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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A62632	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.	Tillotson, John, 1630-1694.; Barker, Ralph, 1648-1708.; White, Robert, 1600-1690, engraver.	1697 (1697)	Wing T1261A; ESTC R221745	169,748	495

make God the Author of Sin either by laying a Necessity upon Men of Sinning or by laying secret Designs to tempt and seduce Men to Sin Nothing can be farther from the Nature of God than to do any such thing and nothing can be more dishonourable to him than to imagine any such thing of him he is of purer eyes than to behold evil and can we think that he who cannot endure to see it should have any hand in it We find that the Holy Men in Scripture are very careful to remove all thought and suspicion of this from God Elihu Job 36. 3. before he would argue about God's Providence with Job he resolves in the first place to attribute nothing to God that is unworthy of him I will says he ascribe righteousness to my Maker So likewise St. Paul Rom. 7. 7. What shall we say then Is the Law Sin God forbid Is the Law Sin That is hath God given Men a Law to this end that he might draw them into Sin far be it from him Gal. 2. 17. Is Christ the minister of Sin God ●orbid You see then how tender good Men have always been of ascribing any thing to God that might seem to render him the Author of Sin So that we have reason to take heed of all Doctrines that are of this tendency such as are the Doctrines of an absolute and irrespective decree to damn the greatest part of Mankind and in order to that and as a Means to it efficaciously to permit Men to Sin For if these things be true that God hath absolutely decre●d to damn the greatest part of Men and to make good this decree he permits them to Sin not by a bare permission of leaving them to themselves but by such a permission as shall be efficacious that is he will so permit them to Sin as they cannot avo●d it then those who are under this decree of God are under a necessity of Sinning which necessity since it does not proceed from themselves but from the decree of God does by consequence make God the Author of Sin And then that other Doctrine which is subservient to this that God does by a Physical and Natural influence upon the Minds and Wills of Men determine them to every action that they do to bad actions as well as good I know they who say so tell us that God only determines Men to the action but not to the evil of it For instance when Cain kill'd his Brother God determin'd him they say to the Natural Action of taking away a Man's Life which in many Cases may be done without Sin Very true but if in these Circumstances the Natural Action could not be done without committing the Sin he that determin'd him to the Natural Action determin'd him likewise to the Sin I am far from any thought that those that maintain these Doctrines had any intention to make God the Author of Sin but if this be the necessary Consequence of these Doctrines there is Reason enough to reject them how innocent soever the intention be of those who maintain them Secondly Let not us tempt any Man to Sin All Piety pretends to be an imitation of God therefore let us endeavour to be like him in this 'T is true indeed we may be tempted with evil and therefore we are likely enough to tempt others but we ought not to do so It is contrary to holiness and goodness to the temper and disposition of the most perfect Being in the World God tempts no Man nay it is the proper Work and Employment of the Devil 't is his very Trade and Profession he goes about seeking whom he may betray into Sin and Destruction To this end he walks up and down the Earth waiting all Opportunities and Advantages upon Men to draw them into Sin so that we are his Factors and Instruments whenever we tempt Men to Sin Let those Consider this who are so active and busie to seduce Men into any kind of wickedness and to instruct them in the Arts of Iniquity who tempt Men into bad Company and Courses and take pleasure in debauching a Virtuous Person and make it matter of great Triumph to make a sober Man drunk as if it were so glorious an Action to ruine a Soul and destroy that which is more worth than the whole World Whenever you go about this Work remember whose Instruments you are and whose work you do and what kind of Work it is Tempting others to Sin is in Scripture called Murder for which Reason the Devil is said to be a Murderer from the beginning because he was a Tempter Whosoever committeth Sin is of the Devil but whosoever tempts others to Sin is a sort of Devil himself Thirdly Since God tempts no Man let us not tempt him There is frequent mention in Scripture of Men's tempting God i. e. trying him as it were whether he will do any thing for their sakes that is mis-becoming his Goodness and Wisdom and Faithfulness or any other of his Perfections Thus the Israelites are said to have tempted God in the Wilderness forty years together and in that space more remarkably ten times The meaning of which Expressions is that when God had promised Abraham to bring his seed into the Land of Canaan that People by their great and repeated provocations of God did often provoke him to have destroyed them and consequently to have fail'd of the Promise which he made to the Fathers The Devil likewise tempted our Saviour to tempt God by casting himself down from the Pinacle of the Temple in confidence that the Angels would take care of him but our Saviour answers him it is written thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God From which Instance it appears that Men are said to tempt God whenever they expect the protection of his Providence in an unwarrantable way God hath promised to take care of good Men but if they neglect themselves or willingly cast themselves into danger and expect his Providence and Protection they do not trust God but tempt him they try whether God's Providence will countenance their rashness and provide for them when they neglect themselves and protect them from those dangers to which they wilfully ●xpos● themselves So likewise if we be negligent in our Callings whereby we should provide for our Families if we lavish away that which we should lay up for them and th●n depend upon the Providence of God to supply them and take care of them we tempt God to that which is unworthy of him which is to give approbation to our folly and to countenance our sloth and carelesness We cannot seduce God and draw him to do any thing that mis-becomes him but we tempt him in expecting the Care and Protection of his Providence when we wilfully run our selves into danger and neglect the Means of providing for our own safety And thus I have done with the first great Principle contain'd in the Text viz. That God is not the

Prophets was to engage Men to the practice of Moral Duties that is of real and substantial goodness Secondly That the Law of Moses or the dispensation of the Jewish Religion was comparatively very weak and insufficient to this purpose Thirdly That the Christian Religion hath supplied all the defects and weaknesses and imperfections of that dispensation these three Particulars will fully clear our Saviour's meaning in this Text. First That the Main and Ultimate Design of the Law and the Prophets was to engage Men to the practice of Moral Duties that is of real and substantial Goodness consisting in those Virtues which our Saviour mentions at the beginning of this Sermon Humility and Meekness and Mercy and Righteousness and Purity and Peaceableness This our Saviour more than once tells us was the sum and substance the main scope and design of the whole Doctrine of the Law and the Prophets Mat. 7. 12. Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that Men should do unto you do ye even so unto them for this is the Law and the Prophets And Mat. 22. 40. That the love of God and our Neighbour those two great Commands to which all Moral Duties are reduced are the two great hinges of the Jewish Religion on these two hang all the Law and the Prophets St. Paul calls Love the fulfilling of the whole Law Rom. 13. 10. St. James the Perf●ct and the Royal Law as that which hath a Soveraign influence upon all parts of Religion And therefore the Apostle Rom. 3. 21. tells us that this more perfect Righteousness which was brought in by the Gospel or the Christian Religion is witnessed by the Law and the Prophets And indeed the Prophets every where do slight and undervalue the Ritual and Ceremonial part of Religion in comparison of the practice of Moral Duties Isa 1. 11. To what purpose is the multitude of your Sacrifices unto me bring no more vain oblations your New Moons and your appointed Feasts my Soul hateth But what then are the things that are acceptable to God He tells us at the 16 th ver 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 Widow And by the Prophet Jeremiah God tells that People that the business of Sacrifices was not the thing primarily designed by God but obedience to the Moral Law the Ritual Law came in upon occasion for the prevention of Idolatry and by way of condescention to the temper of that People and thus Maimonides and the Learned Jews understand these words Jer. 7. 22 23. I spake not unto your Fathers nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the Land of Egypt concerning Burnt-offerings and Sacrifices but this thing commanded I them saying obey my voice and walk in all the ways that I have commanded and I will be your God and ye shall be my People So likewise in the Prophet Hosea God plainly prefers the Moral before the Ritual part of Religion as that which was principally designed and intended by him Hos 6. 6. I desired Mercy and not Sacrifice and the knowledge of God more than Burnt-Offerings but most plainly and expresly Mich. 6. 6. Wherewith shall I come before the Lord Shall I come before him with Burnt-offerings Wi● the Lord be pleased with thousands of Rams and ten thousands of Rivers of Oyl He hath shewed thee O Man what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do ●ustly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God These it seems were the great things which God stood upon and required of Men even under that imperfect dispensation and these are the very things which the Christian Religion doth so strictly enjoyn and command so that this Righteousness which the Gospel requires was witnessed to by the Law and the Prophets I proceed to the Second Point That the Law of Moses or the dispensation of the Jewish Religion was comparatively very weak and insufficient to make Men truly good and for the promoting of real and inward righteousness it gave Laws indeed to this purpose but those not so clear and perfect or at least not so clearly understood as they are now under the Gospel and it made no express promises of inward Grace and assistance to quicken and strengthen us in the doing of our Duty it made no explicit promises of any blessing and reward to the doing of our duty beyond this Life so that the best and most powerful Arguments and Encouragements to Obedience were either wholly wanting or very obscurely revealed under this dispensation And this insufficiency of the Jewish dispensation both to our justification and sanctification to the reconciling of us to God and the making of us really good the Apostle frequently inculcates in the New Testament St. Paul Acts 13. 38 39. Be it known unto you therefore Men and Brethren that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins and by him all that believe are justified from all those things from which ye could not be justified by the Law of Moses and Rom. 8. 3. What the Law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh that is by reason of the carnality of that dispensation consisting in the purification of the body Gal. 3. 21. he calls it a Law unfit to give Life If there had been a Law which could have given Life verily Righteousness had been by the Law And the Apostle to the Hebrews Ch. 8. 6 7 8 c. finds fault with the dispensation of the Law for the lowness and meanness of its Promises being only of Temporal good things and for want of conferring an inward and a powerful Principle to enable Men to obedience but now hath he obtained speaking of Christ a more excellent Ministry by how much also he is the Mediator of a better Covenant which was established upon better Promises for if that first Covenant had been faultless then should no place have been sought for a second and this second and better Covenant he tells us was foretold by the Prophets of the Old Testament for finding fault with them he saith behold the days come saith the Lord when I will make a new Covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Judah not according to the Covenant which I made with their Fathers For this is the Covenant which I will make with the House of Israel after those days saith the Lord. I will put my Laws into their minds and write them in their hearts And Chap. 10. 1 4. he shews the inefficacy of their Sacrifices for the real expiation of Sin the Law having but a shadow of good things to come and not the lively representation of the things themselves can never with those Sacrifices which they offer'd year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect for it is not possible that

the Gospel by Reason of this mighty advantage is call'd a state of Adoption and Liberty ver 15. for ye have not received the Spirit of Bondage but the Spirit of Adoption whereby we cry Abba Father and 2 Cor. 3. 17. where the Spirit of the Lord is there is Liberty And to this very thing St. Paul appeals as that whereby Men might judge whether the Law or the Gospel were the more excellent and powerful Dispensation Gal. 3. 2. This only would I learn of you received ye the Spirit by the works of the Law or by the hearing of Faith As if he had said let this one thing determine that whole Matter were ye made Pertakers of this great Priviledge and Blessing of the Spirit while ye were of the Jewish Religion or since ye became Christians And ver 14. he calls it the blessing of Abraham that is the blessing promised to all Nations by Abraham's Seed namely the M●ssias that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ● that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through Faith And then for the supporting us under afflictions the Gospel promise●h an extraordinary assistance of God●s holy Spirit to us 1 Pet. 4. 14. if ye be reproached for the Name of Christ happy are ye for the Spirit of Glory and of God res●eth upon you But were the●e no good Men unde● the dispensation of the Law Yes certainly there were and they were so by the grace and assistance of God's Holy Spirit but ●hen this was an effect of the Divine goodness but not of any special Promise contained in that Covenant of Divine grace and assistance to be conferred on all those that were admitted into it But thus it is in the New Covenant of the Gospel and therefore the Law is call●d a dead letter the oldness of the letter and the ministration of the letter in opposition to the Gosp●l which is call'd the Ministration of the Spirit And this the Apostle lays special weight upon as a main difference between these two Covenants that the first gave an external Law but the new Covenant offers inward grace and assistance to enable Men to Obedience and hath an inward and powerful efficacy upon the Minds of Men accompanying the Ministration of it Heb. 8. 7 8 9 10. For if that first Covenant had been faultless then should no place have been sought for the second For finding fault with them he saith behold the days come saith the Lord when I will make a new Covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah not according to the Covenant which I made with their Fathers c. For this is the Covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days saith the Lord I will put my Laws into their minds and write them in their hearts And of this inward Grace and assistance we are further secured by the powerful and prevalent and perpetual intercession of our High-Priest for Sinners at the right hand of God not like the intercession of the Priests under the Law who being Sinners themselves were less fit to intercede for others but we have an High-Priest that is holy harmless undefiled and seperate from Sinners who by the Eternal Spirit offer'd himself without spot to God to purchase for us those Blessings which he intercedes for The Priests under the Law were Intercessors upon Earth but Christ is entered into Heaven it self now to appear in the presence of God for us Heb. 9. 24. The Priests under the Law were removed from this Office by Death but Christ because he continues for ever hath an unchangeable Priesthood and is an everlasting Advocate and Intercessor for us in the virtue of his most meritorious Sacrifice continually presented to his Father where he is always at the right hand of God to present our Prayers to him and to obtain pardon of our Sins and grace to help in time of need and by his intercession in Heaven to procure all those Blessings to be actually con●er'd upon us which he purchased for us by his blood upon Earth wherefore he is able to save to the utmost all those that come to God by him seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them as the same Apostle speaks Heb. 7. 25. And thus I have as briefly as well I could shewed how the Christian Religion doth supply all the weaknesses and defects and imperfections of the Jewish Religion and consequently does in no wise contradict or interfeer with the great Design of the Law and the Prophets but hath perfected and made up whatever was weak or wanting in that Institution to make Men truly good or as the Expression is in the Prophet Daniel to bring in everlasting Righteousness that is to clear and confirm those Laws of Holiness and Righteousness which are of indispensible and eternal obligation And if this be the great Design of our Saviour's coming and the Christian Doctrine be every way fitted to advance Righteousness and true Holiness and to make us as excellently good as this imperfect state of Mortality will admit since it hath many advantages incomparably beyond any Religion or Institution that ever was in the World both in respect of the perfection of its Laws and the force of its Motives and Arguments to Repentance and a Holy Life and in respect of the Encouragements which it gives and the Examples which it sets before us and the powerful assistance which it offers to us to enable us to clean●e our selves from all filthiness of Flesh and Spirit and to perfect holiness in the fear of God What a shame is this to us who are under the power of this excellent Institution if the temper of our Minds and the tenour of our Conversation be not in some measure answerable to the Gospel of Christ The greater helps and advantages we have of being good the greater things may justly be expected from us for to whomsoever much is given of him much shall be required Christianity is the fulfilling of the Righteousness of the Law by walking not after the Flesh but after the Spirit by mortifying the deeds of the Flesh and by bringing forth the fruits of the Spirit which are Love Joy Peace Long-Suffering Gentleness Goodness Fidelity Meekness and Temperance The Righteousness of Faith doth not consist in a barren and ineffectual belief of the Gospel in a meer embracing of the Promises of it and relying upon Christ for Salvation in a Faith without works which is dead but in a Faith which worketh by Love in becoming new Creatures and in keeping the Commandments of God The Righteousness of Faith speaketh on this wise This is his Commandment that we should believe on the Name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another as he gave us Commandment 1 John 3. 23. and this Commandment have we from him that he who loveth God love his Brother also 1 John 4. 21. That we approve the things that are

passage and was wa●ted over by a gentle Wind and could tell no Stories of Storms and Tempests And thus I have fully and faithfully endeavour'd to open to you the just importance of this Phrase or Expression in the Text of the new Creature or the new Creation I proceed to the Second Particular I propounded namely that the real Renovation of our Hearts and Lives is according to the terms of the Gospel and the Christian Religion the great Condition of our justification and acceptance with God and that this is the same in sense and substance with those Phrases in the parallel Texts to this of Faith perfected by Charity and of keeping the Commandments of God That according to the terms of the Gospel the great Condition of our justification and acceptance with God is the real Renovation of our Hearts and Lives is plain not only from this Text which affirms that in th● Christian Religion nothing will avail us but the new Creature but likewise from many other clear Texts of Scripture and this whether by Justification be meant our first Justification upon our Faith and Repentance or our continuance in this state or our final Justification by our solemn Acquital and Absolution at the Great Day which in Scripture is called Salvation and Eternal Life That this is the Condition of our first Justification that is of the Forgiveness of our Sins and our being received into the grace and favour of God is plain from all those Texts where this Change is exprest by our Repentance and Conversion by our Regeneration and Renovation by our Purification and Sanctification or by any other terms of the like importance For under every one of these Notions this Change is made the Condition of the forgiveness of our Sins and acceptance to the favour of God Under the Notion of Repentance and Conversion Acts 2. 38. Repent and be Baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins Acts 3. 19. Repent and be Converted that your sins may be blotted out Upon the same account a penitent acknowledgement of our Sins which is an essential part of Repentance is made a Condition of the forgiveness of them 1 John 1. 9. If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness Under the notion of Regeneration and Renovation 2 Cor. 5. 17. If any Man be in Christ that is become a true Christian which is all one with being in a justified state he is a new Creature old things are past away behold all things are became new Tit. 3. 3 4 5 6 7. where the Apostle declares at large what Change is requir'd to put us into a justified state and to entitle us to the inheritance of Eternal Life For we our selves were also sometimes foolish disobedient deceived serving divers lusts and pleasures living in malice and envy hateful and hating one another But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour towards Man appeared not by works of Righteousness which we have done that is not for any precedent Righteousness of ours for we were great Sinners but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of Regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour that being justified by his Grace we should be made heirs according to the hope of Eternal Life So that the Change of our former Temper and Conversion and Regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost is antecedently necessary to our Justification that is to the pardon of our Sins and our restitution to the favour of God and the hope of Eternal Life So likewise under the notion of Purification and Sanctification 1 Cor. 6. 9 10 11. where the Apostle enumerates several Sins and Vices which will certainly exclude Men from the Favour and Kingdom of God from which we must be cleansed before we can be justified or saved Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God Be not deceived neither Fornicators nor Idolaters nor Adulterers nor Thieves nor Covetous nor Drunkards nor Revilers nor Extortioners shall inherit the Kingdom of God And such were some of you but ye are washed but ye are sanctified but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God 2 Cor. 6. 17 18. where the Apostle likewise makes our purification a Condition of our being received into the favour of God and reckon'd into the number of his Children Touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you and will be a Father unto you and ye shall be my Sons and Daughters saith the Lord Almighty And that by not touching the unclean thing is here certainly meant our Sanctification and Purification from Sin is evident from what immediately follows in the beginning of the next Chapter Having therefore these promises Dearly Beloved let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of the Flesh and Spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God that is having this Encouragement that upon this Condition we shall be received to the favour of God let us purifie our selves that we may be capable of this great Blessing And our continuance in this state of grace and favour with God depends upon our perseverance in Holiness for if any Man draw back my Soul shall have no pleasure in him And Lastly this is also the Condition of our final Justification and Absolution by the Sentence of the great Day Mat. 5. 8. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God Joh. 3. 3. Except a Man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God Heb. 12. 14. Follow Holiness without which no Man shall see the Lord. 1 John 3. 3. The Apostle there speaking of the blessed sight and enjoyment of God tells us what we must do if ever we hope to be Partakers of it Every Man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as he is pure And this Condition here mentioned in the Text of our being New Creatures is the same in sense and substance with those Expressions which we find in the two parallel Texts to this where Faith which is perfected by Charity and keeping the Commandments of God are made the Condition of our justification and acceptance with God Gal. 5. 6. In Christ Jesus neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor Uncircumcision but Faith which is consummate or made perfect by Charity and 1 Cor. 7. 19. Circumcision is nothing and Uncircumcision is nothing but the keeping of the Commandments of God It is evident that the Design and Meaning of these three Texts is the same and therefore these three Expressions of the new Creature and of Faith perfected by Charity and of keeping the Commandments of God do certainly signifie the same thing That the New Creature signifies ●he change of our state from a state of Disobedience and Sin to a state of Obedience and

the Natural Knowledge which Men have of God is when all is done the surest and fastest hold that Religion hath on Humane Nature Besides how should God judge that part of the World who are wholly destitute of Divine Revelation if they had no Natural Knowledge of him and consequently could not be under the direction and government of any Law For where there is no Law there is no Transgression and where Men are guilty o● the breach of no Law they cannot be Judged and Condemned for it for the Judgment of God is according to truth And now this being establisht that Men have a Natural Knowledge of God if they contradict it by their Life and Practice they are guilty of detaining the truth of God in unrighteousness For by this Argument the Apostle proves the Heathen to be guilty of holding the truth in unrighteousness because notwithstanding the Natural Knowledge which they had of God by the things which were made they lived in the practice of gross Idolatry and the most abominable Sins and Vices And this concerns us much more who have the glorious Light of the Gospel added to the Light of Nature For if they who offended against the Light of Nature were liable to the judgment of God of how much sorer Punishment shall we be thought worthy if we neglect those infinite advantages which the Revelation of the Gospel hath superadded to Natural Light He hath now set our Duty in the clearest and strongest Light that ever was afforded to Mankind so that if we will not now Believe and Repent there is no Remedy for us but we must die in our sins if we sin wilfully after so much knowledge of the truth there remains no more Sacrifice for Sin but a fearful looking for of Judgment and fiery indignation to consume us The Summ of what hath been said on this Argument is briefly this that Men have a Natural Knowledge of God and of those great Duties which result from the Knowledge of him so that whatever Men say and pretend as to the main things of Religion the Worship of God and Justice and Righteousness toward Men setting aside Divine Revelation we are all Naturally convinc'd of our Duty and of what we ought to do and those who live in a bad Course need only be put in mind of what they naturally know better than any body else can tell them that they are in a bad Course so that I may appeal to all wicked Men from themselves rash and heated and intoxicated with Pleasure and Vanity transported and hurried away by Lust and Passion to themselves serious and composed and in a cool and considerate temper And can any sober Man forbear to follow the Convictions of his own Mind and to resolve to do what he inwardly consents to as best Let us but be true to our selves and obey the Dictates of our own Minds and give leave to our own Consciences to Counsel us and tell us what we ought to do and we shall be a Law to our selves I proceed to the Sixth and last Observation namely that the clear Revelation of the wrath of God in the Gospel against the impiety and unrighteousness of Men is one principal thing which renders it so very powerful and likely a means for the Salvation of Mankind For the Apostle instanceth in two things which give the Gospel so great an advantage to this purpose the Mercy of God to Penitent Sinners and his Severity toward the Impenitent both which are so fully and clearly revealed in the Gospel The Gospel is the power of God to Salvation to every one that believeth beca●se therein the Righteousness of God is revealed that is his great Grace and Mercy in the Justification and Pardon of Sinners by Jesus Christ which I have already shewn to be meant by the Righteousness of God by comparing this with the Explication which is given of the Righteousness of God Chap. 3. ver 22. The other Reason which he gives of the Gospel's being the power of God to Salvation is the plain declaration of the Severity of God toward Impenitent Sinners Because therein also the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of Men. The force of which Argument will appear if we consider these following Particulars First That the Declarations of the Gospel in this Matter are so plain and express Secondly That they are very dreadful and terrible Thirdly That there is no safety or hope of impunity for Men that go on and continue in their Sins Fourthly That this Argument will take hold of the most desperate and pro●ligate Sinners and still retain its force upon the Minds of Men when all other Considerations fail and are of little or no efficacy And Fifthly That no Religion in the World can urge this Argument with that force and advantage that Christianity does First That the declarations of the Gospel in this Matter are most plain and express and that not only against Sin and Wickedness in general but against particular Sins and Vices so that no Man that lives in any Evil and Vicious Course can be ignorant of his danger Our Lord hath told us in general what shall be the Doom of the Workers of Iniquity yea tho' they may have owned him and made profession of his Name Mat. 7. 21. 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 Many will say unto me in that day Lord Lord c. then will I profess unto them I never knew you depart from me ye that work Iniquity Math. 13. 49 50. So shall it be at the end of the World the Angels shall come forth and sever the Wicked from among the Just and shall cast them into the furnace of fire there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth Math. 25. 46. The Wicked shall go away into Everlasting Punishment but the Righteous into Life Eternal Joh. 5. 28 29. The hour is coming in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth they that have done good unto the Resurrection of Life and they that have done evil unto the Resurrection of Damnatiom Rom. 2. 6. St. Paul tells us that there is a Day of wrath and of the Revelation of the Righteous Judgment of God who will render to every Man according to his deeds to them who obey not the truth but obey unrighteousness indignation and wrath tribulation and anguish upon every soul of Man that doth evil 2 Thes 1. 7 8 9. That the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with his mighty Angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ who shall be punisht with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his Power Nothing can be more plain and express than these general

if ye know and do them Now to convince Men of so important a Truth I shall endeavour to make out these two things First That the Gospel makes the Practice of Religion a necessary Condition of our Happiness Secondly That the Nature and Reason of the thing makes it a necessary Qualification for it First The Gospel makes the Practice of Religion a necessary Condition of our Happiness Our Saviour in his first Sermon where he repeats the Promise of Blessedness so often he makes no promise of it to the meer knowledge of Religion but to the Habit and Practice of Christian Graces and Virtues of Meekness and Humility and Mercifuln●s● and Righteousness and Peaceableness and P●r●ty and Patience under Suff●rings and Persecutions for Righteousness sake And Matth. 7. 2. our Saviour doth most fully declare that the happines● which he promises did not belong to those who made profession of his Name and were so well acquainted with his Doctrine as to be able to instruct others if themselves in the mean time did not practise it Not every one that ●aith unto me Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but he that doth the will of my Father which is in Heaven Many will say unto me in that day Lord Lord have we not Prophesied in thy Name and in thy Name cast out Devils and done many wondrous works and then will I profess unto them I never knew you depart from me ye workers of Iniquity Tho' they profess to know him yet because their Lives were not answerable to the Knowledge which they had of him and his Doctrine he declares that he will not know them but bid them depart from him And then he goes on to shew that tho' a Man attend to the Doctrine of Christ and gain the knowledge of it yet if it do not descend into his Life and govern his Actions all that Man's hopes of Heaven are fond and groundless and only that Man's hopes of Heaven are well grounded who knows the Doctrine of Christ and does it Ver. 24. whosoever heareth these Sayings of mine and doth them I will liken him to a Wise Man who built his house upon a rock and the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell not for it was founded upon a roc● and every one that heareth these sayings of mine and doth them not shall be liken'd to a foolish Man who built his house upon the sand and the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell and great was the fall of it Tho' a Man had a knowledge of Religion as great and perfect as that which Solomon had of Natural Things large as the sand upon the sea shore yet all th●s Knowledge separated from Practice would be like the sand also in another respect a weak Foundation for any Man to build his hopes ●f Happiness upon To the same purpose St. Paul speaks Rom. 2. 13. Not the hearers of the Law are just before God but the d●ers of the Law shall be justified So likewise St. James Chap. 1. 22. Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving your own selves and ver 25. Who 's looketh into the perfect Law of Libert that is the Law or Doctrine of the Gospel and continueth therein he being not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work this Man shall be blessed in his deed and therefore he adds that the truth and reality of Religion is to be measured by the effects of it in the government of our words and ordering of our Lives Ver. 26. If any Man among you seem to be religious and bridleth not his tongue but deceiveth his own heart this Man's Religion is vain Pure Religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this to visit the Fatherless and Widow in their aff●iction and to keep himself unspotted from the World Men talk of Religion and keep a great stir about it but nothing will pass for true Religion before God but the Virtuous and Charitable Actions of a good Life and God will accept no Man to Eternal Life upon any other Condition So the Apostle tells us most expresly Heb. 12. 14. Follow peace with all Men and holiness without which no Man shall see the Lord. Secondly As God hath made the Practice of Religion a necessary Condition of our Happiness so the very Nature and Reason of the thing makes it a necessary Qualification for it It is necessary that we become like to God in order to the enjoyment of him and nothing makes us like to God but the Practice of Holiness and Goodness Knowledge indeed is a Divine Perfection but that alone as it doth not render a Man like God so neither doth it dispose him for the enjoyment of him If a Man had the understanding of an Angel he might for all that be a Devil he that committeth sin is of the Devil and whatever Knowledge such a Man may have he is of a devilish temper and disposition but every one that doth righteousness is born of God By this we are like God and only by our likeness to him do we become capable of the ●ight and enjoyment of him therefore every Man that hopes to be Happy by the blessed ●ight of God in the next Life must endeavour after Holiness in this Life So the same Apostle tells us 1 John 3. 3. Every Man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as he is pure A wicked temper and disposition of Mind is in the very Nature of the thing utterly inconsistent with all reasonable hopes of Heaven Thus I have shewn that the Practice of Religion and the doing of what we know to be our Duty is the only way to Happiness And now the proper Inference from all this is to put Men upon the careful Practice of Religion Let no Man content himself with the Knowledge of his Duty unless he do it and to this purpose I shall briefly urge these three Considerations First This is the great End of all our Knowledge in Religion to practise what we know The knowledge of God and of our Duty hath so essential a respect to Practice that the Scripture will hardly allow it to be properly called Knowledge unless it have an influence upon our Lives 1 John 2. 3 4. Hereby we do know that we know him if we keep his Commandment● He that saith I know him and keepeth not his Commandments is a Lyar and the truth is not in him Secondly Practice is the best way to increase and perfect our Knowledge Knowledge directs us in our Practice but Practice confirms and increaseth our Knowledge John 7. 17. If any Man will do the will of God he shall know of the Doctrine The best way to know God is to be like him our selves and to have the lively image of his Perfections imprinted upon our Souls and the best way to understand