive and ritual should give way to an act of Mercy and Self-preservation If ye had known what this meaneth I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice ye would not have condemned the guiltless And the reason is the same as to any instrumental part of Religion by which I mean any thing which may be a means to promote Piety and Goodness as Prayer hearing the Word of God keeping good Company and avoiding bad the Duties of this kind our Saviour here in the Text where he likewise applies this Rule compares with moral Duties To avoid the Company of vicious and wicked Persons is a good means to preserve men from the contagion of their Vices and was always esteemed a Duty among prudent men both Jews and Heathens and is in no wise disallowed by our Saviour but yet not so a Duty as to hinder a greater Duty nor so strictly and perversely to be insisted upon as if one ought not to converse with bad Men in any Case or upon any Account no not for so great and good an end as to reclaim them from their Vices In this Case we ought to consider that our first and highest obligation is to moral Duties comprehended under the love of God and our Neighbour among which one of the chief is to do good to Men and to shew Mercy and Pity to those that are in Misery and the greatest good that one Man can do to another is to be instrumental to reclaim him from the Evil and Error of his Way because this is to save his soul from death and we cannot imagine that God ever intended by any Rule of prudence or positive Constitution of the Jewish Law so to forbid their accompaning with bad and scandalous Men that it should be unlawful to converse with them in order to their Recovery and Amendment Go ye and learn what that meaneth I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice And St. Paul was of the same mind in the Precepts he gives concerning avoiding the Company of scandalous Christians 2 Thes 3. 14 15. and if any man obey not our word by this Epistle note that man and have no Company with him that he may be ashamed yet count him not as an enemy but admonish him as a brother St. Paul qualifies his Precept lest Christians should mistake it and fall into the Jewish extream not to converse with those whom they esteemed scandalous and wicked upon any account whatsoever no not in order to their Amendment and Reformation The Bond of Intimacy and Friendship with bad Men ought to be broken and yet the Bond of common Humanity may be as strong as ever It is one thing to discountenance bad Men to bring them to Shame and a Sense of their Fault and quite another thing to abandon them to Ruin and even in case of notorious Heresie or wickedness of Life it is one thing to cut them off from the Society and Communion of Christians and quite another to cut them off from Humane Society to cut their Throats and to extirpate them out of the World And yet the matter was carried thus far by the furious Zeal of the Jews when Christianity first appeared in the World they thought that no Mercy in such Cases was the best Service that could be done and the best Sacrifice that could be offered to Almighty God and
will I think be very plain from these following Considerations First That the Judicial or Ceremonial Laws of the Jews were to pass away and did so not long after but this Law which our Saviour speaks of was to be perpetual and immutable for he tells us that Heaven and Earth should pass away but one jot or one title of this Law should not pass Secondly The observation of the Law our Saviour speaks of consisted in such things as the Scribes and Pharisees neglected for he tells his Disciples upon this occasion that except their righteousness did exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees they should in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven But now the Scribes and Pharisees were the most accurate and punctual People in the World in observing the Precepts of the Judicial and Ceremonial Law they were so far from taking away any thing from these observances that they had added to them and enlarged them by innumerable Traditions of their own so exact were they that they would pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin as our Saviour observes but then they were extreamly defective in Moral Duties they were unnatural to their Parents and would pretend that their Estates were consecrated to God that under this pretence of positive Religion they might excuse themselves from a Natural Duty and let their Parents starve for God's sake they were Covetous and Unjust and devoured Widows houses in a word our Saviour tells us they neglected the weightier Matters of the Law Mercy Judgment and the love of God and keeping faith with Men so that it is in these things that our Saviour means that our righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees viz. in the practice of Moral Duties which were neglected by them and consequently 't is the Moral Law which our Saviour came to confirm and establish Thirdly If we consider the instances which our Saviour gives in his following discourse by which we may best judge what he means He instances in Murder and Adultery and Perjury which are undoubtedly forbidden by the natural Law and then he iâ—stances in several Permissions which were indulged to them for the Hardness of their Hearts but yet did intrench upon the Dictates of right Reason and the first and original Constitution of things as the permission of Divorce upon every slight occasion and of Revenge and Retaliation of Injuries Fourthly If we consider that by the Law and the Prophets our Saviour means that which was principally designed and ultimately intended by them which was the Observation of moral Duties which as they were written in the two Tables by the immediate Finger of God himself so are chiefly inculcated by the Propheâ—s And so we find this Phrase of the Law and the Prophets elsewhere used by our Saviour when he mentions that great Rule of Equity that we should do to others as we would have them do to us Matth. 7. 12. Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that Men should do to you do ye even so to them for this is the Law and the Prophets But how was this the Law and the Prophets when this Rule was never so much as mentioned in either Our Saviour means that this is the Foundation of all those Duties of Justice and Mercy which are so much inculcated in the Law and the Prophets So that our Saviour makes the Observation of moral Duties to be the principal Design of the Jewish Law and as it were the Foundation of it and therefore he calls moral Duties 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the weightier matters of the Law Matth. 23. 23. But ye says he to the Scribes and Pharisees have neglected the weightier things of the Law judgment and mercy and fidelity The Scribes and Pharisees busied themselves chiefly about ritual Observances but our Saviour tells them that those other were the most considerable and important Duties of the Law and lay at the bottom of the Jewish Religion And much the same enumeration the Prophet makes where he compares Sacrifices and these moral Duties together Mic. 6. 6 7 8. Wherewith â—hall I come before the Lord and bow my self before the high God Shall I come before him with burnt offerings with Calves of a year old Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of Rams or with ten thousands of rivers of Oyl Shall I give my first born for my transgression the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul He hath shewed thee O man what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God He had required Sacrifices but had no regard to them in comparison with these II. No Instituted Service of God no positive part of Religion whatsoever was ever acceptable to God when moral Duties were neglected nay so far from being acceptable to him that he rejects them with Disdain and Abhorrence To this purpose there are almost innumerable Passages in the Prophets Isa 1. 11. c. To what purpose is the multitude of your Sacrifices unto me When ye come to appear before me who hath required this at your hands to tread my Courts Bring no more vain Oblations incense is an Abomination to me the new moons and sabbaths the calling of assemblies I cannot away with it is Iniquity even the solemn meeting and when ye spread forth your hands I will hide mine eyes from you when ye make many prayers I will not hear What is the reason of all this Because they were defective in the moral Duties of Religion so it follows your hands are full of Blood wash ye make ye clean put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes cease to do evil learn to do well seek judgment relieve the oppressed judge the fatherless plead for the Widow come now and let us reason together saith the Lord implying that till they had respect to moral Duties all their external Worship and Sacrifices signified nothing And so likewise Isa 66. 3. He tells them that nothing could be more abomible than their Sacrifices so long as they allowed themselves in wicked Practises He that killeth an Ox is as if he slew a Man he that sacrificeth a Lamb as if he cut off a Dog's neck he that offereth an Oblation as if he offered Swine's Blood and he that burneth Incense as if he blessed an Idol yea they have chosen their own ways and their Soul delighteth in their Abominations And to mention but one Text more out of the Old Testament Jer. 7. 4 5. Trust ye not in lying words saying the temple of the Lord the temple of the Lord the temple of the Lord are these Throughly amend your ways and your doings throughly execute Judgment between a man and his neighbour oppress â—ot the stranger the fatherless and the widow and shed not innocent blood If they did not practise these Duties and forbear those Sins all the reverence for the temple and the
Duties namely those which are comprehended under those two great Commandments of the love of God and our Neighbour In the Christian Religion there is very little that is meerly Positive and Instituted besides the two Sacraments and praying to God in the Name and Mediation of Jesus Christ 2. The most prefect Revelation that ever God made to Mankind I mean that of the Christian Religion doth furnish us with the best helps and advantages for the performance of Moral Duties it discovers our Duty more clearly to us it offers us the greatest assistance to enable us to the performance of it it presents us with the most powerful Motives and Arguments to engage us thereto so that this Revelation of the Gospel is so far from weakning the obligation of natural Duties that it confirms and strengthens it and urgeth us more forcibly to the practice of them 3. The positive Rites and Institutions of Revealed Religion are so far from entrenching upon the Laws of Nature that they were always designed to be subordinate and subservient to them and when ever they come in competition it is the declared will of God that positive Institutions should give way to natural Duties and this I have shewn to be plainly the meaning of this Saying in the Text I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice If Circumstances be such that one part of Religion must give place God will have the Ritual and Instituted part to give way to that which is Natural and Moral It is very frequent in Scripture when the Duties of Natural Religion and Rites of Divine Institution come in competition to slight and disparage these in comparison of Moral Duties and to speak of them as things which God hath no pleasure in and which in comparison of the other he will hardly own that he hath commanded When ye come to appear before me who hath required this at your hands Isa 1. 12. Thou desirest not Sacrifice thou delightest not in Burnt-Offerings Psal 51. 16. Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of Rams or ten thousands of Rivers of Oyl He hath shewn thee O man what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy But God no where makes any comparison to the disadvantage of Natural Duties he never derogated from them in any Case he never said he would have such a thing and not mercy or that he had rather such a Rite of Religion should be performed than that men should do the greatest good and shew the greatest Charity to one another It is no where made a question will the Lord be pleased that we deal justly every Man with his Neighbour and speak the truth one to another that we be kind and tender-hearted and ready to forgive that we be willing to distribute and give Alms to those that are in need there is no such question as this put in Scripture nay it is positive in these Matters that with such Sacrifices God is well pleased I instance in this Vertue more especially of Kindness and Compassion because it is one of the prime instances of Moral Duties as Sacrifice is put for all the Ritual and Instituted part of Religion and this disposition of Mind our Saviour makes the root of all Moral Duties Love is the fulfilling of the Law and the Apostle speaks of it as the great End and Scope of the Gospel The end of the Commandment is Charity And this temper and disposition of Mind he advanceth above Knowledge and Faith and Hope The greatest of these is Charity and without this he will not allow a Man to be any thing in Christianity this he makes our highest perfection and attainment and that which abides and remains in the future state Charity never fails This our Saviour most effectually recommends to us both in his Doctrine and by his Example this he presseth as the peculiar Law of his Religion and the proper Mark and Character of a Disciple This he requires us to exercise towards those who practice the contrary towards us to love our Enemies and to do good to them that hate us And of this he hath given us the greatest Example that ever was when we were Enemies to him he loved us so as hardly ever any Man did his Friend so as to lay down his Life for us and he Instituted the Sacrament for a Memorial of his love to Mankind and to put us in mind how we ought to love one another And now the Application of what hath been said upon this Argument to the occasion of this Day is very obvious and there are two very natural Inferences from it First From what hath been said upon this Argument it plainly appears what place Natural and Moral Duties ought to have in the Christian Religion and of all Natural Duties Mercy and Goodness This is so primary a Duty of Humane Nature so great and considerable a part of Religion that all positive Institutions must give way to it and nothing of that kind can cancel the obligation of it nor justifie the violation of this great and Natural Law Our Blessed Saviour in his Religion hath declared nothing to the prejudice of it but on the contrary hath heightned our obligation to it as much as is possible by telling us that the Son of Man came not to destroy Mens lives but to save them So that they know not what manner of Spirit they are of who will kill Men to do God service and to advance his Cause and Religion in the World will break through all obligations of Nature and Civil Society and disturb the Peace and Happiness of Mankind Nor did our Saviour by any thing in his Religion design to release Men from the obligation of Natural and Civil Duties He had as one would imagine as much Power as the Pope but yet he deposed none of the Princes of this World nor did Absolve their Subjects from their Fidelity and Obedience to them for their opposition to his Religion he assumed no such Power to himself no not in Ordine ad Spiritualia nor that ever we read of did he give it to any other Whence then comes his pretended Vicar to have this Authority And yet the horrid attempt of this Day was first designed and afterwards carried on in prosecution of the Popes Bull of Excommunication and was not so much the effect of the despair and discontent of that Party here in England as the Natural Consequence of their Doctrines of Extirpating Hereticks and Deposing Kings and Absolving Subjects from their Allegiance to them No Zeal for any positive Institution in Religion can justifie the Violation of the natural Law the Precepts whereof are of primary and indispensable Obligation The Pope's Supremacy is not so clear as the Duty of Obedience to civil Government nor is Transubstantiation so plainly revealed in Scripture as it is both in Nature and Scripture that we should do no murder And yet how many thousands have been
declarations of the wrath of God against Sinners that there is a Day of Judgment appointed and a Judge constituted to take cognisance of the Actions of Men to pass a severe Sentence and to inflict a terrible Punishment upon the workers of Iniquity More particularly our Lord and his Apostles have denounced the wrath of God against particular Sinâ— and Vices In several places of the New Testament there are Catalogues given of particular Sins the practice whereof will certainly shut Men out of the Kingdom of Heaven and expose them to the wrath and vengeance of God 1 Cor. 6. 9 10. Know ye not that the Unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God Be not deceived neither Fornicators nor Idolaters nor Adulterers nor Effeminate nor Abusers of themselves with Mankind nor Thieves nor Covetous nor Drunkards nor Revilers nor Extortioners shall inherit the Kingdom of God So likewise Gal. 5. 19 20 21. The works of the flesh are manifest which are these Adultery Fornication Witchcraft Hatred Variance Emulations Wrath Strife Seditions Heresies Envyings Murthers Drunkenness Revellings and such like of which I tell you before as I have likewise told you in times past that they that do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God Col. 3. 5 6. Mortiâ—ie therefore your Members upon Earth Fornication Uncleanness Inordinate Affection Evil Concupiscence and Covetousness which is Idolatry for which things sake the wrath of God cometh on the Children of disobedience Rev. 21. 8. The fearful and unbelieving that is those who rejected the Christian Religion notwithstanding the clear Evidence that was offer'd for it and those who out of fear should Apostatize from it The fearful and unbelieving and the abominable that is those who were guilty of unnatural Lusts not fit to be named and Murderers and Whoremongers and Sorâ—erers and Idolaters and all Liars that is all sorts of false and deceitful and perfidious Persons shall have their part in the Lake which burns with fire and brimstone whiâ—h is the second death And not only these gross and notorious Sins which are such plain violations of the Law and Light of Nature but those wherein Mankind have been apt to take more liberty as if they were not sufficiently convinced of the evil of them as the resisting of Civil Authority which the Apostle tells us they that are guilty of shall receive to themselves damnation Rom. 13. 2. Profane Swearing in common Conversation which St. James tells us brings Men under the danger of damnation Ch. 5. 12. Above all things my Brethren swear not lest ye fall under Condemnation Nay our Saviour hath told us plainly that not only for wicked actions but for every evil and sinful word Men are obnoxious to the Judgment of God So our Lord assures us Mat. 12. 36 37. I say unto you that every idle word that Men shall speak they shall give an account thereof in the Day of Judgment For by thy words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned He had spoken before of that great and unpardonable Sin of Blaspheming the Holy Ghost and because this might be thought great severity for evil words he declares the Reason more fully because words shew the Mind and Temper of the Man ver 34. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh The Character of the Man is shewn by his words saith Menander Profert enim mores plerumque oratio saith Quintilian animi secreta detegit A Man's Speech discovers his Manners and the secrets of his heart ut vivit etiam quemque dicere Men commonly speak as they live and therefore our Saviour adds A good Man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things and an evil Man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth evil things but I say unto you that every idle word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by which I do not think our Saviour means that Men shall be call'd to a solemn account at the Day of Judgment for every trifling and impertinent and unprofitable word but every wicked and sinful word of any kind as if he had said do you think this severe to maâ—e words an unpardonable fault I say unto you that Men shall not only be condemned for their maliâ—ious and blasphemous speeches against the Holy Ghost but they shall likewise give a strict account for all other wicked and sinful speeches in any kind tho' much inferiour to this And this is not only most agreeable to the scope of our Saviour but is confirmed by some Greek Copies in which it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 every wicked word which Men shall speak they shall be accountable for it at the Day of Judgment But this by the by Our Saviour likewise tells us that Men shall not only be proceeded against for Sins of Commission but for the bare Omission and Neglect of their Duty especially in Works of Mercy and Charity for not feeding the hungry and the like as we see Mat. 25. and that for the omission of these he will pass that terrible Sentence Depart ye Cursed c. So that it nearly concerns us to be careful of our whole Life of all our Words and Actions since the Gospel hath so plainly and expresly declared that for all these things God will bring us into Judgment And if the threatnings of the Gospel be true What manner of Persons ought we to be in all holy Conversation and Godliness Secondly As the threatnings of the Gospel are very plain and express so are they likewise very dreadful and terrible I want words to express the least part of the terrour of them and yet the expressions of Scripture concerning the misery and punishment of Sinners in another World are such as may justly raise amazement and horror in those that hear them Sometimes it is exprest by a departing from God and a perpetual banishment from his presence who is the Fountain of all Comfort and Joy and Happiness sometimes by the loss of our Souls or our selves What shall it profit a Man to gain the whole World and lose his own Soul Or as it is in another Evangelist to lose himself Not that our Being shall be destroyed that would be a happy loss indeed to him that is Sentenced to be for ever miserable but the Man shall still remain and his Body and Soul continue to be the Foundation of his misery and a Scene of perpetual woe and discontent which our Saviour calls the destroying of Body and Soul in Hell or going into everlasting punishment where there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth where the worm dies not and the fire is not quenched Could I represent to you the horror of that dismal Prison into which Wicked and Impure Souls are to be thrust and the misery they must there endure without the least spark of Comfort or glimering of Hope how they wail and groan under the intolerable wrath of God the insolent scorn and
the Christian Religion is seriously to set about the Practice of it this will give a Man a better Notion of Christianity than any Speculation can Thirdly without the Practice of Religion our Knowledge will be so far from being any furtherance and advantage to our Happiness that it will be one of the unhappiest aggravations of our misery He that is ignorant of his Duty hath some excuse to pretend for himself but he that understands the Christian Religion and does not live according to it hath no cloak for his sin The defects of our Knowledge unless they be gross and wilful will find an easie Pardon with God but the faults of our Lives shall be severely punisht when we knew our Duty and would not do it I will conclude with that of our Saviour Luke 12. 47 48. That Servant which knew his Lord's will and prepared not himself neither did according to his will shall be beaten with many stripes for unto whomsoever much is given of him much shall be required When we come into the other World no Consideration will sting us more and add more to the rage of our Torments than this that we did wickedly when we understood to have done better and chose to make our selves Miserable when we knew so well the way to have been Happy SERMON XIII Practice in Religion necessary in proportion to our Knowledge LUKE XII 47 48. And that Servant which knew his Lord's will and prepared not himself neither did according to his will shall be beaten with many stripes But he that knew not and did commit things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes for unto whomsoever much is given of him shall be much required and to whom Men have committed much of him they will ask the more IN prosecution of the Argument which I handled in my last Discourse namely that the Knowledge of our Duty without the Practice of it will not bring us to Happiness I shall proceed to shew that if our Practice be not answerable to our Knowledge this will be a great aggravation both of our Sin and Punishment And to this purpose I have pitched upon these words of our Lord which are the application of two Parables which he had delivered before to stir up Men to a diligent and careful Practice of their Duty that so they may be in a continual readiness and preparatioâ— for the coming of their Lord. The first Parable is more general and concerns all Men who are represented as so many Servants in a great Family from which the Lord is absent and they being uncertain of the time of his return should always be in a condition and posture to receive him Upon the hearing of this Parable Peter enquires of our Saviour whether he intended this only for his Disciples or for all To which Question our Saviour returns an Answer in another Parable which more particularly concerned them who because they were to be the Chief Rulers and Governours of his Church are represented by the Stewards of a great Family Ver. 42. Who then is that faithful and wise Steward whom his Lord shall make Ruler over his household to give them their portion of meat in due season If he discharge his Duty blessed is he but if he shall take occasion in his Lord's absence to domineer over his fellow Servants and riotously to waste his Lords goods his Lord when he comes will punish him after a more severe and exemplary manner And then follows the application of the whole in the words of the Text And that Servant which knew his Lord's will and prepared not himself neither did according to his will shall be beaten with many stripes As if he had said and well may such a Servant deserve so severe a Punishment who having such a trust committed to him and knowing his Lord's will so much better yet does contrary to it upon which our Saviour takes occasion to compare the Fault and Punishment of those who have greater advantages and opportunitiâ—s of knowing their Duty with those whâ— are ignorant of it That Servant which knew his Lord's will and prepared not himself neither did according to it shall be beaten with many stripes but he that knew not but did commit things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes And then he adds the Reason and the Equity of this proceeding For unto whomsoever much is given of him shall be much required and to whom Men have committed much of him they will ask the more The Words in general do allude to that Law of the Jews mentioned Deut. 25. 2. where the Judge is required to seâ— the Malefactor punish'd according to his Fault by a certain number of Stripes in relation to which known Law among the Jews our Saviour here says that those who knew their Lord's will and did it not should be beaten with many stripes but those who knew it not should be beaten with few stripes So that there are two Observations lie plainly before us in the words First That the greater Advantages and Opportunities and Man hath of knowing his Duty if he do it not the greater will be his Condemnation The Servant which knew his Lord's will and prepared not himself neither did according to it shall be beaten with many stripes Secondly That ignorance is a great excuse of Mens faults and will lessen their Punishment But he that knew not but did commit things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes I shall begin with the latter of these first because it will make way for the other Viz. That ignorance is a great excuse of Men's faults and will lessen their Punishment He that knew not but did commit things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes For the clearing of this it will be requisite to consider what ignorance it is which our Saviour here speaks of and this is necessary to be enquired into because it is certain that there is some sort of ignorance which doth wholly excuse and clear from all manner of guilt and there is another sort which doth either not at all or very little extenuate the faults of Men so that it must be a third sort different from both these which our Saviour here means First There is an ignorance which doth wholly excuse and clear from all manner of guilt and that is an absolute and invincible ignorance when a Person is wholly ignorant of the thing which if he knew he should be bound to do but neither can nor could have helpt it that he is ignorant of it that is he either had not the Capacity or wanted the Means and Opportunity of knowing it In this Case a Person is in no fault if he did not do what he never knew nor could know to be his Duty For God measures the faults of Men by their Wills and if there be no defect there there can be no guilt for no Man is guilty but he that is conscious to himself
that he would not do what he knew he ought to do or would do what he knew he ought not to do Now if a Man be simply and invincibly ignorant of his Duty his neglect of it is altogether involuntary for the Will hath nothing to do where the Understanding doth not first direct And this is the Case of Children who are not yet come to the use of Reason for tho' they may do that which is materially a fault yet it is none in them because by reason of their incapacity they are at present invincibly ignorant of what they ought to do And this is the Case likewise of Ideots who are under a natural incapacity of Knowledge and so far as they are so nothing that they do is imputed to them as a fault The same may be said of distracted Persons who are deprived either wholly or at some times of the use of their Understandings so far and so long as they are thus deprived they are free from all guilt and to Persons who have the free and perfect use of their Reason no neglect of any Duty is imputed of which they are absolutely and invincibly ignorant For instance it is a Duty incumbent upon all Mankind to believe in the Son of God where he is sufficiently manifested and revealed to them but those who never heard of him nor had any opportunity of coming to the Knowledge of him shall not be Condemned for this infidelity because it is impossible they should believe on him of whom they never heard they may indeed be Condemned upon other accounts for â—inning against the light of Nature and for not obeying the Law which was written in their hearts for what the Apostle says of the Revelation of the Law is as true of any other Revelation of God As many as have sinned without Law shall also perish without Law and as many as have sinned under the Law shall be judged by the Law Rom. 2. 12. In like manner those who have â—inned without the Gospel that is who never had the knowledge of it shall not be Condemned for any offence against that Revelation which was never made to them but for their violation of the Law of Nature only they that have sinned under the Gospel shall be judged by it Secondly there is likewise another sort of ignorance which either does not at all or very little extenuate the faults of Men when Men are not only ignorant but chuse to be so that is when they wilfully neglect those Means and Opportunities of knowledge which are afforded to them such as Job speaks of Job 21. 14. Who say unto God depart from us for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways And this sort of ignorance many among the Jews were guilty of when our Saviour came and preached to them but they would not be instructed by him The light came among them but they loved darkness rather than light as he himself says of them and as he says elsewhere of the Pharisees They rejected the Counsel of God against themselves they wilfully shut their eyes against that light which offered it self to them They would not see with their eyes nor hear with their ears nor understand with their hearts that they might be converted and healed Now an ignorance in this degree wilful can hardly be imagined to carry any excuse at all in it He that knew not his Lord's Will because he would not know it because he wilfully rejected the Means of coming to the knowledge of it deserves to be beaten with as many stripes as if he had known it because he might have known it and would not He that will not take notice of the King's Proclamation or will stop his ears when it is read and afterwards offends against it does equally deserve punishment with those who have read it and heard it and disobey'd it because he was as grosly faulty in not knowing it and there is no reason that any Man 's gross fault should be his excuse So that it is neither of these sorts of ignorance that our Saviour means neither absolute and invincible ignorance nor that which is grosly wilful and affected for the first Men deserve not to be beaten at all because they cannot help it for the latter they deserve not to be excused because they might have helped their ignorance and would not But our Saviour here speaks of such an ignorance as does in a good degree extenuate the fault and yet not wholly excuse it for he says of them that they knew not their Lord's will and yet that this ignorance did not wholly excuse them from blame nor exempt them from punishment but they should be beaten with few stripes In the Third place then there is an ignorance which is in some degree faulty and yet does in a great measure excuse the faults which proceed from it and this is when Men are not absolutely ignorant of their Duty but only in comparison of others who have a far more clear and distinct Knowledge of it and tho' they do not grosly and wilfully neglect the Means of further Knowledge yet perhaps they do not make the best use they might of the opportunities they have of knowing their Duty better and therefore in comparison of others who have far better Means and Advantages of knowing their Lord's Will they may be said not to know it tho' they are not simply ignorant of it but only have a more obscure and uncertain knowledge of it Now this ignorance does in a great measure excuse such Persons and extenuate their Crimes in comparison of those who had a clearer and more perfect knowledge of their Master's Will and yet it does not free them from all guilt because they did not live up to that degree of knowledge which they had and perhaps if they had used more care and industry they might have known their Lord's Will better And this was the Case of the Heathen who in comparison of those who enjoyed the light of the Gospel might be said not to have known their Lord's Will tho' as to many parts of their Duty they had some directions from Natural Light and their Consciences did urge them to many things by the obscure apprehensions and hopes of a Future Reward and the fear of a Future Punishment But this was but a very obscure and uncertain knowledge in comparison of the clear Light of the Gospel which hath discovered to us our Duty so plainly by the Laws and Precepts of it and hath presented us with such powerful Motives and Arguments to Obedience in the Promises and Threatnings of it And this likewise is the Case of many Christians who either through the natural slowness of their Understandings or by the neglect of their Parents and Teachers or other Circumstances of their Education have had far less Means and Advantages of Knowledge than others God does not expect so much from those as from others to whom he hath given greater Capacity and Advantages
of Knowledge and when our Lord shall come to call his Servants to an account they shall be beaten with fewer stripes than others they shall not wholly escape because they were not wholly ignorant but by how much they had less Knowledge than others by so much their Punishment shall be lighter And there is all the Equity in the World it should be so that Men should be accountable according to what they have received and that to whom less is given less should be required at their hands The Scripture hath told us that God will judge the World in Righteousness now Justice does require that in taxing the Punishment of Offenders every thing should be consider'd that may be a just excuse and extenuation of their Crimes and that accordingly their Punishment should be abated Now the greatest extenuation of any fault is ignorance which when it proceeds from no fault of ours no fault can proceed from it so that so far as any Man is innocently ignorant of his Duty so far he is excusable for the neglect of it for every degree of ignorance takes off so much from the perverseness of the will nihil ardet in inferno nisi propria voluntas Nothing is punisht in Hell but what is voluntary and proceeds from our Wills I do not intend this Discourse for any commendation of Ignorance or encouragement to it For Knowledge hath many advantages above it and is much more desirable if we use it well and if we do not it is our own fault if we be not wanting to our selves we may be much happier by our Knowledge than any Man can be by his Ignorance for tho' Ignorance may plead an excuse yet it can hope for no Reward and it is always better to need no excuse than to have the best in the world ready at hand to plead for our selves Besides that we may do well to consider that ignorance is no where an excuse where it is cherisht so that it would be the vainest thing in the world for any Man to foster it in hopes thereby to excuse himself for where it is wilful and chosen it is a fault and as I said before it is the most unreasonable thing in the World that any Man's fault should prove his excuse So that this can be no encouragement to ignorance to say that it extenuates the faults of Men for it does not extenuate them whenever it is wilful and affected and when ever it is designed and chosen it is wilful and then no Man can reasonably design to continue ignorant that he may have an excuse for his faults because then the ignorance is wilful and whenever it is so it ceaseth to be an excuse I the rather speak this because Ignorance hath had the good fortune to meet with great Patrons in the World and to be extol'd tho' not upon this account yet upon another for which there is less pretence of Reason as if it were the Mother of Devotion Of Superstition I grant it is and of this we see plentiful proof among those who are so careful to preserve and cherish it but that true Piety and Devotion should spring from it is as unlikely as that Darkness should produce Light I do hope indeed and Charitably believe that the ignorance in which some are detained by their Teachers and Governours will be a real excuse to as many of them as are otherwise honest and sincere but I doubt not but the errors and faults which proceed from this ignorance will lie heavy upon those who keep them in it I proceed to the Second Observation That the greater Advantages and Opportunities any Man hath of knowing the will of God and his Duty the greater will be his Condemnation if he do not do it The Servant which knew his Lord's will and prepared not himself neither did according to it shall be beaten with many stripes Which knew his Lord's will and prepared not himself The preparation of our Mind to do the Will of God whenever there is occasion and opportunity for it is accepted with him a Will rightly disposed to obey God tho' it be not brought in to act for want of opportunity does not lose its Reward but when notwithstanding we know our Lord's Will there are neither of these neither the act nor the preparation and resolution of doing it what punishment may we not expect The Just God in punishing the sins of Men proportions the punishment to the Crime and where the Crime is greater the punishment riseth as amongst the Jews where the Crime was small the Malefactor was sentenced to a few stripes where it was great he was beaten with many Thus our Saviour represents the great Judge of the World dealing with Sinners according as their Sins are aggravated he will add to their punishment Now after all the aggravations of sin there is none that doth more intrinsically heighten the malignity of it than when it is committed against the clear knowledge of our Duty and that upon these three accounts First Because the Knowledge of God's Will is so great an advantage to the doing of it Secondly Because it is a great obligation upon us to the doing of it Thirdly Because the neglect of our Duty in this case cannot be without a great deal of wilfulness and contempt I shall speak briefly to these three First Because the knowledge of God's Will is so great an advantage to the doing of it and every advantage of doing our Duty is a certain aggravation of our neglect of it And this is the Reason which our Saviour adds here in the Text For to whomsoever much is given of them much will be required and to whom Men have committed much of him they will ask the more It was no doubt a great discouragement and disadvantage to the Heathen that they were so doubtful concerning the will of God and in many cases left to the uncertainty of their own Reason by what way and means they might best apply themselves to the pleasing of him and this discouraged several of the wisest of them from all serious endeavours in Religion thinking it as good to do nothing as to be mistaken about it Others that were more naturally Devout and could not satisfie their Consciences without some expressions of Religion fell into various superstitions and were ready to embrace any way of Worship which Custom prescribed or the fancies of Men could suggest to them and hence sprang all the stupid and barbarous Idolatries of the Heathen For ignorance growing upon the World that natural propention which was in the Minds of Men to Religion and the Worship of a Deity for want of certain direction exprest it self in those foolish and abominable Idolatries which were practiced among the Heathen And is it not then a mighty advantage to us that we have the clear and certain direction of Divine Revelation We have the Will of God plainly discovered to us and all the parts of our Duty clearly
defined and determined so that no Man that is in any measure free from interest and prejudice can easily mistake in any great and material part of his Duty We have the Nature of God plainly revealed to us and such a Character of him given as is most suitable to our natural Conceptions of a Deity as render him both awful and amiable for the Scripture represents him to us as Great and Good Powerful and Merciful a perfect hater of Sin and a great lover of Mankind and we have the Law and manner of his Worship so far as was needful and the Rules of a good Life clearly exprest and laid down and as a powerful Motive and Argument to the obedience of those Laws a plain discovery made to us of the endless Rewards and Punishments of another World And is not this a mighty advantage to the doing of God's Will to have it so plainly declared to us and so powerfully enforced upon us So that our Duty lies plainly before us we see what we have to do and the danger of neglecting it so that considering the advantage we have of doing God's Will by our clear knowledge of it we are altogether inexcusable if we do it not Secondly The knowledge of our Lord's Will is likewise a great obligation upon us to the doing of it For what ought in reason to oblige us more to do any thing than to be fully assur'd that it is the Will of God and that it is the Law of the great Soveraign of the World who is able to save or to destroy that it is the pleasure of him that made us and who hath declared that he designs to make us happy by our obedience to his Laws So that if we know these things to be the Will of God we have the greatest obligation to do them whether we consider the Authority of God or our own interest and if we neglect them we have nothing to say in our own excuse We knew the Law and the advantage of keeping it and the penalty of breaking it and if after this we will transgress there is no Apology to be made for us They have something to plead for themselves who can say that tho' they had some apprehension of some parts of their Duty and their Minds were apt to dictate to them that they ought to do some things yet the different apprehensions of Mankind about several of these things and the doubts and uncertainties of their own Minds concerning them made them easie to be carried off from their Duty by the vicious inclinations of their own Nature and the tyranny of Custom and Example and the pleasant temptations of flesh and blood but had they had a clear and undoubted Revelation from God and had certainly known these things to be his Will this would have conquered and born down all Objections and Temptations to the contrary or if it had not would have stopt their mouths and taken away all excuse from them There is some colour in this plea that in many cases they did not know certainly what the Will of God was but for us who own a clear Revelation from God and profess to believe it what can we say for our selves to mitigate the severity of God toward us why he should not pour forth all his wrath and execute upon us the fierceness of his anger Thirdly The neglect of God's will when we know it cannot be without a great deal of wilfulness and contempt If we know it and do it not the fault is solely in our wills and the more wilful any sin is the more hainously wicked is it There can hardly be a greater aggravation of a Crime than if it proceed from meer obstinacy and perverseness and if we know it to be our Lord's Will and do it not we are guilty of the highest contempt of the greatest Authority in the World And do we think this to be but a small aggravation to affront the great Soveraign and Judge of the World not only to break his Laws but to trample upon them and despise them when we know whose Laws they are Will we provoke the Lord to jealousie are we stronger than he We believe that it is God who said Thou shalt not commit Adultery thou shalt not Steal thou shalt not bear false witness against thy Neighbour thou shalt not hate or oppress or defraud thy Brother in any thing but thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self and will we notwithstanding venture to break these Laws knowing whose Authority they are stampt withal After this contempt of him what favour can we hope for from him what can we say for our selves why any one of those many stripes which are threatned should be abated to us Ignosci aliquatenus ignorantiae potest contemptus veniam non habet Something may be pardoned to ignorance but contempt can expect no forgiveness He that strikes his Prince not knowing him to be so hath something to say for himself that tho' he did a disloyal act yet it did not proceed from a disloyal Mind but he that first acknowledgeth him for his Prince and then affronts him deserves to be prosecuted with the utmost severity because he did it wilfully and in meer contempt The knowledge of our Duty and that it is the will of God which we go against takes away all possible excuse from us for nothing can be said why we should offend him who hath both Authority to command us and Power to destroy us And thus I have as briefly as I could represented to you the true ground and reason of the aggravation of those Sins which are committed against the clear knowledge of God's Will and our Duty because this knowledge is so great an advantage to the doing of our Duty so great an obligation upon us to it and because the neglect of our Lord's Will in this case cannot be without great wilfulness and a down-right contempt of his Authority And shall I now need to tell you how much it concerns every one of us to live up to that knowledge which we have of our Lord's Will and to prepare our selves to do according to it to be always in a readiness and disposition to do what we know to be his Will and actually to do it when there is occasion and opportunity And it concerns us the more because we in this Age and Nation have so many advantages above a great part of the World of coming to the knowledge of our Duty We enjoy the clearest and most perfect Revelation which God ever made of his Will to Mankind and have the light of Divine Truth plentifully shed amongst us by the free use of the holy Scriptures which is not a sealed Book to us but lies open to be read and studied by us this Spiritual Food is rained down like Manna round about our Tents and every one may gather so much as is sufficient we are not stinted nor have the word of God given out to
us in broken pieces or mixt and adulterated here a Lesson of Scripture and there a Legend but whole and entire sincere and uncorrupt God hath not left us as he did the Heathen for many Ages to the imperfect and uncertain direction of Natural Light nor hath he revealed his Will to us as he did to the Jews in dark Types and Shadows but hath made a clear discovery of his Mind and Will to us The Dispensation which we are under hath no vail upon it the Darkness is past and the true Light now shineth we are of the Day and of the Light and therefore it may justly be expected that we should put off the Works of Darkness and walk as Children of the Light Every degree of knowledge which we have is an aggravation of the Sins committed against it and when our Lord comes to pass Sentence upon us will add to the number of our stripes Nay if God should inflict no positive torment upon Sinners yet their own Minds would deal most severely with them upon this account and nothing will gall their Consciences more than to remember against what Light they did offend For herein lies the very nature and sting of all guilt to be conscious to our selves that we knew what we ought to have done and did it not The Vices and Corruptions which reigned in the World before will be pardonable in comparison of ours The times of that ignorance God winked at but now he commands all Men every where to Repent Mankind had some excuse for their Errors before and God was pleased in a great measure to overlook them but if we continue still in our sins we have no cloak for them All the degrees of Light which we enjoy are so many Talents committed to us by our Lord for the improving whereof he will call us to a strict account for unto whomsoever much is given of him much shall be required and to whom he hath committed much of him he will ask the more And nothing is more reasonable than that Men should account for all the advantages and opportunities they have had of knowing the Will of God and that as their knowledge was increased so their sorrow and punishment should proportionably rise if they sin against it The ignorance of a great part of the World is deservedly pitied and lamented by us but the Condemnation of none is so sad as of those who having the knowledge of God's Will neglect to do it how much better had it been for them not to have kuown the way of righteousness than after they have known it to turn from the holy Commandment delivered unto them If we had been born and brought up in ignorance of the true God and his Will we had had no sin in comparison of what now we have but now that we see our sin remains This will aggravate our Condemnation beyond measure that we had the knowledge of Salvation so clearly revealed to us Our Duty lies plainly before us we know what we ought to do and what manner of Persons we ought to be in all holy Conversation and Godliness We believe the coming of our Lord to Judgment and we know not how soon He may be revealed from Heaven with his Mighty Angels not only to take vengeance on them that know not God but on them that have known him and yet obey not the Gospel of his Son And if all this will not move us to prepare our selves to do our Lord's Will we deserve to have our stripes multiplied No Condemnation can be too heavy for those who offend against the clear knowledge of God's Will and their Duty Let us then be perswaded to set upon the practice of what we know let the light which is in our Understandings descend upon our Hearts and Lives let us not dare to continue any longer in the practice of any known Sin nor in the neglect of any thing which we are convinced is our Duty and if our hearts condemn us not neither for the neglect of the means of Knowledge nor for rebelling against the Light of God's Truth shining in our Minds and glaring upon our Consciences then have we confidence towards God but if our hearts condemn us God is greater than our hearts and knows all things SERMON XIV The Sins of Men not chargeable upon God but upon themselves JAMES I. 13 14. Let no Man say when he is tempted I am tempted of God for God cannot be tempted with evil neither tempteth he any Man But every Man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed NEXT to the Belâ—ef of a God and his Providence there is nothing more Fundamentally necessary to the practice of a good Life than the belief of these two Principles That God is not the Author of Sin and That every Man's Sin lies at his own door and he hath reason to blame himself for all the evil that he does First That God is not the Author of Sin that he is no way accessary to our faults either by tempting or forcing us to the Commission of them For if he were they would neither properly be Sins nor could they be justly punished They would not properly be Sins for Sin is a contradiction to the Will of God but supposing Men to be either tempted or necessitated thereto that which we call Sin would either be a meer passive Obedience to the Will of God or an active Compliance with it but neither way a contradiction to it Nor could these actions be justly punished for all punishment supposeth a fault and a fault supposeth liberty and freedom from force and necessity so that no Man can be justly punished for that which he cannot help and no Man can help that which he is necessitated and compel'd to And tho' there were no force in the case but only temptation yet it would be unreasonable for the same person to tempt and punish For as nothing is more contrary to the holiness of God than to tempt Men to Sin so nothing can be more against justice and goodness than first to draw Men into a fault and then to chastize them for it So that this is a Principle which lies at the bottom of all Religion That God is not the Author of the Sins of Men. And then Secondly That every Man's fault lies at his own door and he has reason enough to blame himself for all the evil that he does And this is that which makes Men properly guilty that when they have done amiss they are conscious to themselves it was their own act and they might have done otherwise and guilt is that which makes Men liable to punishment and fear of punishment is the great restraint from Sin and one of the principal Arguments for Virtue and Obedience And both these Principles our Apostle St. James does here fully assert in the words which I have read unto you Lâ—t no Man say when he is tempted I am tempted of God for