incomprehensible Mysteries how a Man by Nature can be a God really and truly by Office how the incommunicable Perfections of the Divine Nature can be communicated to a Creature how God should give his Glory to another and by his own Command require that to be given to a Creature which himself had absolutely forbidden to be given to any besides himself It is said by a famous Jesuiâ— I will not say how agrecably to their own Doctrines and Practices about Divine Worship that the Command of God cannot make him worthy of Divine Worship who without such a Command is not worthy of it And it is very absurd to say that he that is unworthy of it without a Command â—an become worthy by it for it makes God to command Divine Honour to be given to one who cannot deserve it For no meer Man can desâ—rve to be made God But it is more agreeable to the Divine Nature and Will not to give his Honour to a Creature 3. But after all the Invectives of these Enemies to Mysteries we do not make that which we say is Incomprehensible to be a Necessary Article of Faith as it is Incomprehensible but we do assert that what is Incomprehensible as to the Manner may be a Necessary Article as far as it is plainly revealed As in the Instances I have already mentioned of the Creation and Resurrection of the Dead would they in earnest have Men turn Infidels as to these things till they are able to comprehend all the Difficulties which relate to them If not why should this suggestion be allow'd as to the Mysteries which relate to our Redemption by Jesus Christ If it be said the Case is not alike for those are clearly revealed and these are not this brings it to the true and proper Issue of this Matteâ— and if we do not prove a clear Revelation we do not assert their being Necessary Articles of Faith but my present business was only to take off this Objection that the Mâ—steries were incomprehensible and therefore not to be received by us II. And so I come to the second Way by which we are to examine the several Senses of Christ Jesus coming to save Sinners Which of them tends more to the Benefit and Advantage of Mankind or which is more worthy of all Acceptation And that will appear by considering these things 1. Which tends most to the raising our Esteem and Love of Christ Jesus 2. Which tends most to the begetting in us a greater Hatred of Sin 3. Which tends most to the strengthening our Hope of Salvation by Jesus Christ. 1. As to the raising in us a greater Esteem and Love of Christ. We are certain that the Infinite Love and Condâ—â—cension of Christ Jesus in undertaking such a Work as the saving of Sinners makes it most worthy of all Acceptation Some Men may please themselves in thinking that by taking away all Mysteries they have made their Faith more easie but I am certain they have extremely lessen'd the Argument for our Love viz. the Apprehensions of the wonderfull Love and Condescension of Christ in coming into the World to save Sinners And yet this is the great Argument of the New Testament to perswade Mankind to the Love of God and of his Son God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son c. This is indeed a mighty Argument of Love if by the only begotten Son be meant the Eternal Son of God who came down from Heaven as St. John speaks just before but if no more be meant but only that God made a meer Man to be hâ—s Son and after he had preached a while here on Earth and was ill used and crucified by his own People he exalted him to be God and gave him Divine Attributes and Honâ—urs this were an Argument of great Love to the Person of Christ but not to the rest of Mankind But God's Love in Scripture is magnified with respect to the World in the sending of his Son In this was manifested saith the Apostle the Love of God towards us because that God sent his only begotten Son into the World that we should live through him Herein is love not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be a Propitiation for our Sins The great Love we still see is towards us i. e. towards Mankind but according to the other Sense it must have been herein was the Love of God manifested to his Son that for his Sufferings he exalted him above all Creatures He that spared not his own Son saith St. Paul but deliver'd him up for us all If he were the Eternal Son of God who came to suffer for us there is a mighty Force and Emphasis in this Expression and very apt to raise our Admiration and our Love but what not sparing his own Son is there if nothing were meant but that he designed by Sufferings to exalt him For not sparing him supposes an Antecedent Relation of the highest Kindness but the other is only designing extraordinary Kindness for the sake of his Sufferings Therefore the Argument for the Love of God is taken from what his Son was when he deliver'd him up for us all he was his own Son not by Adoption as others are St John calls him his only begotten Son and God himself his beloved Son in the Voice from Heaven and this before his Sufferings immediately after his Baptism when as yet there was nothing extraordinary done by him as to the great Design of his coming Which shews that there was an Antecedent Relation between him and the Father and that therein the Love of God and of Christ was manifested that being the only begotten Son of the Father he should take our Nature upon him and for our sakes do and suffer what he did This is indeed an Argument great enough to raise our Admiration to excite our Devotion to inflame our Affections but how flat and low doth it appear when it comes to no more than this that there was a Man whom after his Sufferings God raised from the Dead and made him a God by Office Doth this carry any such Argument in it for our Esteem and Love and Devotion to him as the other doth upon the most serious Consideration of it 2. Which tends most to beget in us a greater Hatred of Sin For that is so contrary to the Way of our Salvation by Jesus Christ that what tends most to our Hatred of it must conduce most to our Happiness and â—herefore be most worthy of all Acceptation It is agreed on all hands that Christ did suffer very much both in his Mind and in his Body In his Mind when it is said that he was troubled in Spirit that he began to be sorrowfull and very heavy and soon after My Soul is exceeding sorrowfull even unto death St. Luke saith that he was in an Agony wherein he not only prayed more
Year depends upon certain and natural Causes viz. the Diurnal and Annual Course of the Sea All that can be proved hence is that things may not always remain in the same State of Darkness and Inactivity but that the same God who hath appointed the Times and Seasons for other things may if he please restore Mankind after a long Night and cold Winter in the Grave to a State of Life and Vigour at the Day of Resurrection The Story of the Phoenix so often mentioned by the Ancients holds well enough against the Authors of it for the Christians had it from the Heathens viz. to prove there is no Absurdity in believing the Possibility that Life may be restored after the Corruption of the Body and that they had no reason to deride Christianity for a Doctrine which themselves owned in their famous Tradition of the Phoenix But when they argued strictly about this Matter they resolved it into the same infinite Power of God whereby he made the World And according to the due order of our Creed we must first believe in God the Father Almighty maker of Heaven and Earth before we are to believe the Resurrection of the Body And although the Matters of Faith be not capable of strict Demonstrations yet we have this strong Evidence to convince Mankind of the Credibility of it viz. If they do believe that God made the World and the Bodies of Mankind at first they can have no reason to question his Power to new make them if they do not they must believe something far more absurd than the Doctrine of the Resurrection viz. that this World should make it self and that all things should fall into that admirable Order they are in without the Power and Management of an infinitely Wise Creatour And setting aside the Consideration of infinite Power such Persons ought not to find fault with asserting the Possibility of the Resurrection for why may not the same Particles of Matter in a long Tract of time hit together again to make up the same Body as well as such are at first supposed to have made up not only the visible World but the wonderful Fabrick of any single Body of Mankind Why should it be more incredible that a dead Body should be raised out of its Grave than that the Body of a Man should spring out of the Earth at first from a meer Fermentation of Matter So that the most Atheistical Persons have no reason to reject the Doctrine of the Resurrection as a thing incredible to them But yet there are some Difficulties which deserve to be cleared to remove any Temptations to Infidelity and those relate 1. To the quantity of the Matter to make up such a number of Bodies 2. To the sorting and Distribution of it for the making so many distinct Bodies as were before 1. As to the quantity of Matter not as to the main Body of the Earth out of the dust whereof Man's Body was framed at first but as to that which makes up the Bodies of Men as now they are And I think one Observation is sufficient to clear the Difficulties which relate to this that what passes away from us by insensible Transpiration was once as really a part of our Body as that is most visible and discernible in us now or will be when our Bodies corrupt in the Grave and are turned into Dust. I need not run to the Statick Experiments to prove the vast quantity of Matter belonging to our Bodies which passes continually away from us for there is one thing which sufficiently proves it and no Body can doubt of and that is we find all Persons grow and shoot up till they come to such a Stature and when they are attained to it all the Art and Contrivance and Nourishment they can use cannot make any addition to it To what a prodigious height would Mankind grow if every seven years they should shoot up in Proportion to the first Seven And if those parts which receive Nourishment did not spend themselves all Men when they cease growing upwards must have a vast Bulk For they take in greater Nourishment than when they shot up so fast But we find it otherwise in Mankind and therefore those which were once the real parts of the Body do insensibly go off and spend themselves and others come in their room And those which were the substantial Parts of the same Body are scattered up and down in our Atmosphere being wholly indiscernable by us but yet they are not annihilated nor lost to infinite Wisdom who ranges and disposes those minute Particles of our Bodies in such order that he can command them together as he pleases and so make up the same Body again But this carries me to the second Difficulty 2. As to the sorting and distribution of these dispersed Particles into so many distinct Bodies again It is but a mean Representation of the Possibility of this which the Chymists boast off viz. that they can reduce some Metalline Bodies to their own shapes and natural appearances from those wonderful Disguises they can put them into But from thence we may infer that the infinitely Wise God knows all the secret passages of Nature and every small part of a Body and can trace it through all its Changes and Shapes and bring it back again to unite with the other parts of the same Body The truth is we are mighty Strangers to the invisible Kingdom of Nature we make a shift to talk and reason a little about the Frame and Contexture of gross and visible Bodies but for those innumerable Parts which are out of the reach of our Senses we know they must be and are somewhere but in what Order and Variety we know not But this we know that the most minute parts we can discern by the help of Glasses although they appear rough and deformed to our naked Eyes as the Moss which grows upon the Earth yet when it is more narrowly searched into by the help of Glasses is found to have in it admirable Beauty and Curiosity And it is very observable that the more we look into the Works of Art the less we admire them but the more we search into what we account the most disorderly and confused parts of Nature even the least and most contemptible the more we are surprized with admiration Which shews the infinite Wisdom of the Maker of all things who hath all those things in due Order which seem to us impossible to be sorted or numbred And since God hath declared it to be his Design to raise the Bodies of the Dead we have no reason to question but that he disposes the several parts of them so as none shall be either lost or mislaid The Psalmist speaks of a Book in God's keeping wherein all our Members are written which in continuance were fashioned when as yet there was none of them And he hath a Book too wherein all the scattered parts
Contrivances for his own happiness He began to suspect his wise Father did not allow his Children liberty enough at home and that he concealed from him the great Mystery of the Happiness of Life and therefore concluded that if he did give way to those Desires which he found to be natural but his Father thought unreasonable he should enjoy much more Pleasure and Satisfaction than he did at home And being resolved upon this he gives way to those Inclinations he found strongest in himself denies himself no Pleasures of Life accounts Vertue but a Name which sowre and morose Persons put upon their own humours and Religion but a Device for Fools to deceive themselves and Knaves to deceive others by And so he throws off all checks and restraints upon himself and never regards the Good or Evil of what he doth for his Lusts are his Laws and the satisfaction of them he now looks upon as the only real Happiness of Mankind And could any thing be supposed more provoking to his heavenly Father than such a wicked and dissolute way of living So contrary to his Father's Will to his own Reason Conscience Interest Reputation and which soon brought him to Shame and Misery 3. But that which added yet more to the height of the Provocation was that he did not think of returning home to his Father upon the first apprehension of his own Folly but he resolved to undergo any difficulty and submit to any hardship rather than do what was necessary in order to Reconciliation with his Father How hard a Matter then is it to bring an habitual Sinner to Repentance It is not easie to bring him to any due and serious Conviction of the Evil of his doings but it is far more difficult to change the inward Disposition of the Mind and to alter all the great Designs and Pleasures of Life It is but a mean Notion of Repentance which is apt to prevail in the World as though it implied no more than some Acts of Contrition for greater Sins when the Habit and Disposition remain the same But true Repentance is the turn of the whole Soul from the Love as well as the Practice of Sin and this is not a thing to be done easily or suddenly a Sinner will bear a great many Checks and Reproofs of Conscience before he will part with his beloved Sins he will struggle a great while with himself and endure many Conflicts between an awaken'd Conscience and rooted Inclinations before the penitent Sinner can assure himself that his Repentance hath had its due and effectual operation upon him For we see here nothing but extremity brought the Prodigal to himself and made him at last to resolve to arise and go to his Father c. As Themistocles said of the People of Athens they did by him as Men commonly do by a great Tree they run to it for shelter in a Storm but care not how they use it another Time that is too true of Sinners with respect to God when they can make a shift for themselves any other Way they despise Religion and make God their Refuge only at a day of Extremity but not their Choice when their Conditions please them But when the prodigal Son had so slighted his Father broken his Commands despised the Advantages he had at home and was so hardly brought to think of returning thither how came he now to be so incouraged in his Mind to arise and go to his Father and confess his fault with hopes of being forgiven after all this We find no other Account here given but that he was his Father however he had offended him and therefore he was resolved he would arise and go to his Father as though there were charms and force enough in that word to answer all Discouragements Which being an Argument taken from the Bowels of Pity and Compassion which a Father hath towards a relenting Child we must enquire how far this will hold with respect to God who is so infinitely above all the fond Passions of humane Nature that it is a diminution to his Glory and Majesty to be thought like to Mankind and therefore his thoughts and ways are said to be as far above ours as the Heavens are above the Earth To clear this we are to consider not only that our Blessed Saviour doth here lay the force and weight of the Parable upon the tenderness of a Father to his Son but that he elsewhere argues from it in such a manner as to convince us that God hath far greater Pity and Compassion towards Mankind when they make due Applications to him than Fathers can have towards their Children even when they ask for necessary Sustenance What Man is there of you whom if his Son ask bread will he give him a stone Or if he ask a fish will he give him a serpent If ye then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your Children How much more shall your Father which is in Heaven give good things to them that ask him There have been Philosophers so severe against the Passions of humane Nature that they would not allow any Pity or Commiseration towards others whatever their Condition or Relation were but only acting according to Reason in supplying their Wants But the Christian Religion doth far more reasonably allow such Passions in Mankind as dispose them to do good to others by fixing such an impression on their Minds of others Misery as doth excite them to do what is fitting for their Ease and Support And Compassion is not as some imagine such a mean and selfish Passion as doth arise only from the Apprehension that we may suffer the same things our selves which we pity others for but it is a generous Sense of what others feel joined with a Readiness to help them according to our Power And in this Sense our Saviour not only allows it in Fathers towards Children but looks on it as necessary in humane Nature in order to the good and advantage of Mankind and therefore himself taking our Nature upon him is said to be touched with the feeling of our Infirmities and to have compassion on the Ignorant and on them that are out of the Way But although this be allowable in humane Nature how can such a thing as Compassion be attributed to the Divine Nature which is uncapable of such impressions and motions which we are subject to And yet the Scripture is very full and clear in attributing Pity and Compassion to Almighty God with respect to his Creatures The Psalmist saith The Lord is full of Compassion and Mercy long-suffering and of great Goodness St. James saith He is very pitifull and of tender Mercy And in that wonderfull Appearance to Moses when God himself declared his own Attributes the greatest part consists of his Kindness and Mercy towards Mankind The Lord God mercifull and gracious long-suffering and abundant in Goodness and Truth keeping Mercy for thousands
Apostle calls it an Inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in Heaven for you Such is the Condition of the World without us here and of the Passions and Infirmities within us that it is a vain thing to expect a true Happiness to be enjoyed in this Life the utmost we can hope for is to be prepared for a better and God knows there is difficulty enough in that We have Hearts so vain and sensual so addicted to the Pleasures and Impertinencies of this World so prepossessed with the Objects of Sense that it is no easie Matter to bring them so much as in earnest to consider of another World But it is yet harder to fix the Thoughts of it upon our Mindâ— so as to make a deep Impression upon them as they must do if we make the Happiness of Heaven our chief End and Design Supposing that Paradise were still upon Earth in its first Glory and to be found by the Description which Moses gives of it a Man may think often concerning it where it lies what the Rivers are by which it is to be discovered but all this amounts but to a mere Speculation But suppose that he takes up a Resolution to go thither what other kind of thoughts hath he then about it as to the Truth and Certainty of the Place and the Way that leads thither and the Difficulties he is like to meet with Which make another kind of Impression than the former dry Speculation did If a Man doth not think Heaven worth all the Pains and Difficulties which lie in our way to it he never yet had one serious and becoming thought concerning it For the Happiness proposed is really so great and invaluable that the more we think of it the more we shall esteem it and the more we shall despise and triumph over the greatest Difficulties in order to it it being no less than the perfect Enjoyment of the most perfect Good in a most perfect State of Life and nothing can be desired by humane Nature greater than this 2. The Difficulties in our Way to Salvation are not such but we may reasonably hope to overcome them i. e. if we set our selves about it otherwise a very mean Difficulty will appear too great for us Therefore we must suppose not only a willing Mind but a firm Resolution to do what lies in us And there are two things to shew that we may hope to overcome them 1. That the most difficult Duties are in themselves reasonable to be performed by us 2. That God offers his gracious Assistance for the performance of them 1. That the most difficult Duties are in themselves reasonable I mean such whose Difficulty doth not arise from accidental outward Circumstances but from a Respect to the present State and Condition of humane Nature Such as 1. True Repentance which is one of the hardest Works of a Man's life when he hath been long engaged in a Course of sinning against Conscience It is not hard for such a one to be made sensible that he hath done amiss for he that acts against his Judgment is as Aristotle observes apt to repent i. e. to find fault with himself for his own Actions and to resolve to amend There is a sort of Displeasure against Sin which is consistent with the Practice of it which is called by the Casuists Attritio Impoenitentium but they say it is without a Purpose of forsaking it if there be such a Purpose that they say is Attritio Poenitentium but if it be an ineffectual Purpose the Scripture no where calls it Repentance For as long as the habitual Practice continues it is certain that Man's love to his Sin exceeds his Hatred of it and what Repentance can that be which is consistent with a prevailing Love of Sin When Persons were first made Christians their Repentance was easily discerned whether true or false because it was a publick and solemn Renunciation of all their former Sins but when Men have accustomed themselves to sin under a Profession to renounce their Sins it is a harder Matter to find out the Sincerity of their Repentance as to those Sins And here a difference must be made as to the Nature and Kind of Sins For there are some Sins which all agree to be Sins yet it is a hard Matter to convince Persons that they are guilty of them such as Hypocrisie Schism and Idolatry which Men will find something to excuse themselves from notwithstanding the clearest Evidence against them Some are such Strangers to themselves that they do not suspect themselves for those Sins which others easily discern in them as is common in the Case of Pride and Envy and Covetousness and Superstition It cannot be supposed that Persons should so particularly repent of such Sins which they are not sensible of but where Self-love blinds it cannot excuse And where such evil Habits prevail Persons must repent and search and examine themselves in order to a particular Repentance There are other Sins which are really perpetual Burthens to a good Mind but it knows not how to get rid of them with the utmost Care such as inward Motions to Sin sudden Heats and Surprises mixt Infirmities Coldness in Devotion Distractions in Prayer and many Omissions of Personal Duties in such Cases as these if we do not allow Sincerity of Repentance without through Amendment we make a general Repentance insignificant and make the Condition of many good Men desperate for none can be saved without true Repentance And if there can be no true Repentance without actual forsaking all such Kinds of Sins there is no such thing as true Repentance to be found But there are other Sins of a more dangerous and malignant Nature which argue a very bad Mind such as Malice and Hatred a rooted Aversion to what is Good and a strong Inclination to Evil. There are some Sins that are gross and notorious of which St. Paul saith The lusts of the Flesh are manifest i. e. such Sins are easily known to be Sins and Men's Consciences condemn them even while they commit them such as Murther Adultery Intemperance Injustice Perjury and such like Of which the Apostle after declares That they who do such things shall never come to Heaven Therefore as to them such a Repentance is necessary as implies not merely a dislike and sorrow for them but a thorough Change of a Man's Mind and the Course of his Life with respect to them And surely it is no easie Matter to new mold the Temper of ones Mind and to turn the Tide of our Actions to break off our beloved Sins and to bring forth Fruits worthy of Repentance This is indeed a hard Work but yet it is a most reasonable Work It is hard but it is like the taking violent Physick in some Diseases where the Humour must be purged out or the Party must die the Uneasiness iâ— not to be considered but the Necessity and in
such a Case the Mind cannot be at ease till it be done So that the very Difficulty of Repentance lays the Foundation for greater Peace of Mind afterwards And who will think much of such a Difficulty which is so necessary to Peace with God and his own Conscience 2. The love of God above all things This is so fundamental a Duty that we cannot place our Happiness in God without it For if we do not love God above all things we must love somewhat else so and whatever we love above all things that we make our Happiness But I am affraid the greatest Part of the World love all things above him For we are to judge of Men's love and esteem by what they court and pursue and desire and delight in it is impossible there should be such a Love of God where the Stream of the Affections and Course of Actions run quite another way I mean to the Vanities of this World of which the Apostle hath said If any Man loves it the love of the Father is not in him But this is a hard Point For some degree of love to this World is allowable else how can we thank God for the Comforts of it And all Persons who know God do grant that his Perfections are far above all the World and therefore they seem to have a Value and Esteem for him above it We must here distinguish a notional Esteem from that which is Practical A notional Esteem implies no more than a mere Conviction that God must exceed all the Excellencies which are scattered in the Creatures but a practical Esteem is when the Acts of our Souls towards him are suitable to the Apprehensions we have in our Minds concerning him When we adore his infinite Perfections and delight in the Meditation of them when we desire to do all things pleasing to him and avoid what we know to offend him when we believe and hope and trust in him and commit our selves to his Conduct in this World in hopes of being happy with him in another This is the Love of God above all things but alas Where is this Love of God to be found It is no very hard Matter to work up a heated and devout Imagination to the Fancy of Raptures and Ecstasies and Mystical Unions but after all This is the love of God that we keep his Commandments As the true Love of a Prince is not to flatter and admire him and watch for his Smiles but to observe his Directions and obey his Orders and to do what is most for his Service And although such a Love of God be hard to those whose hearts are full of carnal Affections and are taken up with the Follies and Vanities of this World yet we cannot take one true step in the way to Heaven without the Love of God For even those who have most corrupted the Doctrine of Repentance do confess that there can be no true Contrition for Sin which is not founded on the Love of God as the Principle of it and however they have dangerously flattered and deceived those who are so weak to believe them that Attrition with the Sacrament of Penance is sufficient to put Men into the State of Grace yet St. Peter's Keys must have an extraordinary Virtue if they can change Nature into Grace or Fear into Love or mere Horrour of Conscience into true Repentance But although such a Love of God above all things be so hard a thing to Minds prepossessed with the Love of other things yet no one can deny that it is the most reasonable Duty in the World The very Thoughts of God if they are such as we ought to have imply that he is the best the wisest the most perfect Being and therefore the most amiable and desirable Object And whither then should the most Natural Stream of our Affections run but towards him What do we mean to suffer so much Earth and Filthiness to obstruct the free Passage of them in their most proper Course What can we meet with in this deceitfull World that can bear the least Proportion to such infinite Goodness Oh what a difference is there between our Reason and our Love We verily believe that God deserves our Love above all things and yet how small a share hath he in it We love what we profess to despise above all things viz. our Sins and this vain World and we really too much despise what we still profess to love above all things viz. God and our Eternal Happiness O miserable Condition of Humanity Made to be happy and yet fond of Misery loving what 's vain and yet despising Vanity hating what 's good and yet accounts it best and therefore fittest for our Choice and Love The Love of God above all things is so just and reasonable that those who do it least approve it as the most excellent Imployment of our Minds and those that do it most think they fall short of what God deserves from them The more we know of God the more we know that we ought to love and delight in him and all our Difficulty in the Practice of it can never make us think it is unreasonable to love him above all things without whom nothing can make us happy and who alone can do it 3. Universal Holiness of Heart and Life If this were not necessary to Salvation our Apostle would not have pressed it with so much earnestness as he doth As obedient Children 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 because it is written be ye holy for I am holy Again Dearly beloved I beseech you as Strangers and Pilgrims abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the Soul And again That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of Men but to the Will of God This is a hard saying to Mankind who part with nothing so hardly as with their Sins yet these must be parted with if ever we hope to get to Heaven I do not say that a Perfection in Holiness is required for that were to suppose Happiness in this World since there can be no perfect Holiness without it but there must be a constant uniform and sincere Endeavour after it by avoiding all known and wilfull Sins and doing all our Duties to God in such a Manner as our Conscience cannot charge us with gross Neglect or Insincerity There are some things we cannot say are down-right Sins yet if they lead to them if they indispose our Minds to God and his Service if they tend to Lightness and Vanity and make us more easie to entertain the Devil's Temptations we ought to avoid them as the Snares of the Devil So on the other side there are some things which we cannot say are plain and express and necessary Duties of Religion yet they tend so much
preferring that which this World accounts Happiness before that which is offered to our Choice in another For let us make all the fair and reasonable Allowances that may be as to our Inclinations and Appetites and Circumstances in this World as to the Distance Obscurity Incomprehensibleness of the Joys of another World yet every considering Man that regards true Happiness will be sure to chuse that which is to come For 1. Supposing the Happiness were Equal yet there is no Proportion in the Continuance of them and a considering Man will be sure to choose a Happiness that can never have an End before one that may be irrecoverably lost in a Moment and can certainly be enjoyed but for a little time if there were any Certainty at all in the Enjoyment of it 2. The more any have considered the more they have repented placing too much of their Happiness here because Reason and Experience shews them the Folly of it But the more they have considered the better satisfied the Minds of good Men are in placing their Happiness above where alone that good is to be sound which can make us truly happy and is to be enjoyed in that Fulness that Purity that Certainty which makes it fit for the wisest and most considering Men to preferr above a present Happiness if it were to be enjoyed on Earth 3. He that looks after a future Happiness doth not thereby lose any of the real Conveniencies of humane Life but he that places his Happiness here cannot find it in this World and is sure to be miserable in another And this makes a very considerable Difference in the Choice Indeed if God made it absolutely necessary in order to future Happiness for us to forego all the natural Pleasures and innocent Delights of this Life the Terms would be much harder and hardly possible to humane Nature For if all Pleasures of Sense must be renounced we must not see the pleasing Varieties of Nature nor hear the melodious sound of Birds nor taste the Meat when we are hungry nor Drink when we are thirsty for there is really greater Pleasure of Sense when Nature craves necessary Sustenance than what the most voluptuous Epicurean enjoys in all his Contrivances first to raise his Appetite and then to please it For what is most natural and necessary is the most delightfull every thing of Force must have something Uneasie in it But God hath not dealt thus hardly with Mankind He allows us all the reasonable Desires of Nature and hath only forbid us what is unreasonable and unnecessary And upon the forbearance of what is so joyned with our entire dependence upon himself for it which the Scripture calls Faith working by Love he hath made the gracious Offer of Eternal Happiness It is true in extraordinary Cases of Persecution he requires more but then he proposes extraordinary Rewards to make abundant Recompence for them but in the common and ordinary Case of Mankind he requires no more than our avoiding those Excesses in pleasing our Appetites which Nature and Reason condemn And those who consider cannot but see how unreasonable it is to place their Happiness in forbidden Pleasures and to think that nothing can make them happy but what God hath declared shall make them miserable It is a strange Crossness in our Desires if nothing can please them but what displeases God It were no hard task to shew that God forbids nothing but what is really repugnant to our Well-being here and how then can any such thing as Happiness be hoped for in such things And when a Man ventures being miserable for ever for what can never make him happy here if he had his full Liberty to pursue his Desires he shews how far he is from acting like a wise rational considering Being So that Impatience of considering is one great Reason why the thoughts of a Judgment to come make so little Impression on Men's minds 2. The second Reason is the Bewitching and Stupifying Nature of sensual Pleasures The Epicurean Philosophers who managed the Theory of Pleasure with the greatest Art so as it might look like a proper happiness for Mankind found two things absolutely necessary in order to it 1. The Retrenching all inordinate Desires viz. such as had more Pain following them than there was Pleasure in the Enjoyment of them 2. The removing the Fears of another World out of Men's minds For as long as these sunk into their Minds they must rob them of that inward Tranquillity without which it were a vain thing so much as to talk of Happiness But it was impossible upon their Grounds to do either of these For 1. It is unreasonable to suppose that the Happiness of our present Life should consist in the Enjoyment of Pleasure and yet the Pleasure of Opinion to be taken away since the Pleasure of Opinion is the far greatest Part of the Pleasure of Life and that which is as much valued and esteemed by aâ—l those who place their Happiness in Pleasure If it were all to be reduced to that which lies in satisfying the necessary Desires of Nature then such as have just enough for that are far more happy than the Rich and Voluptuous because they have less Pains and Care But if any allowance be made to the Pleasure of Fancy and Opinion then no stop can be given to inordinate Desires For who can set bounds to Fancy or lay a reasonable Restraint upon Desires if the Differences of Good and Evil be taken away As they must be if meer Pleasure and Pain be to be regarded in our Actions 2. As to the other the Methods they used to remove all Fears of another World were weak and trifling and they had no Advantage in Point of Argument but what the Ignorance and Folly of the Idolatrous Part of Mankind at that time gave them But there is a far greater Advantage in Point of Interest which makes Men of sensual Lives very willing to be rid of the Fears of another Life And a willing Mind goes a great way in believing or not believing Those who place their Happiness in eating and drinking well as they call it and other sensual Delights which can never be enjoyed when this Life is ended have but a melancholy Prospect into another World for they are shut out from the very Possibility of being happy in their own Sense unless they would believe the Eastern Impostour but when they once come to apprehend that there is no Pleasure to make them happy but what is seated in the Body they are apt to conclude that when that dies there is an end of all for their Imaginations can reach no farther And the true Reason is they have laid Reason and Conscience asleep so long that it is very hard to awaken them their Notions of Good and Evil are like the confused Apprehensions of Men half awake they see enough to perplex but not enough to satisfie them And when their Fears grow upon them
the Union of the Divine and Humane Nature Therefore our business is to consider whether any such things be contained in that Revelation which we all own and if they be we are bound to believe them although we are not able to comprehend them Now here are two remarkable Characters in these Words by which we may examine these different Hypotheses concerning the way of Salvation by Jesus Christ. I. It is a faithfull saying and therefore must be contained in that Revelation which God hath made concerning our Salvation by Christ. II. It is worthy of all Acceptation i. e. most usefull and beneficial to Mankind Now by these two I shall proceed in the Examination of them I. Which is most agreeable to the revealed Will of God II. Which doth offer fairest for the Benefit and Advantage of Mankind I. Which is most agreeable to the revealed Will of God For that we are sure is the most faithfull saying since Men of Wit and Reason may deceive us but God cannot When the Apostles first preached this Doctrine to the World they were not bound to believe what they affirmed to be a faithfull saying till they gave sufficient Evidence of their Authority from God by the wonderfull Assistance of the Holy Ghost But now this faithfull saying is contained in the Books of the New Testament by which we are to judge of the Truth of all Christian Doctrines And when two different Senses of Places of Scripture are offer'd we are to consider which is most reasonable to be preferr'd And herein we are allow'd to exercise our Reason as much as we please and the more we do so the sooner we shall come to satisfaction in this matter Now according to Reason we may judge that Sense to be preferr'd 1. Which is most plain and easie and agreeable to the most received Sense of Words not that which is forced and intricate or which puts improper and metaphorical Senses upon Words which are commonly taken in other Senses especially when it is no Sacramental thing which in its own Nature is Figurative 2. That which suits most with the Scope and Design not only of the particular Places but of the whole New Testament which is to magnifie God and to depress Man to set forth the infinite Love and Condescention of God in giving his Son to be a Propitiation for our Sins to set up the Worship of one true God in Opposition to Creatures to represent and declare the mighty Advantages Mankind receive by the Sufferings of Christ Jesus 3. That which hath been generally received in the Christian Church to be the Sense of those places For we are certain this was always look on as a matter of great Concernment to all Christians and they had as great Capacity of understanding the Sense of the Apostles and the Primitive Church had greater helps for knowing it than others at so much greater Distance And therefore the Sense is not to be taken from modern Inventions or Criticisms or Pretences to Revelation but that which was at first deliver'd to the Christian Church and hath been since received and embraced by it in the several Ages and hath been most strenuously asserted when it hath met with Opposition as founded on Scripture and the general Consent of the Christian Church 4. That which best agrees with the Characters of those Persons from whom we receive the Christian Faith and those are Christ Jesus and his holy Apostles For if their Authority be lost our Religion is gone and their Authority depends upon their Sincerity and Faithfulness and Care to inform the World aright in matters of so great Importance 1. I begin with the Character which the Apostles give of Christ Jesus himself which is that he was a Person of the greatest Humility and Condescension that he did not assume to himself that which he might justly have done For let the Words of St. Paul be understood either as to the Nature or Dignity of Christ it is certain that they must imply thus much that when Christ Jesus was here on Earth he was not of a vain assuming humour that he did not boast of himself nor magnifie his own Greatness but was contented to be look'd on as other Men although he had at that time far greater and diviner Excellency in him than the World would believe Less than this cannot be made of those Words of the Apostle Who being in the form of God he thought it not robbery to be equal with God but made himself of no Reputation and took upon him the form of a Servant Now this being the Character given of him let us consider what he doth affirm concerning himself For although he was far from drawing the People after him by setting forth his own Perfection yet upon just Occasions when the Jews contested with him he did assert such things which must savour of Vanity and Ostentation or else must imply that he was the Eternal Son of God For all Mankind are agreed that the highest Degree of Ambition lies in affecting Divine Honour or for a meer Man to be thought a God How severely did God punish Herod for being pleased with the People's Folly in crying out the Voice of God and not of Man And therefore he could never have born with such positive Assertions and such repeated Defences of his being the Son of God in such a manner as implied his being so from Eternity This in his Disputes with the Jews he affirms several times that he came down from Heaven not in a Metaphorical but in a proper Sense as appears by those words What and if ye shall see the Son of Man ascend up where he was before In another Conference he asserted that he was before Abraham Which the Jews so literally understood that without a Metaphor they went about to stone him little imagining that by Abraham the calling of the Gentiles was to be understood But above all is that Expression which he used to the Jews at another Conference I and my Father are one which they understood in such a manner that immediately they took up stones to have stoned him What means all this Rage of the Jews against him What For saying that he had Unity of Consent with his Father No certainly But the Jews misunderstood him Let us suppose it would not our Saviour have immediately explained himself to prevent so dangerous a Misconstruction But he asked them what it was they stoned him for They answered him directly and plainly because that thou being a man makest thy self God This was home to the Purpose And here was the time for him to have denied it if it had not been so But doth he deny it Doth he say it would be Blasphemy in him to own it No but he goes about to defend it and proves it to be no Blasphâ—my for him to say that he was the Son of God i. e. so as to be God as the Jews
Word if the Thing it self be granted The chief thing therefore to be done is to shew that God may require from us the belief of such things which are incomprehensible by us For God may require any thing from us which it is reasonable for us to do if it be then reasonable for us to give assent where the manner of what God hath revealed is not comprehended then God may certainly require it from us Hath not God revealed to us that in six days he made Heaven and Earth and all that is therein But is it not reasonable for us to believe this unless we are able to comprehend the manner of God's production of things Here we have something revealed and that plainly enough viz. that God created all things and yet here is a Mystery remaining as to the manner of doing it Hath not God plainly revealed that there shall be a Resurrection of the dead and must we think it unreasonable to believe it till we are able to comprehend all the Changes of the Particles of Matter from the Creation to the General Resurrection But it is said that there is no Contradiction in this but there is in the Mystery of the Trinity and Incarnation It is strange Boldness in Men to talk thus of Monstrous Contradictions in things above their Reach The Atheists may as well say Infinite Power is a Monstrous Contradiction and God's Immensity and his other unsearchable Perfections are Monstrous Paradoxes and Contradictions Will Men never learn to distinguish between Numbers and the Nature of Things For three to be one is a Contradiction in Numbers but whether an Infinite Nature can communicate it self to three different Subsistences without fuch a Division as is among created Beings must not be determin'd by bare Numbers but by the absolute Perfections of the Divine Nature which must be owned to be above our Comprehension For let us examine some of those Perfections which are most clearly revealed and we shall find this true The Scripture plainly reveals that God is from everlasting to everlasting that he was and is and is to come but shall we not believe the Truth of this till we are able to fathom the Abyss of God's Eternity I am apt to think and I have some thoughtfull Men concurring with me that there is no greater Difficulty in the Conception of the Trinity and Incarnation than there is of Eternity Not but that there is great Reason to believe it but from hence it appears that our Reason may oblige us to believe some things which it is not possible for us to comprehend We know that either God must have been for ever or it is impossible he ever should be for if he should come into Being when he was not he must have some Cause of his Being and that which was the first Cause would be God But if he was for ever he must be from himself and what Notion or Conception can we have in our Minds concerning it And yet Atheistical Men can take no Advantage from hence because their own most absurd Hypothesis hath the very same Difficulty in it For something must have been for ever And it is far more reasonable to suppose it of an Infinite and Eternal Mind which hath Wisdom and Power and Goodness to give Being to other things than of dull stupid and senâ—eless Matter which could never move it self nor give Being to any thing besides Here we have therefore a thing which must be owned by all and yet such a thing which can be conceived by none Which shews the narrowness and shortness of our Understandings and how unfit they are to be the Measures of the Possibilities of things Vain men would be wise they would fain go to the very bottom of things when alass they scarce understand the very Surface of them They will allow no Mysteries in Religion and yet every thing is a Mystery to them They cry out of Cheats and Impostures under the Notion of Mysteries and yet there is not a Spire of Grass but is a Mystery to them they will bear with nothing in Religion which they cannot comprehend and yet there is scarce any thing in the World which they can comprehend But above other things the Divine Perfections even those which are most absolute and necessary are above their Reach For let such Men try â—heir Imaginations about God's Eternity not meerly how he should be from himself but how God should coexist with all the Differences of Times and yet there be no Succession in his own Being I do not say there is such Difficulty to conceive a Rock standing still when the Waves run by it or the Gnomon of a Dial when the Shadow Passes from one Figure to another because these are gross un-active things but the Difficulty is far greater where the Being is perfect and always active For where there is Succession there is a passing out of not being in such a duration into being in it which is not consistent with the absolute Perfection of the Divine Nature And therefore God must be all at once what he is without any Respect to the Difference of Time past present or to come From whence Eternity was defined by Boethius to be a perfect and complete Possession all at once of everlasting Life But how can we form any Conception in our Minds of that being all at once which hath such different Acts as must be measur'd by a long Succession of Time As the creating and dissolving the Frame of the World the promising and sending the Messias the declaring and executing a general Judgment how can these things be consistent with a permanent Instant or a Continuance of being without Succession For it is impossible for us in this Case as to God's Eternity to form a clear and distinct Idea in our Mind of that which both Reason and Revelation convince us must be The most we can make of our Conception of it is that God hath neither Beginning of Being nor End of Days but that he always was and always must be And this is rather a necessary Conclusion from Reason and Scripture than any distinct Notion or Conception of Eternity in our Minds From whence it evidently follows that God may reveal something to us which we are bound to believe and yet after that Revelation the Manner of it may be incomprehensible by us and consequently a Mystery to us Hath not God revealed to us in Scripture the Spirituality of his own Nature That he is a Spirit and therefore will be worshipp'd in Spirit and in Truth For that is a true Reason why Spiritual Worship should be most agreeable to him Now if we could have a clear distinct 〈◊〉 Notion in our Minds of God's Spiritual Nature we might then pretend that there is nothing mysterious in this since it is revealed But let such Men examine their own thoughts about this Matter and try whether the utmost they can attain to
earnestly but his sweat was as it were great Drops of Blood falling to the Ground What made this Amazement and dreadfull Agony in the Mind of the most innocent Person in the World Was it merely the Fear of the Pains of Death which he was to undergo That is impossible considering the Assurance which he had of so glorious a Reward so soon following after when so many Martyrs endured such exquisite Torments for his sake without any such Disturbance or Coâ—sternation But the Apostles give us another Account of it St. Peter saith he was to bear our Sins in his own body on the tree that Christ suffer'd for Sins the just for the unjust St. Paul that God made him to be Sin for us who knew no Sin that we might be made the Righteousness of God in him Hereby we understand how so innocent a Person came to suffer he stood in our stead he was made Sin for us and therefore was to be treated as a Sinner and to suffer that on our Account which he could not deserve on his own If he suffer'd on his own Account this were the way to fill our Minds with perplexity concerning the Justice of Providence with respect to his dealings with the most innocent and holy Persons in this World if he suffer'd on our Account then we have the Benefit of his Sufferings and therein we see how displeasing to God sin is when even his own Son suffer'd so much by taking the guilt of our Sins upon him And what can tend more to the begetting in us a due hatred of sin than to consider what Christ himself suffer'd on the Account of it What can make us have more dreadfull thoughts of it than that the great and mercifull God when he designed to save Sinners yet would have his own Son to become a Propitiation for the Sins of Mankind And unless we allow this we must put force upon the plainest Expressions of Scripture and make Christ to suffer meerly to shew God's Power over a most innocent Person and his Will and Pleasure to inflict the most severe Punishment without any Respect to Guilt And surely such a Notion of God cannot be worthy of all Acceptation 3. Which tends most to strengthen our Hope of Salvation by Christ Jesus If we believe that he suffer'd for our Sins then we have great Reason to hope for the Forgiveness of them although they have been many and great if we sincerely repent because the most prevailing Argument for Despair will be removed which is taken from the Justice of God and his declared Hatred of Sin and Displeasure against Sinners If God be so much in earnest displeased with the Sins of Mankind and his Justice be concerned in the Punishment of Sinners how can they ever hope to escape unless there be a way for his Displeasure to be removed and his Justice to be satisfied And this the Scripture tells us is done by Christ who died that he might be a Sacrifice of Attonement to reconcile us to God by his Death as St. Paul expresly affirms And by this means we may have strong Consolation from the Hopes of Forgiveness of our Sins Whereas if this be taken away either Men must believe that God was not in earnest displeased with the Sins of Mankind which must exceedingly lessen our Esteem of the Holiness and Justice of God or if he were so displeased that he laid aside this Displeasure without any Atonement or Sacrifice of Expiation And so as many as look on God's Justice and Holiness as necessary and essential Attributes of God will be in danger of sinking into the Depths of Despair as often as they reflect seriously on the Guilt of their Sins But on the other side if we believe that while we were Enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son then we may have Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ and have Reason to believe that there will be no Condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus by a lively Faith and sincere Repentance then they may with Comfort look up to God as a reconciled Father through Jesus Christ our Mediatour then they may with inward Satisfaction look beyond the Grave and stedfastly hope for that Salvation which Christ purchased on Earth and will at last bestow on all such as love and obey him To which God of his Infinite Mercy bring us all through Jesus Christ. For This is a faithfull Saying and worthy of all Acceptation that he came into the World to save Sinners SERMON VII Preached before the QUEEN AT WHITE-HALL March the 1st 1690 1. S. Luke VI. 46. And why call ye me Lord Lord and do not the things which I say THese few Words contain in them a smart and â—erious Expostâ—lation of our Blessed Saviour with such who proâ—essed great Kindness to him in their Worâ—s but shew'd no Regard to his Commands They owned him to be the Messias and depended upon him for their Happiness and were willing enough to be known to be his Disciples and Followers but yet his Doctrine made little Impression on their Minds and scarce any Alteration in the Course of their Lives They loved to be where Christ was to hear his Doctrine to see his Miracles to observe his Conversation to admire what he did and said but herein lay the whole of their Religion for although they named the name of Christ and it may be rejoyced and glory'd in it yet they did not depart from iniquity Now considering the Circumstances of that time this seems to have been an unaccountable kind of Hypocrisie For their calling Christ Lord Lord spoiled their Interest in this World and not doing what he said debarr'd them from the hopes of Happiness by him in another For if they own'd him to be their Lord they were bound to believe him in what he declared and there is nothing he doth more expresly warn men of than hoping to be saved by him without obeying his Commands Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but he that doth the Will of my Father which is in Heaven Which is shorter expressed but to the same purpose here by S. Luke And why call ye me Lord Lord and do not the things which I say As though he had said to them It is in vain to think to please and flatter me with your Words when your Actions are disagreeable to them To call me Lord Lord is to own my Authority in commanding you but to do this and yet wilfully to disobey me is to shew your Hypocrisie and Folly together Which Expostulation of Christ was not confined to that time no more than his Commands were but it hath always the same Force where Persons are guilty of the same Folly For although now none can plead for themselves as they did We have eaten and drank in thy presence and thou hast taught in our streets yet we
Government of our Passions since those are the Occasions of all the Storms and Tempests within our Breasts For the Government of Reason is calm even and serâ—ne full of Peace and all the Blessings which â—ollow it but the Government of Passion is tyrannical and boisterous uncertain and troublesome never free from doing Mischief to it self or others The greateâ—t Pleasure of Passion is Revenge and yet that is so unnatural so sulâ— of anxiety and fear of the Consequents of it that he who can subdue this unruly Passion hath more real Pleasure and Satisfaction in his mind than he who seeks to gratifie it most For if he be disappointed then he must be uneasie by failing of his end if he be not then he is tormented with the Apprehensions of what may follow it So that there is nothing which conduces more to the greatest Blessing of Life the Tranquility of our Minds than the Government of our Passions doth 2. Let us now see whether our Saviour hath laid any Unreasonable Restraint upon our Passions There are Three things he particularly requires in order to the Government of them 1. Meekness 2. Patience 3. Love of Enemies And I hope to make it appear that there is nothing unreasonable in any of these 1. Meekness Which is such a Gentleness of Temper as makes a man not easie to be provoked There is a great deal of difference between Meekness and Stupidity the one arises from a natural Dulness and Insensibility the other from a fixed calm and composed Temper of Mind and is founded on two which are both wise things especially when they go together and those are Consideration and Resolution For nothing tends to the abating the heat and violence of Passion so much as Consideration doth and Resolution makes it effectual If it were nothing but the time it gives that is of great force for letting out the inward Fermentation which will spend it self in great measure if Vent be given to it Whereas if it be kept in and suffer'd to work upon it self it turns from a hasty Passion to Malice and Revenge But Consideration is of greater Use as it suggests Arguments from Reason to quell and allay the sudden heat of Passions as That it exposes the Weakness of our Minds in not being able to keep under that which they ought to Govern and have Power to Command That it is a great Folly to disorder our selves at the Pleasure of our Enemies or at such Accidents which we can neither prevent nor remove That the wisest thing we can do is not to betray our Folly to others if we cannot wholly suppress it in our selves That we weaken the Reins of the Government of our selves by not holding them with a stricter hand and make our Passions more seditious and turbulent by letting them alone That the more we try to command our selves the easier we shall do it That our most rebellious Passions will submit if they find we are in earnest That it is the way to make that a real Injury by being disturbed which would lose its force by being neglected That while we are true to our selves we are out of the reach of our Enemies and then we are most under their Power when we are least under our own That the great work of Religion lies within us and that we are in a very ill condition if neither Reason no Religion can keep us in order By such Considerations as these men are brought to a more calm and composed Temper which is that Meekness which our Saviour requires And to this he seems to appropriate the Happiness of this Life Blessed are the Meek for they shall inherit the earth What doth our Blessed Saviour mean by Inheriting the Earth Is there any thing like Blessedness to be expected in this troublesome and sinfull World Not Absolutely but Comparatively there may and if there be any thing like it to be had here the meek may put in for the largest share of it For they have more Friends and fewer Enemies than the rest of the World they enjoy themselves with more quietness and satisfaction and are less disturbed at the Noise and tumultuous Passions of the rest of mankind O happy Temper To be calm and easie in good humour in the midst of Disorders and Provocations To enjoy the Peace and Serenity of the Regions above in the midst of the Storms and Tempests here below To raise the Mind above the power of Detraction and thereby to suffer the Venom of malicious Tongues to scatter and disperse it self in the open Air if it doth not return to the Breasts of those from whom it came S. James might therefore well call it the Meekness of Wisdom not only because Wisdom directs it but that it consists very much in the Exercise of it 2. Patience For let Persons be endued with the Spirit of Meekness yet the World is so froward and haâ—d to be pleased so captious and ill-natured so ready to apprehend an Injury and to revenge it that there is great need of Patience not only in bearing the Troubles of Life but in sorbearing to return evil for evil And this is that which our Saviour particularly requires of his Disciples He strictly forbids all Causeless Anger all Contumelious and Reproachfull Words and when Injuries are done us he commands us that we resist not evil but if one smite us on the right Cheek to turn to him the other also And if any man will sue thee at the Law and take away thy Coat let him have thy Cloak also And whosoever will compel thee to go a mile go with him twain Now here lies a real Difficulty for this seems to go beyond the bounds of humane Patience To pass by Affronts without taking notice of them not to resent the Injuries of those whom no Kindness can oblige seems to be a great degree of Vertue and it is so but to bind hand and foot when we receive them to invite them to do more and to offer our selves to double the proportion seems wholly unaccountable to Reason and inconsistent with the Wisdom of Christianity The true Account of the meaning of these Commands is this Our Saviour takes it for granted that all considerable matters of Right and Wrong were determin'd by Laws as the most equal Measures between Parties and these he meddled not with For saith he to one that desired him to interpose in such a matter Who made me a Judge or a Divider among you Therefore he doth not abridge his Followers from making use of these Laws and Courts of Judâ—cature which are established for matters of common Justice and Equity but all the Laws in the World cannot alter the Temper of some mens minds who are peevish and quarrelsome who are provoked on any slight Occasion and it may be are provoked if you gave them none Like the Roman Orator Seneca mentions who was angry with every one that came near him
Difficulty still increaseth and therefore it is time to come to the Resolution of it and that will be by shewing that the Difference between the carnal and spiritual Mind lies in these three Things 1. In the deliberate Judgment and Choice 2. In the prevailing Interest 3. In the constant Rule and Measure of Actions 1. In the deliberate Judgment and Choice For the main difference as to the carnal and spiritual Mind lies in the different End which is aimed at by them Where the chief End is the pleasing our selves and the enjoying of any thing as our Happiness under the Supream Good whatever Thoughts and Intentions we may at some times have to repent of our Sins and turn our Souls from the Love of Sin to the Love of God as long as we continue pursuing a wrong End we have too great Reason to conclude our Minds to be yet carnal and sold under sin For while the Apostle represents himself so he tells us he had his Conscience thoroughly awakened with the Sense of his Sins even of those which the World is least apt to be sensible of inward and secret Sins he was not only convinced of the Excellency and Purity of the Law but had some Pleasure and Satisfaction in it he had some hearty desires to be rid of his beloved Sins but yet they were too hard for him he sighed and lamented under his deplorable Condition but till the Grace of God came to set him free he was in a miserable and hopeless State But how is it that the Grace of God thus refines and purifies the Minds of Men so as of Carnal to make them Spiritual when the same Passions and Inclinations remain A Change there must be and that real and spiritual and therefore in our best Faculties viz. our Understandings and our Wills not by a Revelation of New Objects to the Mind nor by offering any Force upon the Will but by fixing the Judgment of the Mind and the Choice of the Will upon the best and most desirable Objects which is God himself as the Supreme Good The Turn of the Soul which makes one spiritually minded must not be only from gross and sensual Inclinations but from every other kind of Good which stands in Competition with the Supreme A truly spiritual Mind is one that is possessed with the Love of God above all and that values other things as they tend to the Enjoyment of Him God must be the only Center of his Hopes and Designs for in him alone his true Happiness consists As the Psalmist expresses it Whom have I in Heaven but thee and there is none upon Earth I desire besides thee Whatever falls short of this may agree to a carnal Mind but a carnal Mind can never love God as he ought to be loved not with a Supreme transcendent Degree of Love which is alone proper and suitable to him All other kind of Love is beneath his Infinite Goodness and Perfections and to love him as we do his Creatures is to do him the greatest Dishonour for it levels their Perfections and supposes them to deserve the same Degree of Affection from us But there may be many spiritual Notions in Men's minds about God and Religion about mystical Unions and the Participations of Divine Love many seeming Spiritual Raptures and Ecstasies and yet there may not be this spiritual Mind For the Heats of Enthusiasm may seem to be very Spiritual but are of another kind they are Spiritual as they are the Effects of a great heating of the Spirits by the Force of a vehement Imagination which hath been often accompanied with as vehement an Inclination to sensual Pleasures which shews the plain Difference between an exalted Fancy and a spiritual Mind A Spiritual Mind is such a one as is not only throughly convinced of the Reality of Spiritual things but of their Excellency and Desirableness above any others that can be offer'd to our Choice It sees through all the glittering Vanities of this World and soars above the most tempting and bewitching Follies of Mankind here It frequently retires from the Noise and Confusion the Hurry and Vexation of Worldly Affairs that it may converse more freely with invisible Objects not meerly by way of Contemplation but by raising the Affections of the Soul towards them as the things which it hath chosen for its Happiness And this makes a wonderfull Alteration in the thoughts that these different Tempers have concerning the same things I do not deny but those who have carnal Minds may have some raised and spiritual Thoughts but they are too cold and speculative they may have noble and refined Speculations about the invisible World may be fully convinced that the things which are seen could not be what they are were it not for the things which are not seen and that the things which are not seen are of incomparably greater value than those which are so much more admired because they are seen But we must not conclude that because Men do really believe Spiritual things therefore they are spiritually minded for that were to suppose all to be Saints who are not Atheists but there must be such a due Preference in our Minds of that Invisible and Eternal State above all that is accounted great and desirable here as gives a just Denomination to one that he is spiritually minded i. e. that his Mind and Soul is fixed upon another World as his proper Happiness and other things are regarded and valued in subserviency to it 2. A Spiritual Mind is discerned by the Prevailing Interest For as long as we are made up of Flesh and Spirit there will and must be a Combat between them For the Flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the Flesh and these are contrary the one to the other so that ye cannot do the things that ye would And yet the same Apostle soon after adds They that are Christ's have crucified the Flesh with the Affections and Lusts the Meaning is that in some particular Instances and less remarkable Cases the Flesh may sometimes be too hard for the Spirit but in all notorious Instances of the Lusts of the Flesh which he reckons up and in the main Issue of all lesser Combats the Spirit will be too hard for the Flesh in those who are spiritually minded as the Flesh will be too hard for the Spirit at last in those who are carnally minded If we look on them in the time of the Combat it will be hard to judge which is most likely to prevail but those may have the better in some particular Skirmishes who may lose very much in the State of the War a good Man may be foiled by Surprise or under some disadvantage but he will recover himself and it may be gain Ground by his Falls and a bad Man may in some fits of Devotion seem so spiritually minded that one might be apt to think he were quite changed till he returns
never yet understood what the Government of his Passions meant 6. A sincere Endeavour to please God in the Duties of his Worship and Service For since God hath appointed such Duties no Man can pretend to depend upon him for his Happiness who is not sincerely willing to please him in doing what he hath appointed for his Service and that in such a manner as himself hath required Under the Law God was very punctual and particular in his Institutions and that as to all the Circumstances of them and then he expected to be obeyed according to his owâ— Appointments and added a severe Sanction to his Law Cursed is every one that continueth not in every thing written in the Law to do it And he required great Diligence and Care in the keeping all his Commandments so that then they could not be righteous over much with respect to the Law of God for all their Care was little enough to perform it Under the Gospel God that hath taken away the rigorous Dispensation and instead thereof he requires a reasonable Service which doth not only consist in the Acts of our Minds but in the most reasonable Duties of Religion in Prayers and Praises and Sacraments which ought to be performed by us with that Diligence and Devotion as requires our greatest Care and in that we cannot exceed 2. And this leads me to consider the Rules and Measures we are to go by in external and positive Duties There are three sorts of Measures to be observed 1. Of strict Obligation and that depends upon a clear and express Declaration of God's Will that it is a Duty incumbent on us to perform as Creatures or as Christians as Prayer for one and celebrating and receiving the Lords Supper for the other As to these such Rules of Conscience are to be observed 1. They must be done so as to be consistent with other Duties of Piety Charity Justice Regard to Health Families and Publick Good 2. They must be done so as to shew our Fear and our Love of God in the doing them i. e. So as not to live in an habitual Neglect of them nor to perform them so as if we had no regard to him that appointed them 2. There are other Measures of Zeal and Devotion which exceed the strict Obligation of Conscience I do not now speak of an accidental Obligation of Conscience by particular Engagements of Oaths or Promises or Vows but of what is Free and Chosen As to which these Rules may be observed 1. The more Persons are freed from Incumbrances of the World the more time they are to set apart for the Worship and Service of God 2. The more Love any have to God and Religion the more frequent they will be in the voluntary Service of God and the greater Delight they will take in it And thus much may serve to clear the Measures of true Religion 2. But there are many Mistakes and false Notions of Religion in the World and by reason of these Men are very prone to exceed their due Bounds And here I shall set down some of the most common and popular which are most apt to deceive 1. That God is pleased with such kind of Service as doth most please our own Fancies This is the Foundation of what the Scripture calls Will-Worship i. e. when Men are not contented with what God hath appointed but set up their own Fancies and imagine that God will be as much pleased with them as with any thing himself hath required Such as the Worshipping of Angels and abstaining from Meats there mentioned If these had been any necessary parts of Religion no doubt Christ and his Apostles would have recommended them to the Christian Church but they are far from it and St. Paul very much dislikes the introducing such things although they had some plausible Pretences for them which he calls a shew of Wisdom But it came at last to this that such a Severity in Diet such Humility in making use of the Mediation of Angels seemed very agreeable to the Fancies of Men and the distance between God and us And from hence they came to the Invocation of Saints as appears from them for their Fancies still ran upon the manner of Earthly Courts and thought things were managed in Heaven accordingly From hence came all the gross Superstitions the frequent Addresses the tedious Pilgrimages in the Church of Rome only to procure the Favours of some particular Saints to intercede with Christ that he might intercede with God for them Whereas the Scripture shews us the plain and direct way of making our Applications to the Father by the Mediation and Intercession of his Son whom he hath appointed the Mediator between him and us So gain in the Worship of Images as directly forbidden as Adultery and Murder are in the ten Commandments yet because Men shew respect to one another in keeping and kissing their Pictures therefore God cannot be displeased with worshipping Images tho' against his Commandments because they intend it for his Honour This among others because the heats of Fancy and Variety of Expressions is pleasing to themselves in Prayer they conclude it is so to God too Whereas the Wise Man takes notice of the multiplying words in Prayer as one of the Vanities of Mankind Be not rash with thy mouth and let not they heart be hasty to utter any thing before God for God is in Heaven and thou upon Earth therefore let thy words be few Some place too much of their Religion in a Zeal for or against some external Ceremonies of Worship and both think what they do is very pleasing to God Whereas at the bottom there may be nothing but Temper and Prejudice and Education in both sorts Some have a natural Averseness confirmed by their manner of breeding to all kind of Ceremonies and others as great an Inclination to them But still God must be pleased with what they are As the warlike People of old worshipped their God's in Armour and the rest according to the peculiar Dresses and Habits of their Countrey 2. That God is pleased with what doth most cross and displease our Inclinations This is another Fountain of Superstition and seems contrary to the former only they think God is more averse to our Inclinations than to our Fancies It is true our Inclinations are too much bent to what is morally Evil and that God abhors But that is not the thing I am speaking of but of such Inclinations which have no real Evil in them but are meerly natural as to a Freedom from Pain and uneasiness And the Point is whether God be pleased with seeing us to vex and Torment our selves and whether that be any acceptable Service to God As to deny our selves natural rest to avoid eating a thing because our Appetite is pleased with it to kneel upon bare Stones to cut our Flesh to whip our Bodies c. for they are all of the same kind Can we