from Truth And that excellent Moralist a little before admonishes those who are able to destroy Errour not to do it vehemently nor insolently Moreover Plutarch that great Ornament of Moral as well as Historical Learning makes the way of managing a Discourse with modesty and mildness of Temper neither suffering our selves to engage with Vehemency and Passion nor to be hot and concern'd in urging an Argument nor to rail and give bad Words even tho' we are non-plush'd to be a true sign of a great Proficient in Vertue And the celebrated Roman Orator gives it as his Opinion That Disputes accompanied with Reproaches and opprobrious Language with Passion and obstinate Contention are unworthy of that Man that makes Profession of Philosophy I am sure the Precepts of our Blessed Saviour are full to that Purpose Quae cum legimus quem Philosophum non contemnimus And that perfect Model of Piety hath set an Example of great Meekness in instructing those that opposed themselves and exercised an abundance of Patience in bearing with the Infirmities of Men and above all recommends the Pattern of his Meekness as the surest method of acquiring a Likeness to him to which Purpose he was pleased to be represented by a Lamb and the Spirit that taught Christianity came down in the shape of a Dove How charitable and beneficial a Mind he had appeared in the whole Course of his Life which was spent in prosecuting the noblest Ends of making others Happy either by his pious Conversation or charitable Offices by his judicius Writings or profitable Sermons which were always adapted to the necessities of his Flock and gave warning of those Dangers which threatned them He was ready upon all Occasions to supply the wants of the Poor according to his Abilities and the assistance he gave the Sick in his Parish by some skill he had that way was made use of as a favourable Opportunity to instill his heavenly Instructions and served as a Vehicle to convey Nourishment to their precious Souls nothing could set bounds to his large Mind but that Period which will set bounds to all things for his Inclinations of doing good were particularly conspicuous at his Death in that considerable Settlement he made for ever upon the Poor of the Parish where he was born in Yorkshire I call it considerable because Five and twenty Pounds yearly Revenue in that County very well justifies it besides it will more deservedly appear so when the Reader shall know 't was near half of his Estate the remainder was Dedicated to the assistance of those Relations whose Circumstances most requred his Help but since God had not Blessed him with Children he gladly adopted the poor Members of Christ as Heirs to his paternal Inheritance and instead of entertaining the least repining thought for want of Issue he thanked God for the opportunity that was put into his hands of testifying his Love and Devotion towards him And I believe there never was a Settlement of that kind made with greater Piety and Prudence the Qualifications of those who are to receive benefit by it are strict Obligations to the Vertues of a Christian Life he has laid down such Rules for the managing of it as in humane Probability may attain their End and has provided for all those Difficulties which might threaten to render it ineffectual which was all the labour of his own Brain and received only its form from the skilful in the Law 't is possible the World may see the whole at length since it may serve to direct those whose hearts God shall touch with such charitable Dispositions Thus while the World lasts he will be clothing the Naked feeding the Hungry visiting the Sick having made a yearly allowance for their Necessities instructing the Ignorant and powerfully perswading the Poor to apply themselves to the Service of God by making it the means of their support to obey him Happy Soul Thy joy of doing Good will be still encreasing by the Blessed fruit thy Zeal will bring forth even after thy Death and if in this Life where we see through a Glass darkly and where our best Services are allayed with the Infirmities of our frail Nature a good Man often thinks no Pleasure comparable to that of Glorifying God what an unconceivable Happiness must it be in the next Life where all the Excellencies of the Divine Being shall be clearly discovered and where Love is pure without the least mixture and inflam'd to its utmost Capacity to find that he still glorifies him whom he Loves and continues to make him yet loved by others And this his charitable Temper appeared not only in his Actions but also in his Discourse which was govern'd by favourable Interpretations of what others either did or said and where things were apprehended by him so apparently wicked and unrighteous that they would not admit of his Candor there he shewed his Charity in judging favourably of those Dispositions of mind wherewith they were done ascribing them if he could lay hold of any Colour and Pretence to the most excusable Principles He excelled in all the suffering Vertues which are the peculiar Beauties of Christianity and which the wise and good Providence of God called upon him to exercise as Patience Meekness Trust in God dependance upon him for Succour Self-denial cheerfully taking up the Cross forgiving Injuries and doing good to those that despitefully used him and had he alwaies lived in a calm we could not have formed so just an Idea of his worth for we must be in a suffering state and exposed to the weight of many and great afflictions before we can be assured how patiently and contentedly how cheerfully and couragiously we can undergo them and agreeable to this 't is remarkable that Plato to finish his Character of a Righteous man makes him pass through a scene of sufferings to justifie the principle of his vertue fleeting pains of this short life well recompenced with everlasting joys His conduct in the work of the Ministry sufficiently evidenc'd to the world how truly he answered that important demand in Ordination Whether he trusted he was inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon him that Office and Ministration The constant application of his time and pains to the discharge of his Pastoral Duties the great neglect he always shewed in solliciting Preferments and his readiness and chearfulness in parting with that Station he was placed in when he apprehended the keeping of it inconsistent with the peace of his mind is a clear proof that the only design he aimed at by engaging in the Sacred Function was the Service of his Blessed Master and the Salvation of the Souls of Men and that he espoused his Profession as a happy Instrument of doing good rather than of being rich and great The last scene of his Life his Sickness and Death still maintained the character of strict Piety and Christian Devotion and when I shall tell the Reader
put off the old man which is corrupted by sinful Lusts and be born again we cannot enter into the Kingdom of God Joh. 3.3 This then is clear both from the Declarations of the Scripture and the evidence of the thing that a Life of Vertue is plainly necessary to our future Happiness and that our being saved from sin in this World is indispensiblely requisite to our Salvation in the next The eternal Life of Heaven is a Life as I have shewn that is after the likeness and similitude of God's a Life of unspotted Vertue and compleat Goodness that implies an entire Exemption and most absolute Deliverance from all manner of sin This Perfection and Compleatness of it we must expect in Heaven whereas St. Paul says The Spirits of just men are made perfect Heb. 12.23 But as for the Life it self we must enter upon it and begin it here That Life of Vertue and Reformation which we engage upon at our becoming Christians is that very Life which never ends but which is to grow up to full degrees and to be eternal in the Heavens And therefore the Scriptures as in respect of the full Perfection and Fruition of it which is to be had in the next World they are wont to speak of it as a thing future so in respect of that more imperfect Enjoyment which we have of it in this World they use sometimes to speak of it as a thing possess'd here He that believes on me saith our Saviour hath eternal Life Joh. 6.47 And again Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life Verse 54. St. John bids them That believe on the name of the Son of God know that they have eternal life 1 Joh. 5.13 And that Grace or Goodness of Spirit which our Saviour expressed by water Joh. 4. and which he bid the woman of Samaria to ask of him Verse 10. he tells her Shall be a Well of water springing up to eternal life Verse 14. A Life of Vertue and Obedience then is not only a necessary Qualification for our Salvation and eternal Life in Heaven but in a degree it is that very Salvation and eternal Life it self our Deliverance from our sins is not only the way to Happiness but in an imperfect measure it is that very Happiness whose perfection and compleat Degrees we are bid to hope for in Heaven The Misery that befell us all in Adam was our falling from God's image wherein he and all his Holy Angels are infinitely Happy and that Happiness and Salvation which is promised to us in Christ is our Restoration to it So that as for the Promises of God 't is clear from them that the great Salvation which they are designed for is this Deliverance from our sins since all other promised Blessings are made to depend upon it since it is not possible they should be had without it nay since this Deliverance is the chief promis'd Mercy and even Happiness and eternal Life it self and as to the third part of the Gospel I proposed to speak to viz. Thirdly Those Threatnings which are contain'd therein the Salvation which they aim at is evidently this Deliverance from our Sins which are those very things they are all denounced to The Gospel tho' it breath out nothing but Grace and Mercy to the Penitent is yet the severest Dispensation that ever was to all incorrigible Men. For therein God declares himself an utter Enemy to all that will not be reformed and that he will inflict a most terrible Punishment and exemplary Vengeance on them the Author of Grace and Mercy Christ himself hath spoken it That except we repent we shall all perish Luk. 13.3 And St. Paul tells us plainly That at the last Day God will render to all that obey not the truth but obey unrighteousness indignation and wrath tribulation and anguish and that upon every soul of man whether he be Jew or Gentile Rom. 2.6 8 9 10. Our sins then are plainly those Evils which the Threatnings of the Gospel would fright us from and our Deliverance from them is that Salvation which they would enforce upon us Their end is evidently to make us leave all evil ways for fear least they should be inflicted on us for our perseverance in them As for that Salvation then which Christ came to purchase for us from what I have deliver'd it appears I suppose most evidently what it is The Declarations of the Prophets of Christ and his Apostles the prime end of the Precepts the Promises and the Threatnings of the Gospel the Nature of God of Heaven and Happiness in a word the Design of our whole Religion and Christianity make it clear to us that it is our Reformation or as the Angel expressed it our Deliverance from our sins He shall be called Jesus because he shall save his people from their sins And thus having represented what that Salvation is which Christ came to purchase for us and shewn I think clearly that the great Deliverance design'd us by him and promoted by his Gospel is our Reformation and a Freedom from our Sins I proceed now Secondly To note some Uses and particular Improvements of this Discourse 1. Then from what has been discoursed upon the Nature of the Christian Salvation we may plainly understand what Faith what Repentance what Grace what Preaching what Ordinances are saving For if Salvation mainly consists in our Deliverance from our Sins as we have evidently seen it doth then that is a saving Faith which makes us obedient and that a saving Repentance which works our Amendment and that is saving Grace which enables us to a pious Practice and that is saving Preaching which is fitted not to fill us with vain Delights or learned Niceties or abstract Speculations or mysterious Notions but to awaken our Consciences and reform our Lives and those are saving Ordinances which are powerful and proper means of our Conversion and vertuous Performances This is to be the end of all the helps of Religion and this the Excellency of all the means of Grace that they tend strongly to make us leave our sins and rescue us from Disobedience Our Salvation is a Deliverance from our sins and then any thing is saving when it delivers and frees us from them 2. A second Use which I shall note of this Discourse is for the Tryal of our State to know whether we are indeed of the number of the saved or no for if Salvation consists in our Deliverance from our sins then they are not saved but lost men who still live in them and are enslaved to them Is any man then a contemner or prophaner of God of his dreadful Name or of his holy word Doth he spend his time in Luxury and Wantonness Pride and Covetousness are his hands full of violence or is he a stranger to the ways of Peace In sine if he doth not make it his business and care to fear God and keep his Commandments to be humble chaste
and exhorts them to it and Promises by his Grace to help them therein and good men who have endeavoured thus either now or heretofore have actually by such Endeavours perform'd the same Nay if they will be perswaded to make the Experiment they will find it is not only a possible but after some time at least an agreeable Service And that in all the parts of it it is a tolerable in most an easie and in many a most pleasurable and delightful thing God Grant that as by his Grace assisting us we have all the Power so we may likewise have the Will and Heart to make a right use thereof and accomplish that Obedience which he so sincerely and earnestly desires we should and will most gladly enable us upon our honest Endeavours to perform DISCOURSE III. How to form such a Purpose of sincere Repentance and entire Obedience as will be effectual for this Purpose On Acts 11.23 And exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. WHEN some of those Christians who were dispers'd abroad upon the Death of St. Stephen came to Antioch and upon their Preaching Multitudes believed the Church of Jerusalem sent out Barnabas that he should go and confirm them in the new Course of Life which they had undertaken and in the Holy Faith which they had received and this he doth in the words of the Text Who when he came and had seen the Grace of God was glad and exhorted them all c. By cleaving to the Lord we may understand not only adhering to God and the Christian Religion in opposition to the Jewish Worship and to all false Gods and Heathen Idols a Point very necessary to be pressed when they sought Converts among Jews and Gentiles Not only adhering to Gospel-Truths when they grow hazardous a thing very requisite to be inculcated under approaching Tryals and in difficult times But also adhering to him in Vertue and Holiness in opposition to a wicked Life a thing most indispensibly required and fit to be studiously urged in all times In adhering thus to God in a vertuous Course we shall meet with many Difficulties and be put to deâ—y our selves and very likely others too whom either out of some temporal Expectation or Affection we gladly would comply withal and this is enough to stagger our Choice and to draw our hearts off from God unless they are fully bent upon his ways and knit to him by a sixt Resolution and steady Purpose of Obedience And that the Apostle calls for in this place from those who were engaged in and would go on with God's Service He exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. My design from these words is to shew how to form such a Resolution of new Life and penitential Purpose as may both set us in and also carry us thro' with God's Service and this may seem most necessary to be insisted on because the far greatest part of penitential Purposes fall off before they have wrought an answerable Practice So that 't is highly useful to inquire what are their Defects and how in a Point of such eternal moment we may prevent miscarriages It is not all Holy Resolution that will overcome our Lusts and keep us true to our Maker against all Temptations If it is weak or wavering the Sollicitations of our old Friends will quickly alter or the strength of great Temptations over-power it If it is chiefly for remote Futurities and over-looks what is next at hand it will allow us to be wicked for the present If it be made only in a good Mood and the absence of Temptations it will not bear us out when we come under them If it were rash and hasty without a due foresight and Consideration both of the Duties and the Difficulties which we resolv'd upon it will be quash'd when Hardships come that were not expected If this Resolution is too indulgent about means and Expediencies and not strict enough against all occasions of Sin it leaves open a Back-door to let in many damnable Offences and on the other side if it is indiscreetly rigorous in these Points it will prove a snare to us if it is only a transient Act and is not frequently repeated and renewed again in a little time it will pass off from us A resolution of Amendment may prove ineffective and mis-carry upon all these Grounds as is daily seen in the good Purposes of awakened Sinners which are ever and anon rais'd in them by Sickness or some affecting Providence but vanish and come to nothing ere they have wrought the Reformation which they were designed for When our Consciences are awakened then with a frightful sense of our Sins and we think seriously of reforming and leading new Lives great Care must be taken so to fix the bent of our hearts and to form such a penitential Purpose as may take effect and bear us out in performing what we have design'd And this I think will be well provided for in these Particulars First Our Resolution of a new Life must be considerate and well advis'd Secondly It must be without all reserve full and perfect Thirdly It must be adequate to all times or a Resolution to forsake Sin not only hereafter but instantly and now at present not only when we are out of Temptations but also when we are under them not only when we cannot Act our Sins but also when we can Act and repeat them too Fourthly It must not only be upon the Duties but also upon the means and helps of Duty not only against the Sins but against the Inducements and Occasions that lead to sin likewise And that being once well form'd it may never wear off but last thro' all times Fifthly It must not only be a transient Act but oftentimes repeated and renewed thro' our whole Lives 1. To form such a Resolution of a new Life as may be like to take effect it must not be a rash and indeliberate Act but well advis'd and considerate When some extraordinary Providences as great Losses and Dangers or severe smart and Sickness have awakened mens Consciences and fill'd them with a great and painful Dread of God's deserved wrath to cure that Dread they resolve without more ado to please him by a good Life never considering what that is or what Pains it costs or whether it may not prove such a Remedy as afterwards they will Fancy worse than the Disease it self And when they are thus rash and unadvised in resolving on it they quickly repent of such Resolutions when they find it worse than they imagin'd and meet with Hardships which they never expected To prevent this Sickliness in our Resolutions of a good Life then it is necessary that we view and consider it well what it is and what Pains it requires before we make them and look on all sides to see both what may discourage us from and what may move us to