Affections and cannot afford to take any pains to be Religious are frequently heard to say They serve God as well as they can and they can do no more and that such a Religion as we urge Men to is much too hard for Flesh and Blood 'T is a Law fitter for Angels than Men and tho they wish they could observe and do it and can't but consent to the Excellency of it in the Inner Man yet they find a Law in their Members warring against the Law of their Minds and bringing them into Captivity to the Law of Sin and so the good that they would they do not and the evil that they would not that they do And they take up with this as a sufficient Excuse and because God is infinitely merciful and good they think he will accept the Plea of the great Hardship of his Commands and their Inability to perform them instead of Obedience to them But as the Lord in the Parable said to his slothful Unprofitable Servant Out of their own Mouths will I judge those wretched Persons that thus mock and abuse God and deceive their own Souls into Ruin For if God be infinitely good and merciful then certainly he will not expect any Thing from Men beyond their Ability nor command their Service and Obedience any farther than they are able to pay it And consequently what this merciful and good God commands by All Men to be done without any Exception or Dispensation and threatens Eternal Misery to such as shall dare wilfully to disobey him this Every Man no question is able to perform through the Divine Grace and Assistance which as I have before prov'd is in sufficient measure given to every Man And to deny this is in effect to charge God with the greatest Cruelty Oppression and Injustice that is possible For what less is the giving Men such Commands as they are not able to perform and withal threatning and actually inflicting unconceivable Torments for such are those of Hell upon all that shall be found disobedient to the impracticable Law This would be indeed to require Brick without Straw as the Egyptian Task-masters did and then to lay on Stripes for a Failure in the Work nay 't would be infinitely worse because the Punishment for Irreligion and not improving our Talents is infinitely greater and shall be inflicted to all Eternity Since therefore God knows whereof we are made and remembers that we are but Dust and can tell how difficult his Commands will be to us and how proportionable our Ability is to keep and do them better than we our selves for 't is he that hath made us and gave us our natural Powers and Faculties and the Superadditions of Grace and Aid from Above since he is infinitely good and will not overload his Creatures nor exact impossible Tasks or such as are extremely difficult and but one degree below impossible since he is likewise infinitely just and will not damn Myriads of poor Wretches to all Eternity for not making an impossible Improvement of their Talents and expects only that they should give a reasonable Account according to what they have received from him From all this it will follow Not that therefore a Man shall be excus'd for pleading Inability but that every Man is Able through the never deficient Grace of that good God to such as heedfully attend to it to keep his holy just and good Commands and make Improvement suitable to the Talents he hath receiv'd and if for all this he perish his Blood will be upon his own Head Wherefore let no Man for the future be so Impious as to charge God with expecting impossible Services from his Creatures or think to palliate his Irreligion by crying out of the extreme Hardship of living like a Christian but let every Man set heartily and sincerely about his Duty and he will find that God's Grace will be sufficient for him to his daily Improvement and that the Ways of Religion are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace I come now to the last Thing to be consider'd in this Parable which is That the Condition of the diligent Improvers of their Talents will be unspeakably happy but the Condition of the Unprofitable beyond Expression miserable and that both in this World and in the next First The Condition of the diligent Improvers of their Talent will be unspeakably happy both in this World and that above In this World a quiet and serene Conscience will be to them a continual Feast the Sense of having perform'd their Duty according to their Ability of having been good Stewards of the Grace of God bestow'd upon them and that they can give a sincere Account though not a perfect one to their great Master when he shall come to look into their Behaviour in their Stewardship this will fill their Breasts with unspeakable Satisfaction their Soul will be calm and their Thoughts at Rest in Conscience of their Fidelity their Life not imbitter'd with anxious Fear and Dread of a sad After Reckoning but like that of a faithful Servant who is in his Master's Favour steady and easie and moving cheerfully in the Circle of his Duty and in joyful Expectation of the Reward of his Diligence when his great Lord shall advance him from the State of a Servant to that of a Friend and Bosom Favourite nay of a Coheir with himself of the Joys and Felicities of the Eternal Kingdom of Heaven And besides this Serenity and Satisfaction of Mind and comfortable Prospect of so glorious a Recompense of Reward which are Blessings of the first Magnitude and to which nothing in this World is comparable the improving Christian shall have more Talents given him more Grace shower'd down upon his Soul what the Slothful have forfeited shall be conferr'd upon him and he shall abound still more and more in every good Word and Work And what Condition can approach nearer to the state of Heavenly Glory than that of a holy Soul thus plentifully stor'd with the divine Grace And if Grace and Glory differ only in degree and the One be but the Completion and Perfection of the other a Soul so filled with Grace as the improving Soul will be must needs live a Heaven upon Earth and have frequent Antepasts of Glory And in that other World when the Glory shall be reveal'd that is prepared for them that love and serve our Lord Jesus in Sincerity then will their Happiness be as ineffable as endless It is express'd in this Parable by entring into the Joy of our Lord that is partaking of his Glories and Felicities in the Presence of the Immortal God They shall be conducted after having given a good Account of their Stewardship by the Blessed Angels into the Presence of the great King of Heaven where they shall see him face to face and with wondring Eyes and enravish'd Hearts behold his Glory gaze upon his Splendors and nearly view his Beauty who is the Fountain of
p. 91. l. 17. r. to p. 111. l. 10. r. eternally p. 119. l. 1. dele the. p. 129. l. 17. r. have p. 133. l. 15. r. affected ib antip r. their p. 141. l. 3. r. then p. 142. l. 7. dele us 144. l. 20. r. if 162. l. 7. r. own p. 171. l. 8. dele and. p. 185. l. 20. dele and. p. 186. l. 23. r. us as 202. l. 10. r. slighted p. 223. l. 3. r. were p. 227. l. 13. r. his 228. l. 28. r. breaking p. 234. l. 12. r. struck so p 239. l. 6. r. behaviour p. 241. l. 16. dele such ib. l. 17. r. which 245. l. 17. r. that p. 252. l. 12 r. Mankind p. 257. l. 29. r. general 266. l. 12. r. Relief p. 284. l. 14. r. of p. 289. l. 23. r. from p. 328. l. 13. r. Indignus ibid. l. 15. r. Charae p. 329. l. 6. r. accordingly p. 332. l. 3. r. sleep p. 333. l. 6. r. unspeakably p. 335. l. 12. r. we p. 342. l. 28. r. Dewes p. 355. l. 29. dele Publick p. 361. l. 25. r. your p. 374. l. 18 19. for they r. he p. 378. l 10. r. she p. 380. l. 10. r. those ibid. l. 29. r. Passions p. 382. dele Crysippi porticus grex ibid. r. prava p. 392. l. 4. for Saviour r. Father 404. l. 3. r. in the Favour 405. l. 27. r. makes p. 415. l. 27. r. could not p. 416. l. 26. r. irreconcileable p. 430. l. 2. r. numbed p. 441. l. 25 r. encourager p. 457. l. 23. r. Favour p. 470. l. 25. r. bitter p. 475 l. 29. r. depreciate PARABLE I. Of the Sower that went forth to sow his Seed Matth. xiii 3 4 5 6 7 8. Behold a Sower went forth to sow And when he sowed some Seeds fell by the Way-side and the Fouls came and devoured them up Some fell upon sttony Places where they had not much Earth and forthwith they sprung up because they had no Deepness of Earth And when the Sun was up they were scorched and because they had not Root they withered away And some fell among Thorns and the Thorns sprung up and choaked them But other fell into good Ground and brought forth Fruit some an Hundred-Fold some Sixty-Fold some Thirty-Fold THIS Parable is very fitly placed first as giving Account of the Causes of Mens Fruitfulness or Unfruitfulness in Christianity and consequently shews what is to be avoided and directs to what is to be done in order to Men's being better'd by the Sermons of the Gospel Which is a thing first of all to be taken notice of by such as would be Christians endeed Our Lord's Interpretation of this Parable Matth. 13.19 Mark 4.14 Luk. 8.11 from a Collation of the Three Evangelists that record it is this The Seed is the Word of God or the Word of the Kingdom that is the Gospel the Religion that Christ Jesus came to teach the World When any one heareth this Word and understandeth it not then cometh the wicked one or Satan immediately and catcheth away that which was sown in his Heart lest he should believe and be sav'd this is he who receiv'd Seed by the Way-side But he that receiv'd the Seed into rocky or Stony Places is he that heareth the Word and presently with Joy receiveth it yet hath not Root in himself and so endures or believes but for a while for when Tribulation or Persecution ariseth because of the Word he is soon offended or discouraged and falls away in Time of Temptation He also that receiv'd Seed among the Thorns is he that heareth the Word and goeth forth and the Cares of this World and the Deceitfulness of Riches and the Lusts and Pleasures of this Life entring in choak the Word and it becometh Unfruitful or at best bringeth no Fruit to Perfection But He that received Seed into the good Ground is he that having heard the Word Understandeth or considereth it and receiveth and keepeth it in an honest and good Heart and bringeth forth Fruit with Patience according to his Ability whether Thirty Sixty or an Hundred-Fold From the Parable thus interpreted by its Divine Author it appears as was said that the Design of it is to shew what are the Causes of Men's improving or not improving under the preaching of the Gospel that so we may know what to avoid and what to embrace and endeavour after in order to our being fruitful under those Means of Instruction we enjoy We shall now consider each Part of this Parable with its Interpretation The First is Behold a Sower went forth to sow And when he sowed some Seeds fell by the Wayes-side and were trodden down and the Fowls of the Air came and devour'd them up The Interpretation is that the Seed which is sown is the Word of God and when any one heareth this Word and understandeth it not then cometh the Devil or the wicked one immediately and catcheth away that which was sown in his Heart lest he should believe and be saved This is he that receiv'd Seed by the Way-side or this is that Seed which fell by the Way-side The Word of God is compared to Seed because of its fructifying growing and encreasing Nature because it hath in it an Active Principle and will when sown unless kill'd and made unfruitful by Accidental Injuries spring up into excellent Fruits and in great Abundance to the Glory of God and the nourishing strengthening nav the immortalizing of Men for of this Divine Seed consists that Heavenly Bread which whoso eateth of shall live for ever 'T is this Seed that bringeth forth those Graces of Christianity which keep up the Divine Life in the Soul 't is this that makes it grow in Grace and in the Knowledg and Love of the best and noblest of Objects our Lord Jesus 't is this that is its Preparation for Heaven and an Earnest of that Immortal and Glorious Inheritance For wheresoever that Seed is sown Rom. 6.22 and springs up and brings forth Fruit unto Holiness the End most certainly will be Everlasting Life And this Word of God is not only for these Reasons compared to Seed but to Seed sown 'T is not only potentially fruitful but the Powers of it are now call'd forth into Act 't is actually sown the Gospel is preach'd and made known to the World its excellent Precepts are openly declar'd and planted in Men's Hearts by the Proposal of infinite Rewards and Punishments to such as do or do not obey and practise them And this Seed thus sown is water'd with the Dews of Heaven with the Distillations of the Divine Grace and Blessing which are in sufficient Plenty afforded to every Man so that God the great Husbandman is not wanting in any thing that is necessary to the Flourishing and Encrease of that Seed which he hath thus committed to their Hearts And therefore he expects and 't is but reasonable he should to see it grow and bring forth Fruit where'ere 't
allur'd by its Temptrations to leave the Way to Life enable me I intreat thee so stedfastly to attend thy divine Instructions that I may more and more daily take my Love from that which does not cannot satisfy and is indeed but Vanity and Vexation of Spirit and fix it upon that which is above all things valuable That so I may be convinc'd by a happpy Experience that true Pleasure and Freedom and Happiness is only to be met with in thy Service and that I am so little design'd for the Delights of the World and of Sense that the longer I live to prove them the less capable I shall be of their Enjoyment O may that Peace and Tranquillity within my own Breast that Quiet with others that Health and Length of Days which is in the Right Hand of Religion and the durable Riches and true Honour that is in her Left and that chearing Expectation of Heaven when this frail Tabernacle shall be dissolv'd may this which is the natural Offspring of true Piety leave so lovely an Idea of it upon my Soul that I may value it as indeed the greatest Treasure and a Pearl of inestimable Price And may I be so wise as where my Treasure is there to fix my Desires and thither to direct my Endeavours and part with every thing that is my Hindrance in the Acquisition of it And since this Pearl is not cast before Swine and this Treasure must be diligently sought for e're it be found Do thou so purify and refine my Affections that I may above all things hunger and thirst after Righteousness and diligently search for this saving Wisdom as for hid Treasure and may thy blessed Spirit which leadeth into all Truth so guide and direct me in my Search that seeking I may find and having found never more part with that inestimable Jewel though for the Gain of the whole World but rather sell all even Life it self to secure my Possession of it And this Wisdom I earnestly beg of thee O Lord who art the Giver of every good and perfect Gift through the Merits of Jesus thy beloved Son our only Saviour Amen PARABLE IV. Of a merciful King and his unmerciful Servant Matth. xviii 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35. The Kingdom of Heaven is likened unto a certain King which would take Account of his Servants And when he had begun to reckon one was brought unto him which owed him Ten Thousand Talents But forasmuch as he had not to pay his Lord commanded him to be sold and his Wife and Children and all that he had and Payment to be made The Servant therefore fell down and worshipped him saying Lord have Patience with me and I will pay thee all Then the Lord of that Servant was moved with Compassion and loosed him and forgave him the Debt But the same Servant went out and found one of his Fellow-Servants which ought him an Hundred Pence And he laid hands on him and took him by the Throat saying pay me that thou owest And his Fellow-Servant fell down at his Feet saying have Patience with me and I will pay thee all And he would not but went and cast him into Prison till he should pay the Debt So when his Fellow-Servants saw what was done they were very sorry and came and told unto their Lord all that was done Then his Lord after that he had called him said unto him O thou wicked Servant I forgave thee all that Debt because thou desiredst me Shouldst not thou also have Compassion of thy Fellow-Servant even as I had Pity on thee And his Lord was wroth and delivered him to the Tormentors till he should pay all that was due unto him So also shall my heavenly Father do also unto you if ye from your Hearts forgive not everyone his Brother their Trespasses THIS Parable was spoken upon St. Peter's asking our Lord Vers 21. how often shall my Brother sin against me and I forgive him Till Seven Times To which Question the compassionate Jesus first answers directly Vers I say not unto thee till Seven Times but till Seventy Times Seven And then illustrates that his Answer and shews how great Obligation we have to forgive Injuries and how sad will be our Punishment if we do not in the Parable above written In which Parable there are two things in general to be considered First The mercifull Example of God's Dealing with us miserable Sinners who lay under a vast Debt to his Justice express'd by a King 's taking Account of his Servants c. and forgiving c. Secondly His great Displeasure against those that will not imitate that his compassionate Example in forgiving such as have been injurious to them express'd by the King 's being wroth with his unmerciful Servant who though he receiv'd so much Kindness himself would shew none to his Fellow-Servant who owed him a Trifle in Comparison but without the least Compassion threw him into Prison till he should pay it upon which his Lord delivered him over to the Tormentors till he should pay all that was due unto him Under The first General there are three Particulars to be considered First the Greatness of the Debt which by Sin we have contracted to the Divine Justice expressed by Ten Thousand Talents Secondly The Impossibility of our ever clearing this Debt and the sad Consequence if it still should have remain'd upon Account express'd here by the King's Debtor having nothing to pay and the King 's commanding that therefore he should be sold and his Wife and Children and all that he had that so Payment might be made Thirdly The wondrous Compassion of our good God in pitying our miserable Condition and forgiving us all our Debt expressed by that King 's being mov'd with Compassion at the deplorable Condition of his insolvent Servant and loosing him and forgiving him the Debt Under the second General there are likewise three Particulars to be consider'd First What it is to forgive one another as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven us and the great Obligation we have to imitate this Example of our merciful God Secondly Our great Baseness if we do not and Thirdly The miserable Consequence that will attend that Baseness we shall provoke God to recall his Pardon to us and be deliver'd over to the Tormentors till we shall pay all that is due unto him The first General to be consider'd in this Parable is God's Example in dealing with us miserable Sinners who lay under a vast Debt to his Justice express'd by a King 's taking Account of his Servants and freely forgiving one that was deeply indebted to him And the first Particular to be consider'd under it is the Greatness of the Debt which by Sin we have contracted to the Divine Justice By contracting a Debt to the Divine Justice is meant the having violated the just and holy Laws of God and thereby becoming obnoxious to his just Anger unless we
Malice and Revenge Wherefore to conclude this Parable If we are touch'd with a due Sense of the wondrous Compassion of God to us miserable Sinners in forgiving us the vast Debt we had contracted to the divine Justice by Reason of our Sins and which 't was impossible for us ever to have discharg'd our selves whereby we are deliver'd from the intolerable and endless Punishment of them and moreover made Sons of God and Heirs of celestial Glory If we are duly touch'd with a Sense of this infinite Goodness of God to us which to effect was the Endeavour of the first Part of this Discourse let us express our deep Resentment of his gracious Forgiveness of us by imitating so excellent an Example and forgiving one another Let us consider the great Happiness that both here and hereafter will attend the Performance of this Duty and reflect upon the endless Misery that will closely follow the contrary We must forgive if we would be forgiven we must shew Mercy and Compassion to our Brethren that offend us if we hope to find any at the Hands of God And let us remember that how sweet soever we may fancy Revenge to be now we shall find the Consequence of it if not speedily repented of to be eternal Damnation From which sad Condition and that hellish Temper that will bring us to it let us pray earnestly that the good Lord would deliver us through Jesus Christ our merciful Saviour The PRAYER I. O Holy and most merciful King of Heaven who hast forgiven a World of miserable Wretches an infinite Debt and deliver'd those who had nothing to pay from the extremest and eternal Misery and hast commanded that in Return we do to others as thou hast done to us I who am a happy Sharer in thy wondrous Compassion do praise thee from the Bottom of my Soul and earnestly entreat the Assistance of thy Grace that I may never be wanting in a sincere and chearful Imitation of thy blessed Example but delight to copy after so lovely an Original and freely and intirely forgive nay love and do good to my most inveterate Enemies And since thou lov'dst us first and didst prevent us with the Riches of thy Goodness O that I could in this resemble thee too and even court my Injurers to Peace and Reconciliation and with a Christian Bravery of Spirit offer them that forgiveness which they will not ask This is indeed a hard Saying to my deprav'd Nature and Revenge seems sweeter far to Flesh and Blood and though my Reason I confess is satisfyed of the great Excellency of the Performance yet my Passions I must with Shame own likewise run violently the contrary Way and bear me down with their rapid Course Thy Aid I therefore beg Almighty God and that thy Spirit may enable me to stem this dangerous Current and strenuously to resist and master all Motions to revenge remembring that this is the Condition of my open Forgiveness at thy Hands and that Judgment without Mercy shall be my Portion if I shew no Mercy II. Convince me daily more and more of my base Ingratitude to thee and inhumane Barbarity to my Brethren in bearing Malice and Rancour for trifling Injuries such as are the greatest we can offer to each other in Compare with what thy Mercy hath forgiven us And do thou O meekest Jesus sweeten our Tempers and turn all Bitterness of Spirit into Love and mutual Endeavours to promote each others Happiness and may we all conspire in offering up our joint Praises to our merciful God who has remitted to every one of us infinitely more than Ten Thousand Talents O that this thy Mercy may be imprinted in lively and everlasting Characters upon my Soul so as powerfully to incline me to transcribe it in my Intercourse with Men Then shall I experience the blessed Influence this thy Commandment will have upon my Happiness even here and in the most acceptable Manner express my Thankfulness for thy Pity shew'd to me and at last by bearing this thy Badge upon my Soul be own'd by thee as thy true Disciple and receiv'd into the Joy of thee our dearest Lord. Which grant O most compassionate Jesus for thine own Mercies Sake Amen Amen PARABLE V. Of a King that made a Marriage for his Son Matth. xxii 2 3. Luk. xiv 18 19 20. Matth. xxii 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14. The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a certain King Mat. 22.2 that made a Marriage for his Son And sent forth his Servants to call them that were bidden to the Wedding And they would not come And they all with one consent began to make Excuse Luk. 14.18 The first said unto him I have bought a Piece of Ground and I must needs go and see it I pray thee have me excused And another said I have bought five Yoke of Oxen and I go to prove them I pray thee have me excused And another said I have married a Wife and therefore I cannot come Again he sent forth other Servants Mat. 22.4 saying Tell them which are bidden Behold I have prepared my Dinner my Oxen and my Fatlings are killed and all things are ready come unto the Marriage But they made light of it and went their Ways one to his Farm another to his Merchandise And the Remnant took his Servants and entreated them spitefully and slew them But when the King heard thereof he was wroth And he sent forth his Armies and destroyed those Murderers and burnt up their City Then saith he to his Servants the Wedding is ready but those that were bidden were not worthy Go ye therefore into the High-ways and as many as ye shall find bid to the Marriage So those Servants went out into the High-ways and gathered together all as many as they found both bad and good and the Wedding was furnish'd with Guests And when the King came in to see the Guests he saw there a Man that had not on a wedding Garment And he saith unto him Friend how camest thou in hither not having a wedding Garment And he was speechless Then said the King to the Servants Bind him Hand and Foot and take him away and cast him into outer Darkness There shall be weeping and gnashing of Teeth For many are called but few are chosen THIS Parable I suppose was in its first Intention design'd to reprove the hardned Infidelity of the Jews their obstinately rejecting the Mercy of God to them in Christ Jesus and their vile Ingratitude to him for his peculiar Care of them in so ordering it that the Gospel should be first preach'd to them to which Purpose also was spoken the Parable of the wicked Husbandmen in Mat. 21.33 which for its great Affinity to the first Part of this Parable and intire Relation to the Jews I thought fit to pass by and it was likewise intended to shew God's great Anger against them for that their Stubbornness and malicious Treatment of
thee my God May I be frequent in pious Ejaculations and Mental Breathings towards thee my chiefest Good and constant in the more solemn Returns both of Publick and Private Devotion And that I may be successful and my Prayers bring down a Blessing Grant that I may list up Holy Hands to thee without Wrath or Doubting be pure in my Intentions careful to practise these Graces that I pray for and in all my Conversation pious and just free from all Strife and Malice and Revenge and every Thing that is displeasing to thee remembring that the Prayer of the Wicked is an Abomination And may a full Assurance of Faith and Holy Importunity always accompany my Addresses to thee that so I may not be sent empty away but receive a greacious Answer to my Petitions to the Relief of my Necessities and the Advancement of thy Glory through the Merits of our Blessed Saviour Jesus in whose Name we present all that we beg of thy Bounty and hope to be heard through his prevailing Intercession Amen PARABLE XIV Of the Pharisee and the Publican Luke xviii 9 10 11 12 13 14. Jesus spake this Parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were Righteous and despised others Two Men went up into the Temple to Pray the one a Pharisee the other a Publican The Pharisee stood and pray'd thus with himself God I thank thee that I am not as other Men are Extortioners Vnjust Adulterers or even as this Publican I Fast twice in the Week I give Tithes of all that I possess And the Publican standing afar off would not lift up so much as his Eyes unto Heaven but smote upon his Breast saying God be merciful to me a Sinner I tell you this Man went down to his House justified rather than the other for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted THIS Parable of our Lord's we see from the Introduction and Conclusion of it is level'd against Spiritual Pride or the being highly opinionated of ones own Righteousness and so puff'd up by it as to despise others as vile profane Persons whose Religion is not with Ostentation and who pretend not to such extraordinary Sanctity And is intended to shew that an humble self-condemn'd Sinner who though he has been wicked is sensible of it and with Shame and Sorrow confesses his Guilt before God is more acceptable in his sight and shall be sooner pardon'd by him and advanc'd to his Honour than he that vaunts of his Vertue and the Performance of the External Duties of Religion His Pride and Exaltation of himself shall abase him while the others Humility shall exalt him And this is very lively represented in this Parable in the Persons of a Pharisee and a Publican and their going up into the Temple to pray The Pharisees were a Sect among the Jews that made the greatest tensions to extraordinary Holiness and strict Observance of every Punctilio of their Law they wore a peculiar Garb and used a different sort of Gait from other Men as Persons always busied in the serious Contemplation of the best Things they were of very reserv'd Conversations and of very morose Countenances as greatly mortified and Strangers to the World their Prayers were publick and long their Fasts severe and often their Search of the Scriptures diligent and their Contribution to the Maintenance of God's Ministers exact and very liberal they paid Tithes of All that they possess'd and by this Means were highly reverenc'd by the People and as highly conceited of Themselves The Publicans were Men of quite another Character and Estimation they were officers that gather'd up the Roman Customs and Tribute and hir'd or farm'd them of the Emperor and then raised Estates to themselves by Exaction and Oppression And their Lives were so busie and so constantly taken up with such vile Affairs as these that they thought but little of Religion and pretended to as little and therefore were look'd upon by the Jews as the very worst of Men and call'd Sinners by way of Eminence These two so very different sort of Men went up into the Temple to pray To see a Pharisee in the Temple was no Wonder they were the greatest Frequenters of that Holy Place and as constant at Divine Service as the Priests that ministred but to meet a Publican there was a great Rarity the Receipt of Custom was all the Temple they generally frequented and Mammon was the God they worship'd in it and how to gripe and over-reach and oppress was the subject of their Thoughts and their Devotion But however unusual it might be yet we see a Publican went up into the Temple to pray as Scandalous as his Profession was as full of Hurry and Application to the World yet he found Time for the Exercise of Religion And indeed no lawful Profession of how ill Repute soever but may be very consistent with a Sense of Piety and Men of the most busie Employments may if they please find time and that daily too to go up into the Temple to pray And that Employment whatever it be and however gainful that is a Hinderance to Religion publick as well as private is for that very Reason unlawful and ought to be given over For what shall it profit a Man if he shall gain the whole World and lose his own Soul There are many Callings or Ways of getting a Livelihood now-a-days which have an ill Repute and that deservedly through the ill Behaviour of some that follow them which yet are very Lawful and very necessary in a State And therefore Let not those that have such Employments plead them in Excuse for their Profaneness and Irreligion as if their Employments were the unavoidable Occasion of their being Wicked For if their Employments are neither against the Laws of God or Man they may Conscientiously and Religiously discharge them and if they are upon either Account unlawful they must immediately leave them and betake themselves to some other honest Profession The Employment of a Publican was of all the most scandalous among the Jews and that not without Reason and yet we find a Publican at Prayers as well as a Pharisee and the more acceptable Suppliant of the Two And if One why not the whole Order if they had pleas'd And accordingly when the Publicans came to John the Baptist a Person of the severest Sanctity to be Baptis'd of him and said unto him Master what shall We do He did not charge them immediately to leave their Profession but only Not to exact more than was appointed them 'T was Exaction made their Office hateful both to God and Man and if that were amended the Employment was as Innocent as others And when the Soldiers Men generally of all Men the most Loose and Wicked demanded of him likewise And what shall We do He does not condemn their Profession but bids them do no Violence to any Man nor Accuse any
deceiving his own Soul From him shall be taken away even that which he hath he shall be deprived of it to inrich his industrious Brother and add to his Abundance What Grace he had before shall be withdrawn and he naked and defenseless left to the Fury of his Spiritual Enemies the Dews of Heaven shall no longer drop upon his barren Soul but parch'd and sapless it shall be reserv'd to eternal Burnings Consider this all ye that forget God and are unfruitful under all his Care and fatherly Nurture and Admonition lest at length he pluck you away and there be none to deliver you And remember the Words of Solomon Prov. 29.1 He that being often reprov'd still hardeneth his Neck shall suddainly be destroyed and that without Remedy And thus have I done with the first of our Saviours Parables in which is set before us a Blessing and a Curse a Blessing if when the good Seed is sown and we have heard the Word we receive it into honest and good Hearts and according to our several Abilities bring forth Fruit to Perfection that is obey and Practise it with Constancy and Perseverance And a Curse if we remain still barren and unfruitful not Doers of the Word but Hearers only deceiving our selves into eternal Perdition It becomes us all therefore to take heed how we hear and not be like the High-way-side suffering our Thoughts to wander from the Instructions we have heard and leaving the good Seed unregarded to the Mercy of the great Enemy of Souls and exposing our Minds as a common Tract to vain and wicked Fancies and Imaginations and diabolical Suggestions nor like the stony Ground impenetrable to any deep and lasting Impressions of the Word of Life nor like that over-run with Thorns and Briars and noxious Weeds such as are the Cares and deceitful Riches and Pleasures of this Life which will choak the Word and render it unfruitful But that we treasure up this Divine Word in our Memories ponder and consider it and set our Love and Affections upon it So shall it grow and prosper and bring forth Fruit in some Thirty in some Sixty in some an Hundred-Fold to the Honour and Glory of God and the eternal Salvation of our immortal Souls Which God of his infinite Mercy grant for Jesus Christ his Sake Now 2 Cor. 9.10 He that ministreth Seed to the Sower both give us this Heavenly Bread for our Food and multiply the Seed that is sown and encrease the Fruits of our Righteousness that being inrich'd in every good thing to all Bountifulness there may be given through us Thanksgiving unto God Amen Amen The PRAYER I. MOST Holy Jesus thou blessed Author of the best Religion who hast in great Plenty sown among us the Seed of a happy Immortality even thy holy Word and watered it with the Dew of thy heavenly Grace and art wanting in nothing on thy Part to cause it to flourish and bring forth abundantly the Fruits of Righteousness I thy unworthy Servant unfeignedly bless this thy infinite Goodness and tender Care for the Children of Men but must with Shame confess that hitherto thy Care has been in too great Measure defeated by my Inconsiderateness and Obstinacy my Soul still remains barren as the High-way-side impenetrable to the Sermons of the Gospel or at best flitting and unconstant in religious Purposes which have been short-liv'd as the Grass that grows upon the Top of the Rocks or else choak'd with the Briars of worldly Cares and Distractions with covetous and sensual Desires Thus have I courted Death in the Error of my Life But now being awaken'd by thy Mercy and become sensible of the Danger I am in and the sad Consequence if my Barrenness continues I humbly beg and earnestly at the Throne of Grace that Thou from whom is all our Sufficiency wouldst aid me with thy blessed Spirit and help my Infirmities and strengthen me mightily in the inner Man that thy Word may ever hereafter take so deep a Rooting in my Soul as to produce the genuine Fruits of Christianity II. I am sadly sensible O Lord that the Heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked who can know it Do thou therefore who art the Searcher of our Spirits purge my Soul of all lurking Hypocrisy and Pride and Self-conceit and every thing that will hinder the Growth and Increase of this heavenly Seed and make me apt to receive and cherish it by creating in me an honest and good Heart and renewing a sincere and right Spirit within me Grant that I may so seriously attend to and consider the great Truths thy Goodness hath revealed to us in the Gospel as intirely to assent to them and heartily endeavour to conform my Practice to my Belief and may I always heedfully preserve those divine Instructions and moving Arguments to a persevering Piety which I have learned from thy Word lest the infernal Bird of Prey deprive me of the good Seed and in its room plant devillish Affections And O that Patience and Hope and an humble Dependance upon thee for Direction and Defence may be my Support in this my Pilgrimage That so chearfully running the Race that is set before me and thankfully acknowledging the early Influences of thy blessed Spirit in my tender Years and waiting for the later Distillations of thy Grace which will bring my Fruit to Perfection and always endeavouring o proportion my Increase to the Means and Opportunities of it thy Goodness hath vouchsafed me I may at last escape the Intolerable Punishment of Unfruitfulness and having my Fruit unto Holiness the End may be everlasting Life through thy Merits and Mercies O blessed Saviour Jesus Amen PARABLE II. Of the Tares Matth. xiii 24 25 26 27 28 29 30. Another Parable put Jesus forth unto them saying The Kingdom of Heaven is likned unto a Man that sowed good Seed in his Field But while Men slept his Enemy came and sowed Tares among the Wheat and went his way But when the Blade was sprung up and brought forth Fruit then appeared the Tares also So the Servants of the Housholder came and said unto him Sir didst not thou sow good Seed in thy Field From whence then hath it Tares He said unto them an Enemy hath done this The Servants said unto him wilt thou then that we go and gather them up But he said nay lest while ye gather up the Tares ye root up also the Wheat with them Let both grow together until the Harvest and in the time of Harvest I will say to the Reapers gather ye together first the Tares and bind them in Bundles to burn them But gather the Wheat into my Barn THE Interpretation of this Parable is thus set down Vers 37. of this Chapter He that soweth the good Seed is the Son of Man the Field is the World the good Seeds are the Children of the Kingdom but the Tares are the Children of the wicked one the Enemy that sowed them
may I always so attend to the Dignity of my Nature and the constant Inspection of thy holy Angels and glorious Self in all my Ways as not to dare to play the Hypocrite in thy Presence who seest the very Secrets of my Heart and be asham'd to expose my Vileness to those excellent Spirits and reflect upon the Confusion I shall be in at the Day of Judgment when the Goat and the Swine shall be discover'd under the Profession of a Christian And O that the Zeal and Alacrity of these ministring Spirits in thy Service and for thy Glory may put me upon a holy Emulation to do thy Will on Earth as it is done in Heaven That so when the great Harvest shall come and thou shalt say to the angelick Reapers Gather ye together first the Tares and bind them in Bundles to burn them but gather my Wheat into my Barn I may find Mercy at that terrible Day and be receiv'd to a Participation of the Glories of thy heavenly Kingdom Which grant O blessed Jesus I most earnestly beseech thee Amen PARABLE III. Of the Pearl of great Price Matth. xiii 45 46 The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a Merchant-man seeking goodly Pearls Who when he had found one Pearl of great Price he went and sold all that he had and bought it BY this and the Parable immediately before it of a Treasure hid in a Field which when a Man hath found he hideth and for Joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath and buyeth that Field The transcendent Excellency of the Christian Religion above all things in the World is represented And that 't is the greatest Wisdom to part with every thing that this World can afford all the Pleasures Honours and Riches of it rather than be without the inward Power and Life of this holy Religion which is a Pearl of so great Price so immense a Trasure that nothing here below can stand in Competition with it 'T is as David expresses it more to be desir'd than Gold yea Psal 19.10 than much find Gold and he professes that himself had more Delight in God's Commandments than in all Manner of Riches And Solomon says almost in the Words of these Parables Happy is the Man that findeth Wisdom or Religion for the Merchandise of it is better than the Merchandise of Silver and the Gain thereof than of find Gold Prov. 3.13 c. She is more precious than Rubies and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compar'd unto her Length of Days is in her right Hand and in her left Hand Riches and Honour her Ways are Ways of Pleasantness and all her Paths are Peace Such great things as these being spoken of Religion by those that best knew its Excellency and the World being so very backward in the Belief of their Testimony and so foolish as to prefer every little worldly Good before this inestimable Treasure to which all that the whole Creation can afford is not comparable and the Consequence of this Delusion being so fatal no less than the eternal Ruin of both Body and Soul It highly concerns us by due Consideration to rectify our Apprehensions in this Matter and no longer childishly doat upon empty Gayes and Trifles and neglect what is of infinite Excellency and the most substantial Good It is therefore the Design of this Discourse upon the Parable above recited to weigh the Excellency of Religion against all that the World can afford in the Ballance of Reason that upon a fair Experiment we may see which does preponderate and accordingly be convinc'd which of the Two is most worthy our Choice And then if we still retain our Affection for the World against the Judgment of our Reason in behalf of Religion we shall likewise be convinc'd that we act more like Brutes than Men and that we deserve to feel the Consequences of our unreasonable and wicked Choice and taste no other Happiness than what this unsatisfying empty World can afford and in the next World be for ever miserable because we would not be for ever happy when we might First then let us see what the Whole that this World can afford will amount to All that is in the World St. John tells us is the Lust of the Flesh 1 Eph. 2.16 the Lust of the Eyes and the Pride of Life i. e. to these Three may be reduc'd the Whole of what is valuable in the World And by the Lust of the Flesh is meant Pleasure of all Sorts by the Lust of the Eye Riches great Plenty and Abundance and by the Pride of Life Honour Power and Dominion This is that Trinity which the generality of Men adore and impatiently desire and place their greatest Happiness in the Enjoyment of and of each of these Particulars we will now enquire what they amount to and consequently what is the Sum total of the World And first to observe the Apostles Method we will begin with the Lusts of the Flesh or the Pleasures of the World and which are generally first in Men's Esteem and for which they are often content to part with the other Two Now these may be rank'd in this Order viz. the Pleasures of Lust and Uncleanness of luxurious Eating and Drinking and of great Jollity and Mirth all agreeing in the Character of the Lusts of the Flesh that is all highly gratefull to the Desires and Appetites of the Body And in the first Place I observe this in general of all worldly Pleasures that the longer a Man lives to enjoy them the more insipid still they grow to him and that not only upon Account of their own empty Nature but by Reason of the Decays of our own Faculties and consequent Disability to enjoy them As old Barzillai said to David 2 Sam. 19.35 Can I discern between Good and Evil c. when he invited him to the Pleasures of his Court. And what Happiness can be expected from that which is very unsatisfying in its own Nature and which were it not after a few Years we shall be incapable of enjoying But to be more particular As for the Pleasures of Lust and Uncleanness whatever Men's Expectations may be of receiving great Satisfaction from them they can't but find by their Experience that there is much of Disappointment in 'em and the Pleasure much greater in Imagination than Reality They are indeed deceitful Lusts and often make Men miserable even here but never happy And for the Truth of this that it may not be look'd upon as a thing only said not prov'd and the cinical Conclusion of a frozen dispirited Student whose narrow Course of Life has made him a Stranger to such Sort of Enjoyments and caus'd him to give a worse Character of them than they deserve I shall vouch the Testimony of Solomon who fill'd the Throne of a rich and flourishing Kingdom and was accountable to none but God for Actions of this Nature and his Desires perfectly
the World And which is the wisest Man he that ruins his Soul for the Gain of even the whole World or he that counts all these sublunary things as Dung in Comparison with Religion and is ready to part with all that this Earth can afford him for the Joys of a good Conscience here and the Glories of Heaven hereafter He that prefers the World in his Choice deprives himself of the greatest Comfort of this present Life and parts with the certain Reversion of eternal Happiness in Heaven for Pleasures that don't deserve that Name they are so empty and unsatisfying he brings most exquisite and everlasting Misery upon his whole self Soul and Body for a very short liv'd imperfect Gratification of his brutal Part only and purchases the Torments of the other World by making himself unhappy in this In a Word therefore as much as to be like God in Holiness and Happiness is to be preferr'd before being like the Devil in Sin and Misery as much as Satisfaction is better than Disappointment Peace and Quietness and Content than Vexation and continual Disturbance and Perplexity of Mind a confirm'd Health and long Life than the Diseases and hasty Death that follows Debauchery and the comfortable Expectation of being for ever happy with Saints and Angels and the blessed God in the Coelestial Paradise than the confounding Dread of the Judgment of the great Day As much as Immortality is more to be prized than a Life of a Span long and the Enjoyment of the chief Good than the Pleasures of a Swine of so much gerater Value is Religion than all that this World can afford and indeed the only desirable Treasure and a Pearl of inestimable Price And now if what has been hitherto discours'd be true the Application is easy If Religion be of all things the most precious let us make it more and more our Endeavour to inrich our Souls with this Treasure to adorn our rational Nature with this Pearl of great Price and with the Merchant in the Parable think nothing too much to part with that we may purchase that Heavenly Wisdom which will make us wise to Salvation For sound Wisdom as the wise King expresses it Prov. 3.18 is a Tree of Life to those that lay hold upon her and happy is every one that retaineth her She shall give to thine Head an Oranment of Grace Prov. 4.9 and a Crown of Glory shall she deliver to thee But he that would have this Wisdom and find this Pearl must not only wish and desire but with the Merchant in the Parable diligently seek it seek and ye shall find says our Lord Pro. 2.4 5. and Solomon assures us That if we seek Wisdom as Silver and search for her as for hid Treasure then shall we understand the Fear of the Lord and find the Knowledge of God Religion is not acquired without Diligence for though it be the Gift of God yet the Soul must be prepared to receive it all evil Habits must be broke and rooted up and pious Dispositions planted in their Room and the Temper of the Mind changed by Repentance and all the Powers of the whole Man become pliable to the Motions of the Spirit of Holiness before the divine Likeness can be formed in the Soul And though 't is the Grace of God that enables us to go thus far for without it we can do nothing yet our own Concurrence and Co-operation with his Grace is necessary to bring the blessed Work of Regeneration to Perfection An obstinate Resistance of preventing Grace will grieve and quench that Life-giving Spirit and such a Soul shall know no more of Religion than that it was invited to it but rejected the Offer and might have been happy in the Enjoyment of so great a Treasure but it would not But when a Soul with Joy embraces the Motions of the holy Spirit to a new Life and makes it her great Endeavour to remove all Obstacles out of the Way that they may make a due Impression and hungers and thirsts after new Degrees of Righteousness This Soul shall be fill'd with the Treasures of the divine Grace and the Power of Godliness will be visible in all Manner of holy Conversation But this can't be perform'd without a watchful persevering Diligence there is so much Opposition from within and without to this great Business that like Nehemiah's Labourers Neh. 5.17 we must work with our Swords in our Hands and fight and strive that we may carry on the Building of a living Temple for our God and make our Souls Houses of Prayer adorn'd with religious Affections and sit to receive him that hates Iniquity He that is thus diligent shall grow rich towards God and daily increase in the Knowledge and Love of him 'till Mortality shall be swallow'd up of Life and then all the Labours of Religion shall for ever be at an End and nothing remain for the happy Soul to do but to enjoy to all Eternity the glorious Rewards of it Let us all therefore be stedfast unmoveable and always abound in this Work of the Lord for as much as we know our Labour shall not be in vain and to our diligent Pursuit of this inestimable Treasure of Religion let us add frequent and earnest Prayer to God who is the only Giver of every good and perfect Gift that he would send down Wisdom from his holy Heaven that being present she may labour with us that we may know what is pleasing in his Sight and set our selves to do it with all Alacrity running with Diligence and Patience the Race that is set before us looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our Faith who for the Joy that was set before him endur'd the Cross despising the Shame Heb. 12.1 2. and is set down at the Right Hand of the Throne of God remembring that we also shall reap in due Season if we faint not And if we part with all the vile Affections for the Sake of Religion in this World and are ready in Preparation of Mind to suffer any worldly Loss even to that of Life it self for the Sake of Jesus and his Truth we shall find such a Recompence of Reward in the Kingdom of Heaven as will abundantly compensate all our Sufferings here for our light Affliction which is but for a Moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal Weight of Glory Happy is the Exchange of all that this World can afford for a Jewel of so great Price as Religion and for such inexhaustible Treasures of Bliss as are reserved to Reward it in the Presence of God What is our greatest Interest therefore let us before all things persue and where our Treasure is there let our Hearts be also The PRAYER I. O Mercifull Jesu Who hast prepared for us a Treasure in Heaven and taught us the Way to attain it and warn'd us of the Emptiness of this World 's Good that we may not be
passively obedient but likewise actively so and ready chearfully to obey his Commands so ought every Believer to be to Christ Indeed this is the main Tryal of true conjugal Affection and is the best Demonstration of the Sincerity of all other Shews of Love and Fidelity and Reverence and Submission For where true Love Reverence and Submission is a chearful Obedience will surely follow and on the contrary where there is no willing chearful Obedience there is but very little if any sincere Affection And therefore says our dear Lord if ye love me keep my Commandments And why call ye me Lord Lord and do not the things that I say And of Sarah 't is said she obey'd Abraham as well as call'd him Lord. And St. John agreeably 1 John 2.5 whoso keepeth his Word in him verily is the Love of God perfected and hereby know we that we are in him And therefore Obedience to the Commands of this our glorious Husband is above all things necessary to continue that our near Relation to him and his Commandments are not grievous but his Yoke is easie and his Burthen light And 't would be strange if we should not obey him who commands us nothing but what is in its own Nature necessary in order to our Happiness in both Worlds In the last place the Gospel is productive of like Effects to those of Marriage and from this so near Relation of Believers to Christ proceeds the Increase of such as shall be the Children of God a numerous Progeny to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven and fill up the Vacancies left by the Fall of the rebellious Angels Thus our Lord calls the becoming Christian 's a being born again John 3.3 and teaches us when we pray to God to say Our Father And St. Paul agreeably in a Quotation from the Prophet Jeremiah says as in the Person of God I will be a Father unto you and ye shall be my Sons and Daughters saith the Lord Allmighty 2 Cor. 6.18 And the Jerusalem which is from above or the Christian Church is said to be the Mother of us all Gal. 4.26 and Chap. 3.26 we are all the Children of God by Christ Jesus And if Children then Heirs Heirs of God and joynt Heirs with Christ of that glorious Kingdom of his which is not of this World but eternal in the Heavens Well therefore may we cry out with Admiration as St. John does 1 John 3.1 Behold what manner of Love the Father hath bestow'd upon us that we should be call'd the Sons of God! And every Man that hath this Hope in him of being receiv'd into the Bosom of his heavenly Father and seeing him as he is must purifie himself even as he is pure And having such glorious Expectations cleanse himself from all Filthyness both of Flesh and Spirit perfecting Holyness in the Fear of God 2 Cor. 7.1 This then is the Nature of the Gospel 't is as a Marriage between Christ and Believers There is one thing more to be consider'd under this first General namely who they are that are admitted to the Joys and Happiness of this blessed Condition They are describ'd in the Parable by the poor and the maim'd the halt and the blind And truly just such was Man's Condition before God was pleased to call him to this happy Marriage Despicably poor we were and destitute of any real Excellency that could recommend us to the Favour of God our Souls were like a parch'd and barren Wilderness burnt up with vile Lusts and Passions no Fruits of Holiness appearing but drawing still nearer and nearer to everlasting Perdition Maim'd we were in all our Faculties by our frequent desperate Falls from our Obedience to God and full of Wounds and Bruises and putrifying Sores and our best Performances very lame and imperfect like the Haltings of a Cripple and our Understandings withall blinded by the Deceitfulness of Sin which put out that Candle of the Lord and made it uncapable of directing us in the right Way that leads to Happiness so that we lay groping in the Dark surrounded with Terrors rack'd by Uncertainties miserably poor and indigent and utterly unable to help our selves When lo There arose up a Light in this Darkness and through the infinite Mercy of our God the Day-spring from on high did visit us we were pitied and commiserated by the Father of Mercies and in this forlorn Condition call'd to partake of the ineffable Joys and Felicities that attend the nearest and dearest Relation to the Son of God The Lord anointed him to preach the Gospel to the poor he sent him to heal the broken-hearted to preach Deliverance to the captives and Recovery of Sight to the blind and to set at Liberty them that are bruised Luke 4.18 And accordingly he inrich'd our Poverty restor'd our Sight heal'd our Bruises and confirm'd our Strength and of his Fulness have we all receiv'd and nothing for the Future can ever make us miserable but our selves Wherefore as we should adore and magnifie with all our Souls the wondrous Goodness and Compassion of God and our Saviour in receiving such wretched polluted Creatures as we were by Nature into so intimate a Relation to himself and making us Partakers of the Comforts of his blessed Spirit in this World and providing Crowns of Glory for us in the next So above all things should we dread to fall back into the same Condition again and work out our Salvation with Fear and Trembling For otherwise 't would have been better for us never to have tasted of the divine Compassion in so extraordinary a Manner as we have done and our latter End will be worse than our Beginning And thus much for the first thing to be consider'd in this Parable namely the Nature of the Gospel or Christian Religion represented by the Marriage of a King's Son and the poor and the maim'd the halt and the blind being call'd in to partake of the Joys and Festivities of that great Solemnity I proceed now to the Second thing to be consider'd namely God's great Care in having this Gospel preach'd this Religion publish'd and made known to all Men and his repeated Invitations to all Men to embrace it represented by that King 's sending forth his Servants to call those that were bidden to the Wedding and again sending other Servants and commanding them to tell those that were bidden that he had prepar'd and made all things ready and therefore to urge them to come unto the Marriage How great God's Care has been that this Gospel should be publish'd and how repeated his Invitations to Men have been that they would embrace it is evident from the whole Story of the first planting of the Gospel and from the Course that by God's Appointment has been taken ever since At first many were endow'd with very extraordinary Abilities for this Purpose such as the Gift of Tongues whereby they were enabled wherever they should go to preach the Gospel to Men
alone could save them and took no Care of good Works How came you in hither How came you into this Society of Christians not having on the Wedding Garment What will they be able to say in their Excuse Will they not be like him in the Parable confounded and ashamed and utterly speechless What will they have to plead in Bar of that dire Sentence which will then be past upon them bind them Hand and Foot and take them away c. certainly nothing but with inexpressible Horror and Despair and Self-Condemnation must submit to their sad Punishment From all this there is in the last Place this general Observation drawn that many are call'd but few chosen The plain Meaning of which I suppose to be this That though the Gospel is preach'd to Myriads of People and all that hear of it are invited alike to embrace it and 't is God's good Pleasure that all should be sav'd and come to the Knowledg of the Truth Yet the most will make a very ill Use of their Liberty of Choice and many utterly reject this Invitation and more though they do embrace it yet become never the better for it by not leading their Lives agreeably to their holy Profession And by this means among the many that are call'd there will be but few that will approve themselves to God as elect or choice and right good Christians and but few consequently that will enter into the eternal Joy of their Lord according to what our Lord said in another Place strait is the Gate and narrow is the Way that leadeth unto Life and few there be that find it Wherefore to conclude this Parable As we have all of us been call'd and invited to a sincere Faith in and intire Obedience to the holy Jesus and do make open Profession of such Faith and Shew of such Obedience it concerns us as much as our Souls are worth and as we would avoid that outer Darkness where is eternal weeping and gnashing of Teeth to take all possible Care that our Faith be so sincere and lively as to produce good Works such as may make our Calling and Election sure Not to rest contented with the Form of Godliness or outward Profession of Christianity but to endeavour after the Power of it and lead our Lives according to our Belief to imitate our Lord's most blessed Example and obey all his holy Precepts and submit to the Disposals of his Providence chearfully and bear unspotted Love and Fidelity to him through the whole Course of our Lives And by this means shall we be reckon'd among his choice Jewels elect and precious and be receiv'd into the nearest and dearest and even an inseparable Relation to him and when this Life 's at an End be conducted by his Angels into his glorious Presence there to share in his Happiness to eternal Ages The PRAYER MOST blessed God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who in infinite Mercy and amazing Condescension hast invited me miserable Creature though poor and maim'd halt and blind and destitute of every thing that may recommend me to thee except it be my Wretchedness to the most intimate Union with thy glorious Son and as the Bride of that divine Bridegroom to enjoy his Love and be blessed with his tenderest Regard his Protection and Desence and to partake of his Honour and Glory and Happiness How can I enough praise and magnifie this thy wondrous Goodness And with what Transports of Joy should I embrace so inestimable a Favour But I alas stupid as I am and bewitch'd with the Cares and Business and Gain and Pleasures of this World have hitherto stood in the Way of my own Happiness and disregarded this gracious Offer and preferr'd every thing before this spiritual Marriage with the Son of God or at best have deferr'd it still till another Time provoking thereby most justly thy Wrath and Indignation against me and deserving to be for ever excluded thy blessed Presence as infinitely unworthy But now O Lord I do earnestly repent and am heartily sorry for so ungratefully sliting such infinite Mercy The Remembrance of this Vileness is grievous unto me the Burden of it is intollerable and with the utmost Earnestness of a troubled Spirit I beg thy heavenly Aid that now without the least Delay I may chearfully embrace the blessed Invitations of the Gospel and love and honour the Messengers which bring me those glad Tidings and since my Maker is my Husband be always mindful of my Duty to him and bear him unspotted Fidelity and Love be his intirely and for ever submit without Reserve to his heavenly Government reverence his Authority and glorifie him with my Body and my Spirit which are his And grant O merciful God I humbly intreat thee that the Spirit of Infidelity may never possess my Soul lest I totally reject this blessed Invitation or having embrac'd it and enter'd into so near a Relation to my Saviour again divorce my self from him by entertaining strange and forbidden Loves And since I am so highly honour'd by the Son of God O may I always be careful to preserve the Dignity of so high a Calling and not debase my self by low sunk brutish Actions but as befits the spiritual Spouse of Christ be cloath'd with the wedding Garment of sincere Purity and Holiness that so I may never be separated from my dearest Lord but ever enjoy the unconceivable Happiness of his heavenly Kingdom Which grant O merciful Father for the Sake of that blessed Jesus Amen Amen PARABLE VI. Of the Ten Virgins Matth. xxv 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13. Then shall the Kingdom of Heaven be likened unto Ten Virgins which took their Lamps and went forth to meet the Bridegroom And five of them were wise and five were foolish They that were foolish took their Lamps and took no Oil with them But the wise took Oil in their Vessels with their Lamps While the Bridegroom tarried they all slumbered and slept And at Midnight there was a Cry made Behold the Bridegroom cometh go ye out to meet him Then all those Virgins arose and trimmed their Lamps And the foolish said unto the wise Give us of your Oil for our Lamps are gone out But the wise answer'd saying not so lest there be not enough for us and you but go ye rather to them that sell and buy for your selves And while they went to buy the Bridegroom came and they that were ready went in with him to the Marriage and the Door was shut Afterwards came also the other Virgins saying Lord Lord open to us But he answer'd and said verily I say unto you I know you not Watch therefore for ye know neither the Day nor the Hour wherein the Son of Man cometh THough the first Intention of this Parable as may be probably collected from the foregoing Chapter which is a Description of the sad State that was e'er long to overtake Jerusalem for the Jews
Wicked Men and occasioning much Thanksgiving unto God O may I never forget that I am the Steward only of that Portion of this World 's Good with which thou hast intrusted me for the Good of thy great Family And that thou wilt one Day call me to give an Account of the Discharge of this my Stewardship particularly enquire into my Acts of Charity and infinitely reward me if I be found Faithful in this Trust and for ever punish me with the Devil and his Angels if I be not And that I may abound the more in this excellent Grace of Charity Assist me effectually and immediately to cut off all Excesses and vain Superfluities of Life and never let me be so forsaken of all Piety and Humanity as to suffer my poor Fellow-Servants to want Necessaries rather than retrench my vile Extravagancies May this most excellent and royal Law of thine be always present with me as my Rule to do to others as I would be done by in like Circumstance and in all the Expresses of my Charity let thy Glory and the Good of my Brethren and the Public be my sole End and remove far from me all Pride and Vain-Glory for thy Mercies Sake This and whatever else is necessary to the Perfection of this great Duty grant me I beseech thee O most Compassionate Saviour Jesus Amen PARABLE VIII Of the Talents Matth. xxv 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30. The Kingdom of Heaven is as a Man travelling into a far Country who called his own Servants and deliver'd unto them his Goods And unto one he gave five Talents to another two and to another one to every Man according to his several Ability and straightway took his Journey Then he that had received the five Talents went and traded with them and made them other five Talents And likewise he that had received two he also gained other two But he that had received one went and digged in the Earth and hid his Lords Money After a long time the Lord of these Servants cometh and reckoneth with them And so he that had received five Talents came and brought other five Talents saying Lord thou deliver'dst unto me five Talents behold I have gain'd besides them five Talents more His Lord said unto him Well done thou good and faithful Servant thou hast been faithful over a few things I will make thee Ruler over many things enter thou into the Joy of thy Lord. He also that had receiv'd two Talents came and said Lord thou deliver'dst unto me two Talents behold I have gained two other Talents besides them His Lord said unto him Well done good and faithful Servant thou hast been c. Then he which had received the one Talent came and said Lord I know thee that thou art an hard man reaping where thou hast not sown and gathering where thou hast not strew'd And I was afraid and went and hid thy Talent in the Earth lo there thou hast that is thine His Lord answer'd and said unto him thou wicked and slothful Servant thou knowest that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I have not strewed Thou oughtest therefore to have put my Money to the Exchangers and then at my coming I should have received mine own with Vsury Take therefore the Talent from him and give it unto him that hath ten Talents For unto every one that hath shall be given and he shall have abundance but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath And cast ye the unprofitable Servant into outer Darkness there shall be weeping and gnashing of Teeth THE Interpretation of this Parable may be this By a Man travelling into a far Country is represented our Saviour's leaving this World and Ascending into Heaven after he had finish'd the great Work of our Redemption and by his calling to him his own Servants and delivering to them his Goods is signified his enabling his Disciples with sufficient Grace and the Assistance of his Holy Spirit to perform that Duty and Service which he requires of them in his Absence By his giving to one Five Talents to another Two and to a third but One according to their several Abilities is expressed that God affords his Grace according to Mens natural Capacity of serving him for there is a previous Ability first supposed and suitable to that is the number of Talents that are given and to the Kind and Degree of Service that he thereupon expects from them He that by the previous Gift of God in his natural Endowments is capable of doing him great Service and of being an excellent Example to others and is therefore by the Providence of God design'd for or actually plac'd in an eminent Station and employ'd in a Service of great Weight and Difficulty to him is given greater Aid from Above because he is more capable of improving what he receives to God's Glory and the Good of the Church and has likewise greater Need of the Divine Assistance by reason of the Difficulty of the Duty he is to perform And he that naturally is not so capable receives proportionably less Aid from Heaven but yet such as is sufficient to enable him to discharge that Duty which according to his natural Capacity is required of him By His Trading that had received Five Talents and gaining other Five and his gaining other Two that had received but Two is shewn that according to the Measure of Grace and supernatural Assistance that Men have received so should their Improvement be and that faithful Christians will be careful to make such Improvement And by His hiding his Talent in the Ground that had but One is represented the inexcusable Sloth and Idleness of wicked Men who will not take so much Pains as to improve tho but One Talent in order to their Salvation By the Lord of those Servants coming after a long time and reckoning with them is represented the Coming of Christ to Judgment at the End of the World then to enquire into every Man's Works and Reward or Punish as there is just Occasion By His receiving the Diligent into his Joy is express'd the Reward of the Righteous in the Blissful Kingdom of Heaven and by the Slothful and Wicked Servant who was therefore Wicked because Slothful by his bringing his One Talent to his Lord unimprov'd and excusing his Unprofitableness by saying that he knew him to be a hard Man unreasonably griping expecting to reap where he had not sown and the like and that therefore he brought him his own again as he gave it him fearing to employ it lest he should have lost it and yet been oblig'd to make it good to his Lord By this is represented the Base Thoughts too many have of God and Religion as if it were impossible to bear his Yoke and keep his Commands he exacting such unreasonable Services from us but this is only to excuse one Wickedness by
what Instruction he hath met with in the School of Righteousness what plenty of Religious Discourses and Exhortations he has enjoy'd and how frequently he has felt Motions from within to a still more and more holy and exemplary Life He that hath experienc'd all this in a great degree that hath had his pregnant natural Capacity well cultivated by an early and excellent Instruction and had the whole of Religion plainly laid before him in all the Doctrines Duties Rewards and Punishments of it and been often and affectionately exhorted to live accordingly in all holy Conversation and Godliness and has frequently felt secret internal Motions and Perswasions to it this Man has received much more than One Talent at the hands of God and God will expect from him a proportionable Improvement and he must abound in every good Word and Work For unto whomsoever much is given of him shall be much requir'd and to whom Men have committed much of him they will ask the more But because all Men are not of equal Abilities naturally neither have the same Opportunities of Instruction and Improvement nor the same immediate Impulses of the Blessed Spirit where there is any defect in these Respects God will abate proportionably in his Expectations and he that received the One Talent had he gained but One other with it would have been call'd a good and faithful Servant and been receiv'd into the Joy of his Lord. Let us all therefore endeavour to grow in Grace according to the measure of this unspeakable Gift to perform our Duties each in his Station and according to his Ability faithfully and industriously that when our Lord comes to make Enquiry into each ones Improvement of his Talent and call for every ones particular Account we may all from the least to the greatest chearfully give it up and receive the immense Reward of a sincere Diligence For In the third Place There will most certainly be a Time when our Great Lord will come to take Account of every Man's Improvement of the Grace that was given him and reward every Man according to his Deserving That there will certainly be a Day of Judgment both of Quick and Dead when every Man shall be rewarded according to that he hath done in the Body whether it be good or evil is a Truth so evident from Scripture that those who have read and do believe those Writings can make no doubt of it And the Proof of this from Reason has been so convincingly manag'd by several Learned Pens particularly of late by Dr. Sherlock in his Excellent Discourse upon Judgment that I think nothing can be added to it I shall only therefore Collect such a Description of that Great Day and the Proceedings in it out of the Revelations where it is the most movingly represented as may incline us all with the greatest Diligence and immediately by self-Examination and Amendment of every evil Way to prepare for that great Audit that we may give up our Accounts with joy and not with grief In the 20th Chapter of the Revelations ver 12. after the divine Apostle had given a Description of the Appearing of the great Judge upon his Throne I saw a great White Throne says he and him that sat on it from whose face the Earth and the Heaven fled away and there was found no place for them He proceeds I saw the dead small and great stand before God and the Books were opened And another Book was opened which is the Book of Life and the dead were judged out of those Things that were written in the Books according to their Works and the Sea gave up the dead that were in it and Death and the Grave deliver'd up the dead which were in them and they were judged every man according to their Works And whosoever was not written in the Book of Life was cast into the Lake of Fire That is The Records shall then be laid open wherein every Man's Receipt of Grace is enter'd and those whose Works shall be found proportionably good according to the Assistance they have receiv'd from Above or in the Stile of the Parable that have made an answerable Improvement to the Number of Talents committed to them their Names shall be written in the Book of Life and they received into the eternal Joy of their Lord. But those who can then give no good Account of their Talents shew no suitable Improvement in Holiness according to the measure of Grace they have received shall never see Life but be cast into the Lake of Fire which is the second Death And because so very few will be so wise as to make due Preparation for this great Day of Account by improving the Grace God has given them to the great Ends for which it was design'd therefore as 't is describ'd Rev. 3.15 The Kings of the Earth and the great Men and the rich Men and the chief Captains and the mighty Men and every Bond-man and every Freeman many of all Qualities and Conditions from the highest to the lowest shall hide themselves in Dens in Rocks and Mountains and say to the Rocks and Mountains fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the Throne and from the Wrath of the Lamb for the great Day of his Wrath is come and who shall be able to stand May these Terrors of the Lord perswade us to provide in this our day for the Things that belong to our Peace before they be hid from our eyes looking for by frequent Meditation and hastning unto by a diligent Improvement of our Talents the coming of this dreadful day of God and being above all things careful That we be found of him in Peace without spot and blameless for God will bring every secret Thing into Judgment whether it be good or evil and exactly adapt every Man's Recompense to his Work Which brings me to the next Thing I am to consider in this Parable namely Fourthly That at that great Day of Account when every Man's Work is fully known and his Improvement compar'd with what he has receiv'd the Diligent shall not only in general be receiv'd into the Joy of their Lord and the unprofitable cast into outer Darkness but the most Diligent those that have made the greatest Improvement shall receive the greatest share of Happiness And those that have been most careless and Unprofitable shall be doom'd to the greatest misery That is in short there will be degrees of Happiness or Misery respectively awarded to Men according to the degrees of their Holiness or Impiety I know this has been much question'd by some and wholly deny'd by others and their main Reason against it I conceive to be this That since the Happiness of the Just in Heaven consists in the Vision of God or the Excellencies and Beauties of the Divine Nature which will fill a holy Soul with eternal and inexpressible Delight for so St. John expresses the Bliss of Heaven by seeing God as
he is 1 Joh 3.2 and St. Paul by seeing him face to face and knowing him even as we are known 1 Cor. 13.12 And since the Misery of the Wicked in Hell consists in an eternal Banishment from his Divine Presence for so the Sentence runs that shall be pass'd upon them at the Day of Judgment Depart from me ye Cursed c. Upon these Accounts it seems to them most agreeable to Truth that All the Just being admitted to the Beatifick Vision of God should be equally Happy and All the Wicked being for ever exil'd to him should be equally Miserable But this Argument in my Apprehension is so far from destroying the Doctrine of the Degrees of Happiness and Misery in Heaven and Hell that I think 't is rather the best Supporter of it For since 't is very true that the Happiness of Heaven consists in the Beatifick Vision of God and the Misery of Hell in an eternal Banishment from him and since 't is as true that some good Men in this Life approach nearer to him and see more of his Excellencies and bear a greater Resemblance to him than others and so become capable of a more intimate Vision of him in Heaven and some bad Men on the contrary wander to a greater distance from him here and become more unlike him by their great Impieties than other Sinners do and so become more incapable of that pure and holy Vision than others that are less wicked Since this is so methinks it should be most agreeable to Truth that those that were the Holiest Men here should be the Happiest Saints in Heaven as bearing a nearer Resemblance to the Divine Nature and consequently capable of a more close and intimate Vision of him and that those who by their great Impiety beyond other Men were most estranged from God here should be banish'd farthest from him in the Regions of Despair and Darkness as being the most hateful to him because the most unlike nay contrary to him and the most uncapable of seeing and enjoying him and consequently feel the most exquisite Pangs of Horror and Despair the hottest Boilings of Rage and Impatience and most bitter Remorse of Soul for bringing this most miserable Condition upon themselves when once they might with much Ease and Pleasure have avoided it and been for ever happy in the Vision and Enjoyment of God Indeed as to plain Proof from Scripture of the Degrees of Misery in Hell I must confess I cannot recollect any and would by no means strain God's Word beyond its due Extent but as to Degrees of Glory and Happiness in Heaven I think there are several Places of Scripture that plainly enough establish that Doctrine of which I shall mention but one and that because 't is part of a Parable exactly the same in the concealed sense of it with that I am now discoursing upon only something differently related by S. Luke 'T is in the 19th Chapter the 15th and 4 following Verses where we find when the King came to take Account of his Servants Improvement of what he left in their Hands to trade with in his Absence he exactly proportion'd every Man's Recompense to the Increase he made of what was committed to his Charge to him that had gain'd Ten Pounds with the Pound his Lord left with him was given Authority over as many Cities and so to him that had gain'd Five proportionably Authority over Five Which I think can mean no less than this that where there is different Degrees of Mens Improvement of Grace in this World there shall be as different Degrees awarded of Glory and Happiness in Heaven and there being great Difference between the Degrees of Christians Improvement here there will be as great Difference in the Degrees of their Happiness hereafter And though every Saint in Heaven shall have as clear and intimate Vision and Enjoyment of God as he is capable of and partake in an agreeable Measure of the Happiness that will flow from such Vision and Enjoyment and be as Happy as 't is possible for him to be yet the Capacity of every Saint will not be equal Some Souls will be more enlarg'd than others and able to receive more Rays of the Divine Glory and so though every of those Vessels of Honor shall be full yet all will not hold alike and one Star there will differ from another Star in Glory 'T is true indeed that the Mind of every good Man shall then be clarified and refined purg'd from the Dross and Soil contracted during its Residence in the Flesh and rendred more agile and expedite in the Exercise of its several Faculties and its Knowledge and Love of God vastly improved But that Souls of less Improvement here shall immediately upon their Departure from the Body receive extraordinary new Additions to equalize them to those of higher Attainments is hard to imagine and would mightily discourage the generous Endeavours of Heroick Piety and Exemplary Religion But when every Man shall in that glorious Kingdom above be rewarded according to the Degrees of his Piety and a great Love to God and zealous Prosecution of the Interest of Religion and an eminent Sanctity shall be crown'd with a more than ordinary Glory and Felicity in Heaven 't will mightily encourage a holy Soul to forget with St. Paul the things that are behind and press on to what is still before always aiming at still greater Degrees of Perfection till Mortality shall be swallow'd up of Life The Improvement of this Speculation to Practice is this That since the Degrees of Glory and Happiness in Heaven shall be answerable to the Degrees of Mens Holiness and Improvement of their Talents upon Earth we would run with Diligence the Race that is set before us and gird up the Loins of our Mind and set our selves to the Performance of every thing that is well-pleasing in the sight of God with Cheerfulness and not pretend Difficulty when the Reward is so exceeding great and shall be proportion'd to the Degrees of our Vertue For can we be too happy Can we be too like God Can our Crown be too glorious and resplendent Away then with that mean-spirited Religion which thus lessens and confines our Happiness let us unfold our Hands and pluck them out of our Bosoms and encourage our selves in a vigorous Pursuit of an excellent Piety forasmuch as we know that our Labour shall not be in vain in the Lord. Fifthly In the next Place I am to shew that 't is abominably false and impious with the Unprofitable Servant in the Parable to charge God with being unreasonably rigid and severe in taking so strict an Account of Mens Improvement of his Divine Grace and Assistances and expecting to find a good Use made of what he committed to their Trust That God is often charg'd with such unreasonable Severity by Men that care not to perform their Duty is too true to be question'd and such as love to indulge their vile
Perfection He who is Light it self and in whom is no Darkness at all will hide nothing of his Glory from the Eyes of their pure and prepar'd Minds but communicate the Knowledge of his most Excellent Nature to the utmost Capacity of their Beatified Souls and make 'em full of Divine Gladness with the Joy of his Countenance Their Apprehensions shall be clear'd and brightned their Faculties act upon this best of Objects vigorously and without any Hindrance or Distraction and every View of the Divine Beauty shall discover new Graces and Perfections for God is an Immense and Fathomless Ocean of Beauty as Plato excellently expresses it and their Capacities by every such View shall be enlarg'd and made still more and more capacious for the Reception of a following greater Manifestation And so their Love and Admiration of this Divine Being always increasing and their Enjoyment of him compleat and sull to the utmost of their Capacity their Joy and Happiness will be like that of God himself because springing from the same Fountain Unspeakable and Eternal And since the Reward of a Pious Industry will be such an Exceeding and Eternal Weight of Glory methinks we should take off our Affections from these lower Goods and doat no longer upon these vain and worthless Trifles nor throw away our Love upon that which satisfieth not and spend our Labour for that which is not Bread but make it our great Endeavour to be rich towards God and by improving the Talents he hath given us lay up a Treasure in Heaven 1 Cor. 2.9 Remembring That Eye hath not seen nor Ear heard neither can it enter into the Heart of Man to conceive the things which God hath prepar'd for them that love him And certainly that Diligence is well bestowed which shall be rewarded with a Crown of Glory Eternal in the Heavens But with the Unprofitable and Slothful Servant it is not so neither in this World nor in the next In this World the Lashes of a guilty Conscience will be unto him a Continual Torment the Sense of his having carelesly neglected his Duty and not performing according to his Ability the Just Commands of his great Lord but being an Unfaithful Steward of the Grace of God bestowed upon him and that he is far from being able to give in a good Account when his Lord shall come expecting the Improvement of his Talent This will fill his Breast with unspeakable Trouble and Perplexity and imbitter all his Worldly Enjoyments with the Mixture of Anxious Fear and Dread of a severe After-Reckoning and the terrifying Expectation of his sad Fate that will ensue will be to him even like a Hell upon Earth and cruciate his Soul with unspeakable Pangs and Agonies And which is much worse still the Grace that has so long lain unimprov'd shall at length be taken from him and the Man as desperate and irreclaimable be given over and as 't were seal'd up to Remediless Misery And in the next World at that great Day when he shall be actually call'd to give Account of his Works the Dire Sentence of Depart from me ye Cursed into Everlasting Fire prepar'd for the Devil and his Angels shall strike him through with Horror and Confusion and he shall be driven into Outer Darkness where he shall Eternally bewail his Miserable Condition and gnash his Teeth in bitter Remorse for bringing himself to that Place of Torment by slothfully neglecting the Improvement of that Divine Grace with which he might if he would have work'd out his Salvation Crying out to Eternal Ages in utter Despair and most tormenting Agonies of Soul O that I had consider'd in that my Day the things that did belong unto my Peace but now they are for ever hid from mine Eyes And now for a Conclusion of this Discourse Here is in this Parable we see on the one Hand all the Encouragement in the World to Diligence and Industry and a Lively Improving Piety such as more and more Abundance of Grace with all the Blessed Attendants of it in this World and a full Enjoyment of God himself in Heaven And on the other side here is what if duly consider'd will make any Man afraid of Spiritual Sloth and Idleness and not dare to neglect the Improvement of his Talent for if he does he shall be depriv'd of God's Grace here and doom'd to Eternal Misery at the Day of Judgment Wherefore let us seriously consider what has been now commented upon this Parable and beg of God so to bless it to our Good that we may be inclin'd by it to make a due Improvement of the Talents he has committed to our Management to his Honour and Glory and our own Eternal Salvation The PRAYER MOST Glorious God the Fountain of Perfection whom I humbly acknowledge to be the Giver of every good and perfect Gift I beseech thee assist me with thy Grace that according to thy Just Expectation I may make a suitable Improvement of the Talents I have receiv'd from thy Bounty to thy Glory and the Publick Good And may my Industry be excited by this great Consideration That thou wilt certainly call me to give an Account of my Improvement and very speedily perhaps and wilt proportionably reward or punish me in the Eternal World I thankfully own most merciful Father that thou hast given me sufficient Grace wherewith to arrive at the End of my Hopes and art not at all wanting to me in this unspeakable Gift O may I not be wanting to my self and neglect and bury this Precious Talent but with Diligence and Carefulness endeavour to work out my Salvation with it in Fear and Trembling Remembring what Confusion I shall be in how utterly without Plea or Excuse when for my Wicked Slothfulness thou shalt consign me to outer Darkness since thou didst enable me to perform all thou expectedst from me And may the unspeakably Happy Condition of the Diligent encourage me to an Active Persevering Piety and always to abound in the Work of thee my Lord since I know my Labour shall not be in vain but be rewarded with still larger Additions of thy Grace in this World and with the Participation in great Degrees of thy Glory in the next O God assist me more and more with this thy Heavenly Grace and may I always gratefully acknowledge from whom I have receiv'd it and return thee all the Praise of what I shall do well by thy Assistance and always fear lest by my Negligence I forfeit it That so faithfully improving the Talent thou hast here committed to my Trust I may at the great Day of Retribution hear these Blessed Words Well done good and faithful Servant enter thou into the Joy of thy Lord. Which grant O Gracious God for the Sake of Jesus thy Beloved Amen PARABLE IX Of the Covetous Rich Fool. Luke xii 16 17 18 19 20 21. And Jesus spake a Parable unto them saying The Ground of a certain Rich Man brought forth plentifully And
'T is Fruit then God expects from Christians not Leaves not the Form of Godliness but the Power of it not to be call'd Lord Lord but to have his Commands Obeyed But since God is infinitely full already and can receive no Addition to his Inexhaustible Store since our Goodness extendeth not to him neither is it any Profit to him that we make our Way perfect It will not be amiss to enquire upon what Accounts God so strictly and indispensibly requires that we should be Fruitful And 't is upon our own Account that we might be happy in this World and made capable of enjoying the Glories and Felicities of the Kingdom of Heaven First God expects the Fruits of Righteousness from all that name the Name of Jesus and are planted in his Vineyard that they may be happy in this World 'T is the great Design of our good God to make his Creatures happy and because we are plac'd in this World to fit and prepare our selves for Heaven and are to spend a Life here below he has given us a Rule which if we walk by we shall be happy here as well as in the world above and which if we disregard and deviate from a double Misery will be our Portion And in this God deals with us as a wise and good Parent with his Children he keeps them close to what will conduce to their Happiness though he himself receives no other Benefit by it than the Hope of seeing his Off spring happy 'T is for this Reason that our Saviour the great Dresser of God's Vineyard and his Servants the Apostles so often press the Observance of such Rules as have chiefly Relation to the Comfortable Living in this World as with Relation to others Mercifulness Charity Meekness Forbearance and Forgiveness of Injuries Peaceableness Compassion and Pity together with exact Justice and Honesty without which there would be be no Comfort of Society and Men would be like so many Wild Beasts preying upon and devouring one another And with Relation to our selves we are taught Temperance and Sobriety and Chastity and Moderation in all things Contentment of Mind Patience and the like without which neither a Man's Mind or Body would be at Ease nor taste any Comfort and Happiness in Life Indeed God has been pleas'd to annex the Rewards of Heaven to the sincere and constant Practice of these Virtues as a further Encouragement to Men chearfully and diligently to set about them but 't is the Happiness of this World that they have a direct Influence upon and are therefore commanded and therefore encourag'd that much Sin and Misery might be prevented and Men might be happy in this lower World For as for the contrary Vices as Cruelty and Unmercifulness Rage and Intemperate Anger Uncharitableness and Revenge Strife and Envy Injustice and Oppression and the like these would make a Hell upon Earth and quite destroy Society and all the Comforts of it and make the World like a Desert and force Men to the Shelter of Rocks and Mountains and Dens and Caves of the Earth And where-ever they should go if Intemperance and ungovern'd Lust and Inordinate Desire and Use of the Gratifications of Sense Discontent and Anxiety of Mind Impatience and the like should follow them their Misery would be endless and Happiness an utter Stranger to them And therefore as much as the Happiness of Life is to be valu'd so much are we bound to praise and adore the Infinite and Disinteressed Goodness of God who hath given us such Rules of Living as if observ'd will procure that Happiness and who besides that we may not fail to observe them has over and above propos'd to us ineffably Glorious Rewards in Heaven if we do and threatned as great a Misery in Hell if we do not That is he has done all that is possible to be done to make a free Agent happy in the World that now is as well as that which is to come and therefore 't is highly reasonable that we give all possible Praise and Thanksgiving to that his Infinite Goodness and use all possible Diligence to co-operate with his Gracious Intentions for our Good for 't is our Happiness that will be promoted by it not his And this is the first Reason why God so indispensibly requires of us the Fruits of Righteousness because 't is impossible we should be happy even in this World without them A second Reason of this is because otherwise 't is impossible we should be happy in the next Life The Happiness of the next Life we are well assur'd consists in an intimate Vision and Enjoyment of God who is the Fountain of Excellency and Perfection and consequently of Bliss and God being an infinitely Pure and Holy Being and it being necessary to Enjoyment that there should be a Correspondence and Agreeableness between the Object and the Faculty no Soul but what is Pure and Holy is capable of enjoying a Pure and Holy God The Soul therefore of every Man being since the Fall of Adam stain'd and polluted full of vile Affections and Lusts such as render it uncapable of so pure and Divine a Happiness 't is necessary that it should be refined and purified and have Heavenly Affections and Desires planted in the Room of those Vile and Brutish ones and recover the Divine Likeness which has been so shamefully defac'd that so at length by the Actual Excercise of the Divine Life here we may become in some Measure capable of enjoying the Celestial Happiness that flows from the Contemplation and Love of the Supreme Good Or in the Words of St. John that being like him in this State of Probation we may be prepar'd to see see him as he is in the Regions of Glory And this an Observance of the Precepts of our Holy Religion will effect and they were therefore given that they might effect it We are exhorted to be poor in Spirit humble and resign'd to the Will of God that so we may be conducted safely to the Kingdom of Heaven to hunger and thirst after Righteousness that we may be fill'd with Grace here and Glory hereafter to mourn for our former Vileness and Degeneracy and Estrangement from God and flee from all Wickedness and sincerely endeavour a Reformation that so we may be comforted in the Day of Retribution and as good and faithful Servants be receiv'd into the Joy of our Lord. We are urg'd to Purity of Heart that we may see God to be holy as he is holy perfect as he is perfect pure as he is pure because he hates Iniquity and into his Presence no unclean thing can enter and without Holiness no Man can see the Lord. So that the Reason why God requires that we should bring forth Fruit unto Holiness is that the end may be everlasting Life These are the Reasons why God so strictly and indispensibly requires that we should be fruitful of good Works after he has planted us in his Vineyard and
Thou hast done all O blessed God that can be done to secure the Happiness of Rational and Free Agents I therefore beg with all the Earnestness of an awaken'd Soul that thy Goodness Long-suffering and Forbearance may soften my Spirit and lead me to Repentance and melt me into Shame and Tears of Penitential Sorrow for having so long abused the tender Kindness of so good a God O let not thy Lenity ever extinguish the Dread of thy Vengeance which though slow is sure and may I seriously consider that if this thy Mercy is not effectual to my Reformation 't will but add weight to the Eternal Ruine I deserve May these Considerations most gracious God never depart from my Mind till Fruit be added to my Leaves and I experience the Power of True Godliness which Thing if thou wilt grant me then will I praise thee without ceasing and magnifie thy Goodness for ever and ever Amen Amen PARABLE XI Of the Prodigal Son Luke xv 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24. And Jesus said a certain Man had two Sons And the younger of them said to his Father Father give me the portion of Goods that falleth to me And he divided unto them his Living And not many days after the younger Son gather'd all together and took his Journey into a far Country and there wasted his Substance in riotous living And when he had spent all there arose a mighty Famine in that Land and he began to be in want And he went and joyned himself to a Citizen of that Country and he sent him into his Fields to feed Swine And he would fain have filled his Belly with the Husks that the Swine did eat and no man gave unto him And when he came to himself he said How many hired Servants of my Fathers have Bread enough and to spare and I perish with Hunger I will arise and go to my Father and will say unto him Father I have sinned against Heaven and before thee And am no more worthy to be called thy Son make me as one of thy hired Servants And he arose and came to his Father But when he was yet a great way off his Father saw him and had Compassion and ran and fell on his Neck and kissed him And the Son said unto him Father I have sinned against Heaven and in thy sight and am no more worthy to be called thy Son But the Father said to his Servants bring forth the best Robe and put it on him and put a Ring on his Hand and Shooes on his Feet And bring hither the fatted Calf and kill it and let us eat and be merry For this my Son was dead and is alive again he was lost and is found THIS whole Chapter from the Third Verse to the End is intended to represent the great Tenderness and Compassion of God towards Sinners his great Desire that they should Repent and turn from their wicked Courses and how highly pleasing to him it is when they sincerely do so And this is express'd in Three Parables The First of a Man's seeking diligently a Sheep that he had lost and leaving the rest of his Flock till he had found it and then rejoycing greatly and telling his Neighbours the good News and inviting them to partake of his Joy The Second is of a Woman's having lost a Piece of Silver and seeking very carefully till she had found it and then in like manner rejoycing with her Friends for her good Success And the Third Parable is that of the Prodigal Son And because they are All to the same purpose 't will be sufficient to discourse of One of them only and the Last being the most full and comprehensive I shall consider That The Occasion of Our Lord 's speaking these Parables was The Scribes and Pharisees finding fault with him for Instructing and Conversing with Publicans and Sinners for they look'd upon it as very scandalous and a kind of Pollution to have any Familiarity with those worst of Men as they thought them and murmur'd against our Saviour saying This Man receiveth Sinners and eateth with them ver 2. To this Objection of theirs against him he answers in the Parables before mention'd and shews how unreasonably uncharitable they were to think much of his Teaching and Conversing with those who because the vilest of Men had therefore the most Need of his holy Instructions and excellent Example that they might be Reform'd and Reclaim'd from their wicked Practices For as he said elsewhere the Whole have no need of a Physician but those that are Sick and therefore he came to Seek and to Save those that were lost and Not to call the Righteous but Sinners to Repentance Nay more he tells them in the 7th and 10th Verses of this Chapter that There shall be more Joy in Heaven in the Presence of the Angels of God over One Sinner that Repenteth than over Ninety and Nine Just Persons that need no Repentance or such a total Change of Mind as is in a Sinner that breaks off his vile Courses by Repentance And farther to explain and enforce this great and most comfortable Truth and represent it more lively to their Apprehensions he spake the Parable of the Prodigal Son and therein very naturally and movingly expresses these Four Things First The great Extravagancy of Wicked Men when they give themselves up to the Conduct of their own Wills and Affections and are weary of the Government of God their Heavenly Father Secondly The sad Condition such Men quickly reduce themselves to by that their Extravagancy and loose self-will'd Course of Life or in other Words the miserable Consequences of Debauchery and Riot Thirdly The sharp Remorse of Conscience that attends such Courses the Shame and Sorrow for them and the Resolutions of an awaken'd Sinner to return again to his Obedience to God And Fourthly The great Tenderness and Compassion of the Father of Spirits to such as Repent in earnest and keep their Resolutions His Readiness to receive them again to his Favour and great Joy for their Return Because they were dead but are alive again were lost but are found Which last Particular is the Reason of the greater Joy that is in Heaven over one Sinner that Repenteth than over Ninety and Nine Just persons that need no Repentance and is a very satisfactory Account of our Lord 's so often Conversing with and Instructing Publicans and Sinners For they had the most need of that great Physician of Souls and consequently their Salvation would cause the greatest Joy in Heaven and therefore our Compassionate Saviour so industriously endeavour'd their Conversion And had the Pharisees had any of that Goodness in them they so much pretended to they would have rejoyced at our Lord's Charity and admir'd and lov'd him for it rather than have murmur'd at it as they did and used it as an Objection against him The first Thing express'd in this Parable is the great Extravagancy
that he would turn away that fierce Anger from him which he is very sensible he has but too much deserv'd Thus David fram'd a Psalm on purpose to confess and bewail his great Transgressions in the Matter of Uriah He then forgot all that was good in him and did not expect that his former excellent Piety should cover and make Amends for those foul Sins He did not search for Excuses and endeavour to extenuate his Guilt but like a truly humble Penitent chang'd his usual Strain of Praise and Thansgiving for the Accents of Grief and Shame and better Remorse acknowledging his Transgressions and having his Sins ever before him and with the most pathetick Earnestness of a broken and contrite Heart begging God's Forgiveness and that he would again Greate in him a clean Heart and renew a right Spirit within him As if those his great Wickednesses had not only polluted all that before was good in him but quite destroy'd the Rectitude and Integrity of his Soul And as David so S. Peter when he reflected upon the great Baseness of Denying his divine Master and Saviour his Spirit was so truly humbled that without endeavouring in the least to conceal or palliate his Fault he went out and wept bitterly And so the Publican in the Parable would not so much as lift up his Eyes to Heaven but stood afar off in the Court of the Gentiles which was the lowest of all and with great Compunction of Spirit smote upon his Breast and said God be merciful to me a Sinner And thus much for the First Thing to be done upon this Parable which was to shew what the Grace of Spiritual Humility is viz. a not Over-valuing our spiritual Excellencies nor our Selves by reason of them nor despising others as less Holy but returning all the Glory to God who made us to differ nor undervaluing or endeavouring to excuse and extenuate our Wickednesses but an impartial considering the Vileness and great Aggravations of them and sincere humbling our Selves for them at the Throne of God The Second Thing to be done is to shew how excellent and beneficial this Vertue is in our Christian Course and how vile and mischievous the contrary Vice is 'T is a sufficient Argument that this Vertue is very excellent and of great Benefit to Christians that our Lord has plac'd it in the Front of his Beatitudes which he begins thus Blessed are the poor in Spirit Like a wise Master-Builder he lays the Foundation low of a Building that was to reach so very high and Humbleness of Mind must be the Ground-work of that Religion which will advance a Man to Heaven Piety without Humility is very apt to make Men top-heavy and over-set like a Ship without her Ballast 't is this that preserves the Soul unshaken amidst the Temptations of the World as that makes a Ship sail sure and steady amidst the mighty Billows The House in the Gospel that was founded upon a sandy Surface of the Earth soon yielded to the Fury of the Tempest and great was the Fall of it our Lord therefore begins with poverty of Spirit as the Basis and great security of all his other Building which he foresaw and foretold was to undergo the Shock of many a furious Storm and contend with all the Powers of the Prince of Darkness But more particularly this Grace of Spiritual Humility is so excellent and highly beneficial that nothing more conduces to a Man's Spiritual growth and Encrease in Vertue nor renders him more dear both to God and Man First Nothing more conduces to a Man's spiritual growth and Encrease in Vertue For 't is very true in Religion as well as in Worldly Affairs That nothing makes Men more industrious than a due sense of their Wants and the poorness of their Stock whereas when a Man thinks he has Abundance he is generally Slothful and Careless and Impoverishment becomes his Lot rather than a farther Improvement An humble Sense of a Man's Imperfections and Sins will make him doubly diligent and consequently to improve greatly in the School of Righteousness but haughty Conceitedness will certainly make him grow worse and worse Nay there will be no End of the humble minded Man's Improvement for 't is always found in the pursuit of Vertue as well as of Knowledge that the more real Vertue increases in the Soul of a Good Man the more and greater the Defects of his Vertue appear to be and consequently the more will his Diligence be quickned and spurr'd on as St. Paul the farther he advanced in the Christian Race the more conscious he grew that he had not yet apprehended what he endeavoured after and was not yet perfect and that made him forget what was behind his former Attainments and reach out to what was still before what he had not yet attain'd to and eagerly press forward to the Mark the Prize of the High Calling of God in Christ Jesus Now the Consequence of this extraordinary Diligence must needs be an extraordinary growth and increase and so still onward in a quick and vigorous Motion till he finishes his Vertuous Race and is perfect as his Father which is in Heaven is perfect And as this spiritual Humility makes a Man move swiftly in the Christian Course so it makes him tread surely too it ballances him and keeps him upon his Centre and secures him from those dangerous Falls which too often are the Fate of the high-minded and proud for 't was Pride and Haughtiness of Spirit we know that ruin'd the Prince of the Fallen Angels and his Accomplices But poverty of Spirit is the great Security of a Christian against the subtle Arts of the Tempter 't is the proper Mark and Character of a Disciple of the meek lowly Jesus and is a disposition of Mind the most of all apt for Repentance which is a Grace of infinite Value as being absolutely necessary to Salvation and entitles a Man in a peculiar manner to the Divine Aid and Assistance for God giveth Grace to the Humble Secondly As this spiritual Humility is of the greatest Benefit to a Christian so does it render him highly dear both to God and Man All Men love an humble Man and look upon him as a Wise and Extraordinary Person and he that is pious and circumspect in his Conversation and yet is not proud of it nor despises or haughtily reflects upon others that live more at large than he does but advises them better seasonably and with Meekness and Humility such a Man is esteem'd as a Person sent from God to do Good to Mankind that seeing his Good Works mix'd with poverty of Spirit they may be inclined to imitate so lovely an Example and glorifie their Father which is in Heaven by treading in his Steps And as for God S. Peter and S. James and the Wisest of Men all agree that he resisteth the proud but giveth Grace to the humble And our Lord himself at the end of the Parable we