in the scene of Fancy and the imagination of old Sins becomes a new Temptation and deeply stains their Minds And as 't is usual what pleases is favour'd and defended they by carnal Discourse pervert Scripture to countenance their Lusts which is the highest Wickedness 3. Spiritual Sins are most frequently committed being of quick dispatch without the toil of the Body From hence their number is as the Sand upon the Sea-shore They infinitely increase Mens accounts with the high and eternal Judge whose Understanding is as searching as 't is unsearchable The Judgment of the last Day is distinguished from the process of inferiour Humane Courts which are confin'd to take cognisance only of Mens intentions by overt acts for then there shall be a revelation of the thoughts and secrets of the Heart 4. Spiritual Sins are more incurable than those that are done by the Body For when the sensitive Faculties by Diseases and Age are disabled then the vicious habits of the Soul may be strongâ— and like the Poyson of a Serpent be more deadly by Age. Notwithstanding inward Pollutions induce such a Guilt yet Carnal Men are apt to think that till Sin be perfected in the gross act 't is not deadly And for this they pervert Scripture wherein 't is said That when Lust hath conceived it bringeth forth Sin and Sin when 't is finish'd brings forth Death But in God's sight the contemplative commission of â—in renders one as truly guilty as the actual and Consent to the doing it renders as obnoxious to his inlightened and impartial Tribunal as the Performance His pure and perfect Law the Rule of our Duty forbids all defilements fleshly and spiritual and that shall be the Rule of our Judgment And as the Soul is the first and principal agent in Sin it shall first receive the recompence of it In the interval between Death and the Resurrection while the Body is without sense in the Grave the Soul is tormented in Hell Before I proceed to the next Head it will be useful to add That many sincere Saints are in perplexity from the injections of Satan â—earing they arise from their own Hearts 1. They may be distinguish'd by their quality Unnatural Thoughts against our selves and blasphemous of God are usually from the Tempter 2. When they make terrible impressions upon our Spirits they are his fiery Darts For the native off-spring of our Hearts are conceived with freedom and complacency 3. They are our infelicities but induce no Guilt when resisted by us A Rape may be committed on the Mind and as the ravish'd Virgin that cryed out for rescue from Violence was declared by God himself innocent so when the tempted Soul with strong cryes prays for Divine Relief God will not say those terrible injections to our charge Our Saviour was tempted by the unclean Spirit yet was holy harmless and undefiled and has a compassionate tenderness for those who are tempted and will make them partake of the Fruits of his glorious Victory 'T is true if the injections of Satan are cherish'd by the Carnal Mind they are ours by adoption though of his begetting The Devil put in the Heart of Judas the design of betraying Christ but it was entertain'd by his Covetous Mind and involv'd him under the heaviest Guilt The inclinations of Carnal Men are to various Sins to which they are more inclinable by the Temptations of Satan but that does not excuse them from Guilt CHAP. V. The Perfection of Holiness Consider'd The Perfection of Innocence The Perfection of Grace The Perfection of Glory The Essential Perfection of Grace consists in Sincerity Constancy proceeds from it Integral Perfection Comparative Perfection Intellectual and Moral The threefold comparison of Moral Perfection Relative Perfection according to the Conditions of the Saints in this Life Absolute Perfection only attain'd in Heaven I Now come to Discourse of the Perfection of Holiness the sublime Object and Aim of the Desires and Endeavours of sincere Christians I shall premise there is a Threefold Perfection of Holiness spoken of in Scripture The perfection of Innocence the perfection of Grace and the perfection of Glory 1. The perfection of Innocence God made Man upright in the bright Image of his Holiness The Excellency of the Efficient Cause infers the Excellency of the Effect and the final Cause was for his own Glory and Man's Happiness in order to which he was endowed with those Moral Perfections as qualified him to obtain that end There was an exact Regularity in all his Faculties The inlightned Mind directed the Will the Will commanded the Affections the Affections rul'd the Senses He had power to stand but was free to Fall with his original perfection there was a possibility of sinning and dying The Eyes of his Mind were clear discovering his Duty and Felicity and the assisting Grace of God was like the Sun shining in the Air to actuate his visive Faculty but he wilfully shut his Eye and fell from that heighth of Happiness into a pit without a bottom 2. The perfection of Grace This in the Language of Scripture signifies uprightness and sincerity and is attributed to the Saints in several respects which I will particularly consider 3. The perfection of Glory This implies a Union of all Excellencies in a Soveraign Degree The Church in the present State is compared to the Moon that receives Light from the Sun in half its Globe but in the next State will be fill'd with Light as a Ball of Christal penetrated by the Sun Beams The Church shall be Glorious in Holiness without spot or wrinkle or any such thing Natural Righteousness was of short continuance as Nature left to it self always is but the Supernatural State is not only undefil'd but fades not away The perfection of Paradise was frail for Man in his best state was changing from this Root his Ruin sprang but the perfection of Heaven is immutable for there God is all in all His Influxive Presence is the Productive and Conservative Cause of their Holiness and Blessedness I will now Consider the perfection of Grace that is attributed to the Saints in the present state 1. There is an Essential perfection that Consists in the unchangable nature of things and is absolutely requisite to the kind A gradual perfection belongs to individuals and is various All Gold is not refin'd to the same degree and heighth of Purity but true Gold though in the lowest degree of fineness will endure the Furnace and the Touchstone and by that tryal is discern'd from Counterfeit Metal There are different degrees of active heat in Fire sometimes it Flames but always Burns if fed with Combustible matter Now the Essence of true Holiness consists in a Conformity to the Nature and Will of God whereby a Saint is distinguisht from the unrenewed World and is not acted by their Principles and Precepts not govern'd by their Maxims and Customs There are different degrees of Holiness in the Saints but Sincerity
of the other This is pernicious Hypocrisie The subtilty and strength of Satan are imployed to deceive Men by an airy Religion by an opinionative Goodness to prevent their being awakened from their drowsie and deadly state 'T is worthy of notice The Tempter has a double operation in the Minds of Men He deceives the hypocritical with false hopes by concealing or extenuating their Sins to induce them to presume of the Favour of God and to secure his quiet possession of them He troubles the sincere with vain Terrors by concealing their Graces to discourage their progress in the way to Heaven He is an envious Explorator and searches to find out their defects to accuse them to God and he defames God to them as if he would not spare his Sons that serve him He is triumphant in the unsanctified and militant in the Saints 3. Some hide their crying Sins under the colourable appearance of Vertues and pretend to Holiness that they may sin with less suspicion and more security He will speak of those Sins in others with severity which he freely indulges in himself The Characters of Religion are drawn in his Countenance but his Lusts are deeply ingraven in his Heart These our Saviour compares to painted Sepulchres that within contain sordid dust and rottenness This is perfect Hypocrisie a deadly pollution that wounds the Vitals sears the Conscience quenches all Goodness in the Will for this Hypocrite is voluntarily so Hypocrisie in the Heart is like Poyson in a Spring that spreads it self through all the veins of the Conversation This Sin our Saviour never speaks of but with detestation For this he denounc'd such a heavy Woe against the Pharisees that used Religion as a masking habit to appear glorious in the Eyes of Men and disguised their Worldly Aims in Devotions and made long Prayers to be esteem'd of Men. This is so odious to God that he forbids all the emblems and resemblances of it to the Jews Linsy-wolsey Garments and miscelain Corn. Our Defects acknowledged with ingenuity excite his Compassion but counterfeit Vertues excite his Indignation For what can be more provoking than to appear to be like God in Holiness the Glory of the Deity for this end to be secretly wicked and to affront his Omniscience as if he could not discern them through all their close and dark concealments A Hypocrite is fearful of Men but faces God Pride mix'd with Hypocrisie was the Devil's original Sin he abode not in the Truth and Religious Hypocrites are his Natural Children The hottest climate in Hell will be their habitation For our Saviour threatens some Sinners their portion with Hypocrites that is aggravated Damnation This Sin is difficultly cured in that 't is not easily discovered by Men and does not expose to shame but is subservient to many carnal ends Men cannot dive into the Hearts of others and cannot discern between the Paint of Hypocrisie and the Life of Holiness The mixture of beautiful Colours in the Countenance may be so artificial that at distance it may be thought to be natural Besides Hypocrisie turns the Remedy into Poyson For the frequent exercise of Religious Duty which is the means to sanctifie us confirms and hardens Hypocrites The effectual means to cure it is a stedfast belief of the pure and flaming Eye of God who sees Sin where-ever it is and will bring it into Judgment A Hypocrite may hide his Sin from the Eyes of others and sometimes from his own Conscience but can never impose upon God And as nothing so confounds Men with shame as to be found false and perfidious in their dealings how much more will the Hypocrites be cover'd with confusion at the great day when they shall appear naked with their loathsome Ulcers before innumerable Angels and Saints They will desire the Rocks to hide them from that glorious Assembly The stedfast belief of this great Truth will cause frequent and solemn thoughts of God as our Inspector and Judge I have set the Lord always before me he is at my right-hand I shall not be moved This was the effect of David's Faith This will produce Sincerity in Religion unrespective to the Eyes of Men and preserve us from secret Sins 'T is the prescription of our Saviour Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees which is Hypocrisie For there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed neither hid that shall not be known Whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light and that which ye have spoken in the Ear in closets shall be proclaimed on the house tops 3. Envy at the Good of others and Malice wishing them Evil is a deep pollution of the Spirit This absolutely alienates Men from the Nature and Life of God For the clearest conception we have of the Deity is that he is Good and does Good This is contrary not only to supernatural Grace but to natural Conscience and turns a Man into a Fiend This Vice is immediately attended with itâ— Punishment The envious Man is his own tormentor and has the Vipers â—ate in the Fable that in biting the File wounded it self Besides this stops the descent of Divine Blessings and turns the Petitions of the Envious into Imprecations against themselves To finish this Head 't is observable nothing more discovers the necessity of Renovation than the defilements of the Spirit As Birds by incubation hatch their brood so from sinful Thoughts and Desires actual Sins proceed Our Saviour tells us Out of the Heart proceed Murders Adulteries Fornications Thefts False-witness Blasphemies which defile a Man 'T is above all things necessary to keep the Heart for the issues of Death â—low from it The design contrivance and consent to sin are in the Heart the Body is only the Instrument of Sin To enforce this Counsel there are many Motives 1. God is infinitely dishonour'd and displeas'd by the Sins of our Spirits For the Soul is of near alliance with God and of incomparable more value than the vile Body Therefore the defiling it is highly provoking The Soul is the place of his special residence and the entertaining Sin in it is as a fouler Indignity than the bringing Dung into the Chamber of Presence of a King We should be more careful to approve our Thoughts and Desires to God than our Words and Actions to Men. 2. They are more easily contracted than those which are acted by the sensitive Faculties They secretly insinuate into the Soul External Sins require â—it time and place and means for their commission and are often hinder'd by the moral restraints of Fear and Shame But speculative Sins may be committed without convenient circumstances In whatever place or company Men are they may retire into their Hearts and please themselves with vicious thoughts and desires of future Sins and devices how to make provision for the Flesh with carnal representations and complacency of the Sins they have committed They may personate the Pleasures of Sin
its Exaltation 2. There is a Fear of Caution that is always joyn'd with the other and excites us to walk circumspectly and exactly that we may be always approved and accepted of God The fear of the Lord is clean effectively This will prevent secret Sins which are only known to God Thou shalt not curse the deaf nor lay a stumbling-block before the blind but fear the Lord. Fear is an Internal Guardian that keeps the Heart pure of which God is the inspector and judge It will not suffer us to Sin freely in Thought nor foully in Act. When Fear draws the Lines of our Duty our Steps will be Regular Fear keeps us close to God by the perswasion of his All-seeing Eye and is oppos'd to the forgetfulness of God the cause of all the Errors of our Lives Holy Fear will make us to perform our Duty in those degrees that are commanded to please God 'T is the Principle of Perseverance thus God assures his People I will put my fear in their hearts and they shall never depart from me The Causes of back-sliding are Allurements and Terrors pleasant Temptations sometimes so strongly insinuate into the Affections that Love calls in Fear to its Assistance to repel them for strong Fear and Delight are inconsistent If Terrors are objected to drive us from our Duty the greater Fear will over-rule the less the Fear of God will expel the fearfulness of Man For the most flaming Anger of Men is more tolerable than a spark of his Displeasure From hence 't is evident that the Fear of God is the Fountain of heroick Courage and fortifies the Spirit that the threatenings of Men cannot supplant our constancy If our residence were perpetual in this World it were a point of Wisdom to secure the Favour of Men but since we must shortly dye as surely as we live 't is extreme folly by compliance and low respects to Men to lose our interest in God and provoke him with whom we must be either in his favourable and felicitating presence or in his terrible presence for ever The Rage of Man cannot reach beyond the Grave but the Wrath of God extends to Eternity 'T is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God who lives for ever and can punish for ever Let us therefore be exhorted to pass the time of our sojourning in fear Temptations are frequent and we are frail and are never safe without circumspection The Fear of God is the beginning of Wisdom the principal part of it Wisdom is not imployed about trivial things but affairs of moment Now what is there of such consequence in the World as the directing the Soul to Eternal Blessedness How to escape the most imminent and destructive Evil and to obtain the most desirable Good Indeed the Passion of Fear when exorbitant and overwhelming causes a wretched neglect of the means of Salvation If a Ship springs a leak and the Waters pour faster into it than the Mariners can pump it out and they see nothing but the Sea ready to swallow them up their Hearts and Hands faint and they give over all labour If Men are desperate they will be disobedient But we can never raise our Fears of God too high if we retain a firm belief of his Mercy that rejoices over Judgment This will not infringe our Liberty but inlarge it for 't is the most ignominious slavery to be under the dominion of Sin and the just apprehensions of its terrible Consequences The Fear of God ingages him to be our Friend and rescues us from all the perplexities to which we are lyable in this open slate Many Sins are committed for the fear of the Anger of Men and presumption of the Mercy of God but 't is often found that a Religious Constancy gains more Friends than Carnal Obsequiousness When a Man's ways please the Lord he will make his enemies to be at peace with him Especially in all acts of Worship this Grace should be in its highest exercise 'T is the Apostle's direction Let us draw near with reverence and godly fear for our God is a consuming fire We must solemnly consider the Greatness of God who dwells in Light inaccessible and is a consuming Fire to all that disparage him by slight and careless Addresses Shall not his Excellency make us afraid In Prayer let us draw near to his Throne in the deepest sense of our meanness and unworthiness and tremble at the hearing of his Word This dispositin will make us acceptable in his Eyes The Lord saith The Heaven is my throne and the Earth is my footstool to him will I look who is poor and of a contrite spirit and trembles at my word And in times of Temptation when pleasing Lusts are imperious and violent then 't is necessary to controul them by the fearful remembrance that for all these things God will bring us to Judgment This will clear the Mind from the eclipses and clouds of the Carnal Passions and keep the Senses under the dominion of the superiour and surer Faculties Blessed is the Man that fears always that is continually vigilant in secret and society who considers that God's Eyes are always upon him in order to Judgment and whose Eyes are always upon God in order to Acceptance CHAP. X. The Promise that God will be our Father a powerful inducement to strive after the Perfection of Holiness The dignity and happiness of the Relation The Pardon of Sin an adoptive freedom in Prayer an interest in the Eternal Inheritance are the Priviledges of God's Children The influence of this Relation to make us entirely holy considered An Inquiry whether we are proceeding to Perfection The vanquishing Sin an indication of the Power of Grace The habitual frame of the Heart and fixed regularity of the Life discovers our progress in Holiness According to our Love to God and things that have the nearest resemblance to him we may judge of our Spirituality The Spiritual Law of God the Spiritual Worship of God the Spiritual Image of God in the Saints are the principal Objects of the Love of the Spiritually-minded To preserve an equal temper of Mind in the changes of the present state discover excellent degrees of Holiness I Am now come to the Third General Head the Motives to inforce the Duty of striving after pure and perfect Holiness the Promises specified in the antecedent Chapter That the Lord Almighty will receive us and we shall be his Sons and Daughters that he will dwell in us his living Temples and walk in us This divine Relation and Communion the consequent of it should keep the state of Perfection always in our design and view and inspire us with unchangable resolutions to endeavour the obtaining it I will consider the Dignity and Happiness of this Relation 1. The Dignity Secular Nobility that is transfused from the Veins of Progenitors into the Veins of their Progeny derives its lustre from Flesh and Blood and the glory of the
Majesty I have laid the Foundations thereof on the centre of the Earth and raised its Towers to the Heavens This Pride is attended with relyance and confidence in their own direction to contrive and ability to accomplish their designs and with assuming the glory of all their success intirely to themselves The proud manage their affairs independently upon the Providence of God who is the Author of all our Faculties and the efficacy of them and totally neglect the two essential parts of Natural Religion Prayer and Praise or very slightly perform the external part without those inward Affections that are the Spirit and Life of them 'T was the wise Prayer of Agar Give me not Riches lest I be full and deny thee God strictly cautions his People against this dangerous Sin Beware thou forget not the Lord and say in thy Heart my power and the might of my Hand hath gotten me this Wealth Remember 't is he that gives the power to get Riches And 't is equally dangerous lest Men should attribute Victories or Prosperity in any kind to their own Counsel and Resolution their Prudence and Power without humble and thankful observing and acknowledging the Divine Providence the fountain and original of all our Blessings 2. Whatever the kinds of Sin be when committed against knowledge with design and deliberation they proceed from Insolence and Obstinacy The Israelites are charged with this aggravation in their sinning They dealt proudly and harden'd their necks and harken'd not to the Commandments and refused to obey Proud Sinners are introduced boasting Our Tongues are our own who is Lord over us They will endure no restraints but are lawless and loose as if they were above fear and danger 'T is true there are few so prodigiously wicked as to speak thus but Mens Actions have a language as declarative as their Words And sinning presumptuously with a high hand is constructively a denyal and despising of the Dominion and Power of the Law-giver as if he had no right to command nor strength to vindicate the Honour of his despised Deity In the last Judgment the Punishment of rebellious Sinners will be according to the Glory of God's Majesty and the extent of his Power that was contemned and vilified by them 3. When Divine Judgments are sent to correct the dissolute disorders of the World and Sinners should with tenderness and trembling hear the Voice of the Rod and who has appointed it yet they proceed in their Wickedness as if God were not always Present to see their Sins nor Pure to hate them nor Righteous to exact a severe Judgment for them nor Powerful to inflict it this argues intolerable Pride and Obstinacy God and Sinners are very unequal Enemies The effects of his Displeasure should be received with obsequiousness not with obduration Therefore the Apostle puts that confounding Question Do you provoke the Lord to jealousie are you stronger than he Can you encounter with offended Omnipotence To despise his Anger is as provoking as to despise his Love 'T is astonishing that Dust and Ashes should rise to such an incorrigible heighth of Pride as to fly in the Face of God Who ever hardned himself against him and prospered All that are careless of God's design to reform them by Afflictions that seek for relief in diverting Business or Pleasures provoke God to more severe inflictions of his Anger But those surly proud Natures that are exasperated by Sufferings and wrestle with the strongest Storms are in combination with the stubborn Spirits of Hell and shall have their portion with them Lastly When Men have a vain presumption of the goodness of their spiritual state of the degrees of their Goodness and their stability in Goodness not sensible of their continual want of renewed supplies from Heaven they are guilty of spiritual Pride Of this there are two Instances in Scripture the one in the Church of lukewarm Laodicea the other in the Pharisee mentioned by our Saviour The first said I am rich and increased in goods and have need of nothing and knowest not that thou art wretched and poor and miserable and blind and naked The Pharisee to raise the esteem of his own Goodness stands upon comparison with others whose Vices may be a foil to his seeming Graces He said I am not as other Men are Extortioners Adulterers or even as this Publican 'T is true he superficially thanks God but the air of Pride transpires through his Devotion by valuing himself above others worse than himself as if his own Vertues were the productive cause of his distinguishing Goodness If Humility be not mix'd in the exercise of every Grace 't is of no value in God's esteem The humble unjust Publican was rather justified than the proud Pharisee This spiritual Pride is very observable in the superstitious who measuring Divine Things with Humane from that mixture of imaginations introduce carnal Rites into the Worship of God and value themselves upon their opinionative Goodness They mistake the swelling of a Dropsie for substantial growth and presume themselves to be more holy than others for their proud singularity Superstition is like Ivy that twines about the Tree and is its seeming ornament but drains its vital Sap and under its verdant Leaves covers a Carcass Thus carnal Ceremonies seem to adorn Religion but really dispirit and weaken its efficacy Pharisaical Pride is fomented by a zealous observance of things uncommanded in Religion neither pleasing to God nor profitable to Men. On the contrary some Visionaries pretend to such a sublimity of Grace and eminent Sanctity that they are above the use of Divine Ordinances They pretend to live in immediate Communion with God as the Angels and dazled with specious Spiritualities they neglect Prayer hearing the Word and receiving the Sacrament the means of growing in Grace as if they were arrived at Perfection This is the effect of spiritual Pride and Delusion For the mortifying this vicious Disposition consider that Pride is in a high degree injurious and provoking to God An ordinary Malefactor breaks the King's Laws but a Rebel strikes at his Person and Crown The first and great Commandment is to honour God with the highest Esteem and Love with the most humble Adoration consequently the greatest Sin is the despising his Majesty and obscuring his Glory There is no Sin more clearly opposite to Reason and Religion For the most essential duty and character of an understanding Creature is dependance and observance of God as the first cause and last end of all things receiving with thankfulness his Benefits and referring them all to his Glory Pride contradicts natural Justice by intercepâ—ing the grateful affectionate ascent of the Soul to God in celebrating his Greatness and Goodness A proud Man constructively puts himself out of the number of God's Creatures and deserves to be excluded from his tender Providence The Jealousie of God his most severe and sensible Attribute is kindled for this revolture of the
Faith contemplate the Judge upon a white Throne the Emblem of his Holiness whom none can surprise or resist Let Faith make that day as present when there will be no place for Repentance when the Fountain of Mercy to Sinners will be sealed for ever when the Books of Eternal Life and Death shall be opened and all Men shall receive an irrevocable Judgment a Judgment so fearful that Sinners how great and terrible so ever they were in this World to others shall call to the Mountains to fall on them and the Hills to cover them from the Wrath of the Lamb For his day is come A Judgment so strict that the Righteous shall scarcely be saved Now what impressions of tormenting Fear or reviving Hopes will the strong Belief of the Eternal Judgment and the Consequences of it make in us when Heaven and Hell shall divide all Men according as we are prepared or unprepared for the Tryal of that deciding Day How will it make us circumspect and cautious to avoid Evil active and ardent in doing Good for every thing must be brought in Judgment How ambitious and diligent to be accepted of our Judge Let Faith open a Window into Heaven and represent the Saints in their Sun-like Brightness their Glory and Joy and triumphant Felicity in the Eternal Kingdom where God is all in all How will the believing view of this rectifie our Minds and convince us that nothing deserves our high Esteem and Love but the Favour and Fruition of the blessed God Let Faith open the fatal Gates of Hell that are never shut upon the Damned and discover the Scenes of Woe the Sights of Horror the tormenting Passions of Reprobates their desperate Sorrow for the loss of Heaven and fierce indignation that others enjoy it both which are implyed in their weeping and wailing and gnashing of Teeth How powerful will this representation be to keep us in awe and order to controle the Lusts and Licentiousness of Carnal Appetites How would this double Vision make us esteem all the good things here as vile as dross and all the evil as light as Feathers in comparison of eternal things How would this inspire us with resolutions to take Heaven by violence and to fly from the Wrath to come 3. The efficacy of Faith proceeds from the serious and frequent application of Eternal Objects to our Minds and Hearts All that are Christians in Profession prefer in the Idea and Speculation Eternal Things before Temporal but in Practice and Choice the most prefer Temporal before Eternal Present and sensible things strongly affect the Carnal Faculties and excite the Natural Inclinations that were dormant in the absence of alluring Objects but when awaken'd they distract and scatter the Mind from a just comparing of things present and things future and the Will applyes the Thoughts to what is delightful to the carnal part and the application determines the choice The interposition of Earthly things eclipse the Light of Faith and weakens the reflections of that Light upon the Mind A strong Temptation defaces the impression of things future though infinitely great and consequently the Passions prevail and Faith is vanquish'd What Man that has Heaven and Hell in his view and considers that the Day of Death and Judgment are equally uncertain as to the fix'd time and equally certain as to the event and that this short Life must issue either into rivers of Pleasure for ever or into an abyss of endless Misery can be doubtful a moment what to choose and what to avoid Yet 't is evident that vast numbers of Men that are between two Eternities are indifferent and unconcerned into which their Lot shall be determined The inchanting World darkens the remembrance and damps the desire of Heaven and extinguishes the fear of Hell Transient Thoughts of future things cannot excite and influence the Affections nor regulate the Will and Actions according as the moment of them requires Moses despised the Pomp and Pleasures of the Egyptian Court and chose Afflictions with the People of God because he had an intent and fix'd Eye upon the future Reward Paul had a Heavenly Vision the Idea of which was always bright in his Memory and a Heavenly Conversation Now Faith supplies the want of Vision and if its acts are not interrupted by Earthly Objects deadness will continually inspire us with suitable affections to eternal things Above all other means let us fly to Prayer that the Holy Spirit by his illuminating guidance would direct our Minds and actuate our Faith We have received the Spirit that we may know the things given us of God That the Spirit would be our Remembrancer and strongly impress eternal things upon us Without his Influence our Consideration will be cold and ineffectual 2. There is a justifying Faith The Apostle declares Being justified by Faith we have Peace with God This is very clearly open'd in the Gospel yet there have been lately publish'd some Contentious Writings about it mix'd with such Railleries and Contumelies that have opened a Scandalous Scene and exposed Religion to the Derision of Libertines and profane Spirits and affected the Godly with sorrowful impressions and with earnest longings after the Kingdoms of Light and Love where Ignorance and Strife are abolish'd for ever Injurious Language convinces none but renders the Minds of Men more averse from Instruction We are not likely to discover the Truth in a mist of Passion but when Truth is calmly convey'd the Mind is more attentive to receive it and its convincing and perswasive Power insinuates into us Christian Love would lessen the number and allay the heat of our Controversies I have discours'd elsewhere concerning Justifying Faith and shall now very briefly glance at some things wherein its Nature and purifying Vertue consists Justification is an Act of God as supreme Judge invested with the Relation of a Father wherein his Majesty and Mercy are equally illustrious in pardoning our Sins and conferring upon us a right to Eternal Life for the Satisfaction and Merits of Christ's Righteousness imputed to us and received by Faith Faith is the Condition that qualifies us to have Pardon applyed to us and its Nature consists in receiving Christ upon the terms of the Gospel that is our unfeigned accepting him as our Prince and Saviour and intire relyance upon him The general belief of the Gospel is not Justifying Faith but our regular trust in the pardoning Grace of God necessarily includes our performing the Condition of the Promise that is a relyance on Christ joyn'd with a sincere resolution to obey him A particular perswasion that our Sins are pardoned is not Justifying Faith We are commanded to believe that we may be pardoned Many sincere Believers have distracting Doubts about their Pardon The matter being of infinite importance they are fearful in the inquiries of their Title to it And others are deceived with Presumption in stead of Faith in Christ and Security in stead of
and by a Temporal Holy Rest are prepar'd for an Eternal Glorious Rest. The observing this Command enables us to do the rest for the Duties of it are Divine and Spiritual and have a powerful influence in the Souls of Men for the exercise of Grace by a proper efficacy increases it and in their sanctifying that day God sanctifies them and liberally bestows the Treasures of Grace and Joy the consequent Blessing of the divine Institution The Profaners of that Holy Time do vertually renounce their Allegiance to the Crâ—ator and Redeemer they will not attend upon his Oracles but despise the Persons and Office of the Ministers of Christ and their Contempt reflects upon him They make the Sabbath their delight in another sense than the Commandment intends they make it a Play-day Others who are call'd and counted Christians who are good in every thing but wherein they should be best they are Just and Merciful Temperate and Chaste Affable and Obliging to Men but wretchedly neglect the duties of Piety to God and the sanctifying his day That precious and dear interval to a Saint from the business of the World is a galling restraint to Carnal Men from their secular Employments 'T is true they will go to the publick Worship either for seculary respects Custom or the Coertion of the Laws or the impulse of Conscience that will not be quiet without some Religion but they are glad when 't is done and by vain discourses dash out of their minds the instructions of the Word of God They spend a great part of the day as if it were unsanctified time in curious dressing in Luxurious Feasting in Complemental Visits in Idleness and sometimes in Actions worse than Idleness The certain Cause of this Profaneness is they are not partakers of the divine Nature that inclines the Soul to God and raises our esteem of Communion with him as a Heaven upon Earth and from hence it follows that they come and go from the Publick Ordinances neither cleansed from Sin nor chang'd into the divine Image But those who conscientiously employ that day in Duties proper to it in Prayer and Hearing and Reading the Scriptures and spiritual Books in holy Conference whereby Light and Heat is mutually Communicated among the Saints and in the Meditation of Eternal things whereby Faith removes the Vail and looks into the Sanctuary of Life and Glory as Moses by Conversing with God in the Mount came down with a shining Countenance so a divine Lustre will appear in their Conversations in the following Week 5. The frequent discussion of Conscience and review of our Ways is an effectual Means of rising to Perfection in Holiness This Duty is difficult and distastful to Carnal Persons for Sense is prevalent and fastens their Thoughts upon External Objects that they are unfit for reflecting upon themselves for the proper and most excellent operations of the Reasonable Soul wherein they are rais'd to the Rank of Angelical Spirits and to a resemblance of the Deity who Eternally Contemplates with Infinite Delight the Perfections of his Nature and the Copy of them in his Works They are insensible of the Nobility of their Nature and cannot sequester themselves from Worldly things and enter into the Retirements of their Souls They are afraid and unwilling to look into their Hearts lest they should be Convinc'd and over-argued by Conscience of their woful Condition Home is too hot for them Their study is to Charm their Cares and not to be disturb'd in their Security But the Duty is indispensable requir'd of us We are commanded to stand in awe and sin not and commune with our own hearts to search and try our wayes and turn to the Lord to prove our own work The benefit resulting from it is worth our Care and should make us to digest all difficulties in the performance David declares I thought on my wayes and turned my feet to thy testimonies He first reflected on his ways and then reform'd them Conscience must be awaken'd by Grace or Judgment to Self-reflection The examen of Conscience either regards our spiritual State or our Actions in their Moral Qualities of Good and Evil. The first is of infinite moment that we may understand whether we are in the state of polluted Nature or in a renewed state and consequently whether in the present Favour of God or under his Displeasure and accordingly what we may expect in the next World a blessed or miserable Eternity But as was before observed Men are very averse from the severe tryal of their state for fear the issue will be perplexing the exact inquiry into their Lives is like the Torment on the Rack Or if sometimes they turn their thoughts inward to consider themselves they do it slightly not with sincere Judgment and though their spiritual state be uncertain or apparently evil yet they are resolved not to doubt of it This neglect is fatal to many who comfort themselves with their Company because the most are in no better condition than they are This I shall not insist on but consider the survey of Mens Actions Conscience is the centre of the Soul to which all Moral Good and Evil has a tendency 't is an internal supervisor and guardian which a Man always carries in his Bosom To perform its Office it must 1. Be inlightened with the clear knowledge of the Divine Law in its Precepts for Duties unknown cannot be practised and Sins unknown and unconsider'd cannot be loathed and forsaken The Law like a clear and equal glass that reflects the Beams according to their incidence discovers the beauties and spots of the Soul There are contain'd in it general Rules that respect all and particular Precepts that concern the several relations of Men. 2. The discussion of Conscience that it may be effectual must in the manner of it be regulated by the matter of the discussion that is good and evil Actions which are of eternal Consequence and the end of it the making us better Accordingly it must be 1. Distinct in comparing our Actions with the Rule that we may understand the defects of our best Duties and the aggravations of our Sins The Law enjoyns the Substance and Circumstances of our Duties and forbids all kinds and degrees of Sin The more particular the discussion is the more perfect 2. It must be serious and with sincere Judgment as previous to our Tryal at God's Tribunal This Consideration will excite the Conscience which is the directive and applicative Mind to be vigilant and impartial in sifting our selves that no Sin of omission or commission may be past over for what a high strain of Folly is it to be subtle to conceal any Sin from our selves which are open to the all-seeing Eyes of God Men are apt to be insensible of Sins of omission but there is no mere Sin of omission for it proceeds from a dislike of the commanded Duty which exposes to Judgment The more the Mind
the same Spiritual Family This Affection proceeds from the upper springs of Grace the exercise of it is immediately terminated on Men but ultimately respects the Glory of God for whose sake 't is performed To do good and distribute forget not for with such Sacrifice God is well-pleased In short our Love to God must be supream and for himself our Love to Men and other things only in the degrees he allows and not for themselves but for God who commands to love them as they bear his Image or are instrumental in the performance of our Duty Otherwise we are in danger of being alienated from the Love of God when any person or thing becomes a Temptation to us to do any thing either to obtain or preserve them against his Will But if we love them only for his sake we shall readily part with them as a Snare or offer them as a Sacrifice if his Will requires it As if we love some particular Meat because 't is healthful and not because 't is pleasant upon the first discovery that 't is hurtful we shall reject it The properties of this Love are specified in the Command 1. It must be sincere The Apostle directs Let Love be without dissimulation Love is essentially sincere 't is seated in the Heart and express'd in real actions 't is cordial and operative There is an empty noise of Love and Respects that proceeds from a double Heart not entire and ingenuous Some by fair Promises work and wind Men to obtain their Ends and then slip through them How often are the sincere deceiv'd by the liberal expressions of Love untryed and untrue mistaking a shining Counterfeit for a real Ruby But though the Humane Eye cannot see through the disguise he that commands sincere Love pierces into the Heart and if it be wanting there his Anger burns against the vain pretenders to it Some will seem to grace others with a flourish of words that they may tax them more freely and without suspicion To praise without a ground of real worth is sordid Flattery but to commend with a mischievous intent is the worst Treachery Some will assist the Sick day and night and seem to sympathize with them in their Pains and Sorrows but their design is to obtain a rich Legacy They appear like mourning Doves but are real Vulturs that smell a Carcass to feed on There are others less guilty who esteem empty Complements to be Courtly Decencies and though 't is not their design to be injurious to those whom they caress yet their Love is only from the Tongue which in the Apostle's expression is but a tinkling Cymbal Their pretended Friendship is like Leaf-Gold very extensive but soon worn off for want of depth Others are Mercenaries that like the Heathens do Good to those from whom they receive Good their Love degenerates into Traffick and does not proceed from a Divine Principle Ingenuous and Christian Spirits have not such crooked Inclinations always reflecting upon their own Interest 'T is true Christian Love declares it self in alternate acts of Kindness but is also exercised where there are no such inducements This is to imitate our Heavenly Father who does good to all without any desert in the receivers and beyond all requital Affliction is the Furnace wherein sincere Friends are tryed and discern'd from the deceitful their Afflictions are common their Compassions and cordial assistance are common This is the most certain and significant Character of unfeigned Love not to fail in a calamitous season Job aggravates his Sorrows by this reflection that his Friends dealt deceitfully as Brooks that run in a full stream in Winter when Snow falls and there is no want of refreshing Waters but when 't is hot they are dryed up and vanish We may securely rely on their Friendship who afford us undesir'd supplies in time of trouble The Observation of the wise Philosopher is verified in every Age That Men in a flourishing condition are surrounded with Friends but in an afflicted are forsaken This Consideration should inflame us with a holy ambition of the friendship of God for his sincere Love is most tenderly express'd in our distress The Psalmist enforces his Request by this motive Be not far off for trouble is near 'T is often seen that Men fly from their Acquaintance when the clearest tryal is to be made of their Affection but then the blessed God draws nearest to us and affords Relief and Comfort 2. Our Love must be pure Seeing you have purified your Souls in obeying the Truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the Brethren see that ye love one another with a pure Heart fervently The purity of Love either respects the cause of it or the exercise and effects of it The cause of pure Love is the Divine Command and the Divine Pattern set before us The Love of God to Men is a leading Rule to us He loves them according to the resemblance of his imitable Perfections in them and consequently the more holy and heavenly the more righteous and gracious Men are the more they should be endear'd to our Affections This is to love God in them and according to their true lovelyness This is to love them by the impression of that Love wherewith God loves himself Our Saviour tells us They that do his Father's Will are his Brothers Sisters and Mothers There is an impure Love that proceeds from the similitude of vicious Affections and is entertain'd by sinful Society that is fatally contagious The Tempter most forcibly allures when he is least suspected He conceals the Serpents Sting in the Tongue of a Friend The Friendship of the World is contracted and cemented by sensual Lusts and the end of it will be the tormenting the Corrupters and the Corrupted together for ever The exercise and effects of pure Love principally respect the Soul the more excellent and immortal part of our Friends We are commanded to exhort one another while 't is called to day and to provoke one another to love and good works Exhortation includes Instruction and Admonition The giving Counsel how to preserve the Purity and secure the Salvation of the Soul how to prevent Sin or to cure it by the conviction of Conscience when ignorant of its Duty by the excitation of the Affections when cold and sluggish and direction to order the Conversation aright The performance of this Duty is inseparable from pure and unfeigned Love and the neglect of it is an argument of deadly Hatred Thou shalt not hate thy Brother in thy Heart nor suffer Sin to lye upon him If you discover any prognostick or symptom of a Disease growing in a Friend that threatened his Life what a cruel neglect were it not to advise and urge him to apply the best means for his preservation Much more are we obliged to rectifie the Errors in Judgment and Miscarriages in Conversation which they are guilty of especially since Spiritual
Diseases are infinitely more dangerous and are not so easily discern'd and felt as Bodily are To suffer unconcernedly a Friend to lye and languish in a course of Sin is Soul-murder and in Murder there are no accessaries every one is a principal 'T is prophesied concerning the time of approaching Judgment that iniquity shall abound and the love of many wax cold by not convincing Sinners in order to reform them This exercise of Love must be frequent while 't is called to day and solemn without bitterness and contempt or a seeming indifference of the success that it may be evident it does not proceed from a censorious Humour or an impertinent Curiosity but from pure Love It must be attended with earnest Prayer to the Father and Physician of Spirits to give healing Vertue to it otherwise 't is but Moral Counsel And it must be received with Meekness and Gratitude The rejecting holy Counsel discovers a double Leprosie for the rise of it is from Pride in the Understanding Self-conceit and Pride in the Will perverse Obstinacy The mutual discharge of this Duty is the most precious desirable and advantageous benefit of Friendship We must perform it to all within the compass of our direction and warm influence we must imitate the Angels earnest Counsel to Lot escape for thy life out of Sodom not to delay that he might not be consum'd O that this Angelical Zeal and Compassion possess'd the breasts of Christians It may justly cover with Confusion many who profess entire Friendship to others and yet their Conversation with them is directly opposite to the Rules of Friendship laid down by the Wise and Vertuous Heathens Scipio prescrib'd this first and inviolable Rule of Friendship That we never desire our Friends to do acts of Moral Turpitude nor do them though desired Another as useful a Rule is laid down by Laelius 'T is the inseparable property of sincere Friendship to give and receive admonition to give it freely not harshly to receive it meekly not with recoil and reluctancy These Vertuous Heathens will rise in Judgment against many who by sordid and base Acts by filthy Lusts and filthy Lucre foment and maintain their Friendships that count it the surest preservative of Friendship to nourish and foment the spring and stream of the Sensual Appetite that will issue into the Lake of Fire 3. Love must be Fervent The degree respects the inward Affection and the outward Effects of it There is such a union of Affections between the Saints that one is as it were transfus'd into another their Afflictions are mutual their Compassions and Assistance are mutual This intenseness of Love is signified by Loving our neighbours as our selves in similitude and likeness How ardent are our desires and earnest our endeavours for our Temporal Happiness and principally if we are inlightned for our Eternal Happiness Accordingly we should be affected and diligent for procuring the present and future Happiness of others How vigilant and active are we to prevent imminent and destructive Evils that threaten us here but specially if we are Serious and Considering to escape from the Wrath to come we should be proportionably careful to rescue others from Temporal or Spiritual Evils to which they are obnoxious How jealous are we of our own Reputation how unwilling to incur Censure to have our Faults aggravated and to bear the Prints of Infamy Love to our Neighbour should make us tender of their good Names to conceal their Faults or to make a favourable Construction of them and not to expose them to Shame and to vindicate them when their Enemies would make them appear Culpable by Calumnies In short our love must be so sincere pure and fervent to our Brethren that we may have a clear and comfortable Evidence that we are born of God and that God dwells in us and we in him But among Christians how rare is Christian Love Their Love is excessive to themselves and defective to others 2. The forgiving Injuries is an excellent Effect of Christian Love This implyes an intire disposition and resolution to pardon all Offences declaring it self in real Acts when there is occasion This Duty is hard and distastful to Corrupt Nature The Apostle injoyns us see that none renders evil for evil follow that which is good The manner of the Expression intimates our proneness to Acts of Revenge For vicious Self-love makes us more apt to retain the sense of Injuries than of Benefits How many receive signal Favours and within a little while neglect their Benefactors withdraw grateful Respects and Converse with them as 't is not usual to walk in a Vineyard when the Vintage is past But if an Injury be once offer'd 't is provoking as if it were re-acted every day by the continual remembrance of it But the Command is strict and universal and allows no freedom but of voluntary Obedience To make us feel the weight of the Duty and to be more tenderly sensible of it our Saviour tells us If you do not forgive neither will your heavenly Father forgive your trespasses An unforgiving Temper is an invincible Bar against our obtaining divine Mercy We can neither receive Pardon nor have it continued nor enjoy the Comfortable Sense of it without pardoning others 'T is a sin of such Malignity that it invenomes Poison it self it actuates the Guilt of all other Sins and seals the doom of the unrelenting and hardned against the offending Brother The Servant that upon his humble Request had Ten Thousand Talents forgiven yet upon his cruel exacting Three Hundred Pence from his Fellow-servant his Pardon was Reverst and he was deliver'd to the Tormentors till his Debt was entirely paid The lines of this Duty are clearly drawn in the divine Pattern set before us God pardons Sins intirely he blots them out as a thick cloud the Saints in Heaven are as accepted in his Sight as the Angels that always obey'd his Commands He pardons frequently In many things we offend all It would tire the hand of an Angel to Register the Pardon 's issued from the Throne of Grace to Rebellious Sinners He Pardons Sins of a very provoking Nature he makes our Crimson Sins to be as white as Snow and Scarlet Sins as white as Wooll The Provocation begins on our part the Reconciliation begins on God's part He beseeches us to be reconcil'd as if it were his Interest that we should not be destroyed by Severe Justice God can destroy his Enemy in the twinkling of the Eye in the beating of the Pulse yet he Supports and Comforts them every day Our Saviour has set us the highest Pattern of Forgiving Love When he was Nail'd to the Cross he prayed for his Cruel Murtherers Father forgive them they know not what they do How perswasive should his Pattern be Shall we be so tenderly sensible of the hatred of an Enemy and so stupidly insensible of our Saviour's Love Shall the resenting remembrance of Injuries deface in us
is mended and renewed it discovers the Sins that were undiscern'd 3. There must be a fixed resolution to reform our Lives wherein we have been culpable The Soul can never recover its lapse from above but by returning thither that is by a real performance of the Duties of the Law that fully represent the Law-giver's Will and Soveraignty Now the reflecting upon our Hearts and Lives to improve the Good and correct the Evil in them is very useful for that end 4. It must be frequent lest we become ignorant and forgetful of our selves Some of the wiser Heathens made a scrutiny of their Actions every day 'T is related of Sextius a Philosopher that in the end of the day he throughly examin'd the Actions of it What Evil have I cur'd What Vice have I resisted In what am I become better Seneca tells us it was his daily practice to give an account of his Actions before the Judicatory of Conscience The Author of the Golden Verses gives Counsel in order to proficiency in Vertue to revise in our thoughts at night Wherein have I transgress'd what have I done what have I omitted In doing this we shall preserve Conscience more tender and sensible for continuance in Sin hardens it This will be a preventive Medicine for if the sting of Remorse follows our omissions of Good and commissions of Evil and a divine Joy is felt in remembrance of our progress in Holiness this will be a constant motive to restrain us from disorderly Actions and to form us to Perfection Besides there is a great difference between the habits of the Body and of the Mind the first wear and decay by continual use the habits of the Mind by frequent practice whether vicious or vertuous increase and are confirm'd And since in the most excellent Saints there remain Sins of unavoidable weakness the renewing our Repentance every day is necessary to obtain the pardon of our Sins which is promised to all that mourn and strive against Sin We are commanded not to let the Sun go down on our wrath much less on God's In short let us every Morning consider the Duty of the day which is a valuable part of our Lives and the proper seasons of doing it and charge our Souls with a diligent regard to it 'T is prudent Advice how to make slothful Servants industrious in the Morning to prescribe their Work in the Evening to require an account what is done or left undone and to commend or censure to reward or punish according to their diligence or neglect There are rarely found Servants of so depraved a temper so rebellious to Authority and Reason so untractable but they will mend by this managing If this Duty be constantly practised in a due manner it will be of infinite profit to us We read in the process of the Creation that God revis'd the Works of every day and saw they were Good and in the end saw they were very good and ordain'd a Sabbath a sign of his complacence in his Works Thus if in the review of our Actions we find our Conversation has been in godly sincerity that we have been faithful to God and our Souls in striving after Perfection this reflection will produce Rest and Joy unspeakable Joy that centres in the Heart and is united to the substance of the Soul Joy that will flourish in Adversity when Carnal Joy withers a Joy that will not leave us at Death but pass with us into the eternal World This Oyl of Gladness will make us more active and chearful in our universal Duty But if we have been slack and careless in Religion if Sins have been easily entertain'd and easily excus'd the remembrance will imbitter Sin and make us more vigilant for the future To make this Duty more profitable we should compare our selves with our selves and with others 1. With our selves that we may understand whether we are advancing towards Perfection Sometimes there is a gradual declension in the Saints themselves not observed When Sampson had lost his mysterious Hair upon the preserving of which his Strength depended and the Philistines had seized him he awoke out of his sleep and said I will go out as at other times before and shake my self and he wist not that the Lord was departed from him Thus many decline in their valuations and affections to things spiritual and are less circumspect in their Conversations less fervent in their desires of Grace and faithful in the improvement of it than formerly and this deserves Heart-breaking Sorrow 2. Besides the comparing our selves with others who have excell'd us in Holiness and have been more watchful to abstain from Sin and more zealous in doing Good is very useful This will wash off the colour of the common Excuse That without the Holiness of an Angel 't is impossible to be preserved undefiled in the midst of sensual Temptations But as the Philosopher demonstrated the possibility of Motion by walking before a captious Caviller that denyed it so when many Saints that have the same frail Natures and are surrounded with the same Temptations keep themselves pure in their Dispositions and Actions when they are regular in Duties of civil Conversation with Men and in holy Communion with God and we that have the same Spirit of Grace and Word of Grace to instruct and assist us fall so short of their attainments how will the comparison upbraid us and cover us with confusion I shall add that the deceitfulness of the Heart is discovered in this Men are very apt to please themselves in the comparison with those who are notoriously worse but averse from considering those who are eminently better But this will be of no avail in the day of Judgment for the Law of God is the Rule to which we must conform not the Examples of others Besides how can any expect that the Wickedness of others should excuse them in Judgment and not fear that the Holiness of others shall accuse and condemn them CHAP. XIII Continual watchfulness requisite for our advancing to Perfection This respects the preventing Evil and doing Good The Malice the Craft the Diligence and Numbers of our Spiritual Enemies We are very receptive of Temptations Watchfulness respects our doing Good in its season and with its proper Circumstances A due regard to the Duties of our several Relations is necessary in order to the perfecting of Holiness Domestick sacred and civil Relations considered The last Counsel Let our progress towards Heaven be with the same Zeal as at our first entrance into it and the same Seriousness as when we come to the end of it 7. COntinual Watchfulness is requisite that we may be rising towards Perfection in Holiness The state of Sin in Scripture is represented by a deep Sleep that is the true Image of Death Awake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead and Christ shall give thee Light The spiritual Sleep is understood by comparison with the natural In