stream that comes full upon us Can the Leopard change his spots or the Ethiopian wash white his skin If God designed we should lead an innocent and spotless life why did He not reform and mend the Faculties of the Soul or render it incapable to prevaricate and sin against Him Nay but O man who art thou that repliest against God Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it why hast thou made me thus God made man upright and himself sought out many inventions Nor even in the present state wherein we are does God require any thing of us that is impossible His Law is holy just and good His yoke is easie and his burthen light His commandements are not grievous but that whoever is born of God overcomes the world He is not wanting to render our Duty easie to us He encourages our hopes with the promises of an infinite reward and by the threatenings of a future and intolerable vengeance awakens our fears to a due care and caution He assists our infirmities with a strength proportionable to our weakness and the necessities of our state so that though the temptations that assault us be strong and mighty yet greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world The Grace and Spirit of God are an unconquerable Principle for which no command can be too hard or heavy and these God is always ready to afford and never withdraws from any 'till by a long train and course of impiety and many wilful and obstinate refusals they have forfeited the aids of Divine Grace and rendered themselves unworthy of it Besides that there are few difficulties in Religion but what our own folly have made to be so and those that are as 't is in all Arts and Institutions are worst at first which being once broken and conquered the main difficulties of a Religious Life are overcome and every step of the way after becomes more pleasant and delightful III. Another artifice by which Satan is wont to obstruct real piety and a good life is by tempting Men to place all Religion in a few empty and external pretensions to piety and holiness devoid of the inward life and spirit of Religion Some kind of Religion most Men are for in spite of all the projects and designs of Hell which because Satan cannot hinder he 'll take care it shall be such as shall do them little good and Men are forward enough to comply with that which bids fairest to carry them to Heaven upon the cheapest terms And hence it is that instead of a sincere and substantial piety an inward subjection of the Soul to God and a conformity of the Life to the eternal Laws of Truth and Goodness they generally take up in a loose profession in a few slighty observances and superficial formalities of Devotion This is too sadly visible among the several pretending parties to Religion in the World Some there are whose best title to Religion is the accommodating themselves to some particular mode of administration that they have joyned themselves to this Mans Church or that Mans Congregation and are warm and active to espouse and promote the Interests of a little Tribe or Faction Others spend their zeal for the Orthodoxy of their private and particular Notions and Opinions regardless at the same time of Love and Charity the good of the Church and the peace of the World without which all our clamour is but a blind and intemperate zeal a bitter and unwarrantable passion consecrated by a more venerable Name There are that please themselves with the number and frequency of their Devotions pray much and hear often and so far 't is well but then never regard with what honesty of mind and sprightly vivacity of affection their Incense is offered up nay possibly reckon into the bargain that the customary discharge of these shall redeem their credit with Heaven for all the miscarriages of their lives The Scribes and Pharises above all the Sects in the Jewish Church entit'led themselves to the highest strictnesses and severities of Religion fasted at every turn gave alms twice a week prayed in every corner of the streets and some of them did almost nothing else but pray and yet these grave and demure pretenders made use of these only as a cloak to cover their malice and ill nature their rapine and violence and the greatest villany and oppression they prayed to God and at the same time robbed the Orphan and devoured Widows houses tythed mint annise and cummin and neglected judgment mercy and fidedelity the greater and weightier matters of the Law How great a part of the Christian World is trained up in meer outward forms and ritual services in easie devotions and cheap performances is too notorious to insist upon When the main of a Christians Duty shall be reckoned to consist in a few bodily exercises and corporal severities in numbering over a set of prayers which the Votary it may be does neither mind nor is capable to understand When one act of contrition an easie or a trifling pennance a short confession and an absolution shall be thought enough even in the article of death to put a Man into a state of salvation and to secure his happiness in another world Repentance alas is the great business of a Man's Life and is then sincere and effectual to the purposes of Religion when 't is attended with a real and a hearty reformation and without this ten thousand Indulgences cannot profit him nor all the Absolutions in the world relieve the Conscience of a guilty Sinner Mich. 6.7 8. Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of Rams or ten thousands of Rivers of Oyl He hath shewed thee O man what is good and what the Lord doth require of thee to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with God The summ is this Religion is an inward and a vital Principle a constant spring of uniform and entire Obedience that lyes not in forms and shews in subtilties and disputes in Schemes of speech or Systems of opinions in glorious pretences or being of a Sect or Party but in a divine life in a great love to God and a veneration of his Perfections a dread of his Power and a reverence for his Laws in the mortification of our passions and the subjection of our irregular desires in being meek and humble compassionate and charitable just and righteous It is not an art of speaking finely Mat. 7.21 but of living well Not every one that sayeth Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but he that doth the Will of my Father that is in Heaven 'T is the participation of a Divine Nature and a conformity to the Image of God the keeping a conscience void of offence both towards God and men And whoever takes up short of this sits down in the porch and contents himself with a name to live and may have Religion enough to make him an
sober and vigilant because our adversary goes about seeking whom he may devour 'T is no contemptible Enemy that we have to deal with nor the less to be feared because invisible nay 't is this renders him more capable of succeeding in his attempts upon us for by this means he maintains a nearer and more secret intercourse with the Spirits of Men makes more undiscerned and insensible approaches and storms the walls before we are aware He is admirably acute and subtil to plant his engins to make his batteries in the weakest part he narrowly observes our tempers and constitutions our fears and scruples our dispositions and inclinations and accordingly adapts his temptations to us with most success Sallust de Bell. Catal. c. 14. p. 32. Ut cujusque studium ex aetate flagrabat as the Historian remarques concerning the Arts of Catalin in every period of life he furnishes Men with what is most agreeable to their age and temper But alas though Men had no foreign Enemy from without to make war upon them though there were no subtil Tempter to seduce them there is an Enemy within their own breasts that lays trains to ruin them their own corrupt and vicious inclinations set open the door and hurry them forth to meet the temptation that 's coming towards them Jam. 1.14 Every man is tempted when he is drawn aside of his own lust and enticed Herein lyes Satans great advantage he knows our strength is small our propensions to sin impetuous and violent and how apt we are to be betrayed by our appetites and passions All external Objects though never so ravishing and delightful could make no impression were there not a party within that 's false to the true interests of the Soul Satan as potent and crafty as he is cannot ravish our wills nor force our inclinations the worst he can do is to prompt and perswade to watch advantages and administer suitable sollicitations but cannot compel us to entertain them No Man is undone but himself is the cause on 't he that would not cannot be overcome provided he keep his resolutions fix'd and stedfast This is the true way of conquest and victory over Satan resist the Devil Jam. 4.7 and he will flye from you if we do but make good our ground his temptations will vanish and disappear Let us then treasure up in our Minds a great sense of God and of our selves let us suffer Conscience freely to discharge its duty and have our senses exercised to discern betwixt good and evil Let us reverence the greatness and nobility of our Natures which are of a more Divine frame and temper than to be prostituted and defiled There 's no real Evil in this World but Sin other things may be evil to us but that 's evil in it self There 's an eternal and unalterable deformity in its nature which no plausible pretences can wipe off As Virtue and Goodness are in themselves lovely and excellent so Wickedness is essentially vile and base Let all opportunities and occasions of Vice be avoided with a quick and a jealous care a temptation is easilier prevented than removed when once it has thrust it self upon the Sinner 'T is good to suspect lawful things Men cannot safely use their utmost liberty he that will go just as far as he may 't is no wonder if he be tempted to go further than he ought Whatever is lawful may not be expedient especially when 't is likely to be abused unto excess Security is treacherous and unfaithful where no immediate danger is apprehended care is usually laid aside and liberty degenerates into licentiousness Blessed is he that feareth always that chuses rather to sit down short and to deny himself in some warrantable satisfactions than presume to venture to the end of his line 'T is hard to distinguish the utmost bounds and the nice limits between good and evil and therefore safest to keep within what 's evidently fit and lawful When thou sittest to eat with a Ruler says the Wise Man put a knife to thy throat Prov. 23.1 2. if thou be a man given to appetite that is be exceeding wary and govern thine appetite by the severest measures of sobriety because excess at such a time is much readier to steal upon us than when a temptation to intemperance is with open face presented to us We should frequently review our lives and call our actions to a severe and impartial examination that we may know what is their spring and fountain what their tendency and inclination and what will be the consequence and the issue of them and that if Satan have conveyed in a suggestion in disguise we may pull off the vizor and resent it in its own form and shape And this account should be taken as near as may be upon the doing of every action or as soon as ever the thoughts are freed from the present incumbrances that are upon them Vid. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 n. 40. c. The Pythagoreans were taught thrice every night to call themselves to an account for the actions of the preceding day Senec. de Ira l. 3. c. 36. p. 87. and Sextius the Philosopher never used to go to bed 'till he had first reasoned and expostulated with himself What evil habit have I cured to day what vice have I resisted wherein am I better than I was before And certainly would Christians accustom themselves more to this excellent course they would quickly find a double advantage flow from it that repentance and the reforming of our lives would be infinitely more easie and tolerable and that our minds would be trained up to a greater wariness and circumspection and to keep a more strict and severe hand over our own lives and actions Nothing being more instrumental to restrain impiety and to promote virtue and a good life than to bring the actions of every day 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Com. in Aur. Carm. p. 209. as Hierocles expresses it before the Tribunal of Conscience and to pass a just and an unbyassed sentence upon our selves This method once established would weaken the power of vicious habits and withdraw the fewel that enflames the fire 't would ruin the party which the Enemy has within us Men are commonly betrayed by those of their own house the Enemy maintains correspondence with their inordinate appetites and inclinations and by them surprises and pulls them down Every irregular passion subdued and mortified is a breach made up in the soul and leaves less hold for Satan to fasten his Engins and Designs upon it But above all we must sollicit Heaven that God would enable us to defeat and disappoint the plots and subtilties of the Tempter Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation Our Lord has made it part of our daily address to Heaven that God would not lead that is not suffer us to be lead into temptation but deliver us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from the power and prevalency of the Devil He is too hard for us in our own strength but God has said His Grace shall be sufficient for us If we be sincere and hearty in our striving we have an invisible aid at hand the assistance of God's Grace and Spirit a supply infinitely beyond all the powers of Satan Besides God is pleased to animate our Endeavours and encourage our industry and perseverance with the promise of a mighty reward To him that overcomes Rev. 3.21 I will grant to sit with me in my Throne even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in his Throne The Wise and Good God does not oblige us to eternal labours to grapple with endless difficulties and oppositions there is a term and period fix'd to our present warfare a time coming when these tryals shall cease and our present troubles be swallowed up in infinite joys and pleasures What then remains but that we be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might that we take unto our selves the whole armour of God and be thereby enabled to stand against the wiles of the Devil praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance that after all the conflicts and difficulties of the present life we may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand Now the God of all Grace who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus make you perfect stablish strengthen settle you To Him be Glory and Dominion for ever and ever AMEN FINIS
Hypocrite but not truly to entitle him to be a Christian The Kingdom of God is not meats and drinks Rom. 14.17 it is not to be exact and curious as the Jews were about abundance of little observances and ritual devotions but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost IV. Fourthly Satan too often prevails upon Men by tempting them to such Vices as have a shadow and resemblance of Virtue The politick and crafty Spirit knows very well that Sin is of so black a nature that it will never take especially with the more sober and considering sort of Men in its own naked shape and therefore dresses it up in a better garb and calls it by another name Few Men but would recoil and start at a down-right temptation to murder but when 't is whetted by revenge and set off as the maintaining our reputation and our honour it goes down readily without control Caiphas 't is like had no personal pique and quarrel at our blessed Saviour when he advised the Sanhedrim to cut him off but he did it under the specious notion of a common good and the publick security of the Nation How came Satan to actuate St. Paul with a spirit of so much bitterness and animosity such a furious and passionate spleen against the primitive Believers but only that he perswaded him that the Glory of God and the Honour of his Religion did so deeply lye at stake What makes Avarice spread so far and that with many otherwise high pretenders to Religion but because it assumes to it self the plausible pretext of a laudable diligence and frugality and a commendable care to make provision for our selves and families warranted and enjoyned by the Laws of Nature and Religion And under the shadow of this the Tempter leads Men into all the extravagant irregularities into which a greedy and rapacious Mind is capable to betray them Pride never spreads its plumes with more success than when 't is recommended as a piece of neatness and gentility and a just valuing of our selves according to our desert and quality Many a Man would never be betrayed into the excesses of riot and intemperance did he not look upon it as an argument of a free generous mind and a piece of innocent good fellowship and society And thus Satan very successfully leads Men into works of darkness by appearing to them as an Angel of light and puts off his temptations under the notion either of what is virtuous or at least what is useful and lawful to them V. I shall mention but one art and stratagem more whereby this great Enemy recommends his temptations with advantage to us and that is by improving the influence of powerful and prevalent Examples Mankind is of a sociable and pliant temper easily drawn aside with the most especially with a multitude to do evil because the by as of corrupt Nature runs that way We are apt to look upon it as some kind of shelter and patronage to sin in company where every one bears his share of the guilt and shame and so it seems less by being divided like a great Stream that is cut into little Rivulets Example is a mighty argument and one of Satan's most effectual snares and which many times without great care and resolution there is no way to avoid for the corruption of manners has I know not how introduced a kind of necessity of doing as the company does wherein we are and to refuse it is look'd upon as a trespass against the Laws of Civility and good Manners and the Man accounted either a Clown or an Hypocrite that will not venture as far as the rest and run with them into the same excess of riot And the force of the temptation is so much the stronger by how much those whom we follow are persons for whom we have a more peculiar esteem and veneration or by whom we have been obliged as our Benefactors We have a natural regard and reverence for our betters and are prone to imitate them by an implicit Faith The vulgar part of Mankind look upon their Superiours that as they stand under higher and stronger obligations to Virtue and Piety so they are furnished with happier advantages of understanding the true natures and differences of things than other Men and accordingly from them are apt to take the common measures of good or evil and to defend themselves with the warrant and authority of those that are above them The Examples of Great Men give Laws to conversation and are able to add a reputation either to Vice or Virtue and one such instance shall sooner prevail with Men to set upon those things that are just and pure lovely and of good report than an hundred arguments shall perswade them As on the other hand Vice is never more fatally prosperous and successful than when it has the patronage of great Examples to recommend it By these few Instances we see the lot and portion of the present state what snares and stratagems what policies and devices we are exposed to on every side what troops of temptations are round about us that therefore it concerns us to stand continually upon our guard to keep our considerations awake to preserve our consciences quick and tender to be infinitely watchful that our foot be not taken in any of those snares that are purposely laid to ruin us not only in this but which is unconceivably of more importance in the other life For a course of impiety has not only a fatal and malignant influence upon the affairs of the present state it does not only tend to consume the estate or blast the reputation or waste the body distract and torment the mind and render every condition troublesome and uneasie these alas are but the beginning of sorrows in respect of that portion of misery that awaits the Sinner in the future state when the wrath and displeasure of the Almighty shall finally overtake him and come upon him to the uttermost For the other World is the proper scene and stage whereon the Divine Justice shall ride in triumph in the executions of its vengeance when Conscience shall be let loose with all its stings and perpetually prey upon it self when the remembrances of an ill-spent life and the sad reflections upon its past sins and pleasures shall be always pressing in upon it and the Soul unable either to deny or shift off the evidence when nothing shall be able to mitigate the grief or to beguile the sense of it when there shall be no ravishing objects external pleasures no musical Airs or boon Companions to charm Conscience asleep again no intermitting fits of ease but the Soul groaning under perpetual paroxysms of rage and terrour The consideration whereof ought to allarm our fears that if there be any care of our selves any serious regards of our eternal state we may be wise in time before it be too late recover our selves out of the snare of the Devil and become