this World so dark and miserable a place that no serious considering man can tolerably enjoy himself in it For here upon the former supposition you are left without Counsel or Advice You have nothing to propose nothing to design in the course of your Lives It is all one how you behave your selves whether honestly or wickedly whether you mind your Business or mind it not for the Even will be the same You are obliged to no body for any Benefits you can complain of no body for any ill usage If you be in ill circumstances you have none to apply to for Remedy and if you be in good ones you may be stript of them without Remedy the next moment for all things are carried on by a whirl of Fate And you are not much better'd by the latter Hypothesis That God hath trusted the Government of the World with Mankind who are endowed with Reason and Understanding For if we consider how Mankind do sometimes use their Reasons it is as good if not better to be exposed to the Hazards of Chance or Necessity as to be subject to their Wills The truth of it is if this Systeme of the World be well consider'd it will appear a more uncomfortable one than the other for it doth not remove from us the Iron Bands of Fate we are still under that Yoke as much as we were before Yet besides these it puts upon us another Yoke the arbitrary Pleasures of those of our own kind which if they be not govern'd by Reason are ten times more unsupportable than the other We are by this Hypothesis as much exposed to Natural Evils as we were before and there is no help for them but over and above we must bear the Indignities and Insolences the Ravages and Cruelty of every one that is stronger than our selves and hath the will to oppress us O hard Lot of Mankind if this was their Constitution better by far were it for them to be Brutes and think of nothing than to be Men upon such Terms as these Happy therefore are the Inhabitants of the Earth happy are the remotest Isles thereof that there is a King that reigns both over Fate and Men. Happy are we that there is a wise and intelligent Being that superintends all our Affairs and so governs both the Powers of Nature and the Powers of Mankind that nothing can be done by either of them but what is designed by and pursuant to his Counsels Upon this Supposition we may live like Men and enjoy our selves with some Comfort in this World We may propose Ends and Designs to our selves and hope that with our diligence and good management they may take effect Upon this Supposition we may and ought to look upon all our good Successes as the Blessings of God to us and particularly that which we are this day met together to thank Him for I mean the wonderful Preservation of His Majesty from all the Dangers to which he hath so often been exposed and his safe Return to us Upon this Supposition we may hope that tho' all things have not succeeded according to our Wishes yet in due time they may since the King of the World hath by the frequent and unexpected Deliverances he hath wrought for us and the strange unusual Providences that have attended our King given us some Encouragement to believe provided we do our parts towards it that He hath reserv'd Vs for better Times and Him for the executing those Glorious Designs which Good Men hope will at last be accomplish'd in the World Lastly Upon this Supposition every Honest Man will find reason enough both to bear contentedly whatever uneasie Circumstances he lyes under and to trust in God's Mercy for the removal of them and in the mean time to possess his own Soul in a cheerful dependance on God's Providence and a hearty Thankfulness for all the innumerable Blessings he hath receiv'd and doth daily receive from his Hands And therefore since the Lord is King let the earth be glad yea let the multitude of the isles be glad thereof Now That the Lord is really thus the King of the World there are all the Arguments to perswade us that can be desir'd It is the Voice of Reason It is the Voice of all Mankind It is the Voice of GOD himself both in His Works and in His Word Give me leave to give you a Specimen in all these ways of Arguing and but a Specimen because it would be rather the Work of a Book than of a Sermon to dilate upon these matters First I say Reason tells us it must be thus For admitting that the World did not make it self but was made by God it will follow that the same God that made it must still govern it For the same Ends and Designs and Motives whatever they were that induced God to make the World at first will oblige Him for ever to take care of it and look after it Unless we suppose God to contrive an act as uncertainly and unstedily and with the same inconstancy and levity of Mind that some of us Mortals here upon Earth do Secondly It is the Voice of all Mankind For otherwise how comes it to pass that among all Nations and in all Ages there has been some Religion or other practised I pray what is the meaning of worshiping God of putting up Prayers and Supplications to Him for the things we need of returning Thanks for the Benefits we have received of appointing Religious Rites and Methods for the expiation of Guilt or the averting of impendent Calamities all which things have been practised in all Nations from the beginning of the World to this day I say what is the meaning of all this unless it was hereby meant to be signified That there is a God which doth concern himself in the Affairs of Mankind and who doth dispense Good or Evil to them as they well or ill behave themselves towards him The Truth is To say that God doth not govern the World is to say that all Religion is a Cheat and that all Mankind except a few debauch'd Wits in the more polite Countries and a few Brutes in the very barbarous ones who are of no Religion at all have been and are a company of credulous Fools For this is certain whatever Argument either Jew or Turk or Pagan or Christian can suggest to himself for the convincing him that it is his Concernment or his Duty to worship God or to be of any Religion at all nay or to make any conscience of any Action he does I say all these Arguments do not only prove but suppose that God both knows and orders the Affairs of the World Thirdly It may likewise be as strongly proved from Effects from the tracks and footsteps of a Divine over-ruling Providence which are to be seen in the Events that happen in the World which is what I call the Voice of God in his Works These are indeed so many and so
for spiritual matters they lie under a great disadvantage They appear to us as at a great distance We do not apprehend any present need we have of them Nor do we fancy any sweetness or relish in them Nay on the contrary we form the most frightful and dismal Images of them than can be We look upon them not only as flat and unsavoury but as things which if we trouble our heads too much about will certainly ruin all our designs in this World We think Religion good for nothing but to spoil good company to make us melancholy and mopish to distract us in our Business and Employments and to put so many restraints upon us that we can neither with that freedom nor success pursue our Temporal Concernments which we think necessary to our happiness in this World But let us suppose things to be thus with Religion as we have fancied yet cannot this be any reasonable Excuse for our carelesness about it What though there were no visible Benefit by a religious life in this World What though the rewards of our pains about it were only in reversion Yet since a time will come when it will be our greatest Interest to have been heartily Religious is it not a madness now to neglect it What tho' Religion be a course of life difficult and unpleasant a way strewed with Briers and Thorns a way which if we follow we are certainly lost as to our hopes of any thing here Yet since a Time will certainly come when we shall wish that we had been good Christians though we had lost our right eyes and our right hands upon the condition when we shall wish that we had purchased Vertue tho' at the rate of the loss of the whole World For God's sake why should we not be of the same mind now Who but Fools and Children but will look upon that which shall certainly and unavoidably be with the same regard as if it was now present But indeed this is not the Case of Religion This Business of Piety is not so formidable as we often represent it It is no such Enemy to our temporal designs It is a very innocent thing and will do us no harm though we look no farther than this present World It will hinder none of our delights or pleasures but will allow us to gratifie every Appetite that God and Nature hath put into us And if any Man doubt this let him name that natural desire which the Christian Religion doth forbid or any way hinder the innocent satisfaction of I am consident he shall be able to name none Since this is the Case then how much more Childish than Children shall we appear if we make so little reckoning of it How inexcusably Foolish shall we be if we will not be at some pains to possess our selves of that which will be no manner of Hinderance to us in our affairs in this World and will infallibly make us everlastingly happy in that which is to come But farther What if it be certain that a Life of strict Vertue is not only no Hinderance to our Temporal designs but a great Furtherance of them What if it can be proved that besides the influence it has on our Happiness in the next Life it is also the best thing in the World to serve our turns in this And that nothing can so much contribute to the bringing about our Worldly Aims no such ready way to attain to what our very Flesh and Blood most desires most delights in as to be sincerely Pious What imaginable pretence can we then have for our contempt of God and Vertue If this can be made to appear sure all our Objections will be fully answered all our scruples satisfied all our prejudices against Religion wholly removed and every one that is not abandoned of his Fortune and his Senses as well as his Reason must think himself concerned to become a Votary to it since he can have no Temptation or Motive to Vice which will not more powerfully draw him to Vertue and all the ends that the one can pretend to serve will much more effectually be served by the other and he escapes an Eternity of Misery and gets everlasting Life into the Bargain I think it therefore worth the while to spend the time now allotted me in making good this Point and discovering something at least of that universal Profitableness of Godliness to the purposes of Human Life that St. Paul in my Text assures us of But because the Studies of Men are so infinitely various and the Ends of Life to be served so many that it will be impossible to speak particularly of them it will be needful to pitch upon some general Heads such as if they do not comprehend all may yet take in most of those things to which the Labours and Endeavours of Men are directed and in the acquisition of which they have compassed their Designs and to shew the serviceableness of Religion above all other means for the attaining of them And I think I cannot pitch better than upon those three noted Idols of the World Wealth and Honour and Pleasure these being the Goods which have always been accounted to divide Mankind among them and into the service of some one or all of which All that set up for a happy life in this World do list themselves how different and disagreeing soever they be from one another as to their particular Employments and ways of Living I shall therefore make it appear that Godliness and Religion is a very great furtherance to the acquisition of all these and that no Man can take a more ready way either to improve his Fortune or to purchase a Name and Reputation among men or to live comfortably and pleasantly in this World than heartily to serve God and to live in the practice of every Vertue And in the First place I begin with the Conduciveness of Religion and Godliness to improve our outward Fortunes the Advantages of it for the getting or encreasing an Estate For this is the thing to which our Thoughts are commonly first directed as looking upon it as the Foundation of a happy Life in this World But here I desire not to be mistaken I would not be thought to deal with you as one of our ordinary Empiricks that promises many brave feats in his Bill which are indeed beyond the power of his Art I do not pretend that Wealth and Opulency is necessarily entailed upon Religion so that whoever is good shall presently be enabled to make Purchases and to leave Lands and Livings to his Children Riches are one of those things that are not so perfectly in our power that all Men may hope for an equal share of them The having more or less depends oftentimes not so much upon our selves as upon that condition and quality in which we were born the way and course of Life into which our Friends put us and a hundred accidental circumstances to which our selves
of Religion when we labour honestly in our Vocation as when we go to Church or say our Prayers It is true indeed we ought to have our hearts in Heaven as much as is possible and to that end we ought to pray continually but what hinders but we may do this in the midst of our Business There is no employment doth so entirely engross a Man's mind but he may find leisure if he please many times a day to entertain good thoughts to quicken and reinforce his purposes to cast up a short Prayer or a wish to God Almighty And this I dare say for your encouragement that such a devout frame of heart such frequent and sudden dartings of your Souls to God while you are at your Business will be so far from hindring or distracting you in it that they will make you go about it with much more vigour and alacrity But farther I would ask any Man that makes the foresaid Objection supposing Religion ten times more expensive of our time than really it is yet whether Vice and Sin be not much more so than it would be What a multitude of idle avocations from and interruptions in our Business doth that daily occasion unto Men What a number of impertinent Discourses unprofitable Visits needless points of Gallantry long diversions by Drink and Play and Company not to mention a great many other Debauches doth it frequently engage Men in and yet these we count no hindrances to our Business these we complain not of but to spend a quarter of that time in some devout Exercise this is intolerable it wasts too much of our time our occasions will not permit it Such partial and unjust estimators of things are we But I proceed In the third place then as for Frugality and good Husbandry which is another necessary requisite for the getting of Wealth Religion is unquestionably the best Mistress of it in the World for it retrencheth all the exorbitances and wantonesses of our Desires which are the things that pick the money out of our Purses and teacheth us to live after the measures of Nature which every body knows are little and cheap It perfectly cuts off all those idle expences with which the Estates of other Men stand almost continually charged The Modesty of it Cloaths us at a small rate and its Temperance spreads for us though a neat yet a frugal Table The attendance it requires on our Business will not allow us to embezel our money in Drinking or Gaming nor will that Purity which is inseparable from it ever let us know what the vast and sinking expences of lewdness and uncleanness are In a word it is Vice only that is the chargeable thing it is only Shame and Repentance that Men buy at such costly rates Godliness is saving and full of good Husbandry nor has it any known or unknown ways of spending except it be those of Charity which indeed in proper speaking are not so much expence as Vsury for money so laid out doth always even in this life return to us with Advantage The fourth and last means I mentioned of Thriving in the World was the keeping a good Correspondence with all those in whose power it is to hinder or promote our Affairs This every body knows to be a prime point in Policy and indeed it is of a large extent and of continual use No Man can be supposed so independent on others but that as he is some way beholden to them for all that he has so he stands in need of their help and concurrence for all that he hopes for men do not make their fortunes of themselves nor grow rich by having Treasures dropped in their Laps but they do it by the benefit of Humane Society by the mutual Assistances and good Offices that one Man performs for another So that whoever intends to thrive in the World it above all things imports him so to carry himself towards all that he hath any Commerce with so far to secure their favour and good will that they may be obliged not to deny him any of those Assistances which the Exigency of his Affairs calls for at their hands But now how this should be done any otherwise than by being truly Just and Honest by abstaining from Violence and Injury by being True to our Trust and Faithful in performing our Contracts and in a word by doing all those good Offices to others which we expect they should do unto us which as our Saviour tells us is the Sum of Religion is a very hard thing to conceive The Usefulness or rather the Necessity of such a Behaviour as this in order to the gaining the good Opinion of others and so serving our own Ends by them is so universally acknowledged that even those that make no real Conscience of these things are yet nevertheless in all their Dealings forced to pretend to them Open and Bare-faced Knavery rarely serves a Man's turn in this World but it is under the Mask of Vertue and Honesty that it usually performs those Feats it doth which is no less than a Demonstration of the Conduciveness of those things to promote our Temporal Interests For if the mere Pretence to them be a great advantage to us for this purpose it cannot be imagined but that the Reality of them will be a greater Certainly the Power of Godliness will be able to do more than the Form alone and that if it was upon no other account than this that no Man that is but a mere Pretender to Honesty can long hope to keep his Credit among Men. It is impossible to act a Part for any long time let him carry it never so cunningly his Vizor will some time or other be thrown off and he will appear in his true Colours and to what a World of Mischiefs and Inconveniences he will then be exposed every one that knows how hated how detested how abandon'd by every one a Knave and a Villain is may easily determine I hope I need say no more to convince you that Religion is the best Policy and that the more hearty and conscientious any Man is in the practice of it the more likely he is to Thrive and Improve in the World So that I may now proceed to the Second general Point to be spoken to which is The Profitableness of Religion for the attaining a good Name and Reputation How very much it conduceth to this purpose will appear from these two Considerations First It lays the surest Grounds and Foundations for a Good Name and Reputation Secondly Men are generally so just to it that it rarely misses of a good Name and Reputation The first is an Argument from Reason the second from Experience First of all Godliness layeth the truest Foundation for a fair Reputation in the World There are but two things that can give a Man a Title to the good Opinion and Respects of Men the inward Worth and Dignity of his Person and his Vsefulness and
Serviceableness to others The first of these challengeth Men's Esteem the other their Love Now both these Qualities Religion and Vertue do eminently possess us of For First The Religious Man is certainly the most Worthy and Excellent Person for he of all others lives most up to the great End for which he was designed which is the natural measure of the Goodness and Worth of Things Whatever External Advantages a Man may have yet if he be not endow'd with Vertuous Qualities he is far from having any true Worth or Excellence and consequently cannot be a fit Object of our Praise and Esteem because he wants that which should make him Perfect and Good in his Kind For it is not a comely Personage or a long Race of Famous Ancestors or a large Revenue or a multitude of Servants or many swelling Titles or any other thing without a Man that speaks him a Compleat Man or makes him to be what he should be But the right use of his Reason the employing his Liberty and Choice to the best purposes the exercising his Powers and Faculties about the fittest Objects and in the most due Measures these are the Things that make him Excellent Now none can be said to do this but only he that is Vertuous Secondly Religion also is that which makes a Man most Vseful and Profitable to others for it effectually secures his performance of all those Duties whereby both the Security and Welfare of the Publick and also the Good and Advantage of particular Persons is most attained It makes Men Lovers of their Country Loyal to their Prince Obedient to Laws It is the surest Bond and Preservative of Society in the World It obliges us to live peaceably and to submit our selves to our Rulers not only for Wrath but also for Conscience sake It renders us modest and governable in Prosperity and resolute and couragious to suffer bravely in a good Cause in the worst of Times It teacheth us to endeavour as much as in us lies to promote the Good of every particular Member of the Community to be inflexibly upright to do hurt to none but good Offices to all to be charitable to the Bodies and Souls of Men to do all manner of Kindnesses that lie within our power It takes off the Sowrness and Moroseness of our Spirits and makes us Affable and Courteous Gentle and Obliging and willing to embrace with open Arms and an hearty Love all Sorts and Conditions of Men. In every Relation wherein we can stand to one another it influenceth upon us in order to the making us more useful It makes Parents kind and indulgent and careful of the Education of their Children and Children loving and obedient to their Parents It makes Servants diligent to please their Masters and to do their Work in Singleness of Heart not with Eye-service as Men-pleasers but as unto God and it makes Masters gentle and forbearing and careful to make provision for their Family as those that know they have a Master in Heaven that is no Respecter of Persons In a word There is no Condition or Capacity in which Religion will not be signally an Instrument of making us more serviceable to others and of doing more good in the World And if such be the Spirit and Temper of it how is it possible but it must needs acquire a great deal of Respect and Love from all sorts of Men If Obligingness and doing good in one's Generation do not endear a Man to those that know him do not entitle him to their Love and Affections what thing in the World is there that is likely to do it But Secondly True and unaffected Goodness seldom misses of a good Reputation in the World How unjust to Vertue soever Men are in other respects yet in this they generally give it its due where-ever it appears it generally meets with Esteem and Approbation nay it has the good Word of many that otherwise are not over-fond of Religion Though they have not the Grace to be Good themselves yet they rarely have the Confidence not to commend Goodness in others Add to this that no Man ever raised to himself a Good Name in the World but it was upon the score of his Vertues either Real or Pretended Vice hath sometimes got Riches and advanced it self into Preferments but it never was accounted Honourable in any Nation It must be acknowledged indeed that it may and doth sometimes happen that Vicious Men may be had in Esteem but then it is to be considered that it is not for their Vices that they are esteemed but for some good Quality or other they are eminent in And there is no doubt if those Men were without those Vices their Reputation would be so far from being thereby diminished that it would become much more Considerable It must also be acknowledged on the other hand that even Vertuous and Good Men may sometimes fail of that Esteem and Respect that their Vertue seems to merit nay in that degree as to be slighted and despised and to have many Odious Terms and Nick-names put upon them But when we consider the Cases in which this happens it will appear to be of no force at all for the disproving what has been now delivered For First It ought to be considered what kind of Persons those are that treat Vertue and Vertuous Men thus Contemptuously we shall always find them to be the Worst and the Vilest of Mankind such who have debauched the natural Principles of their Minds have lost all the Notions and Distinctions of Good and Evil are fallen below the Dignity of Humane Nature and have nothing to bear up themselves with but Boldness and Confidence Drollery and Scurrility and turning into Ridicule every thing that is grave and serious But it is with these as it is with the Monsters and Extravagances of Nature they are but very Few Few in comparison of the rest of Mankind who have wiser and truer Sentiments of Things But if they were more numerous no Man of Understanding would value what such Men said of him It looks like a Crime to be commended by such Persons and may justly occasion a Man to reflect upon his own Actions and to cry out to himself as He did of old What have I done that these Men speak well of me But Secondly It cannot be denied but that some Persons who are otherwise Vertuous and Religious may be guilty of such Indiscretions as thereby to give others occasion to slight and despise them But then it is to be considered that this is not to be charged upon Vertue and Religion but is the particular Fault of the Persons Every one that is Religious is not Prudent the Meanness of a Man's Vnderstanding or his rash and intemperate Zeal or the Moroseness of his Temper or his too great Scrupulosity about little things may sometimes make his Behaviour Vncouth and Fantastick and betray him to do many Actions which he may think his Religion obliges him
blessed us with in opposition to a pinching and penurious way of living This I say seems to be the notion of Rejoycing that the Text speaks of as appears by the following verse Solomon having told us in the Text that there is nothing better for a man than to rejoyce and do Good he adds by way of explication of what he meant by rejoycing these words that every Man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labours for it is the gift of God And frequently in this Book of Ecclesiastes doth he persuade to this kind of rejoycing Thus in Chap. 2. ver 24. there is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink and that he should make his soul enjoy Good in his labour this also I saw it was from the hand of God And in Chap. 5. ver 18. Behold that which I have seen it is good and comely for one to eat and drink and to enjoy the good of all his labours that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life which God giveth him for it is his portion And in Chap. 6. ver 1 2. he represents it as a great evil that he hath seen under the sun and yet such an evil as is common among men that a man to whom God hath given riches and wealth and honour so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof but a stranger eateth it this saith he is vanity and an evil disease And there is certainly great reason in what he saith For to have a plentiful portion of the good things of this life and not to have the heart to make use of them for the enjoyment of our selves and friends for the refreshing us under the toil that this life doth expose us to for the promoting Acquaintance and Society and the rendering our condition as easie as may be is as unaccountable a folly as we can be guilty of and makes us really as poor and necessitous as those that want bread but only not so pityable Taking now this to be the sense of rejoycing in the Text as I believe it is we have from hence a good warrant for this day's Meeting for we come together to rejoyce in Solomon's sense that is to eat and drink and to enjoy the good of our labours it being the gift of God so to do And this practice of ours is not only reasonable in it self but is commended to us by the example of God's people both under the Law and the Gospel The Jews by the appointment of God himself were to meet every year three times at Jerusalem the Capital City of the Nation See Deut. 16. to feast and to rejoyce before the Lord as we have it in the express words of Moses And the Christians for near 200 years after our Saviours had their Agapae their Feasts of charity wherein they met together both poor and rich to enjoy and make merry one with another It is true these Feasts were at length left off by common consent because there grew abuses in them they became occasions of Luxury and excess and so matters of scandal to our Religion But this was not an ill reflexion upon the thing it self which was innocent and commendable but upon the abuse of the thing A good and laudable institution was perverted to evil purposes However this very consideration ought to make us very careful of our carriage and behaviour in these our Meetings lest we fall under the same inconveniencies which that we may prevent Two things are especially needful to be taken care of by us First That we do not exceed the bounds of rejoycing prescribed to Christians that is that we avoid all excess and use the Creatures of God soberly and temperately so as to give offence to none nor to make provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof And Secondly That we take care to perform and make good the ends and designs of these Feasts of rejoycing which ends if we will take our measures from those Laws that God gave to his own People in the Old Testament and which the modern Jews themselves in their Commentaries take notice of and which are so reasonable in themselves that without any Authority they do recommend themselves to us are these four following First That we Rejoyce before the Lord that is that we make our humble acknowledgments and return our due praises and thanks to him for all the good things he hath blessed us with in our lives confessing that all we have is from his free bounty and goodness and that our Meeting together is to praise his name upon that account And this was the thing that was meant by those solemn Sacrifices that the Jews were bound to offer at Jerusalem at their Annual Feasts The second end of these Feasts is to take occasion from hence to learn our duty to be instructed in all the branches of that obedience we owe unto God For as Maimonides observes that was one of the principal reasons of God's calling together all the people of the Jews to appear at the Feast of Tabernacles to wit that they might hear the Law read unto them and this design is I suppose pursued by us in our chusing this Place to Assemble in A third end of these Feasts as the same Maimonides tells us and is manifest from Scripture is to promote acquaintance and Friendship and brotherly love one with another And this is a very noble end and serves many excellent purposes and nothing can be beyond it except The fourth and last end of these Meetings which is to do Good to exercise our Charity towards our poor indigent Brethren No man at the Solemn Feasts of the Jews was to appear before the Lord empty Exod. 23.15 He was to bring his offering not only to God by way of recognition and acknowledgement to him but for the poor also that they might rejoyce as well as he This is well observed by Maimonides from Deut. 16.14 where it is thus said Thou shalt rejoyce in thy feast thou and thy son and thy daughter thy man-servant and thy maid-servant the Levite and the stranger the fatherless and the widow that are within thy gates This then is the great end of our Assembly that not only we but the Fatherless and the widow all of our Country that need our Charity may rejoyce with us and for us And this is that which Solomon joyns with rejoycing in the Text There is no good in them but for a man to rejoyce and do Good and what that Man who by the sentence of God was declared the wisest of all men hath thus joyned together let none of us presume to put asunder These are the Rules and these are the ends that we are to observe in this our Feast and let us all for the Honour of Christ's Religion and for the credit of our particular Country Charge
for the way that leads thither be it high or low all is one to him so long as he is but certain that it is the Right Way And as he doth not chuse his Religion out of worldly considerations So neither doth he quit it upon such But is resolute and constant in bearing witness to the Truth against all opposition whatsoever As he doth not make shew of his Religion the more when it is in fashion and when it may prove advantagious to him So neither doth he practise it the less when it may prove Ignominious or Dangerous He is obstinately tenacious of his Principles when he knows them to be good and prepared to endure the utmost extremities rather than violate the Laws and Dictates of his Conscience He is a Man that thinks Religion too Sacred a thing to be prostituted to mean purposes and therefore he never useth it as an Instrument for the serving a turn never makes it a Cloak for the covering a private end though he were sure he could compass his designs by it He knows that the greatest Impostures have laid hid under this mask and by such Artifices God hath been often made a Patron of the most horrid villanies He is a Man that doth not place his Religion in outward forms and services or in little cheap Duties that cost him nothing He hath a nobler sense of God than to think that such things can alone recommend us to him And therefore his principal concernment is about the great Indispensable Duties of Christianity Matt. 23.23 The weightier matters of the Law Justice and Mercy and Faith He hath the everlasting Notions and differences of Good and Evil deeply ingraven in his Heart and in the practising or the avoiding them he chiefly lays out himself He is a Man that doth not pick and chuse out of God's Commandments which to observe to the neglect of the rest but endeavours Uprightly and Sincerely to observe them all He calls no sin little because his temper inclines him to it or the course of his Life leads him more frequently into the Temptations of it But he hath an hearty uniform Aversion to every thing that is Evil. He holds no secret friendship or correspondence with any Enemy of God but fights as resolutely against his most agreeable and most gainful sins as those that he hath less Temptation to upon those accounts He is a hearty Enemy to all Factions in Religion as knowing the Life and Soul of Christianity is often eaten out by them All dividing Principles he abhors and as much as he loves Truth he is not less concerned for Peace And he is better pleased with one Instance of his Charity in Composing or his Zeal in Suppressing Religious Differences than with twenty of his Skill and Abilities in disputing them For he knows that LOVE is more acceptable to God than a right Opinion and to be a Martyr rather than divide and rend the Church Dionys Alex. in Euleb is not less Glorious than to be a Martyr for refusing to offer Sacrifice to Idols Lastly He is a Man Religious without Noise and uses no little Arts to make his Piety taken notice of in the World For he seeks not the praise of Men in any thing he doth but studies to approve himself to God only And therefore he is as careful of his Thoughts as of his Actions and hath the same fear of God and regard of his Duty when no Man sees him as when he is in the most publick places These are the great strokes of Vprightness as to Religion And whoever makes good these Characters may unquestionably conclude of himself that he is an Honest Man to God-ward a true Israelite indeed in whom there is no guile Come we now in the second place To take a view of the Vpright-Man in his civil Conversation To give some account of him with reference to his Carriage and Demeanour amongst Men. And here again we must consider him under two capacities as a Private Person and as a Magistrate And First As a Private Person The general Rule by which he frames and models his whole Conversation is such a prudent and diligent care of himself and his own good as is not only consistent with but doth effectually tend to promote the Good and Happiness of all others that he deals with This is the Fundamental Principle which he lays down to observe in all his commerce with Mankind For he considers that every Man in the World hath a right to be happy as well as himself And he considers that as things are so contriv'd that he cannot be happy without the assistance of others So it is infinitely reasonable that he in like manner should contribute his endeavours to the making them happy also These now being the main Principles of his Mind he takes care in his whole Conversation that his Actions and Carriage be suitable to them and bear some proportion with them And therefore we may be sure that he is a Man exactly Just in all his dealings and would not knowingly do the least wrong or injury to any though he could gain never so much by it and were he never so secure that he could do it without discovery He is a Man that where he is trusted is faithful to the uttermost Never making advantages of Mens credulity nor abusing the considence they repose in him He is one that in point of fair dealing between Man and Man is severe even to Scrupulosity and he would rather sit down with loss than serve his own ends by any practice that hath but a bad report that hath but even the appearance or suspicion of evil in it though in the mean time he knows that what is got by such practices is by some Men accounted lawful gain He is a Man of great candour and sweetness and obligingness in his Behaviour But withal as on one hand he is careful not to run himself into Inconveniencies by his good nature So on the other hand the kindness and good-will he professeth to all about him is more than a compliment or a semblance of his countenance For his fair speeches are always attended with honest dealings and what he once promiseth he is punctual in making it good though it be to his own prejudice He is a Man that loves a good Name and Reputation as well as any one and is extremely tender of it but yet he scorns to make use of any evil Arts either for the procuring or preserving it And consequently he is a Man that hates all mean and servile compliance and will neither speak nor do any thing against the sense of his Mind for the humouring any Flattery and Dissimulation he abhors and he dares speak his Mind when he judges it fit and reasonable even though he knows the doing it will give offence And as he is perfectly averse to all Fawning and Flattery So he is above Envy and Detraction He never lessens another Man to
is careful to carry himself with an even steady hand with respect to both studiously endeavouring both to preserve his Allegiance to his Prince and his Fidelity to the Publick Neither invading the Rights of the one nor injuring the Liberties of the other He is one that next to the Honour of God studies the Peace and Quiet of the Place where he is concern'd And therefore as on one hand he is watchful in spying out Dangers and quick in applying such Remedies to them as are proper in the Place and Station he holds So on the other side he neither takes nor gives the Alarm upon every slight Surmise or popular Apprehension He makes the best of all things that happen and by his Prudence and Moderation endeavours to extinguish growing Flames rather than add Fewel to them to calm and allay Mens Jealousies and Animosities rather than to excite and increase them Lastly To conclude He is a Man that fears God that honours the King that is observant of the Laws that is true to the Government and that meddles not with them that are given to change Having thus given you an account of the Upright Man under the several principal relations in which he stands I come now in the second place for the comfort of all that are such and for the encouragement of all others to endeavour to be such to set forth the advantages and privileges that such a Man enjoys in evil and dangerous times To the Vpright there ariseth Light in the Darkness Darkness as I told you before is a word by which the Scripture expresseth any kind of Straits or Difficulties or Adversities Thus Job 15.21 Darkness is there opposed to Prosperity thus Lam. 3.2 I am the man saith the Prophet that have seen Affliction by the rod of his wrath he hath led me and brought me into Darkness And thus likewise to name no more Texts Joel 2.2 The day of God's Visitation upon Jerusalem is called a Day of Gloominess and Darkness a Day of Clouds and thick Darkness This now being the Notion of Darkness when it is said in the Text To the Vpright Man there ariseth Light in the Darkness By Light we may understand any one of these three things that is to say By Light we may understand Light for his Guidance and Direction and then the sense is That in critical and perillous times the Vpright Man of all others will be best enabled to order and manage his Affairs Or secondly By Light we may understand Safety and Defence as the word is sometimes taken in Scripture and then the sense is That in evil times the Vpright Man walks most free from danger He of all others may expect security and protection in a common Calamity Or thirdly By Light we may understand Peace and Joy as that likewise is another usual sense of the word and then the meaning is That in evil times let things happen as they will though it should be the fortune of the Upright Man to be opprest in the Crowd yet this happiness he will always have that his Mind will be at perfect ease and peace Nothing shall ever discompose him but in the midst of his Sufferings his Heart shall be replenished with perpetual Comfort In any one of these senses the Text may be taken and in all the Three it fails not to be made good to the Vpright Man First To the Vpright Man there ariseth Light in the Darkness taking Light for Guidance and Direction Be the times never so dark he hath this happiness that he is rarely at a loss how to steer his course He finds his way easily when other Men are quite bewildred and he readily expedites himself out of such difficulties as those that act by other principles find themselves grievously intangled with This is a thing that should mightily recommend the practice of Uprightness especially in evil times and that it is really attended with this advantage must needs be acknowledged upon these two accounts First To an Upright Man his way lies plainer and is more easily seen and discovered And Secondly He hath a greater Light to see it by than those that take other measures in the management of their designs First The Upright Man of all others most easily sees his way for it lies plain and even and strait before him Whereas the ways of Vice and Wickedness are extremely crooked full of windings and turnings Whoever pursues evil Designs and is a Slave to base Affections must necessarily intangle himself in infinite Labyrinths through the course of his Life For having several ends to pursue and those many times inconsistent one with another it cannot be avoided but that in many circumstances he lights into he will be extremely at a loss how to behave himself If he go this way then will something come to Light which he studiously endeavours to conceal if he go that way then he disobliges some Man or some Party whose interest is necessary to support him If he go a third way he destroys that which is his main design At what a loss now in such a case as this must a Man needs be in the determining himself Upon what a rack is his understanding put to get fairly rid of these Difficulties And yet such Dilemmas as these is every one that walks not Uprightly ever and anon crampt with in his Counsels and Deliberations But suppose he get well over the present Difficulty yet he is but where he was For upon the next emergency of Affairs he is as much puzled and nonplust as before The same method will not serve him twice for the carrying on his designs As often as new occasions arise so often must he alter his Counsels and take new measures so that he is always unsteady often inconsistent with himself utterly unresolv'd what Man he shall be or what part he shall act in the next Scene that offers it self These Difficulties and Perplexities the Man of Intrigues is always hamper'd with and they necessarily arise from the various flexures and turnings of the way that leads to his ends But the contrary of all this is the Lot of the Upright Man For his way neither lies on this side nor on that side but always strait forward He hath but one great end to pursue and that is to discharge a good Conscience all his other concernments are wholly regulated by that The consequence of which is That he hath no clashing of interests to perplex his deliberations no little turns that must be served to divert him to the right hand or to the left but he always looks straight before him so that all his resolutions are easily made most of those Difficulties that intangle other Men are quite cut off and avoided his Counsels and his Methods are always the same and he is seldom at a loss how to behave himself upon a new emergency In a word his way is commonly so plain that he stands in need of little advice or instruction
for the finding it And this is that which Solomon hath told us The Integrity of the Vpright shall guide him For Prov. 11.3 cap. 4.18 the path of the just is a shining light But 2dly If it be his Lot to fall into such circumstances where his way is not so plain but that there is need of great advice and deliberation what course to steer as it often happens especially in such times as the Text speaks of Yet here the Upright Man hath the advantage of all those that walk by different principles for all other things equal he has more Light to direct him in the finding of his way than they have There is this difference between a Man that walks Uprightly in all his conversation and a Man that hath sinister ends of his own to pursue The former hath always the free use of his Intellectual Powers and can exert his Reason in its highest perfection and to the best advantage Whereas the latter is horribly clouded in his discerning Faculties He hath constantly a mist before his Eyes which hinders him from rightly distinguishing the objects he looks upon and consequently occasions many blunders and mistakes in the choice of his way My meaning is this Whoever frames his Life by other Measures than those of Honesty and Conscience whoever intemperately pursueth his private ends or is a slave to inordinate Passions let them be of what kind they will These things do clap such a Byas upon his Soul as renders him utterly uncapable of making a right judgment of things before him and consequently must unavoidably expose him to a great many dangerous errours in the management of his affairs and this oftentimes in Matters that have no great difficulty in them Take any one of the Passions that usually govern the Man that hath no principles of Conscience let it be either Fear or Envy or Revenge or Vain-glory or Avarice or Ambition it is a wonderful thing to see how monstrously they distort his Reason and what odd extravagant courses they put him upon and this even in plain easy cases Nay though the Man in other things where his affections have no influence be a very wise Man One could scarce imagine the power that these things have over a Man's Judgment but that we every day see such strange instances of it But now the Upright Man is not in the least obnoxious to any of these inconveniences For having no turns to serve but those that are honest and good having no private Affections or Passions to be gratified he looks upon things in a pure and simple Light and not through a coloured Glass And consequently his conceptions of them as far as humane endeavours can secure are according to their Nature and his determinations and resolutions are suitable to his conceptions that is to say are reasonable and fit and such as become the occasion As his main design is to do in all instances that which is best so that design preserves him from mistaking in his Notions of what is best His Reason and Understanding are free and at liberty and if there do arise any knot or difficulty he of all others is likely to untie it with the greatest ease And this is that which the Psalmist hath told us The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdome a good Vnderstanding have all they that do thereafter Psal 111. â—â— But Secondly If we take Light for Safety and Security for Defence and Protection as it is sometimes used in the Holy Scripture In this sense also Light ariseth to the Vpright in times of Darkness For such a Man may in the worst of times above all other Men promise these things to himself And this is that which Solomon tells us He that walketh Vprightly walketh surely Prov. 10.9 And indeed this seems to be the thing principally intended in the Text The Light which is here said to arise to the Vpright in Darkness seemeth chiefly to respect his Security from Danger in the times of a Common Calamity as appears by what immediately followeth viz. He shall not be moved for ever he shall not be afraid of evil tidings his heart shall not shrink untill he see his desire upon his Enemies Now this Security in times of Danger the Upright Man may expect upon these two accounts First his Uprightness in its own Nature as things are contrived and carried on in the World doth above all other things conduce to it And Secondly He is upon account thereof intituled to God's more particular Protection First The Paths of Uprightness are in themselves such as naturally tend to secure a Man in Evil and Dangerous times For first They do really contribute to the Good and Happiness of the Publick in the which every Man 's private safety is in a manner bound up Prov. 11.11 As by wickedness they are the words of Solomon a City is overthrown so by the blessing of the Vpright it is exalted Every Upright Man is really a benefactor to the Publick For by him and such as he Cities and Kingdoms are supported which would otherwise fall into confusion The whole Body Politick owes its preservation to the vertuous Care and honest endeavours of Upright Men. And every such Man in particular reaps the benefit of such his Endeavours for he shares in his own Person that protection and security he procures to the Community And if he had not been Upright as the Publick would have fared something the worse for it So it is certain he in his private Capacity would in the same proportion have fared the worse also But this consideration of the conduciveness of Honesty and Uprightness to the Good of the Publick I direct chiefly to those that are in Office and Authority for really their carriage and conduct hath a more than ordinary stroak in the good or bad success of the common affairs And therefore it concerns them especially to look to themselves that they be Men of Integrity and keep a Good Conscience in the discharge of their Trust Upon their Upright walking the safety and preservation of the Publick doth more depend than upon the Endeavours of a thousand private Men. Though they are but particular Persons yet being vested with Authority their Conduct and Management hath as great an influence upon the common Good or the common Ruin as if they were a Multitude and single as they are they do in a great Measure carry the Balance of the publick Fortune in their Hands But Secondly The conduciveness of every Man's Uprightness to the publick good is not the only consideration upon which it is recommendable as a means for obtaining safety and security in evil times For let the Publick go as it will In the worst of times if any Man can in probability be thought able to shift for himself if any Man can in reason hope to escape the Violence and Iniquity of the times the Upright Man the Man of Honesty and Integrity is
have not set down Rules about the particular measures and proportions of it in that case it is advisable rather to do more than we are perhaps precisely bound to do that so we may be sure we have performed our Duty than by being scanty in our obedience to run the hazard of falling short of our Duty Thus for instance Our Lord in the New Testament hath often and solemnly commanded us to pray But neither he nor his Apostles have any where told us how often we are to pray only they have bid us pray frequently In this Case now a Man that makes a Conscience of performing his Duty will take all occasions and opportunities of listing up holy hands and devout affections to his heavenly Father However he will not fail at least once every time he riseth and once every time he goes to rest to offer up a solemn Sacrifice of Prayer and Praise Less than this I say he must not do for fear he break the Commandment of praying frequently praying continually But more than this it will become him to do in order to the giving himself satisfaction that he hath fully performed it Thus again To give Alms to the poor is an indispensable Duty of our Religion But what proportion of our substance we are to give away in Alms and Charity is no where set down but is wholly left to our discretion Now in this case it is certainly much more advisable to give liberally and largely and plentifully even as much as our condition in this World and the necessities of our Families can allow though by so doing we shall prove to have given in greater abundance than we were strictly obliged to Than by giving stingily and pinchingly now and then a little pocket money or so to run the hazard of being Trangressors of the Commandment and having our Portion among the covetous and unmerciful There is no damage comes to a Man by doing the former but on the contrary a great deal of good For God never fails bounteously to reward the bountiful hand But there is both damage and infinite danger in the latter And thus we are to practise in all other Duties Only this caution we must take along with us That we are always so to proportion the measures of every single Duty as to render it consistent with the performance of the other Duties of our lives As for instance we must not spend so much time in Prayer as to hinder the pursuit of our Callings and necessary business We must so give Alms as yet to leave our selves enough to pay every one their own and to make a competent provision for our Families But let us but take care to secure this and then we cannot easily exceed in the measures of any Duty The more we pray and the more we give alms still the better And so in all other instances of Duty But now in the second place the quite contrary to this are we to practise in matters of Liberty There the rule is rather to take less than is allowed us than to take all Rather to abridge our selves of our lawful Liberties than by doing all that we may lawfully do indanger our falling into sin There is no harm at all in departing from our Rights and Privileges which God hath indulged us But there is a great harm in extending them beyond their bounds There is no evil in not gratifying our desires and appetites in all the things they crave which are allowable and which we are permitted to gratifie them in But there is an infinite evil in gratifying them in unlawful forbidden instances And therefore every wise and good Man will be sure to keep on the safe side and to prevent the danger of doing more than he should do he will not always do all that he may do The truth is that Man that makes no scruple of using his Liberty to the utmost stretch and extent of it upon all occasions and regards nothing more in his Actions than just that he do not fall into some direct sin That Man cannot always be innocent but will be drawn into a hundred irregularities and miscarriages Thus for Example he that useth himself to eat or to drink to the utmost pitch that can be said to be within the limits of Temperance it is impossible but such a one will now and then be unavoidably overtaken in the sin of Gluttony or Drunkenness He that will use all the liberties that the Law allows him for the making advantages to himself in his Trade or his Dealings with other Men Such a one will not be able to avoid the just imputation of being in many instances an Oppressor or a hard Conscienced Man The safest way therefore if we mean to preserve our Vertue amidst the multitude of Snares and Temptations that we meet with in the World is to set bounds even to our Lawful Liberties to keep our actions within such a compass as not to come even near the Confines of Vice and Sin Though it is but a point and that often an undiscernable one that distinguisheth between what is lawful and what is unlawful Yet there is a great latitude in what is lawful That is if I gratify my Appetites but a little I do that which is lawful and if I gratifie them more I may do that which is lawful likewise But he shews the most Honest and Vertuous Mind that in his actions takes but a little of this latitude and by that means keeps himself at a good distance from that which is vicious and criminal III. But thirdly and lastly To what degree soever we may think fit to make use of our liberty yet at all times As soon as we begin to doubt or fear we have gone as far as we lawfully can go it is then high time to break off and to proceed no farther This is the last Rule I have to offer upon this occasion And thus also wherever we have a just ground of suspition or doubt whether a thing be lawful or no this doubt or suspicion is of it self reason enough to make us forbear that thing Unless indeed there be a Necessity or a great Charity to be served by the doing of it which may in reason over-balance the suspicion of its lawfulness Thus in matters of Recreation If we have the least doubt whether this or the other Pleasure or Divertisement be innocent and lawful why that is Argument enough without more ado to make us forbear it though perhaps we see others use it without scruple Thus in matters of Temperance when we first begin to suspect that we have drunk as much as is convenient for us Let us by all means leave off and break from the Company Thus in matters of Sobriety when we have reason to doubt that we are come up to the full bounds of the Christian gravity and modesty and that any degree more of pomp or bravery in our garb or in our attendance or in our equipage will
Treasure He rejoiceth over them to do them good His bowels earn his heart is turned within him his repentings are kindled together when through their miscarriages he is forced to pass any severe Sentence upon them All this is the language of God in Scripture when he speaks of his People and therefore we cannot doubt of his sincere affection to them and particular care of them All the doubt is whether these expressions ought to be applied to any other people than the Jews with respect to whom the Scripture useth them But we that believe the Gospel need not make much doubt of it For it is certain the reason of all these expressions of kindness to the Jews more than to other Nations was founded in this That they were the People whom God had chosen to plant his Church among They were the People where his Religion was owned But now it is evident to all Christians that after our Saviour came into the World and Preached his Gospel to all Nations the Jews as a Nation ceased to be God's Church or peculiar People and from that time all those Nations that embraced Christ's Religion came into their place and were from thence forward to be as dear to God and as much his Care and his Treasure as ever the Jews were And upon that account we of this Nation may with as much reason apply the expressions of Scripture to our selves which declare God's kindness and concernment for his People as ever the Jews did Especially considering that God has owned us of this Nation for his People in as remarkable a manner as any Nation in Christendom As appears not only from that glorious light of the Gospel which he has for many years blessed us with above any other people perhaps in the Christian World But also from the wonderful Providences by which he has from time to time preserved our Church and with it the true Religion among us notwithstanding the various attempts of our Enemies to subvert it O may these Mercies of God to our Nation never be forgotten and may we always remember them with that due thankfulness they call for at our hands And thus much of our first Head I beg leave to draw a practical Inference or two from what hath been said before I proceed to the other First Since it appears that God sits at the Helm and steers and manages all the affairs of Mankind and that publick Societies are more especially the objects of his Care and Providence Methinks this Consideration should be a good Antidote against all those troublesome Fears and Sollicitude we are apt to disturb our selves with about the success of publick Matters If indeed all things went in the World by Chance or Fate and there was no God that did superintend human Affairs I should think it very Natural for Men to be extreamly concerned at every piece of ill News they heard It might be allowed them to break their sleep in the night and to complain dismally in the day of the sad times that were coming upon us But since we are certain as much as we are certain there is a God and as much as we are certain that the Scripture is true that all our Affairs our publick as well as our private Affairs the Affairs both in Church and State are entirely in God Almighty's disposal and that He doth really manage and order all things among us and likewise so manageth them that all shall at last turn to the good of his People and to the good of every honest Man I say since we are or may be satisfied that our Business is in so good hands I must confess I do not see what reason People have to give themselves so much trouble and uneasiness about things that may or may not come Thus far indeed it is fit that every one should be concerned nay it is fit that every one should charge his Conscience with it Namely to do his Duty to the publick in his place and station to contribute all that is in his power towards the procuring and promoting the common Happiness and to endeavour all that in him lies towards the avertting those Judgments we have reason to fear But when a Man hath done this to what purpose is it for him to trouble himself any further I should think he had better follow our Saviour's advice which when all things be considered will be found Eternally Prudent and Reasonable Matt. 6.34 Take no thought for to morrow let the morrow take care for the things of it self Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof Secondly This Doctrine ought to teach us this farther Lesson to depend altogether upon God Almighty and upon him only for the good success of our Affairs either in Church or State whenever they are in a doubtful or dangerous condition Prov. 19.21 For though many are the devices in the hearts of men nevertheless the counsel of the Lord that shall stand It is in vain to trust humane means For be our strength never so great or be those that manage for us never so industrious or be our hearts never so much united Yet it is an easy matter for God to blast all our designs and to disappoint all our Counsels in a Moment He hath often done so where Men have been confident in their own strength 2 Kings 19.34 In one night's time he made that prodigious Army of Assyrians that came up against Jerusalem and thought themselves sure of taking it to decamp and fly back into their own Country leaving a hundred and fourfcore thousand of their number Dead upon the place There is in truth no trusting to an Arm of Flesh For the successes of War depend upon a thousand Contingencies which it is not in the power of mortal Men either to foresee or remedy Eccles 9.11 Psal 33.16 So that the race is not always to the swift nor the battel to the strong nor can a King be sav'd by the multitude of an Host nor any mighty Man be delivered by his much strength But the God of Heaven that ruleth in the Kingdoms of Men it is He that preserves or destroys that gives Victory or sends a Defeat as it pleaseth him And therefore he is by way of eminence stiled The Lord of Hosts the God of Battels On the other hand If our Affairs at any time be in so very bad a posture that we cannot not avoid the having a melancholy dismal prospect of things yet let us not be discouraged let us still trust in God let us do what belongs to us to do for the obtaining his Mercy and Favour and then refer the Event to him God hath certainly a kindness for his People and if we do our parts towards the preserving his Affection to us we may still hope he will continue to be our Saviour and Deliverer Is is as easy to God to save by few as by many the Walls of Jericho at his Command Josh 6.20
I would from hence take occasion to put you in mind of is this That Indifference and Vnconcernedness for Religion is not to have a place among any ones Virtues and good Qualities it is rather a very great fault howsoever it may sometimes pass for an instance of Wisdom and Prudence If indeed Men had no Passions or had so mortified their Passions that they were rarely earnest or zealous about any thing their unconcernedness for Religion and the things of God might be the less reproveable But when Zeal and Passion is more or less wrought into every Man's temper and the calmest Men may be observed on sundry occasions not to be without it it is an inexcusable fault to have no Passion no Zeal for God and his Cause How can a Man answer it to his own Conscience to be heartily angry when an affront in word or deed is done to himself and yet to be altogether insensible when God is affronted in his Prefence To make a mighty bustle when his own Right and Property is at stake though in never so small a matter and yet to shew no concernment for the Rights and the Honour of that God who made him and by whose savour alone it is that he can call any thing his own that he hath O! What a World of Good might we all do if we had a true Zeal of God How many Occasions and Opportunities are there put into our Hands every Day in what condition or circumstances soever we are which if we were acted by this principle would render us great Benefactors to Mankind by discouraging Vice and Impiety and promoting Virtue and Goodness in the World But perhaps I have set this business of Zeal for God too high Because none are capable of being thus Zealous but those that have attained to a great degree of Virtue and Piety which we cannot suppose of all nor the most But however it will be a shame to all of us if we do not come up to that pitch of Zeal which the unbelieving Jews are here commended for I bear them record saith St. Paul that they have a zeal of God What was this Zeal of theirs Why as I told you and as it plainly appears from the whole Chapter it was an earnest and passionate concernment for the Religion of their Country Sure all Men among us both good and bad may come up to this degree of Zeal for God and it is a reproach to us if we do not Especially confidering that their Religion at that time was not God's Religion but Ours is Indeed the Publick profession of Religion in the right way is as much every Man's Interest and ought to be as much every Man's Care as any the dearest thing he hath in this World Nay to all Men that believe they have Souls to fave it is more valuable than any other Worldly privilege It concerns us all therefore to be Zealous in that matter The Duty we owe to God to our Country and to our Selves doth require it In vain it is to be busie about other things and to neglect this A Man will have but small comfort when he comes to die to reflect that he has been Zealous of the Privileges and Property and Rights of his Country-men but it was indifferent to him how the Service of God and the Affairs of Religion were managed II. The Second thing we observe from this Passage is The Apostle's carriage to the Vnbelieving Israelites who though they were zealous for God yet were in a great mistake as to their Notions of the true Religion He doth not bitterly censure them He is not fierce nor furious against them He doth not excite any person to use force or violence to them But he rather pities them He makes their Zeal that they had of God an Inducement the more heartily to pray for them that God would direct them in the right way that leads to Salvation Though he is far from approving their blind Zeal in so obstinately opposing the Righteousness of God that is that Method which God had prescribed for the attaining of Righteousnes by the Faith of Jesus Christ and setting up a Righteousness of their own which consisted chiefly in observing the Ceremonials of Moses his Law and the Traditions of their Fathers as it follows in the next Verse after my Text Yet he thinks them the more pitiable and the more excusable in that this their Opposition proceeded from their Zeal of God though it was a mis-informed irregular Zeal This practice and carriage of the Apostle towards these Ignorant Zealots ought to be a Rule for us to walk by in the like Cases If Men be of a different way from us as to Religion if they hold other Opinions or though they be of another Communion from us and though too we are sure they are mistaken Nay and dangerously mistaken too yet if they have a Zeal of God if they be serious and sincere in their way if their Errours in Religion be the pure results of a mis-informed Conscience Let us as the Apostle here did take occasion from hence to pity them and to put up hearty Prayers to God for them and to endeavour all we can by gentle methods to reduce them to the right way But by no means to express contempt or hatred of them or to treat them with Violence and Outrage So far as their Zeal is for God let us so far shew Tenderness and Compassion to them and if their Zeal be in such instances as are really commendable let us in such instances not only bear with them but propose them for our Examples This I say was the Apostle's practice and I think it is so agreeable to the Spirit and Temper of our great Lord and Master Christ that it will become us in like cases to act accordingly But then after I have said this These two things are always to be remembred First That our Tenderness to mistaken Zealots must always be so managed as that the true Religion or the Publick Peace suffer no dammage thereby And therefore how kindly and compassionately soever we as private Christians are to treat those that differ from us and pursue a wrong way out of Conscience Yet this doth not hinder but that both wholesome Laws may be made for the restraining the exorbitances of mistaken Zeal and when those Laws are made that they may be put in execution The Consideration of Law-givers and Magistrates is different from that of private Christians Their business is to see Nequid detrimenti respublica capiat that the Government be secured that the common peace be kept that the Laws of God be observed that God's Religion as it is delivered by Jesus Christ be preserved sincere and undefiled and that the solemn Worship of God be purely and decently performed And therefore there is no doubt but that in all these matters the Government may make Fences and Securities against the Insults of intemperate Zealots and when these Fences
What can any man among us that professeth to believe that Jesus was raised from the dead say for himself if he leads a wicked Life What Apology can he make for the continuance in his sins Will he say that the Temptations to sin are too strong for him that he wants Grace and Strength to overcome his evil Habits and that through the corruption of his Nature he must of necessity remain a slave all his days to his Passions and Appetites whether he will or no Why in saying this he forgets that Christ is risen from the dead For if he did remember that he would remember also that there is a Vertue and Power above that of corrupt Nature which he as a Christian may easily come by if he seriously seek after it Namely The Grace and Strength of the Holy Spirit of God which I have been speaking of which Christ upon his Resurrection obtained the disposal of and which he never fails to send down upon every Soul that heartily prays for it and when ever he gives it he gives it in such measures that a man must certainly by the influence thereof overcome all his evil and corrupt Affections or if he do not it shall be entirely his own fault O what a mighty Comfort and Encouragement ought this to be to all those that heartily desire and endeavour to be good All such may with boldness approach to the Throne of Grace and confidently open their wants not doubting of such Relief as is most convenient for them Our Saviour is risen and sits at the Right hand of God He that loved us so dearly as to die for us is now entred into his Kingdom and is able to grant us whatsoever we ask Do we find our selves burdened with our sins Do we want strength to resist Temptations and to master our strong Corruptions Our Saviour is risen and now ever liveth to make intercession for us Let us fly to him for succour let us beg a portion of that Grace and Holy Spirit he hath purchased for us We may rest satisfied he will hear our Prayers and derive such vigour and influence upon our Souls that we shall in due time by the means thereof vanquish and triumph over every thing that opposeth us We cannot in any wise doubt of his Power for God by raising him from the dead hath made him both King and Priest hath exalted him to the highest Authority and Dignity both in Heaven and Earth We cannot doubt of his good will for he that underwent so many Difficulties and Agonies for us in the days of his Flesh cannot forget those whom he hath ransomed with so great a price nor suffer that Power which God hath given him to lie by him unimployed To conclude Let us not faint Let not our hearts be troubled Let us not despair of any thing Our Saviour is risen Our High-priest is entred within the vail hath taken possession of the highest Heaven where he continually makes intercession for us Such a High-priest as is kind and compassionate and tender-hearted that knoweth our frame and remembreth that we are but dust that pities our weaknesses and is sensible of the difficulties we have to conflict with as having himself had sufficient experience of them And withal such a High-priest as is able to save to the uttermost all those that come unto God through him Thus have I given some account of the Virtue of our Saviour's Resurrection in order to the making us sincerely Good What remains But that as we should heartily thank God for these Benefits of it so we should especially endeavour to be partakers of them not contenting our selves with a notional ineffectual Faith but labouring with St. Paul experimentally to know Christ Jesus and the Power of his Resurrection Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus that great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting Covenant make you perfect in every good work to do his will working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ to whom be glory for ever and ever Amen SERMON XIII Preach'd before the King and Queen AT WHITE-HALL PSALM xcvii 1. The Lord is King the Earth may be glad thereof yea the multitude of the isles may be glad thereof THat is to say it ought to be Matter of exceeding Joy to all the Inhabitants of the World that amidst all the uncertainties and Hazards and Variety of Fortunes which they here find themselves exposed to there is One Above that governs all GOD that made the World is the King of it All the Beings of the Universe Angels Men and Devils with all the other Animate or Inanimate things in Heaven and Earth as they are His Creatures so are they truly and properly His Subjects and act entirely in subordination to Him as Ministers and Instruments do under the Guidance of the Principal Agent GOD doth as truly Reign in the World as any King does in his Kingdom He doth as truly order the Affairs of it as any Master doth those of his own Family Nay a Man 's own Thoughts and Actions are not by a thousand times so much attended by himself are not so much his Care as the Affairs of the Universe are attended by and are the Care of God Almighty This is the notion of the Lord 's being King and Do you not think it ought to be matter of Rejoycing to all Reasonable Creatures O Lord what a gloomy dismal Scene of things do they present us with that give other Accounts of these matters To banish God's Providence and Government out of the World is to banish all Joy all Peace all Hope all Comfort for ever from all those that have the power of Thinking A Brute indeed is not much concern'd how Matters are order'd An Ox may grow fat in his Stall and a Colt frisk in his Pasture let the Hypothesis of the Government of the World be what it will But to one that is made with a Faculty of Reasoning that has Hopes and Fears and can reflect on what is past and hath a prospect of what is future what black and melancholy Apprehensions must it cause in such a one to suppose that no care is taken of Human Affairs but that we sail in the tempestuous Ocean of this World every minute in danger of Rocks and Quicksands without any Pilot to steer us Take what Hypothesis you will either That there is no God but that all things comes to pass by Chance or inevitable Necessity Or That there is a God but that God having once put things into this Frame never meant to trouble himself more about them but left them to shift for themselves Natural Events falling out from necessary Causes and Civil Assairs being left to Mankind who are to shuffle and divide the World among themselves as well as they can I say proceed which way you will if you exclude God Almighty's Government you make
For as the same Psalmist tells us Psal 33.5 He loveth righteousness and judgment the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. He is holy in all his ways Psal 145.17 9. and righteous in all his doings and his tender mercies are over all his works To say That God deals arbitrarily with any of his Creatures or that He dispenseth Good or Evil to them meerly because He will without any other Reason is in truth to disparage His Nature and gives us such a notion of Him as we have perhaps of some of the Great Monarchs of the World but whom we are far from esteeming the Best Men. No certainly if we Mankind find in our selves that the wiser and better we grow the less are we led by Humour and Will and the more do we shake off our Indifferency to Good and Evil and the more steadily do we cleave to the eternal Laws of Reason and Righteousness in all our Actions We may be sure that God who is Wisdom and Justice and Goodness it self can never in any of his Actions or Dealings with his Creatures depart from these Principles The true Scheme of God Almighty's Government is plainly this His Infinite Mind clearly understood all the Possibilities of things long before they were in actual being He knew what things were possible to be and how they would act if they were put into being and what the Events of all their Actings would be His Infinite Goodness moved him to put into actual being every thing that he saw was Good to Be and to give them all those powers of Action that they have and withal to look after them so as that both they and all their Motions and Actions should at last be to the Praise and Glory of the same Goodness that first enclined him to create them His Infinite Wisdom contrived the Methods in which all this should be brought to pass and so laid the Scheme and Platform of things that nothing could happen in the whole Creation from the beginning of the World to the end thereof tho' it was in it self never so bad never so mischievous but what both might and should be so ordered as to be subservient to that end And lastly The Scheme of Things being thus laid His Infinite Power first produced All things and still upholds All things and from time to time in their several seasons actually brings to pass every thing according to the Determinations of his eternal Wisdom And tho' it doth it in ways secret to us yet it doth it certainly and surely and withal most easily and gently with the least violence to the establish'd Laws of Nature and without any force at all upon the Free Wills of Intelligent Beings This I say is the Account that both Reason and Scripture give us of God's Making and Governing the World Infinite Knowledge is the Foundation of All. Infinite Goodness is the Author and Mover of All. Infinite Wisdom is the Contriver and Director of All. And Infinite Power executes All. Admit now these Principles and see what will follow from them It will follow from hence in the first place that every Event that happens in the World is beautiful in its season as Solomon expresses it That is to say How unaccountable soever it may appear to us yet there is a good Reason to be given both why it happens at all and likewise why it happens at that time and with those circumstances that it doth It helps to adorn the Great Drama and Contrivance of God's Providence and ministers to excellent Ends tho' we poor Creatures do little apprehend how it makes for them As indeed it is impossible we should unless we had the whole Comprehension of Things in our Minds and saw the entire Scheme of God's Government from the beginning to the end This must needs be so if we be Govern'd by Infinite Wisdom Secondly It follows from hence that both Good and Evil are measured to Mankind according to their respective Capacities If we be fit for Good Good will come If we deserve Punishment we must expect that likewise For All God's ways are equal tho' Ours be unequal And therefore it is the most unreasonable thing in the World to impute our Successes whether they be Good or Bad so wholly to the immediate Hands that managed our Affairs as not in the first place to take notice of the Hand of God in them There is a Divine Power that governs all these matters And tho' it be true that no Misfortune no ill Success ever happens but there is a Human Reason to be given for it and it may be found out upon what occasion or by what neglect or thro' what ill management that Misfortune happened Yet it is as true that if those that managed for us had the Wisdom and the Conduct and the Strength of the very Angels of God yet their Endeavours would not be effectual for the making us happy unless we our selves were in a Capacity of being so by being proper Objects of God's Mercy and Favour This must likewise be true if perfect Justice govern the World Thirdly It follows from hence that even the severer Dispensations of God's Providence toward us the things we complain of and are uneasie under our very Calamities and Misfortunes and Disappointments even these are the effects of God's Kindness tho' at the same time they may be likewise Instances of His Justice That is to say they are meant really for our Good and will prove so if we make that use of them we should do The very Nature of God is to do all Good at all Times to all his Creatures For He had no other End in making them nor has he any other End in looking after them But God cannot do good to All in the same way Correction and Chastisement and Punishment is in some cases more expedient for the bringing People to Rights and promoting their true Interests than the giving them all that their own Hearts can wish In such cases therefore God must deal with his Creatures as every wise Parent deals with his Children And tho' these Chastisements as the Apostle tells us are not joyous but grievous yet are they design'd for the bringing forth the peaceable fruits of righteousness in all them that are exercised thereby The truth is we do not know what is good for our selves We often wish for things that perhaps if our wishes were granted would undo us But our Happiness is that God knows all and so tempers all that all Events even those that we are apt to look upon as the greatest Judgments shall at last appear more visibly to have been the wisest methods that could possibly have been contrived for the doing the Greatest Good to us And if they do not succeed accordingly it will be our own fault This must likewise needs be true if perfect Goodness govern All For even Justice it self is but a different way of expressing Goodness And all that which
present Circumstances fill our Minds and Those are difficult enough Let our past Deliverances have been what they will yet we are sure we are now in a Hazardous Condition notwithstanding all the Prayers we have put up for better Successes That is too true And I pray God make us all sensible of it and especially make us sensible of the things that have caused it namely our Ingratitude for God's former Mercies our Lewdness and Debauchery the Spirit of Atheism and Profaneness and Irreligion that still reigns among us as much as ever and above all our unaccountable dividing our selves into Parties and pursuing particular Piques and Quarrels not only to the neglect but to the plain ruin of our common Interests These are the things that have hinder'd our Successes and provoked God's Displeasure against us and till these things be amended I am afraid we shall never be a happy Nation But yet notwithstanding our high Provocations yet so gently hath God corrected us and even in his Judgments so much hath He remembred Mercy that we have all reason to rejoyce at the Benignity and Kindness of His Dispensations towards us nay and to render Him our most hearty and solemn Thanks for the Mercies that He hath bestowed upon us even with respect to the Matters we complain of For God hath really so far heard our Prayers this Year that He hath given us the most important Successes tho' not the Successes we desir'd He hath kept the War at a distance from us and we have under the Happy Government of Her Majesty lived free from all Disturbance at home every man sitting under his own Vine and his own Fig-tree as the Prophet speaks enjoying his Religion and Rights in perfect Peace and with a bountiful Provision likewise from God's Hand of all the Things that were either needful or convenient And as for our Successes abroad tho' it is not proper for me to talk of those matters yet I believe thus much I may decently and truly say That tho' the King had not the Victory being over-power'd by Numbers yet he gained more Honour and sustain'd less Loss than those that boasted of the Victory And which is yet more God hath not only Preserved his Person amidst the infinite Hazards he was continually exposed to and Returned him safe to us but returned him likewise with such Reputation for his Courage and Vigilance and Conduct in the Difficulties he had to struggle with as hath gained him the highest Esteem among his Enemies and therefore ought much more to endear him to his own Subjects And now let all this be considered and then let any man say that really loves the Interest of his Country whether we have not reason to look upon these things as Great Blessings and as such to return our Solemn Thanks to God for them And then in the Second place as to our Future Successes let us all chearfully depend upon God's Providence and trust in his Mercy for them This is all the Rejoycing we can express as to Future things and this is that which the Apostle calls Rejoycing in Hope And surely great Reason have we thus to do when we consider who it is that orders our Affairs One whose Kindness we have no reason to doubt of having had so many Experiences of it even beyond our hopes and Expectations And one likewise upon whose Power we may securely depend since His Arm is not shortned nor ever can be how much soever our Arm of Flesh may God Almighty is our King and He both certainly knows and will certainly do that which is best for us provided we take care to do that which becomes us Away therefore with all Fear and Distrust and Despondency it is an Argument of Infidelity and Irreligion as well as Cowardise to despair of the Commonwealth We are in as good Hands as it is possible for us to be Nay we our selves cannot wish to be in any other Let but us do our Parts by qualifying our selves for God's Mercies and that is to be done by contributing our best Endeavours every man in his Place and Station to the Service of the Publick and then we may safely cast all our care upon him who careth for us and we may be sure we shall not be disappointed This Method as it is much more easie so we shall find it much more conducing towards the obtaining the Successes we desire than Complaining and Fretfulness and a tormenting Anxiety about our Affairs We may indeed by our Peevish and Querulous Humour disquiet our selves and put others into a Ferment nay and at last perhaps may contribute a great deal to the Glory of hindring and defeating the most wise Counsels that are proposed for our Safety but that is the greatest Point we gain God Almighty will not alter his Methods for any of our foolish Passions but there is a way to prevail upon God himself to do for us all that our own Hearts can desire provided that which we desire be good for us and that way is to own Him and his Government to love him and to serve him to be thankful for his Mercies to be easie and chearful under all his Dispensations to us and lastly to referr our selves entirely to his Wise Counsels and to trust in his Mercy for all that is to come Great indeed and wonderful are the Promises that are made to those that put their Trust in God Jer. 17.5 Cursed saith the Prophet be the Man that trusteth in Man and maketh Flesh his Arm But Blessed is he that trusteth in the Lord Psal 32.10 and whose hope the Lord is Many sorrows saith the Psalmist shall be to the wicked But whoso trusteth in the Lord mercy shall embrace him on every side Psal 34.3 And again O taste and see how gracious the Lord is blessed is the Man that trusteth in him If now we believe these things and if we be Christians we do and must believe them consider I beseech you the Vse we are to make of them What have we all to do Let our late Disappointments have put us into never so bad a Humour let our present Circumstances be entangled with never so many Difficulties yet what have we all to do but to Rejoyce in GOD and to Trust in his Mercy All is well and All will be well for ever to them that Love God and put their Trust in Him Sing we therefore unto the Lord a New Song Let the Congregation of Saints praise him Let Israel rejoice in him that made him And let the Children of Sion be joyful in their King God is the King of all the Earth let us sing praises with understanding The Lord hath pleasure in his People He will for ever help the meek hearted For his delight is in them that fear him and that put their trust in his mercy He is our help and Strength a very present help in Trouble therefore will we not fear though the Earth be moved