can be given of any man it is the solid foundation of all Virtue the Heart and Soul of all Piety and Goodness it is in Scripture called perfection and frequently joyned with it and throughout the Bible there is the greatest stress and weight laid upon it it is spoken of as the sum and comprehension of all Religion Only fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and truth says Joshua to the people of Israel Jos. 24. 14. God takes great pleasure in it so David assures us 1 Chron. 29. 17. I know my God that thou tryest the Heart and hast pleasure in uprightness And again Thou lovest truth in the inward parts To this disposition of mind the promises of divine favour and blessing are particularly made Psal. 15. 1 2. Lord who shall dwell in thy Tabernacle who shall dwell in thy holy Hill He that walketh uprightly and worketh righteousness and speaketh the truth from his Heart Psal. 32. 2. Blessed is the Man unto whom the Lord imputeth no sin and in whose Spirit there is no guil And 't is observable that this Character of our Saviour here given of Nathaniel is the only full and perfect commendation that we read was ever given by him of any particular person He commends some particular acts of Piety and Virtue in others as St. Peter's confession of him the Faith of the Centurion and of the Woman that was healed by touching the Hem of his Garment the Charity of the Woman that cast her two Mites into the Treasury and the Bounty of that other devout Woman who poured upon him a Box of precious Oyntment But here he gives the particular Character of a good Man when he says of Nathaniel that he was an Israelite indeed in whom was no Guil And the Apostle mentions this quality as the chief ingredient into the Character of the best Man that ever was our blessed Saviour who did no Sin neither was Guil found in his mouth Secondly The rarity of this Virtue is a farther commendation of it A sincerely pious and good Man without any guil or disguise is not a sight to be seen every day Our Saviour in the Text speaks of it as a thing very extraordinary and of special remark and observation and breaks out into some kind of wonder upon the occasion as if to see a Man of perfect integrity and simplicity were an occurrence very rare and unusual and such as calls for our more especial attention and regard Behold saith he an Israelite indeed in whom there is no Guil. Thirdly The want of Sincerity will quite spoil the virtue and acceptance of all our Piety and Obedience and certainly deprive us of the reward of it All that we doe in the service of God all our external obedience to his Laws if not animated by Sincerity is like a Sacrifice without a Heart which is an abomination to the Lord. Fourthly Hypocrisy and Insincerity is a very vain and foolish thing it is designed to cheat others but is in truth a deceiving of our selves No Man would flatter or dissemble did he believe he were seen and discover'd an open Knave is a great Fool who destroys at once both his design and his Reputation and this is the case of every Hypocrite all the disagreement which is between his Tongue and his Thoughts his Actions and his Heart is open to that Eye from which nothing can be hid for the ways of Man are before the Eyes of the Lord and he seeth all his goings there is no darkness nor shadow of Death where the workers of Iniquity may hide themselves Fifthly Truth and Reality have all the advantages of appearance and many more if the shew of any thing be good for any thing I am sure Sincerity is better for why does any man dissemble or seem to be that which he is not but because he thinks it good to have such a quality as he pretends to for to counterfeit and dissemble is to put on the appearance of some real excellency Now the best way in the world for a man to seem to be any thing is really to be what he would seem to be Besides that it is many times as troublesome to make good the pretence of a good quality as to have it and if a man have it not it is ten to one but he is discovered to want it and then all his pains and labour to seem to have it is lost There is something unnatural in Painting which a skilful Eye will easily discern from native Beauty and Complexion It is hard to personate and act a part long for where truth is not at the bottom nature will always be endeavourring to return and will peep out and betray herself one time or other therefore if any man think it convenient to seem Good let him be so indeed and then his Goodness will appear to every body's satisfaction for Truth is convincing and carries it 's own light and evidence along with it and will not only commend us to every Man's Conscience but which is much more to God who searcheth and seeth our Hearts so that upon all accounts Sincerity is true Wisdom Particularly as to the affairs of this World Integrity hath many advantages over all the fine and artificial ways of Dissimulation and Deceit it is much the plainer and easier much the safer and more secure way of dealing in the world it hath less of trouble and difficulty of entanglement and perplexity of danger and hazard in it it is the shortest and nearest way to our end carrying us thither in a straight line and will hold out and last longest The Arts of Deceit and Cunning do continually grow weaker and less effectual and serviceable to them that use them whereas Integrity gains strength by use and the more and longer any Man practiseth it the greater service it does him by confirming his Reputation and encouraging those with whom he hath to do to repose the greater Trust and Confidence in him which is an unspeakable advantage in the business and affairs of life But a Dissembler must always be upon his guard and watch himself carefully that he doth not contradict his own pretence for he acts an unnatural part and therefore must put a continual force and restraint upon himself Truth alwayes lies uppermost and if a Man do not carefully attend he will be apt to bolt it out Whereas he that acts sincerely hath the easiest task in the world because he follows Nature and so is put to no trouble and care about his words and actions he needs not invent any pretences before-hand nor make excuses afterwards for any thing he hath said or done But Insincerity is very troublesome to manage a Man hath so many things to attend to so many ends to bring together as make his life a very perplext and intricate thing Oportet mendacem esse memorem A lyar had need have a good memory lest he contradict at one time what he said at
was discovered 3. The Decretal Epistles of the Ancient Popes a large Volume of Forgeries compiled by Isidore Mercator to countenance the Usurpations of the Bishop of Rome and of which the Church of Rome made great use for several Ages and pertinaciously defended the Authority of them till the Learned Men of their own Church have at last been forced for very shame to disclaim them and to confess the Imposture of them A like instance whereto is not I hope to be shewn in any Christian Church This is that which St. Paul calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the slight of Men such as Gamesters use at Dice for to alledge false and forged Authors in this case is to play with false Dice when the Salvation of Mens Souls lie at stake 11. Our Religion hath this mighty advantage that it doth not decline Tryal and Examination which to any Man of ingenuity must needs appear a very good Sign of an honest Cause but if any Church be shy of having her Religion Examined and her Doctrines and Practices brought into the open light this gives just ground of Suspicion that she hath some distrust of them for Truth doth not seek corners nor shun the light Our Saviour hath told us who they are that love darkness rather than light viz. they whose deeds are Evil for every one saith he that doth Evil hateth the light neither cometh he to the light lest his deeds should be reproved and made manifest There needs no more to render a Religion suspected to a wise Man than to see those who profess it and make such proud boasts of the Truth and Goodness of it so fearful that it should be examin'd and lookt into and that their People should take the liberty to hear and read what can be said against it 12. We perswade Men to our Reliligion by Human and Christian ways such as our Saviour and his Apostles used by urging Men with the Authority of God and with Arguments fetcht from another World The promise of Eternal Life and Happiness and the threatning of Eternal death and Misery which are the proper Arguments of Religion and which alone are fitted to work upon the Minds and Consciences of Men the terror and torture of death may make Men Hypocrites and awe them to profess with their Mouths what they do not believe in their Hearts but this is no proper means of converting the Soul and convincing the Minds and Consciences of Men and these violent and cruel ways cannot be denyed to have been Practised in the Church of Rome and set on foot by the Authority of Councils and greatly countenanced and encouraged by Popes themselves Witness the many Croisades for the extirpation of Hereticks the standing Cruelties of their Inquisition their occasional Massacres and Persecutions of which we have fresh Instances in every Age. But these Methods of Conversion are a certain Sign that they either disturst the Truth and Goodness of their Cause or else that they think Truth and the Arguments for it are of no force when Dragoons are their Ratio ultima the last Reason which their Cause relies upon and the best and most effectual it can afford Again we hold no Doctrines in defiance of the Senses of all Mankind such as is that of Transubstantiation which is now declared in the Church of Rome to be a Necessary Article of Faith so that a Man cannot be of that Religion unless he will renounce his Senses and believe against the clear Verdict of them in a plain sensible matter but after this I do not understand how a Man can believe any thing because by this very thing he destroys and takes away the Foundation of all Certainty if any Man forbid me to believe what I see I forbid him to believe any thing upon better and surer Evidence St. Paul saith that Faith cometh by hearing but if I cannot rely upon the certainty of Sense then the means whereby Faith is conveyed is uncertain and we may say as St. Paul doth in another case Then is our Preaching vain and your Faith also is vain Lastly To mention no more particulars as to several things used and Practised in the Church of Rome we are on the much safer side if we should happen to be mistaken about them than they are if they should be mistaken for it is certainly Lawful to read the Scriptures and Lawful to permit to the People the use of the Scriptures in a known Tongue Otherwise we must condemn the Apostles and the Primitive Church for allowing this Liberty It is certainly Lawful to have the publick Prayers and Service of God celebrated in a Language which all that joyn in it can understand It is certainly Lawful to administer the Sacrament of the Lords Supper to the People in both kinds otherwise the Christian Church would not have done it for a Thousand Years It is certainly Lawful not to Worship Images not to pray to Angels or Saints or the Blessed Virgin otherwise the Primitive Church would not have forborn these Practices for Three Hundred Years as is acknowledged by those of the Church of Rome Suppose a Man should pray to God only and offer up all his Prayers to him only by Jesus Christ without making mention of any other Mediator or Intercessor with God for us relying herein upon what the Apostle says concerning our High Priest Jesus the Son of God Heb. 7 25. That he is able to save them to the utmost who come unto God by him i. e. by his Mediation and Intercession since he ever liveth to make Intercession for them might not a Man reasonably hope to obtain of God all the Blessings he stands in need of by Addressing himself only to him in the Name and by the Intercession of that one Mediator between God and Man the Man Christ Jesus Nay why may not a Man reasonably think that this is both a shorter and more effectual way to obtain our requests than by turning our selves to the Angels and Saints and importuning them to solicite God for us especially if we should order the matter so as to make ten times more frequent Addresses to these than we do to God and our Blessed Saviour and in comparison of the other to neglect these we cannot certainly think any more able to help us and do us good than the great God of Heaven and Earth the God as St. Paul styles him that heareth Prayers and therefore unto him should all flesh come We cannot certainly think any Intercessor so powerful and prevalent with God as his only and dearly beloved Son offering up our Prayers to God in Heaven by vertue of that most acceptable and invaluable Sacrifice which he offered to him on Earth we cannot surely think that there is so much Goodness any where as in God that in any of the Angels or Saints or even in the Blessed Mother of our Lord there is more Mercy and Compassion for Sinners and a tenderer sense of our Infirmities
and lives of men by Jesus Christ according to his Gospel A SERMON ON MATTH XVI 24. Then said Jesus unto his Disciples If any man will come after me let him deny himself and take up his Cross and follow me THEN said Jesus to his Disciples That is upon Occasion of his former Discourse with them wherein he had acquainted them with his approaching Passion that he must shortly go up to Jerusalem and there suffer many things of the Elders and Chief Priests and Scribes and at last be put to Death by them then said Jesus unto his Disciples If any man will come after me let him deny himself and take up his Cross and follow me If any man will come after me or follow me that is If any man will be my Disciple and undertake the Profession of my Religion If any man chuse and resolve to be a Christian he must be so upon these Terms he must deny himself and take up his Cross and follow me He must follow me in Self-denyal and Suffering In the handling of these Words I shall do these Four things I. I shall consider the way and method which our Saviour useth in making Proselytes and gaining Men over to his Religion He offers no manner of Force and Violence to compel them to the Profession of his Religion but fairly offers it to their Consideration and Choice and tells them plainly upon what terms they must be his Disciples and if they be contented and resolved to submit to these Terms well if not it is in vain to follow him any longer for they cannot be his Disciples II. I shall endeavour to explain this Duty of Self-denyal exprest in these Words Let him deny himself and take up his Cross and follow me III. I shall consider the strict and indispensible Obligation of it whenever we are call'd to it Without this we cannot be Christ's Disciples if any man will come after me or be my Disciple let him deny himself IV. I shall endeavour to vindicate the reasonableness of this Precept of self-denial and suffering for Christ which at first appearance may seem to be so very harsh and difficult and I shall go over these Particulars as briefly as I can I. We will consider the way and method which our Saviour here useth in making Proselytes and gaining men over to his Religion he offers no manner of force and violence to compel men to the profession of his Religion but fairly proposeth it to their Consideration and Choice telling them plainly upon what terms they must be his Disciples if they like them and are content and resolved to submit to them well he is willing to receive them and own them for his Disciples if not it is in vain to follow him any longer For they cannot be his Disciples As on the one hand he offers them no worldly Preferment and Advantage to entice them into his Religion and to tempt them outwardly to profess what they do not inwardly believe so on the other hand he does not hale and drag them by force and awe them by the terrours of torture and death to sign the Christian Faith tho' most undoubtedly true and to confess with their mouths and subscribe with their hands what they do not believe in their hearts He did not obtrude his Sacraments upon them and plunge them into the water to Baptize them whether they would or no and thrust the Sacrament of Bread into their mouths as if men might be Worthy Receivers of that Blessed Sacrament whether they receive it willingly or no. Our Blessed Saviour the Author and Founder of our Religion made use of none of these ways of violence so contrary to the nature of man and of all Religion and especially of Christianity and fitted only to make men Hypocrites but not Converts he only says If any man will be my Disciple he useth no Arguments but such as are Spiritual and proper to work upon the Minds and Consciences of Men For as his Kingdom was not of this world so neither are the Motives and Arguments to induce Men to be his subjects taken from this world but from the endless Rewards and Punishments of another The weapons which he made use of to subdue Men to the obedience of Faith are not carnal and yet they were mighty through God to conquer the obstinacy and infidelity of men This great and infallible Teacher who certainly came from God all that he does is to propose his Religion to Men with such Evidence and such Arguments as are proper to convince Men of the Truth and Goodness of it and to perswade Men to embrace it and he acquaints them likewise with all the worldly Disadvantages of it and the hazards and sufferings that would attend it and now if upon full consideration they will make his Religion their free Choice and become his Disciples he is willing to receive them if they will not he understands the nature of Religion better than to go about to force it upon Men whether they will or no. II. I shall endeavour to explain this Duty or Precept of self-denial exprest in these words Let him deny himself and take up his cross These are difficult Terms for a Man to deny himself and take up his own Cross that is willingly to submit to all those Sufferings which the malice of Men may inflict for the sake of Christ and his Religion For this Expression of taking up one's Cross is a plain Allusion to the Roman Custom which was this That he that was condemned to be Crucified was to take his Cross upon his Shoulders and to carry it to the place of Execution this the Jews made our Saviour to do as we read Joh. 19. 17. till that being ready to faint under it and lest he should die away before he was nailed to the Cross they compelled Simon of Cyrene to carry it for him as is declar'd by the other Evangelists and yet he tells them they that will be his Disciples must follow him bearing their own Cross that is being ready if God call them to it to submit to the like sufferings for Him and his Truth which he was shortly to undergo for the Truth and for their sakes But tho these terms seem very hard yet they are not unreasonable as I shall shew in the conclusion of this Discourse Some indeed have made them so by extending this self-denyal too far attending more to the latitude of the Words than to the meaning and scope of our Saviour's Discourse For there is no doubt but that there are a great many things which may properly enough be called self-denyal which yet our Saviour never intended to oblige Christians to It is no doubt great self-denyal for a Man without any Necessity to deny himself the necessary Supports of Life for a Man to starve and make away himself But no Man certainly ever imagined that our Saviour ever intended by this Precept to enjoyn this kind of self-denyal It is
the word presently they are offended nay some when they see persecution coming at a distance wheel off and bethink themselves of making their retreat in time and of agreeing with their adversary whilst he is yet in the way So that constancy to our Religion in case of danger and suffering for it is the best proof of our sincerity This is the fiery tryal as the Scripture calls it which will try what materials we are made of and whether we love God and his truth in sincerity And thus I have considered sincerity as it respects God and imports true Piety and Religion towards him and I proceed to the second consideration II. Of sincerity as it regards Men and so it signifies a simplicity of mind and manners in our conversation and carriage one towards another singleness of Heart discovering it self in a constant plainness and honest openness of behaviour free from all insidious devises and little tricks and fetches of Craft and Cunning from all false appearances and deceitful disguises of our selves in word or action or yet more plainly it is to speak as we think and do what we pretend and profess to perform and make good what we promise and in a word really to be what we would seem and appear to be Not that we are obliged to tell every Man all our mind but we are never to declare any thing contrary to it we may be silent and conceal as much of our selves as prudence or any other good reason requires but we must not put on a disguise and make a false appearance and empty show of what we are not either by word or action Contrary to this Vertue is I fear most of that compliment which is current in conversation and which for the most part is nothing but words to fill up the Gaps and supply the emptiness of Discourse and a pretence to that kindness and esteem for persons which either in truth we have not or not to that degree which our expressions seem to import which if done with design is that which we call Flattery a very odious sort of Insincerity and so much the worse because it abuseth Men into a vain and foolish opinion of themselves and an ill grounded confidence of the kindness and good-will of others towards them and so much the more dangerous because it hath a party within us which is ready to let it in it plays upon our self-love which greedily catcheth at any thing that tends to magnifie and advance us for God knows we are all too apt to think and make the best of our bad selves so that very few Tempers have Wisdom and firmness enough to be proof against Flattery it requires great Consideration and a resolute Modesty and Humility to resist the Insinuations of this Serpent yea a little rudeness and moroseness of Nature a prudent distrust and infidelity in Mankind to make a Man in good earnest to reject and despise it Now besides that all Hypocrisie and Insincerity is mean in it self having falsehood at the bottom it is also often made use of to the prejudice of others in their Rights and Interests for not only Dissimulation is contrary to Sincerity because it consists in a vain shew of what we are not in a false muster of our Vertues and good Qualities in a deceitful representation and undue Character of our Lives but there are likewise other Qualities and Actions more inconsistent with Integrity which are of a more injurious and mischievous consequence to our nature as falshood and fraud and perfidiousness and infinite little Crafts and arts of deceit which Men practise upon one another in their ordinary conversation and intercourse the former is great vanity but this is gross iniquity And yet these Qualities dexterously managed so as not to lie too plain and open to discovery are look'd upon by many as signs of great depth and shrewdness admirable instruments of business and necessary means for the compassing our own ends and designs and though in those that have suffered by them and felt the mischief of them they are always accounted dishonest yet among the generality of lookers on they pass for great policy as if the very skill of governing and managing humane affairs did consist in these little tricks and devices But he that looks more narrowly into them and will but have the patience to observe the end of them will find them to be great follies and that it is only for want of true wisdom and understanding that Men turn aside to tricks and make dissimulation and lies their refuge It is Solomon's Observation That he that walketh uprightly walketh surely but the folly of Fools is deceit The folly of Fools that is the most egregious piece of folly that any Man can be guilty of is to play the Knave the vulgar Translation renders this clause a little otherwise but yet towards the same sense Sed stultus divertit ad dolos but the Fool turns aside to tricks to make use of these is a sign the Man wants understanding to see the plain and direct way to his end I will not deny but these little Arts may serve a present turn and perhaps successfully enough but true Wisdom goes deep and reacheth a great way further looking to the end of things and regarding the future as well as the present and by judging upon the whole matter and sum of affairs doth clearly discern that Craft and Cunning are only useful for the present occasion whereas Integrity is of a lasting use and will be serviceable to us upon all occasions and in the whole course of our Lives and that Dissimulation and Deceit though they may do some present execution in business yet they recoil upon a Man terribly afterwards so as to make him stagger and by degrees to weaken and at last to destroy his Reputation which is a much more useful and substantial and lasting instrument of prosperity and success in humane affairs than any tricks and devices whatsoever Thus have I considered this great vertue of Sincerity both as it regards God and the mutual conversation and intercourse of Men one with another And now having explained the nature of Sincerity to God and Man by declaring the properties of it and in what instances we ought chiefly to practise it and what things are contrary to it that which now remains is to perswade Men to endeavour after this excellent quality 〈◊〉 to practise it in all the words and 〈◊〉 of their Lives Let us then in the first place be sincere in our Religion and serve God in truth and uprightness of heart out of Conscience of our Duty and Obligations to him and not with sinister respects to our private interest or passion to the publick approbation or censure of Men let us never make use of Religion to serve any base and unworthy ends cloaking our designs of Covetousness or Ambition or Revenge with pretences of Conscience and Zeal for God and let us endeavour
after the reality of Religion always remembring that a sincere Piety doth not consist in shew but substance not in appearance but in effect that the Spirit of true Religion is still and calm charitable and peaceable making as little shew and stir as is possible that a truly and sincerely good Man does not affect vain Ostentation and an unseasonable discovery of his good Qualities but endeavours rather really to be than to seem Religious and of the two rather seeks to conceal his Piety than to set it out with pomp gives his Alms privately prays to God in secret and makes no appearance of Religion but in such fruits and effects as cannot be hid in the quiet and silent vertues of Humility and Meekness and Patience of Peace and Charity in governing his Passions and taking heed not to offend with his Tongue by slander and calumny by envious detraction or rash censure or by any word or action that may be to the hurt and prejudice of his Neighbour But on the contrary it is a very ill sign if a Man affect to make a great noise and bustle about Religion if he blow a Trumpet before his good Works and by extraordinary shews of Devotion summon the Eyes of Men to behold him and do as it were call aloud to them to take notice of his Piety and to come to see his zeal for the Lord of Hosts It is not impossible but such a Man with all his vanity and ostentation may have some real goodness in him but he is as the Hypocrites are and does as like one as is possible and by the mighty shew that he makes to wise and considerate Men greatly brings in question the sincerity of his Religion And with the sincerity of our Piety towards God let us joyn the simplicity and integrity of Manners in our Conversation with Men let us strictly charge our selves to use truth and plainness in all our words and doings let our Tongue be ever the true Interpreter of our Mind and our Expressions the lively Image of our Thoughts and Affections and our outward actions exactly agreeable to our inward purposes and intentions Amongst too many other Instances of the great corruption and degeneracy of the Age wherein we live the great and general want of sincerity in Conversation is none of the least the World is grown so full of Dissimulation and Complement that Mens words are hardly any signification of their thoughts and if any Man measure his words by his heart and speak as he thinks and do not express more kindness to every man than men usually have for any man he can hardly escape the censure of rudeness and want of breeding The old English plainness and sincerity that generous integrity of Nature and honesty of Disposition which always argues true greatness of mind and is usually accompanied with undaunted courage and resolution is in a great measure lost amongst us there hath been a long endeavour to transform us into foreign Manners and Fashions and to bring us to a servile imitation of none of the best of our Neighbours in some of the worst of their Qualities The Dialect of Conversation is now adays so swell'd with Vanity and Complement and so surfeited as I may say of expressions of kindness and respect that if a man that lived an Age or two ago should return into the World again he would really want a Dictionary to help him to understand his own Language and to know the true intrinsick value of the phrase in fashion and would hardly at first believe at what a low rate the highest strains and expressions of kindness imaginable do commonly pass in currant payment and when he should come to understand it it would be a great while before he could bring himself with a good Countenance and a good Conscience to converse with Men upon equal terms and in their own way And in truth it is hard to say whether it should more provoke our contempt or our pity to hear what solemn expressions of respect and kindness will pass between men almost upon no occasion how great honour and esteem they will declare for one whom perhaps they never heard of or saw before and how entirely they are all on the sudden devoted to his service and interest for no reason how infinitely and eternally obliged to him for no benefit and how extremely they will be concerned for him yea and afflicted too for no cause I know it is said in justification of this hollow kind of Conversation that there is no harm no real deceit in Complement but the matter is well enough so long as we understand one another Et verba valent ut Nummi Words are like Money and when the currant value of them is generally understood no Man is cheated by them this is something if such words were any thing but being brought into the Account they are meer Cyphers However it is still a just matter of complaint that sincerity and plainness are out of fashion and that our Language is running into a Lye that Men have almost quite perverted the use of Speech and made words to signifie nothing that the greatest part of the Conversation of Mankind and of their intercourse with one another is little else but driving a Trade of Dissimulation insomuch that it would make a Man heartily sick and weary of the World to see the little sincerity that is in use and practice among Men and tempt him to break out into that melancholy Complaint and Wish of the Prophet Jer. 9. O that I had in the Wilderness a lodging-place of way-faring men that I might leave my people and go from them for they are all Adulterers and an assembly of treacherous Men and they bend their tongue like their bow for lies but have no courage for the truth upon earth Take ye heed every one of his Neighbour and trust ye not in any Brother for every Brother will utterly supplant and every Neighbour will walk with slanders Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit one speaketh peaceably to his Neighbour but in his heart he lieth in wait Shall not I visit for these things saith the Lord and shall not my Soul be avenged of such a Nation as this Such were the Manners of the people of Israel at that time which were both the forerunner and the cause of those terrible Calamities which befell them afterwards and this Character agrees but too well to the present Age which is so wretchedly void of Truth and Sincerity for which reason there is the greater need to recommend this Virtue to us which seems to be fled from us that truth and righteousness may return and glory may dwell in our land and God may shew his mercy upon us and grant us his Salvation and Righteousness and Peace may kiss each other To this end give me leave to offer these following Considerations First That Sincerity is the highest commendation and the very best Character that
you and would pervert the Gospel of Christ but tho we or an Angel from Heaven preach any other Gospel to you than that which we have preached let him be accursed And those who were seduced by these Teachers he chargeth them with having in some sort quitted the Gospel of Christ and embraced another Gospel V. 6. I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the Grace of Christ unto another Gospel So that they who thus pervert and corrupt the Christian Doctrine or Worship are plainly guilty of a partial Apostasie from Christianity and they who quit the purity of the Christian Doctrine and Worship and go over to the Communion of those who have thus perverted Christianity are in a most dangerous state and in the Judgment of St. Paul are in some sort removed unto another Gospel I shall now proceed in the III. Place to consider the Heinousness of this Sin And it will appear to be very Heinous if we consider what an affront it is to God and how great a contempt of him when God hath revealed his will to Mankind and sent no less Person than his own Son out of his own Bosom to do it and hath given such Testimonies to him from Heaven by signs and wonders and divers miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost when he hath transmitted down to us so Faithful a Record of this Revelation and of the Miracles wrought to confirm it in the Books of the Holy Scriptures and when we our selves have so often declared our firm belief of this Revelation yet after all this to fall from it and deny it or any part of it or to embrace Doctrines and Practices plainly contrary to it This certainly cannot be done without the greatest affront and contempt of the Testimonies of God himself for it is in effect and by interpretation to declare that either we do not believe what God says or that we do not fear what he can do So St. John tells us 1 Ep. 5. 10. He that believeth not God hath made him a Lyar because he believeth not the record which God hath given of his Son And all along in this Epistle to the Hebrews the Apostle sets himself to aggravate this Sin calling it an Evil Heart of unbelief to depart from the living God Ch. 3 12. And he frequently calls it so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and by way of eminency as being of all Sins the greatest and most heinous Ch. 10. 26. If we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the Truth That the Apostle here speaks of the Sin of Apostasie is plain from the whole scope of his discourse for having exhorted them before v. 23. to hold fast the Profession of their Faith without wavering not forsaking the assembling of themselves together he immediately adds for if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the Truth that is if we fall off from Christianity after we have embraced it And Ch. 12 1. let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily besets us that is the great Sin of Apostasie from Religion to which they were then so strongly tempted by that fierce Persecution which attended it and therefore he adds let us run with patience the race which is set before us that is let us arm our selves with patience against the Sufferings we are like to meet with in our Christian course To oppose the Truth and resist the clear Evidence of it is a great Sin and Men are justly condemned for it John 3. 19. This is the condemnation that light is come into the World and men loved darkness rather than light But to desert the Truth after we have been convinced of it to fall off from the Profession of it after we have embraced it is a much greater Sin Opposition to the Truth may proceed in a great measure from ignorance and prejudice which is a great extenuation and therefore St. Paul tells us that after all his violent Persecution of Christianity he found Mercy because he did it ignorantly and in unbelief To revolt from the Truth after we have made profession of it after we have known the way of righteousness to turn from the holy commandment this is the great aggravation The Apostle makes wilfulness an usual ingredient into the Sin of Apostasie if we sin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the Truth And as this Sin is one of the greatest affronts to God so it is the highest and most effectual disparagement of Religion for it is not so much considered what the Enemies of Religion speak against it because they speak evil of the things which they know not and of which they have had no Tryal and Experience but he that falls off from Religion after he hath made profession of it declares to the World that he hath tryed it and dislikes it and pretends to leave it because he hath not found that Truth and Goodness in it which he expected and upon long experience of it sees reason to prefer another Religion before it So that nothing can be more despiteful to Religion than this and more likely to bring it into contempt and therefore the Apostle v. 29. of this Chapter calls it a trampling under foot the Son of God and making the Blood of the Covenant a profane thing and offering despite to the Spirit of Grace for we cannot put a greater Scorn upon the Son of God who revealed this Doctrine to the World nor upon his Blood which was shed to confirm and seal the Truth of it and upon the Holy Ghost who came down in miraculous Gifts to give Testimony to it than notwithstanding all this to renounce this Doctrine and to forsake this Religion But we shall yet farther see the heinousness of this Sin in the terrible Punishment it exposeth Men to which was the IV. And Last thing I proposed to consider And this is represented to us in a most terrible manner not only in this Epistle but in other Places of Scripture This Sin is placed in the highest rank of pardonable Sins and next to the Sin against the Holy Ghost which our Saviour declares to be absolutely unpardonable And indeed the Scripture speaks very doubtfully of the pardonableness of this Sin as being near akin to that against the Holy Ghost being said to be an Offering despite to the Spirit of Grace In the 6th Chapter of this Epistle V. 4 5 6. the Apostle speaks in a very severe manner concerning the state of those who had apostatized from Christianity after the solemn Profession of it in Baptism it is impossible for those who were once enlightned that is baptized and have tasted of the Heavenly Gift that is Regeneration and were made Partakers of the Holy Ghost and have tasted the good Word of God and the Powers of the World to come that is have been instructed in the Christan Religion and endowed with the miraculous Powers of the Gospel-Age
names sake by all which it appears that this Self-denyal which our Saviour here requires of his Disciples is to be extended no farther than to a readiness and willingness when ever God shall call us to it to quit all our Temporal Interests and Enjoyments and even Life it self the dearest of all other and to submit to any Temporal inconvenience and suffering for his sake And thus much for the Explication of the Precept here in the Text. I proceed in the Third Place to consider the strict and indispensible Obligation of this Precept of Self-denyal and suffering for Christ and his Truth rather than to forsake and renounce them If any man will come after me or be my Disciple let him deny himself and take up his Cross and follow me that is upon these Terms he must be my Disciple in this manner he must follow me and in the Text I mention'd before he declares again that he that is not ready to quit all his Relations and even Life it self for his sake is not worthy of him and cannot be his Disciple and whosoever doth not bear his Cross and come after me cannot be my Disciple so that we cannot be the Disciples of Christ nor be worthy to be called by his Name if we be not ready thus to deny our selves for his sake And not only so but if for fear of the Cross or of any temporal sufferings we should renounce and deny him he threatens to deny us before his Father which is in Heaven i. e. to deprive us of Eternal Life and to Sentence us to Everlasting Misery Matth. 10. 32. Whosoever shall confess me before men him will I confess before my father which is in Heaven But whosoever shall deny me before men him will I also deny before my father which is in Heaven And Mark 8. 38. Whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation of him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed when he cometh in the Glory of his Father with his holy Angels that is when he cometh to Judge the World they shall not be able to stand in that Judgment for that by his being ashamed of them is meant that they shall be condemned by him is plain from what goes before V. 26 27. What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole World and lose his own Soul or what shall a man give in exchange for his Soul and then it follows Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words But because some have had the Confidence to tell the World that our Saviour doth not require thus much of Christians but all that he obligeth us to is to believe in him in our Hearts but not to make any outward Profession of his Religion when the Magistrate forbids it and we are in danger of suffering for it I shall therefore briefly examine what is pretended for so strange an Assertion and so directly contrary to the whole Tenor of the Gospel and to the express Words of our Saviour The Author of the Book called the Leviathan tells us That we are not only not bound to confess Christ but we are obliged to deny him in case the Magistrate require us so to do His Words are these What if the Soveraign forbid us to believe in Christ He answers Such forbidding is of no effect because Belief and Vnbelief never follows Mens Commands But what says he if we be commanded by our lawful Prince to say with our Tongues we believe not must we obey such Commands To this he answers That Profession with the Tongue is but an External thing and no more than any other Gesture whereby we signifie our Obedience and wherein a Christian holding firmly in his Heart the Faith of Christ hath the same Liberty which the Prophet Elisha allowed to Naaman But what then says he shall I answer to our Saviour saying Whosoever denieth me before Men him will I deny before my Father which is in Heaven His Answer is This we may say that whatsoever a Subject is compell'd to in obedience to his Soveraign and does it not in order to his own Mind but the Law of his Country the Action is not his but his Soveraign's nor is it he that in this Case denies Christ before Men but his Governour and the Laws of his Country But can any Man that in good earnest pays any degree of Reverence to our Blessed Saviour and his Religion think to baffle such plain Words by so frivolous an Answer There is no Man doubts but if the Magistrate should command Men to deny Christ he would be guilty of a great Sin in so doing but if we must obey God rather than Men and every Man must give an account of himself to God how will this excuse him that denies Christ or breaks any other Commandment of God upon the Command of the Magistrate And to put the matter out of all doubt that our Saviour forbids all that will be his Disciples upon pain of Damnation to deny him tho the Magistrate should command them to do so it is very observable that in that very place where he speaks of confessing or denying him before Men he puts this very Case of their being brought before Kings and Governours for confessing him Matth. 10. 17. Beware says he of Men for they will deliver you up to the Council and they will scourge you in their Synagogues and ye shall be brought before Governours and Kings for my sake for a testimony against them and the Gentiles But what Testimony would this be against them if Christians were bound to deny Christ at their Command But our Saviour goes on and tells them how they ought to demean themselves when they were brought before Kings and Governours v. 19. But when they shall deliver you up take ye no thought how or what ye shall speak for it shall be given you in that very hour what ye shall speak But what need of any such extraordinary Assistance in the case if they had nothing to do but to deny him when they were required by the Magistrate to do it And then proceeding in the same Discourse he bids them v. 28. Not to fear them that can kill the Body and after that have no more that they can do that is not to deny him for fear of any Temporal Punishment or Suffering the Magistrate could inflict upon them but to fear and obey him who can destroy Body and Soul in Hell And upon this Discourse our Saviour concludes v. 32 33. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men him will I confess also before my Father which is in Heaven but whosoever shall deny me before men him will I also deny before my Father which is in Heaven And now can any thing be plainer than that our Saviour requires his Disciples to make Confession of him before Kings and Governours and not to deny him for fear of any thing which they can do