both There is one God and one Mediator between God and Men that is there is but one God and one Mediator But then they of the Church of Rome endeavour to avoid this plain Text by distinguishing between a Mediator of Redemption and a Mediator of Intercession But now if Christ's Mediation by way of Intercession be founded in the Virtue of his Redemption then if there be but one Mediator of Redemption then there is but one Mediator of Intercession in Heaven for us There is one God and one Mediator between God and Men the Man Christ Jesus who gave himself a Ransome for all So that the Power and Prevalency of his Intercession is founded in his Ransome that is the Price of our Redemption in virtue whereof alone he intercedes with God for us as the Apostle to the Hebrews does most plainly assert So that all other Intercessors in Heaven for us are excluded from offering and presenting our Prayers to God besides our High Priest who is at the right hand of God and lives for ever to make intercession for us and by virtue of his Intercession is able to save to the uttermost all those that come to God by him that is who put up their Prayers to God in the alone Virtue of his Mediation So that as there is no need of any other if his Intercession be available to save to the uttermost So there is great danger in applying to any other whether Saint or Angel or even the Blessed Virgin if the benefit of his Innercession be limited to those who come to God by him And thus I have shewn by what means Christ is the Author of our Salvation which was the first thing I propos'd to be consider'd I proceed to the Second thing I proposed to enquire into namely what Obedience the Gospel requires as a Condition and is pleased to accept as a Qualification in those who hope for Eternal Salvation And this I shall explain first Negatively and then Positively 1 st Negatively It is not a mere outward profession of the Christian Religion and owning of Christ for our Lord and Law-giver that will be accepted in this case Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord saith our Saviour shall enter into the Kingdom of God By which we may very reasonably understand all that profession of Religion which falls short of Obedience and a Holy Life as the profession of Faith in Christ being baptized into his Name and Religion the mere belief of his Doctrine and the ownig of him for our Lord and Saviour no nor the external Worship of him and profession of Subjection to him by Prayer and hearing his Word and communicating in the Holy Sacrament No though this be set off in the most glorious manner by prophesying and working Miracles in his Name for so it follows in the next words Many shall say to me in that day Lord Lord have we not prophesied in thy Name and in thy Name have cast out Devils and in thy Name have done many wondrous works We have eat and drank in thy presence and have heard thee preach in our Streets But he tells us that nothing of all this without Obedience to his Laws will be sufficient to gain us admission into Heaven 2 dly Positively That which God requires as a Condition and will accept as a Qualification in those who hope for Eternal Life is Faith in Christ and a sincere and universal Obedience to the Precepts of his Holy Gospel Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of God but he that doth the will of my Father which is in Heaven And here in the Text it is expresly said That Christ is the Author of Eternal Salvation to them that obey him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to them that hearken to him that is to them that do so hear and believe his Gospel as to obey it to them and no other he is the Author of Eternal Salvation And that we may the more clearly and distinctly understand what Obedience it is which the Gospel exacts as an indispensable Condition of Eternal Salvation and a necessary qualification in all those who hope to be made partakers of it we may be pleased to consider that there is a virtual and an actual Obedience to the Laws of God a perfect and a sincere Obedience to them the explication of these Terms will give us a distinct conception of the thing we are speaking of 1 st There is a virtual and there is an actual Obedience to the Laws of God By an actual Obedience I mean the Practice and Exercise of the several Graces and Virtues of Christianity and the course and tenor of a Holy Life when out of a good Conversation Men do shew forth their Works and by the outward actions of their Lives do give real Testimony of their Piety Justice Sobriety Humility Meekness and Charity and all other Christian Graces and Virtues as occasion is ministred for the Practise and Exercise of them By a virtual Obedience I mean a sincere belief of the Gospel of the Holiness and Equity of its Precepts of the Truth of its Promises and of the Terror of its Threatnings and a true Repentance for all our Sins This is Obedience in the Root and Principle for he who sincerely believes the Gospel and does truly repent of the Errors and Miscarriages of his Life is firmly resolved to obey the Commandments of God and to walk before him in Holiness and Righteousness all the days of his Life so that there is nothing that prevents or hinders this Man's actual Obedience to the Laws of God in the course of a holy and good Life but only the want of time and opportunity for it And this was the case of those who upon the hearing of the Gospel when it was first preached to them did heartily embrace it and turn from their Sins and the Worship of Idols to the true and living God but perhaps were cut off soon after as there were many who being but newly gained to Christianity were presently put to Death and suffer'd Martyrdom for that Profession There is no doubt to be made but that in this case a virtual Obedience was in such Persons a sufficient qualification for Eternal Life But where there is time and opportunity for the Exercise of our Obedience and the practice of the virtues of a holy Life there actual Obedience to the Laws and Precepts of the Gospel is necessary to qualify us for Eternal Happiness so that tho' a man do sincerely believe the Gospel and truly repent of his Sins and resolve upon a better Life yet if he do not afterwards in the course of his Life put this resolution in practice and bring forth fruits meet for Repentance and amendment of Life and persevere in a Holy Course his first Resolution of Obedience though it were sincere will not avail him to Salvation Nay if he should continue for some time in the Resolution
in the latter part of the Text that many shall seek to enter in and shall not be able I proceed now to the Second part of the Text the Reason or Argument whereby this Exhortation is enforced Strive to enter in at the strait gate for many I say unto you shall seek to enter in and shall not be able Every seeking to enter in will not gain our admission into Heaven therefore there must be striving For Men may do many things in Religion and make several faint Attempts to get to Heaven and yet at last fall short of it for want of that earnest Contention and Endeavour which is necessary to the attaining of it We must make Religion our business and set about it with all our might and persevere and hold out in it if ever we hope to be admitted to Heaven for many shall seek to enter that shall be shut out Now what this seeking is which is here opposed to striving to enter in at the strait gate our Saviour declares after the Text v. 25. When once the Master of the House is risen up and hath shut to the door and ye begin to stand without and knock at the door saying Lord Lord open unto us and he shall answer and say unto you I know you not whence ye are Then shall ye begin to say we have eaten and drunk in thy Presence and thou hast taught in our streets but he shall say I tell you I know you not whence ye are depart from me all ye workers of Iniquity St. Matth. mentions some other Pretences which they should make upon which they should lay claim to Heaven Mat. 7.21 22 23. Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but he that doth the will of my Father which is in Heaven Many will say unto me in that Day Lord Lord have we not Prophesied in thy Name and in thy Name have cast out Devils and in thy Name done many wonderful works And then will I profess unto them I never knew you depart from me ye that work Iniquity After all their seeking to enter in and notwithstanding all these Pretences they shall be shut out and be for ever banisht from the Presence of God This shall be their doom which will be much the heavier because of the disappointment of their confident expectation and hope So St. Luke tells us v 28. There shall be weeping and gnashing of Teeth when ye shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the Prophets in the Kingdom of God and ye your selves thrust out And they shall come from the East and from the West and from the North and from the South and shall sit down in the Kingdom of God To which St. Matthew adds Chap 8. v. 12. But the Children of the Kingdom shall be cast out into utter darkness there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth And then our Saviour concludes Luke 13.30 Behold there are last that shall be first and first which shall be last From all which it appears with what Confidence many Men upon these false Pretences which our Saviour calls seeking to enter in shall lay claim to Heaven and how strangely they shall be disappointed of their expectation and hope when they shall find themselves cast out of Heaven who they thought had out done all others in Religion and were the only Members of the true Church and the Children and Heirs of the Kingdom and shall see others whom they thought to be out of the Pale of the true Church and excluded from all terms of Salvation come from all Quarters and find free Admission into Heaven and shall find themselves so grosly and widely mistaken that those very Persons whom they thought to be last and of all others farthest from Salvation shall be first and they themselves whom they took for the Children of the Kingdom and such as should be admitted into Heaven in the first place shall be rejected and cast out So that by seeking to enter we may understand all those things which Mâ—n may do in Religion upon which they shall pretend to lay claim to Heaven nay and confidently hope to obtain it and yet shall be shamefully disappointed and fall short of it Whatever Men think and believe and do in Religion what Privileges soever Men pretend what Ways and Means soever Men endeavour to appease the Deity and to recommend themselves to the Divine Favour and Acceptance all this is but seeking to enter in and is not that striving which our Saviour requires If Men do not do the will of God but are workers of Iniquity it will all signify nothing to the obtaining of Eternal Happiness Our Saviour here instanceth in Mens Profession of his Religion calling him Lord Lord in their personal Familiarity and Conversation with him by eating and drinking in his Presence and Company in their having heard him preach the Doctrine of Life and Salvation Thou hast taught in our streets in their having prophesied and wrought great Miracles in his Name and by his Power Have we not prophesied in thy Name and in thy Name cast out devils and in thy Name done many wonderful works These were great and glorious Things which they boasted of and yet nothing of all this will do if Men do not the Will of God notwithstanding all this he will say unto them I know ye not whence ye are depart from me ye workers of Iniquity And by a plain Parity of Reason whatever else Men do in Religion what Attempts soever Men may make to get to Heaven upon what Priviledges or Pretences soever they may lay claim to eternal Life they will certainly fall short of it if they do not do the will of God but are workers of Iniquity My business therefore at this time shall be to discover the several false Claims and Pretences which Men may make to Heaven and yet shall never enter into it And to this purpose I shall instance in several Particulars by one or more of which Men commonly delude themselves and are apt to entertain vain and ill-grounded hopes of eternal Salvation 1 st Some trust to the external Profession of the true Religion 2 dly Others have attained to a good degree of Knowledge in Religion and they rely much upon that 3 dly There are others that find themselves much affected with the Word of God and the Doctrines contained it it 4 thly Others are very strict and devout in the external Worship of God 5 thly Others confide much in their being Members of the only true Church in which alone Salvation is to be had and in the manifold Privileges and Advantages which therein they have above others of getting to Heaven 6 thly Others think their great Zeal for God and his true Religion will certainly save them 7 thly Others go a great way in the real Practice of Religion 8 thly Others rely much upon the Sincerity of their Repentance and Conversion whereby
before Few are so impartial as to quit those things which they have once laid great weight upon and kept a great stir about because this is to acknowledge that they were in an Error and mistaken in their Zeal which few have the ingenuity to own tho' it be never so plain to others and therefore it is no wonder that our Saviour's Doctrine met with so much resistance from those who were so much concern'd in point of Honour and Reputation to make head against it And this account our Saviour himself gives us of their Infidelity John 5.44 How can ye believe which receive honour one of another and seek not the honour which cometh of God only And Chap. 12.43 For they loved the praise of Men more than the praise of God And besides the point of Reputation those that were Rich were concerned in point of Interest to oppose our Saviour and his Doctrine because he call'd upon Men to deny themselves and to part with Houses and Lands yea and life it self for his sake and for the Gospel's which must needs be a very hard and unpleasant Doctrine to Rich Men who had great Estates and had set their Hearts upon them Upon this Account it is that our Saviour pronounceth it so hard for a Rich Man to enter into the Kingdom of God and compares it with those Things that are most difficult and Humanly impossible I say unto you it is easier for a Camel to go through the eye of a Needle than for a Rich Man to enter into the Kingdom of God But now the Poor were free from these Incumbrances and Temptations they had nothing to lose and therefore our Saviour's Doctrine went down more easily with them because it did not contradict their Interest as it did the Interest of those who had great Estates and Possessions Secondly Another Reason of this is that those that are Poor and enjoy little of the good things of this Life are willing to entertain good News of Happiness in another Those who are in a state of present Misery and Suffering are glad to hear that it shall be well with them hereafter and are willing to listen to the good News of a future Happiness and therefore our Saviour when he had pronounced the Poor Blessed Luke 6.20 He adds by way of Opposition v. 24. But wo unto you that are rich for ye have received your Consolation They were in so comfortable a Condition at present that they were not much concerned what should become of them hereafter whereas all the Comfort that Poor Men have is the hopes of a better Condition non si male nunc olim sic erit that if it be bad now it will not be so always and therefore no wonder if the Promises and Assurance of a future Happiness be very welcome to them Thirdly If by the Poor we do not only understand those who were in a low and mean Condition as to the Things of this World but such likewise as had a Temper and Disposition of Mind suitable to the Poverty of their outward Condition which our Saviour calls Poverty of Spirit by which he means Meekness and Humility there is no doubt but that such a Frame and Temper of Spirit is a great Disposition to the receiving of Truth And that this is included in the Notion of Poverty is very plain both from the Words of the Prophecy I cited before Isa 61.1 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good Tidings to the meek and to bind up the broken-hearted and likewise from our Saviour's Description of these Persons in one of the Evangelists Matth. 5.3 Blessed are the Poor in Spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of God So that by the Poor who are so nearly disposed to receive the Gospel our Saviour intended those who being in a poor and low Condition in Respect of outward Things were likewise meek and humble in their Spirits Now Meekness and Humility are great Dispositions to the entertaining of Truth These Graces and Virtues do prepare the Minds of Men for Learning and Instruction Meekness and Modesty and Humility are the proper Dispositions of a Scholar He that hath a mean Opinion of himself is ready to learn of others he who is not blinded by Pride or Passion is more apt to consider things impartially and to pass a truer Judgment upon them than the Proud and the Passionate Passion and Pride are great Obstacles to the receiving of Truth and to our Improvement in Knowledge Passion does not only darken the Minds of Men but puts a false Biass upon our Judgments which draws them off many times from Truth and sways them that way which our Passion inclines them A Man of a calm and meek Temper stands always indifferent for the receiving of Truth and holds the Ballance of his Judgment even but Passion sways and inclines it one way and that commonly against Truth and Reason So likewise Pride is a great Impediment to Knowledge and the very worst Quality that a Learner can have it obstructs all the Passages whereby Knowledge should enter into us it makes Men refuse Instruction out of a Conceit they need it not Many Men might have known more had it not been for the vain Opinion which they have entertained of the sufficiency of their Knowledge This is true in all kinds of Learning but more especially as to the Knowledge of Divine things For God loves to communicate himself and bestow his Grace and Wisdom upon meek and humble Minds So the Scripture tells us Psal 25.9 The Meek will be guide in Judgment and the Meek will he teach his Ways And 1 Pet. 5.5 Be clothed with Humility for God resisteth the proud and giveth Grace to the humble And thus I have shewn in what Respects the Poor were more disposed for the receiving the Gospel than others I proceed now to the Second Thing namely What those Prejudices and Objections are which the World had against our Saviour and his Religion at their first Appearance as also to enquire into those which Men have at this Day against the Christian Religion and to shew the Weakness and Unreasonableness of them I begin First With those Prejudices which the World had against our Saviour and his Religion at their first Appearance Both Jews and Gentiles were offended at him and his Doctrine but not both upon the same account They both took Exceptions at him especially at his low and suffering Condition but not both upon the same Reason I shall begin with the Exceptions which the Jews took against our blessed Saviour and his Religion and I shall reduce them all or at least the most considerable of them as I find them dispersed in the History of the Gospel and in the Acts of the Apostles to these Six Heads First The Exceptions which they took against him upon account of his Extraction and Original Secondly At the Meanness of his Condition contrary to
wrought in the Manners of Men we have clear and full Testimony from what the Apostles wrote concerning the several Churches which they planted in several Parts of the World What hearty Unity und Affection there was among Christians even to that Degree as to make Men bring in their private Estates and Possessions for the common Support of their Brethren we may read in the History of the Acts of the Apostles The City of Corinth by the Account which Strabo gives of it was a very vicious and luxurious place as most in the World and yet we see by St. Paul what a strange Reformation the Christian Religion made in the Lives and Manners of many of them 1 Cor 6.9 10 11. Be not deceived neither fornicators nor adulterers nor idolaters nor effeminate nor thieves nor covetous nor drunkards nor revilers nor extortioners shall inherit the Kingdom of God And such were some of you But ye are washed but ye are sanctified but ye are justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God And surely it is no small matter to reclaim Men from such a profligate course of Life The Apostle instanceth in Crimes and Vices of the first Rate from which yet he tells us many were cleansed and purified by the Name of the Lord Jesus and the Spirit of God that is by the Power and Efficacy of the Christian Doctrine together with the Co-operation of God's Holy Spirit After the Apostles the Ancient Fathers in their Apologies for Christianity give us a large Account of the great Power and Efficacy of the Christian Doctrine upon the Lives and Manners of Men. Tertullian tells the Roman Governors that their Prisons were full of Malefactors committed for several Crimes but they were all Heathens De vestris semper aestuat carcer Their Prisons were thronged with Criminals of their own Religion But there were no Christians to be found committed there for such Crimes Nemo illic Christianus nisi hoc tantùm c. There were no Christians in their Prisons but only upon account of their Religion Or if there were any Malefactors that had been Christians they left their Religion when they fell into those Enormities And afterwards he adds that if Christians were irregular in their Lives they were no longer accounted Christians but were banish'd from their Communion as unworthy of it And they appealed to the Heathens what a sudden and strange change Christianity had made in several of the most lewd and vicious and debauched Persons and what a visible Reformation there presently appeared in the Lives of the worst Men after they had once entertained the Christian Doctrine And these Testimonies are so much the stronger because they are Publick Appeals to our Adversaries which it is not likely they who were so persecuted and hated as the Christians were would have had the Confidence to have made if they had not been notoriously true even their Enemies themselves being Judges And that they were so we have the Confession of the Heathen themselves I shall produce two remarkable Testimonies to this Purpose and one of them from the Pen of one of the bitterest Enemies that the Christian Religion ever had Pliny in his Epistle to Trajan the Emperor gives him an Account That having examined the Christians setting aside the Superstition of their way he could find no Fault and that this was the Sum of their Error That they were wont to meet before Day and sing a Hymn to Christ and to bind themselves by Solemn Oath or Sacrament not to any wicked Purpose but not to steal nor rob nor commit Adultery nor break their Faith nor detain the Pledge So that it seems the Sum of their Error was to oblige themselves in the strictest manner against the greatest Vices and Crimes Which methinks is a great Testimony from an Enemy and a Judge one who would have been ready to discover their Faults and had Opportunity of enquiring into them My other Witness is Julian the Emperor and Apostate who in one of his Epistles tells us The Christians did severely punish Sedition and Impiety And afterwards exhorting the Heathen Priests to all Offices of Humanity and especially Alms towards the Poor he tells them they ought to be more careful in this particular and to mend this Fault Because says he the Galileans taking advantage of our Neglect in this kind have very much strengthned their Impiety for so he calls their Religion by being very intent upon these Offices and exemplary in their Charity to the Poor whereby they gained many over to them And in his 49th Epist to Arsacius the High-Priest of Galatia he recommends to him among other Means for the Advancement of Paganism the building of Hospitals and great Liberality to the Poor not only of their own Religion but others For says he it is a Shame that the impious Galileans should not only maintain their own poor but ours also wherefore let us not suffer them to outdo us in this Virtue Nothing but the force of Truth could have extorted so full an Acknowledgment of the great Humanity and Charity of the Christians from so bitter an Enemy of our Religion as Julian was If he owned it we may be sure it was very great and exemplary So that you see that the Christian Religion had a very great Power and Efficacy upon the Lives and Manners of Men when it first appeared in the World And the true Spirit and Genius of any Religion the Force of any Institution is best seen in the primitive Effects of it before it be weakned and dispirited by those Corruptions which in time are apt to insinuate themselves into the best things For all Laws and Institutions are commonly more vigorous and have greater Effects at first than afterwards and the best things are apt in time to degenerate and to contract Soil and Rust And it cannot in Reason be expected otherwise So that though it be a thing to be bewailed and by the greatest Care and Diligence to be resisted yet it is not so extremely to be wonder'd at if Christianity in the space of Sixteen Hundred Years hath abated much of its first Strength and Vigor Especially considering that there were several Circumstances that gave Christianity mighty Advantages at first especially the miraculous Powers which did accompany the first Publication of the Gospel which must needs be full of Conviction to those who saw the wonderful Effects of it The extraordinary Operation of the Spirit of God upon the Minds of Men to dispose them to the receiving of it The persecuted and suffering State that Christians were generally in which made those who embraced the Profession to be generally serious and in good earnest in it and kept up a continual Heat and Zeal in the Minds of Men for that Religion which cost them so dear and for which they suffer'd so much And the fury of their Enemies against it did naturally inflame their Love and Kindness to one
he ever liveth to make intercession for us By these Qualifications our High Priest is described in this Epistle and by these he is every way suited to all our Defects and Infirmities all our Wants and Necessities to instruct our Ignorance by his Doctrine and to lead us in the Path of Righteousness by his most Holy and most Exemplary Life to expiate the guilt of our Sins by his Death and to procure Grace and Assistance for us by his prevalent Intercession on our behalf By all these ways and in all these respects he is said to be the Author of eternal Salvation 1 st By the Holiness and Purity of his Doctrine whereby we are perfectly instructed in the Will of God and our Duty and powerfully excited and perswaded to the practice of it The Rules and Directions of a Holy Life were very obscure before and the Motives and Encouragements to Virtue but weak and ineffectual in comparison of what they are now render'd by the Revelation of the Gospel The general corruption of Mankind and the vicious Practice of the World had in a great measure blurr'd and defac'd the Natural Law so that the Heathen World for many Ages had but a very dark and doubtful knowledge of their Duty especially as to several instances of it The Custom of several Vices had so prevail'd among Mankind as almost quite to extinguish the natural Sense of their Evil and Deformity And the Jews who injoy'd a considerable degree of Divine Revelation had no strict regard to the Morality of their Actions and contenting themselves with some kind of outward Conformity to the bare Letter of the Ten Commandments were almost wholly taken up with little Ceremonies and Observances in which they placed the main of their Religion almost wholly neglecting the greater Duties and weightier matters of the Law And therefore our Blessed Saviour to free Mankind from these wandrings and uncertainties about the Will of God revealed the Moral Law and explained the full force and meaning of it clearing all doubts and supplying all the defects of it by a more particular and explicite Declaration of the several parts of our Duty and by Precepts of greater Perfection than the World was sufficiently acquainted withal before of greater Humility and more Universal Charity of abstaining from Revenge and forgiving Injuries and returning to our Enemies Good for Evil and Love for ill-will and Blessings and Prayers for Curses and Persecutions These Virtues indeed were sometimes and yet but very rarely recommended before in the Counsels of wise Men but either not in that degree of Perfection or not under that degree of Necessity and as having the force of Laws and laying an universal obligation of indispensable Duty upon all Mankind And as our blessed Saviour hath given a greater clearness and Certainty and Perfection to the rule of our Duty so he hath reveal'd and brought into a clearer Light more powerful Motives and Encouragements to the constant and careful Practice of it for Life and Immortality are brought to light by the Gospel the Resurrection of Christ from the Dead being a plain and convincing Demonstration of the Immortality of our Souls and another Life after this and an Evidence to us both of his Power and of the fidelity of his promise to raise us from the Dead Not but that Mankind had some obscure Apprehensions of these things before Good Men had always good hopes of another Life and future Rewards in another World and the worst of Men were not without some fears of the Judgment and Vengeance of another World but Men had disputed themselves into great doubts and uncertainties about these things and as Men that are in doubt are almost indifferent which way they go so the uncertain apprehensions which Men had of a future State and of the Rewards and Punishments of another World had but a very faint influence upon the Minds of Men and wanted that pressing and determining force to Virtue and a good Life which a firm Belief and clear Conviction of these things would have infused into them But now the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ hath scatter'd all these Clouds and chased away that gross Darkness which hid the other World from our sight and hath removed all doubts concerning the Immortality of Mens Souls and their future State and now the Kingdom of Heaven with all its Treasures of Life and Happiness and Glory lies open to our view and Hell is also naked before us and destruction hath no covering So that the hopes and fears of Men are now perfectly awakened and all sorts of Considerations that may serve to quicken and encourage our Obedience and to deter and affright Men from a wicked Life are exposed to the view of all Men and do stare every Man's Conscience in the face And this is that which renders the Gospel so admirable and powerful an Instrument for the reforming of Mankind and as the Apostle calls it the mighty power of God unto Salvation because therein Life and Immortality are set before us as the certain and glorious Reward of our Obedience and therein also the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men So that considering the perfection of our Rule and the powerful enforcements of it upon the Consciences of Men by the clear discovery and firm assurance of the Eternal Recompence of another World nothing can be imagined better suited to its end than the Doctrine of the Gospel is to make Men wise and holy and good unto Salvation both by instructing them perfectly in their Duty and urging them powerfully to the practice of it 2 dly The Example of our Saviour's life is likewise another excellent Means to this End The Law lays an Obligation upon us but a Pattern gives life and encouragement and renders our Duty more easie and practicable and familiar to us for here we see obedience to the Divine Law practiced in our own Nature and performed by a Man like our selves in all things like unto us Sin only excepted 'T is true indeed this exception makes a great difference and seems to take off very much from the encouraging Force and Virtue of this Example No wonder if he that was without Sin and was God as well as Man performed all Righteousness and therefore where is the encouragement of this Example That our Nature pure and uncorrupted supported and assisted by the Divinity to which it was united should be perfectly confomed to the Law of God as it is no strange thing so neither doth it seem to have that force and encouragement in it which an Example more suited to our weakness might have had But then this cannot be deny'd that it hath the advantage of perfection which a Pattern ought to have and to which though we can never attain yet we may always be aspiring towards it and certainly we cannot better learn how God would have Men to live than by seeing how God
There is a worse Objection than all these made by some grave Men who would be glad under a pretence of Piety to slip themselves out of this Duty and that is this that it savours of Popery to press good Works with so much earnestness upon Men as if we could merit Heaven by them So that they dare not be charitable out of a pious Fear as they pretend lest hereby they should entertain the Doctrine of Merit But if the Truth were known I doubt Covetousness lyes at the bottom of this Objection However it is fit it should be answered And 1. I say that no Man that is not prejudiced either by his Education or Interest can think that a Creature can merit any thing at the hand of God to whom all that we can possibly do is antecedently due much less that we can merit so great a Reward as that of Eternal Happiness 2. Tho we deny the merit of good Works yet we firmly believe the necessity of them to Eternal Life And that they are necessary to Eternal Life is as good an Argument to perswade a wise Man to do them as if they were meritorious unless a Man be so vain-glorious as to think Heaven not worth the having unless he purchase it himself at a valuable Consideration And now let me earnestly intreat you as you love God and your own Souls not to neglect this Duty lest you bring your selves to the same miserable state with this Rich Man to whom the least Charity that could be askt was denied Our Saviour hath purposely left this Parable on record to be a testimony and a witness to us lest we being guilty of the same sin should come into the same place of torment And if any ask me according to what proportion of his Estate he ought to be charitable I cannot determine that Only let no Man neglect his Duty because I cannot and it may be no one else can tell him the exact proportion of his Charity to his Estate There are some Duties that are strictly determined as those of Justice but God hath left our Charity to be a free will Offering In the proportion of this Duty every one must determine himself by Prudence and the Love of God God hath left this Duty undetermined to try the largeness of our Hearts towards him only to encourage us to be abundant in this Grace he hath promised that according to the proportion of our Charity shall be the degree of our Happiness 2 Cor. 9 6. He that soweth plentifully shall reap plentifully But let us be sure to do something in this kind any part of our Estate rather than none I will conclude with that excellent Counsel of the Son of Syrach Eccl. 4. My Son defraud not the Poor and make not the needy Eye to wait long make not a hungry Soul sorrowful neither provoke a Man in his distress add not more trouble to a Heart that is vexed defer not to give to him that is in need Reject not the supplication of the afflicted nor turn away thy face from a poor Man turn not away thy Eye from the needy and give him none occasion to curse thee For if he curse thee in the bitterness of his Soul his Prayer shall be heard of him that made him Let it not grieve thee to bow down thine Ear to the poor and give him a friendly answer with meekness Be as a father to the fatherless and instead of a husband to their mother so shalt thou be as the Son of the most high and he shall love thee more than thy Mother doth SERMON XI The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus Sermon II. LUKE XVI 19 20. There was a certain Rich Man which was cloathed in Purple and fine Linen and fared sumptuously every day And there was a certain Beggar named Lazarus which was laid at his Gate full of Sores I Proceed to our Second Observation that a Man may be poor and miserable in this World and yet dear to God This beggar Lazarus tho' he was so much slighted and despised in his life-time by this great Rich Man yet it appeared when he came to die that he was not neglected by God for he gave his Angels charge concerning him to convey him to Happiness v. 22. The Beggar died and was carried into Abraham's bosom But this Truth is not only represented to us in a Parable but exemplified in the Life of our blessed Saviour Never was any Man so dear to God as he was for he was his only begotten Son his beloved Son in whom he was well pleased And yet how poor and mean was his Condition in this World Insomuch that the Jews were offended at him and could not own one that appeared in so much Meanness for the true Messias He was born of mean Parents and persecuted as soon as he was born he was destitute of worldly Accommodations The Foxes had holes and the Birds of the Air had nests but the Son of Man had not where to lay his head He was despised and rejected of Men a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with Grief God could have sent his Son into the World with Majesty and great Glory and have made all the Kings of the Earth to have bowed before him and paid Homage to him but the Wisdom of God chose rather that he should appear in a poor and humble in a suffering and afflicted Condition to confound the Pride of the World who measure the Love of God by these outward things and think that God hates all those whom he permits to be afflicted Now it was not possible to give a greater and clearer Demonstration of this Truth that Goodness and Suffering may meet together in the same Person than in the Son of God who did no Sin neither was Guile found in his mouth yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him and to put him to Grief Afflictions in this world are so far from being a sign of God's Hatred that they are an Argument of his Love and Care whom the Lord loveth he chastneth and scourgeth every Son whom he receiveth Those he designs for great things hereafter he trains up by great Hardships in this world and by many Tribulations prepares them for a Kingdom This course God took more especially in the first planting of Christianity the poor chiefly were those that received the Gospel Not many mighty nor many noble but the base things of the world and the things that were despised did God chuse Hearken my beloved brethren saith St. James ch 2.5 Hath not God chosen the poor in this world rich in Faith and Heirs of the Kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him Now this Consideration should persuade to Patience under the greatest Sufferings and Afflictions in this world God may be our Father and chasten us severely nay this very thing is rather an Argument that he is so God may love us tho' the world hate us 'T is but exercising a