Laws seem most to thwart our Reason and his Dispensations seem most hard and severe Thus did Abraham the Father of the Faithful when God commanded him even to Slay his only Son Isaac he readily obey'd he did not stand to dispute the Case Gen. 22.10 And thus did Job in reference to the Dispensations of God's Providence when he was stript naked of his vast Possessions and even of his dear Children he even then blest God for it kissing as it were the Rod that stroke him The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away Blessed be the Name of the Lord Job 1.21 III. III. The Affections what and how to be renounc'd The Affections in the Carnal Man do sadly degenerate into what may too properly be called the sinful Lusts of the Flesh Our Passions and Affections are indeed in themselves of singular use to the perfecting of our Natures They are the Wings of the Soul to carry it forth with eagerness in the pursuit of that which is Good and with Aversation and Flight from that which is Evil. They are variously numbred up but the Master Affections are Love and Hatred which when they are rightly governed all the rest are so too but when they are misplac'd and out of order so in the same proportion are all the others And accordingly whereas then it is that our Love is rightly fix'd 1. When we place it upon a proper Object And 2. When we steer towards the Thing we love with Desires proportionable to the Good that is in the Object that is When the best and greatest Things are pursu'd with our chiefest Passions middle Things with a less and the lowest with the least So it is that so long as a Person remains Unregenerate he either first places his Love upon that which he should Hate which is the wrong Object as upon sinful Profits and Pleasures or secondly he loves Things of an Indifferent Nature such as are Earthly Things with an over Intense Affection beyond their true Worth and Value And so on the contrary as to Hatred the Carnal Mind hates that which he should love viz. God and Vertue The Carnal Mind is Enmity against God nor is it subject to the Law of God Rom. 8.7 Or else he hates some Things as the chiefest of all Evils viz. Sufferings and Afflictions when indeed they are of that Nature that upon due Consideration a Man shall be able to say That it is good for him that he has been Afflicted And accordingly when our Affections of either kind are either misplac'd upon wrong Objects or are disproportionate to the true worth and Evil that is in those Objects towards which it is lawful to be well or evilly affected in Moderate Degrees In either of these Cases I say our Affections shall become sinful Lusts of the Flesh and are necessary to be Renounced by us And 1. Those Affections of Love and Hatred must be utterly Renounc'd which we shall find our selves to have mis-plac'd upon wrong Objects I. As they are mis-plac'd upon wrong Objects that is instead of Loving we must utterly Hate and Abhor all Sin and sinful Pleasures So the Psalmist Psal 97.10 Ye that Love the Lord hate Evil. Now Sin is the greatest Evil in the World as being most directly contrary to the Holy Nature and Will of God and it is the Cause of all the Evils which befal us and therefore to take pleasure in Sin is so perverse a thing that so long as any Person remains thus wickedly Dispos'd he is an Enemy of God and no better than a Child of the Devil 1 Joh. 3.10 Thus must we not misplace our Love upon that greatest of all Evils which is Sin And so 2. Instead of Hating God and Vertue against whom the Carnal and Vnregenerate are at Enmity we must Entirely and Affectionately Love both which is so plain and palpable a Truth as needs neither Proof nor Enlargement And thus we are to Renounce the Affections of Love and Hatred whenever they are mis-plac'd upon undue Objects 2. And we must so far Renounce 'em as they are Disproportionate to the true Worth and Evil that is in those Objects towards which it is lawful to be well or evilly Affected in Moderate Degrees II. As they are disproportionate to the Love Worth and Evil that is in those Objects towards which it is lawful to be well or evilly affected in moderate Degrees That is 1st We must not Love God with an inferior Degree of Affection and Worldly Things with a Superior but as God is the Supreme Good in himself and the Author of all the Good we Enjoy we must therefore Love him accordingly with the Intensest Degree of Affection that we shall be able so Matth. 22.37 Thou shalt Love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart and with all thy Soul and with all thy Mind We must so Love him as chearfully to Renounce and Sacrifice all our Profits and Pleasures when call'd thereto that is We must deny our selves take up our Cross and follow him in Afflictions Distresses and Persecutions whenever the Cross shall be laid upon us Matth. 18.24 Nay and we must so Love him as even to Hate all others the Nearest and Dearest Relations in comparison of him Luk. 14.26 So far must we Renounce our Affections of Love as it is any wise disproportionate to the thing Beloved as it is too violently set upon perishing and worldly Goods and too cold towards God and Heavenly Things 2. And on the contrary we must also Renounce that other Affection of Hatred as it is Disproportionate to the Evil which is to be Hated There may be just occasion of Anger towards a Person and of Hatred of his ways but we must not let those Passions so far exceed their due Bounds as to degenerate into Wrath and Malice Let all Bitterness and Wrath and Anger and Clamour be put away from you with all Malice And be ye Kind one to another Tender-hearted forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you Eph. 4.31 32. 3. The Last of those Powers of our Corrupted Nature which are here to be Renounced are our Lusts and Appetites III. The Lusts and Appetites are such Sinful Lusts of the Flesh as are to be Renounc'd which in a State of Unregeneracy are indeed most directly and immediately no other than so many Sinful Lusts of the Flesh These were design'd by the God of Nature for our Preservation Our Appetites after Meat and Drink were Implanted in our Nature in order to preserve our own selves in Being and Cupidity or Lust for the Propagation and Preservation of a Posterity to succeed us But when either our Appetites or Lusts do desire 1. Vndue Objects Or 2. That which in it self is Lawful and Allowable in Vndue Measures they do then degenerate into Sinful Lusts of the Flesh and must be Renounced by us And First I. As they do desire Vndue Objects as to the Indulgence
to Abraham as it was a Promise of sending Christ to be the Saviour of the World was expressive of the greatest love For in this was the love of God manifested towards us because God sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him Herein is love not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins 1 Joh. 4.9 10. A Propitiation for our sins That is one that by his Death hath procured favour having taken off that sore displeasure which God by his Law had declared against all the transgressors of it For the wise and just God did not think the Righteousness of his Government and the Honour and Reputation of his Law would be sufficiently saved and his great hatred of Sin sufficiently manifested without some considerable satisfaction given for the dishonour done to Him and his Law by Mans Transgression And yet that this might not be exacted at the hands of the Guilty in executing the Curse of the Law on themselves he was most graciously pleased to accept of the Sufferings of his own dear Son instead of what the sinners themselves were to have undergone He hath redeemed us from the curse of the Law being made a curse for us Gal. 3.13 Christ suffered for sins the just for the unjust or in their stead 1 Pet. 3.18 Upon account of which undertaking of Christ for us all the benefits of the Covenant do accrue to Man Whatever is required of Man by way of condition of his acceptation with God becomes accepted to that end upon account of Christ's suffering And his Intercession in Heaven through which all our sincere though otherwise imperfect performances become acceptable to God and rewardable by him is made in the virtue of it For the whole Covenant itself is founded in the Blood of Christ which he shed for the remission of sins Therefore it is called the New Testament in his Blood Mat. 26.28 And his Blood the Blood of the Everlasting Covenant Hebr. 13.20 2. It contained a Promise of Justification or Remission of sin through Christ unto all that should so believe as thereupon to repent of their former folly and become sincerely obedient for the future For that is necessarily implyed in the Promise of Blessedness to the Nations in Abraham's Seed it being impossible Men should be Blessed without Remission of sin which consisteth in removing the Curse of the Law in remitting the penalty Blessed is the Man whose iniquity is forgiven and whose sin is covered Psal 32.1 St. Paul acquaints us that this Blessing of the New Covenant was declared to Abraham in the Promise Gal. 3.8 The Scripture foreseeing that God would justifie the Heathen through Faith preached the Gospel before unto Abraham saying In thee shall all Nations be blessed 3. It contained in it tacitly a Promise of Divine Assistance unto Men in their endeavours to fulfil the condition of the Promise For God in promising Blessedness to the Nations through Abraham's Seed therein promised all that was absolutely necessary for him to vouchsafe to make them blessed and without which they could not be blessed And if so then he therein implicitly promised to assist the endeavours of Men to perform the condition of the Promise without the assistance of whose Grace they cannot savingly Believe Repent and Obey And so it should seem the Old Testament-Church understood God's subduing of sin as well as his pardoning of sin to be comprized in the Promise to Abraham Mich. 7.19 20. He will subdue our iniquities and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the Sea Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob and the mercy to Abraham which thou hast sworn to our Fathers from the days of old And Christ his turning Men from their iniquities which he doth accomplish by appointing them means and by assisting them in the use of them to that end is part of the Blessing contained in the Promise made to Abraham and was so reckoned by St. Peter Act 3.25 26. Ye are the Children of the Prophets and of the Covenant which God made with our Fathers saying unto Abraham And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed Vnto you first God having raised up his Son Jesus Christ sent him to bless you in turning every one of you from his iniquities 4. It implicitly or somewhat obscurely contained in it a Promise of Eternal Life I say implicitly For I do not find that Eternal Life was expresly promised to Abraham But yet that was expresly promised him from which the hope of Eternal Life might well be inferred As first Blessedness through his Seed the Messias And secondly That God would be a God to him and his Seed For Blessedness is a Happiness that runs parallel with the duration of Man's Immortal Soul And God's Promise of being a God to Abraham carried in it a Promise of a Happiness worthy of God to bestow such as Everlasting Life or Happiness is And therefore he was not ashamed to be called their God meaning Abraham Isaac and Jacob because he had prepared for them a City meaning that in so doing he had answered that title of relation of being their God and done like himself Heb. 11.16 And upon these and the like Revelations of God's mind to him Abraham looked for a City which hath Foundations whose Builder and Maker is God and a Heavenly Country Heb. 11.10 16. If Abraham did but use his reason about these Promises as he did about reconciling God's Promise that in Isaac his Seed should be called with his command to Sacrifice him Heb. 11.17 18 19. he might discern Eternal Life in them though but very obscurely in comparison of what is now revealed in the Gospel by which Life and Immortality is brought to light 2 Tim. 1.10 But how obscurely soever a future Happiness was promis'd to Abraham yet promised it was for which we have the testimony of St. Paul Gal. 3.18 If the inheritance be of the Law it is no more of Promise But God gave it to Abraham by Promise He was here proving against the Pharisaical Jews and Judaizing Christians that Justification unto Life was to be had by the Promise and not by the Law by Faith and not by Works of the Law that the Just should live by Faith as vers 12. And therefore by Inheritance here which he saith God gave to Abraham by Promise he doubtless means Eternal Life which elsewhere he calls the Promise of eternal Inheritance Heb. 9.15 Consider now how God carry'd on his design of restoring Man by the promise of those benefits For if expressions of the greatest Grace and Love in God to Men is the way to beget in them a love to God again and in begetting that to beget all the desirable effects of Love which are no less than a sincere conformity in Man's Nature and Life to the Divine Law and if the giving of great and
in another Word is ordinarily exprest in Scripture by Vprightness or walking uprightly And to be upright in God's Ways is not to stumble and fall by Sin or Disobedience but to be perfect and entire or wanting nothing in obedient Performances And that our Obedience may be thus entire and upright it must be First The Obedience of the whole Man Secondly To the whole Law And Thirdly perform'd at all times First That our Obedience to the Laws of the Gospel may be entire I. The Obedience of the whole Man that is and so avail us to Life and Happiness it must be the Obedience of the whole Man that is we must take care to obey with all the Powers and Faculties of our Nature We must have our Understandings our Wills our Affections and our Bodily Powers obedient to God's Laws And for this the very Letter of the Law is express for when the Lawyer ask'd our Saviour What shall I do to inherit eternal Life Luk. 10.25 our Saviour ask'd how it is written in the Law who answering that it is written Thou shalt love that is serve as it is Deut. 11.13 the Lord thy God with all thine Heart or Will with all thy Soul or Affections with all thy Strength or Bodily Powers and with all thy Mind or Understanding vers 26 27. When the Lawyer answered him That thus indeed it was written in the Law as it was Deut. 11. our Saviour told him he answered right and bid him do this and he should live Obedience with all the Powers and with the whole Nature is the Means of Life and the indispensible Condition of our eternal Happiness And In the first place of the Mind and Vnderstanding First We must keep all God's Commandments with our Mind or Understanding that is all the Thoughts and Imaginations all the Contrivances and Counsels of our Hearts must be governed by and kept in Obedience to the Laws of the Gospel so that we must not indulge our selves nor entertain in our Hearts evil Thoughts wanton and vain Thoughts nor must we purpose and contrive wicked and unjust Things no more than we must outwardly act them Thus the Apostle 2 Cor. 10.4 tells us That the Weapons of a Christian's Warfare must be mighty through God to the pulling down Strong-holds to the casting down Imaginations and every high thing that exalteth it self against the Knowledge of God and to the bringing into captivity every Thought to the Obedience of Christ This Text forbids all Thoughts and Contrivances of Sin Secondly of the Will Secondly As ever we hope to have our Obedience avail us to Life and Happiness as we must keep our Minds and Understandings so likewise our Wills in Obedience to God's Commands The Choice as well as the Practice of our Duty is plainly necessary to render it available to our Salvation but on the other side he that would sin if he could conveniently and opportunely if he chuse Sin although he miss of opportunity to act it the bare Choice without the Practice is sufficiently to his Condemnation Thus our Lord Himself has determined it Whosoever looks on a Woman to lust after her or so long till his Heart eonsent to commit Lewdness with her if he could though he never meet with an Opportunity to act it hath committed Adultery with her already in his Heart Matth. 5.28 This Text shews us that we may disobey in Willing as well as Doing and that we shall be condemned for a wicked Choice as well as a wicked Practice Thirdly of the Affections Thirdly As we will render to God the Obedience of the whole Man an entire Obedience such as will avail us to Salvation we must regulate our Souls and Affections conforming them wholly to what God Commands That is we must love our Duty as well as do it and not to do it meerly out of Fear but out of Love To pretend Obedience to God and yet to love what he forbids to make a show of his Service and yet in our very Hearts to hanker after his vilest Enemies our Sins whom above all Things his Soul hates this surely is not honestly to Serve but grosly to Collogue and flatly to Dissemble with Him And we must not do our Duty meerly out of Fear I say but out of Love for thus to serve God against our Wills is to submit to him as a Slave doth to a Tyrannous Lord not through any Kindness for him but through a hateful Fear of him But this is such a hateful way of performing Obedience as God will never endure nor accept of for He scorns to be served by a slavish Fear and an unwilling Mind No Man as our Saviour says Matth. 6.24 can serve two Masters for if he loves the one he will hate the other Ye cannot serve God and Mammon By this he lets us know that our Love and Obedience must go together and be paid both to one God Lastly As we will give God the Service and Obedience of the whole Man an Entire Obedience such as he will accept of to our Salvation we must Obey him with all our Strength and bodily Powers That is we must not only Inwardly Approve of God's Commands as good in our Minds and Judgments bear a Love to 'em with our Affections and chuse 'em with our Wills but we must proceed Outwardly to Act and do the Will of God in the Outward and Constant Practice of our Lives we must put to our Strength and bodily Powers and work the Will of God in our Lives and Actions Little Children saith St. John 1 Epist 3.7 let no Man deceive you he that doth Righteousness is righteous That is you will be deceived if you suffer others to perswade you or vainly flatter your selves that there is any thing less than doing and acting vertuously and righteously for which you shall be rewarded as vertuous and religious Persons These Texts besides many others shew you the necessity that our Inward good Motions proceed to Outward good Operations that you must go on to do good Deeds before you are fit for the Great Reward that we must work as well as desire and not only will and like but do our Duty because on nothing less than that we shall at the last Day be accepted This indeed is the severe Service and the distasteful Part This the distasteful part of our Duty A secret Wish or a sudden Desire of Obedience may start up in our Souls unawares and there is not much opposition made to it because our Lusts receive no great hurt from it And therefore they will allow us to think of Good to spend a faint Wish a sudden Inclination or fruitless Desire upon it but if once we would go on to do our Duty and to begin Obedience then begins the Conflict our Lusts then bestir themselves with might and main and set every Faculty on work to resist and defeat it for our Thoughts then begin to argue and to
openly which to do was necessary to make them capable of the Promise of Salvation by him Joâ— 12.42 43. Among the chief Rulers many believed on him but because oâ— the Pharisees they did not confess him lest they should be put out of the Synagogue for they loved the praise of Men more than the praise of God These had more understanding than the common People who as they said knew not the Law John 7. and yet not so many of them as of the people believed on Christ so as to confess and follow him because their worldly interest being greater it held them faster and had the greater power over their Wills The unbelief then of Men where the Gospel comes is generally to be resolved into the obstinacy of their Wills in opposition to the convictions of their Understanding John 5.40 Ye will not come to me that ye might have life How oft would I have gathered you and ye would not Mat. 23.37 O that my people had hearkened to my counsel But Israel would none of me Psal 81.11 They did not chuse the fear of the Lord Prov. 1.29 They chose their own ways their Souls delighted in their abominations Isa 6.3 Thus much in general But I would shew yet more particularly how the Will doth obstruct the perfecting the work of Faith after it 's begun in the Understanding And it doth it as I conceive 1. By calling off the Understanding from a frequent consideration of that evidence by which it was first convinced of the Truth of God's Testimony touching the Promised Benefits and the Condition and Means of obtaining them and from a frequent application of it to the Will And this the Will can do For as the Understanding hath a power over the Will so far as to represent its apprehensions to the Will in order to its acting thereupon according to a Man 's own concerns therein so also the Will hath a kind of power over the Understanding both to put it upon frequent consideration to strengthen it self in the belief of that which the VVill would have to prove true and to be believed and also to call it off from so doing when there is a great reluctancy in the VVil against having that prove true which the Understanding represents as true And if the Understanding be taken off so that it hath not frequent recourse to that evidence which first procured its Assent unto the Truth of God's Testimony in the Gospel that it might be thereby nourished strengthened and maintained that Faith in the Understanding will languish and grow weak and so have no powerful operation upon the VVill to change and renew it and to procure its effectual consent to perform the Condition of the Promise when the Will stands disinclined of it self to the Verdict of the Understanding Besides if the Understanding doth not ply the VVill and frequently inculcate upon it it s own apprehensions concerning God's Testimony and the consequence and concernment of it to a Man 's own self thereby to make the VVord believed to be an ingrafted Word it will not work any Cure upon it or any thorough change in it The unwillingness in Men to have their Minds ingaged in the consideration of God's ways and their own is the reason of their turning back from him Job 34.27 They turned back from him and would not coâ—sider any of his ways As on the contrary the Scripture represents th conversion of a sinner as proceeding from the consideration of the bad tendency of his evil ways Ezek. 18.28 Because he considereth and turneth away from all his transgressions which he hath committed he shall surely live he shall not dye And our Saviour seems to cast mens profiting or not profiting their Belief or not Belief by hearing God's Testimony in the Gospel upon their considering or not considering of it Mark 4.24 And he said unto them Consider what you hear so Dr. Hammond reads it for with what measure ye meet viz. in considering or not considering it shall be measured to you again in profiting or not profiting which is to be understood according to God's ordinary proceeding with Men. The reason why the Faith of those resembled by the stony ground doth not abide or come to perfection is because they have no Root in themselves and that comes to pass for want of much consideration and a frequent working the first conviction of the mind from the evidence of Truth into the Will and Affections by a constant Consideration and close Application of it Acts 17.11 They searched the Scriptures daily whether those things were so and therefore they Believed 2. When men hold fast their Lusts out of their great love to them notwithstanding their conviction in their Understandings and are not willing to part with them upon any terms the Fumes of those Lusts continually ascending will cloud and darken the Understanding as a thick Fogg doth the Sun and by degrees make it less capable of discerning its Object viz. saving Truth in its clear evidence and proportionably hinder its operation upon the Will The cares of this World and the deceitfulness of Riches and the lusts of other things choak the Word and it becometh unfruitful Mar. 4.19 He that hateth his Brother is in darkness and walketh in darkness and knoweth not whether he goes because darkness hath blinded his eyes 1 John 2.11 3. Sinful Mens Understandings are not so uncorrupt but that they are apt to be bribed by their Wills to cast about and devise how to evade the force and edge of their own Notices and Dictates and to attempt and baffle their former apprehensions and convictions to the end they may still retain their lusts without any great disturbance from their Understandings This when it is yielded to and put in practice is that which in Scripture is called Mens closing their eyes lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and should be converted and healed Mat. 13.15 And when this takes place in Professors of Christianity that do believe that Faith Repentance and Obedience are necessary to Salvation as the Condition on which it is promised the way by which they usually deceive their own Hearts is by perswading themselves that they do perform the Condition of the Promise in these when indeed they do not but frame to themselves Notions of saving Faith Repentance and Obedience different from the Scripture Notions of them as I shall shew in each of them 1. Many delude themselves by taking up a wrong Notion of Saving Faith and so think they have it when they have it not They believe indeed Christ to be the Son of God and Saviour of the World and that those shall be saved that believe in him and those damned that do not because the Scripture which they believe to be the Word of God saith so And thus far they believe rightly objectively But then they deceive their own Souls by
immoderate Affections but indulge themselves in these or any of these or the like they deceive themselves whatever their External Conformity to Divine Precepts otherwise may be They are the pure in heart that shall see God And they that are Christs have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts God observes more what Men are inwardly than what they are outwardly and judges of them accordingly He is not a Jew nor he a Christian who is one outwardly in the flesh but he who is so inwardly in heart whose praise is not of Men but of God Rom. 2.28 29. And therefore St. James counted them but Earthly Sensual and Devilish in their Profession of Christianity how high soever they professed and such as did lye against the Truth that indulged bitter envying and strife though it were but in their hearts Jam. 3.14 15. And if Lusts and Passions within shall break out in an unbridled Tongue in Slandering Reviling Back-biting Evil-speaking rash and uncharitable Censuring or the like how Religious soever such a Man may otherwise seem to himself or others yet St. James hath plainly determined his case such an one hath deceived his own heart and his Religion is vain Jam. 2.26 Mat. 5.22 Men may go a great way in Religion yea so far as until they are not far from the Kingdom of God Yea many shall seek to enter in by doing many things in order thereto and yet shall not be able for want of striving to do all that is necessary thereto And for that very reason and because of the great danger of Christians falling short tho' they have gone far and done much are they so earnestly Exhorted to work out or to work through their own Salvation with Fear and Trembling with a fear of falling short Phil. 2.12 And not only so but to fear even a seeming to come short of the promised Rest Heb. 4.1 Let us therefore fear lest a promise being left us of entering into his Rest any of you should seem to come short of it The matter is of that huge consequence that every wise Man that doth not despise his own Soul should be afraid to do or omit to do any thing that hath but the least seeming shew or apperance of putting his Salvation into any hazard And therefore All diligence is not too much for the wisest Man living to use to make his calling and election sure 2 Pet. 1.10 Thus when Mens Understandings are bribed by their corrupt Wills they then take up with a partial Faith a partial Repentance and a partial Obedience instead of that which is Evangelically compleat and hope it is a fulfilling of the Condition of the Promise And when Men shut their own Eyes and stop their own Ears against the evidence of the Word of Salvation that they may the more quietly enjoy the pleasures of any sin God many times in his Righteous Judgment after much striving and long-suffering withdraws the Assistance of his Grace and Spirit and leaves them to themselves and their own Delusions and to be practised upon by the Devil for their farther hardening according to that dreadful Prophesie in Isa 6.9 10. mentioned no less than five or six times in the New Testament Mat. 13.14 Mar. 4.12 Luke 8.10 Joh. 12.40 Acts 28.26 Rom. 11.8 Go tell this people hear ye indeed but understand not and see ye indeed but perceive not Make the heart of this people fat and make their Ears heavy and shut their Eyes c. When Men will not receive the love of the Truth that they might be saved but have pleasure in Unrighteousness God sometimes sends them strong delusions to believe a lye 2 Thes 2.10 11 12. Whereas on the contrary the good-ground hearers are dâ—scribed by the honesty of the Heart into which they receive the Word They study no tricks or shifts nor use any shuffling upon the account of any dishonest interest to evade the plain Truth but are content that should take place and all other things give place to it They suffer that Word which was received and assented to in the Judgment before in order of Nature to sink down into their hearts by which the Will and Affections become changed CHAP. IV. How and after what manner Faith in the Vnderstanding works savingly upon the Will THE Faith of Assent in the Understanding worketh a Consent in the Will unto the Condition of the Promise by its operative and affecting influence upon the Passions of Hope Fear and Love the powerful Principles of Action in Man For tho' Faith in the Understanding is the first Principle of Action as Christian yet not that but the Will as it is affected with Hope Fear or Love is the next and immediate Principle of Action The Understanding when it rightly performs its Office doth not only assent unto the Truth of Divine Revelation upon competent Evidence that it is from God but also considers and weighs as in a balance the import of it and how a Man is concerned in it as whether it betoken Good or Evil to him and how much and upon what terms whether Absolutely or Conditionally and what the Condition is All which when brought down to the subordinate Faculties of the Soul the Will and Affections is apt to affect them and work upon them more or less according as the things believed are apprehended more or less to concern a Man And the things believed Eternal Life and Eternal Death in another World being Invisible and absent things it is a Man's Faith touching the reality of them that supplies the room or absence of sense For Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen Heb. 11.1 We neither see nor feel the glorious things promised nor the dreadful things threatned in another World otherwise than by Faith which gives the Believer a prospect of them But a Man by his Faith in that Gospel by which they are revealed hath a foresight of them as Abraham had of Christ's Day and that fills the Soul with Hope and Fear and a sense of God's love in giving such an Hope And this Hope Fear and Love puts Men upon more or less Care Diligence and Industry in doing what is necessary for the obtaining of the one and escaping the other as they are more or less influenced by a Faith that is weaker or stronger or more or less active and exercised about these things And hence comes that change which is made in the Hearts and Lives of true Believers who walk by Faith and not by Sight that is they govern their Lives by the belief of invisible and not sensible things 2 Cor. 5.7 This in general But more particularly the Faith of Assent in the Understanding works the Faith of Consent in the Will by its operation upon those three Passions or Affections of the Will Hope Fear and Love 1. As a firm assenting to the Truth of God's Promise through Christ of pardon of Sin and Eternal Life upon
Condition of Repentance and new Obedience together with his Faith gives a Man hope and confidence of obtaining these great benefits upon the terms on which they were promised The hope of this Happiness causeth a Man to be willing to comply with the Condition upon which it is promised in order to the obtaining the Happiness itself There is a Principle of Self-love planted by God in the Nature of every Man by which he doth naturally desire and aspire after the happiness of his own Being And that will put a Man upon the use of such Means and the performance of such a Condition without which he believes and is verily perswaded he cannot be happy Now every Man in whom there is the Faith of Assent unto the Trutâ— of God's Testimony in the Gospel firmly fixed being verily perswaded that everlasting Happiness is not attainable without Repentance Regeneration and sincere Obedience because God hath declared this as plainly as he hath done any thing And it is the nature of Faith to acquiesce in his Testimony The love of the End which is Man's own Happiness makes him in love with the Means such as is Repenting Mortifying and Obeying without which he cannot attain his end in being Happy This Principle of Self-love under the conduct of a Man's Understanding and Reason enlightned and regulated by a Declaration of the Divine Will and influenced by a firm belief of it will work in a Man new Apprehensions of and new Affections to both Sin and Duty and will cause him to abandon the little pleasures of sin which are but for a season that he may come to the fruition of that fulness of joy and those Rivers of pleasure which are in the presence of God at his right hand for evermore when once he knows and firmly believes that they cannot otherwise be obtained Thus by Faith is the victory over the world obtained in all its Temptations from Honours Profits and Pleasures 1 Joh. 5.4 For by such a Faith a Man well perceives that the World offers him to his unspeakable loss though it should offer him all of these that it is able to confer upon him if it be upon condition of doing or omitting to do that by which he shall certainly deprive himself of that Glory Honour and Immortality which he is well assured of through Faith in God's Promise if he overcome We see Men are so commonly governed by a Principle of Self-love in parting with a lesser Good or Conveniency for a greater even in the things of this Life that they are worthily and deservedly counted Fools that do the contrary And therefore those are guilty of so much the greater Folly and Madness who deprive themselves of the Happiness of Heaven by a sinful seeking or possessing of the Honours Profits or Pleasures of this Life As the Happiness of Heaven exceeds the enjoyments of this World in kind and height of Satisfaction and in continuance and duration so Rational a thing it is to live and walk by Faith of unseen things and Unreasonable and Unmanly to be governed by the sense of present things in opposition thereunto 2 Thess 3.2 2. The Faith of Assent in the Understanding worketh a Consent in the VVill to the Condition of the Promise as the passion of Fear is awakened by believing God's Threatnings against such as do not observe and fulfil that Condition There is a Principle of Self-preservation planted by God in every Man's Nature by which he fears and abhors that which he knows and verily believes tends to the infelicity and misery of his Being and which puts him upon the avoiding of that which he believes hath such a tendency in order to the declining the Misery or Destruction itself VVhen a Man receives such sayings into his Understanding as threaten that if ye live after the flesh ye shall die that except ye repent ye shall all perish that without holiness no Man shall see the Lord and the like and doth Assent unto them as the true sayings of God which Assent is his Faith the fear of the Misery threatned and the Principle of Self-preservation work in him a desire and endeavour to have his sinful Inclinations and Appetites Mortified and a care to avoid the outward acts of sin as really and truly as he desires to escape Eternal Destruction itself as believing and knowing they tend thereto and that he cannot escape the one without a sincere desire and endeavour to destroy and avoid the other And in this way Faith is a Believer's Victory by which he also overcomes the World when it tempts him to sin by threatning him with Disgrace loss of Estate or Liberty or with enduring of corporal Punishment or Death itself For he believes the Punishments in the other VVorld to be of such a nature and duration as that the worst things which Man can inflict are altogether inconsiderable in comparison of them By which Belief he is so far guided that he chuses to suffer the less when his faithfulness to God and his own best interest doth expose him to it rather than to expose himself by unfaithfulness to infinitely the greater to avoid the less And thus Faith purifies the Heart of all inordinate Affection to Riches Honour Ease and Pleasures Acts 15.9 III. The Faith of Assent or Credence in the Understanding touching the exceeding greatness of God's Love to Mankind in the gift of Christ for their Redemption and in his great and precious Promises made in him upon a very gracious Condition works in the Will a love to God and so a love to please him in doing those things which he hath made the Condition of his Promise When once the Understanding represents it to the Will as a certain Truth upon clear Evidence that notwithstanding Mens Apostacy from God and Rebellion against him and the Condemnation they are under thereby yet God is Reconcilable to them yea willing and so desirous to Reconcile them to himself that as an Evidence and Proof of it he hath given his own Son Christ Jesus to become a Ransom for them and that he hath made a new Covenant declaring that upon account of his Son 's undertaking for them he is not only abundantly willing to pardon all such as shall unfeignedly Repent of their disloyalty and sincerely return to their Duty but that he will also bountifully reward their future sincere Obedience with perfect and perpetual Happiness I say when all this is represented to the Will as unquestionably true it will work in it a love to that God and Saviour that hath been so loving if it be but kept close to it A manifestation of such love and goodness to Man and that while yet in enmity against God so ill deserving and so obnoxious to the power of his wrath when he hath no need of him nor can be profited by him will create good thoughts of God and reconcile Man's Mind to him and work melting Affections in him to God when heartily
and Stubble and shall be able to distinguish between and separate the Refuse and Dross of a Sermon and Discourse from the weighty and substantial Parts of it A Skill which as it is of vast Consequence so it is but little understood by the Generality of People for want of having been well Catechized and Instructed in the Fundamentals of Christian Religion IV. Catechizing necessary to prevent being seduced into dangerous Errors Fourthly Catechizing is also requisite to secure you from being at any time mis-lead into dangerous Heresies and Errors by the Sermons and Discourses of Men Crafty to deceive to the infinite Peril of your immortal Souls There must be Heresies the Apostle tells us 1 Cor. 11.19 That they which are approved may be made manifest For God does permit them for our Tryal whether we will stand stedfast to the Truth And our Saviour bids us Matth. 24.45 Take heed that no man deceive us for many shall come in my Name says he that is will pretend to be Ministers of Christ and shall deceive many They will come with all deceiveableness the Apostle tells us 2 Thess 2.10 with so much Artifice and Cunning that if it were possible they shall deceive the very Elect Mat. 24.24 particularly of this sort are they St. Paul warns us 2 Tim. 3.6 Which creep into houses and lead captive silly women laden with Sins led away with divers Lusts ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the Truth A Character than which nothing can more exactly agree to the Seducers of our Times and the Persons whom they do usually Practice upon to draw aside which are for the most part Ignorant Women and the Effect it has upon their Disciples and Followers which is to make them great Talkers and Pretenders to extraordinary Knowledge but in reality not one Jott wiser in the grand Points of the Christian Religion And now if any of these cunning Deceivers shall come to any of you and endeavour to Pervert you how is it possible you should escape their Wiles except you shall be well Principled so as throughly to understand the Foundation Articles of your Religion But Holding fast that form of sound words 2 Tim. 1.13 Having well imbibed the Principles of Religion which are taught in your Catechism by these as by a certain Touchstone you will be able to discover what are True and what are Erroneous Doctrines Those that agree with this Analogy of Faith you may be certain are sound what do contradict them you may be sure are false Doctrines Catechizing is an excellent Means says Mr. Gouge to keep Persons from the Errors and the Heresies of the Times For Persons well Catechized and Instructed in the Principles of Religion are in a great measure Antidoted against the Poison of seducing Doctrines And observe who are they as he goes on that are easiest seduced by false Teachers who are they that have embrac'd their Erroneous Tenets and you shall find that they are such who were never well Catechized nor grounded in the Principles of Religion As therefore you would not be poisoned with the Erroneous Doctrines of false Teachers take care to be well rooted and grounded by Catechizing in the Knowledge of the Truth Lastly Lastly Catechizing is exceedingly Necessary Catechizing is exceeding Useful to preserve Youth from falling into any gross and wasting Sin and especially any Ungodly Course of Living Or if he has been Seduc'd by evil Company the having the Seed of good Principles sown in the Heart by a timely Catechizing will be the most likely Means to recover such a One out of the Snares of the Devil First I. To preserve Youth from ever falling into an Vngodly way of Living It is exceeding Vseful to preserve Youth from falling into any gross and wasting Sin and especially any Vngodly Course of Living This was the Counsel of the Wisest of mere Men of Solomon to Train up a Child in the way he should go and when he is Old he will not depart from it Prov. 22.6 And that excellent Moralist Plutarch in his rare Tract of Breeding of Youth speaks to the same purpose that As soft Wax is apt to take the Stamp of the Seal so are the Minds of Children to receive in Instructions imprinted on them at that Age. Let but your Youth be taught so much as they are capable to learn concerning the Nature of God how that he is wonderfully Good to those that Love and Fear him and that he will be Terrible in Judgment towards those that Disobey him Let them be instructed how wonderfully Kind the Son of God was to them as to come down himself from Heaven to call them forth out of the wicked World wholly given up to the Service of the Devil to serve their God and Maker Let them be taught betimes as much as they are capable to understand of this and of their Duty to God and Man and what a solemn Vow Promise and Profession they have made in their Baptism not willingly to offend so good and gracious a Saviour but to serve and honour him for ever Let but these Notions take the first Possession of your Minds and it will be hardly possible for any Temptation to prevail over you and to draw you into Sin you will then Blush to hear the lewd and foolish Talk of the Godless Crew of hardned Sinners you will then Tremble at their bold Oaths and you will be out of Countenance to be so much as Seen in the Company of Drunkards If they shall endeavour to perswade you to joyn with them in their lewd Courses you will have That within you will quickly answer I cannot I dare not do so ill a thing I cannot be guilty of so great a Piece of Ingratitude as to offend so good a God and gracious a Saviour as mine I dare not be guilty of so high an Injustice as to violate my Covenant Vow and Promise to him for then he will eternally Punish me Away all ye workers of Iniquity for I will keep the Commandments of my God But Youth untaught and unnurtured quickly fly out into all manner of Extravagances for why they know no better they have receiv'd no good Principles that should controul them Vanity Youthful Lusts and their wicked Companions hurry them into such bold Villanies as make us admire the Patience of God that forbears striking them quick into Hell but on they go to provoke him to the utmost and how should it be otherwise since they have no Notion of the difference between Good and Evil Nor any Principle within them that should in the least check them in the Pursuit of that which is Evil and stir them up to that which is Good True it is it may too often happen that One that has laid up in store a good Foundation of Religious Principles may be tempted and much staggered in his Constancy and perhaps be overtaken in a Fault so as wilfully to do
it might give Light to all that are in the House ver 15. And therefore Let your Light so shine before Men that others may see your good Works and glorify your Father which is in Heaven is the Inference the Command of Christ the great Captain of our Salvation ver 16. And moreover Sixthly Every Christian has commonly that in his particular Name â—I 〈◊〉 Chriâ—◠〈◊〉 Iames 〈◊〉 some 〈…〉 of 〈…〉 which 〈…〉 whereby he may be excited to some noble strain of Vertue It seldom happens that any one has a Name given him of which there has not been some One before him renown'd in History either in the Scripture or elsewhere for some noble Exploit of Vertue or other And now my Young Disciple search the Scripture and other Histories who or what He or She was and wherein thy Names-sake did excel in any Goodness Christians to an Imitation of those who were Eminent under those Names and propose such a One for thy particular Example to whose Eminency in the like Vertue do thou all thou canst to arrive Do thou John bethink thy self often of that great Contempt of the World that One of thy Name viz. John the Baptist did shew and of that burning Love to God and Men which the other viz. the Apostle of that Name did express and let the One excite thee likewise to the like Contempt of the World and the other to the like Love of God and Men. A Peter should do well to call to Mind the ready Confession of Christ that the Apostle of that Name did make and the speediness and sorrowfulness of his Repentance after he had Sinn'd and let the Thoughts of him make thee ready to give Testimony to the Truth and Faith of Christ and put thee upon a speedy Repentance after every fall and backsliding into Sin Let every Anne call to Mind that Widow of her Name mentioned Luk. 2.37 Who though a Widow of fourscore Years and four departed not from the Temple but served God with Fasting and Prayers night and day And let the Example of this devout and happy Woman of thy Name call thee Anne to the first beginning of Prayers Sacraments and Sermons Let every Mary bethink her-self of those Mary's Famous in the Gospel the One for her chast Virginity the Other for sitting so Attentive at JESUS's Feet to whom the Lord gave this honourable Testimony that she had Chose the better part and prefer'd her before her Sister Martha who disturb'd her-self too much with worldly Business Luk. 10.40 41. and from her Example learn not to entangle thy self too much with the Cares of this Life but chiefly to take care of Heavenly things and to apply thy self to Hearing and Devotion Lastly Let me give it in Charge to you that are Parents And therefore Parents are Advis'd to choose for their Children the Names of Persons Eminent for Vertue not Infamous for Vice not to give to your Children any other Names but what are of Note for their eminent and good Examples that they may have always before their Eyes whom they may imitate in their Vertue Give them such Names as if not Signalized in Scripture are at least in other Histories for some Good they have done Or if you give them the Names of any of your Ancestors let it be of those whose Vertues have adorn'd not whose Vices have disgrace'd the Age they liv'd in Or of such who have left behind them a good Name to be Imitated nothing Ill to be Abominated by their Posterity for those only are worthy to have their Memory continued in the Names of their Posterity but these are fit to be Eternally forgot And thus my Christian Disciples having shew'd you the great the very great Obligation lying upon you even from your Christian Names to square your Lives according to the Christian Rules those Rules that you have taught you and shall hereafter with God's Assistance be explain'd to you in the Exposition I shall give you of your Catechism And from several Considerations having therefore urg'd you to live with all the Care you can according to that most holy Religion to which in your Baptism you have given up your Names and under your several Names have Listed your selves to maintain and cleave unto What then remains my Christian Disciples but that you apply your selves with the greatest Diligence in order to your living good Lives to understand throughly that Religion to which you have given up your Names There shall be nothing wanting I do assure you on my part for I design by God's assistance to Instruct you in all the Articles of the Covenant of Grace and which are each of them contain'd in your Church-Catechism It lies on your parts to be teachable Disciples constantly to repair here to be Catechized and Instructed by me to have attentive Ears open Hearts and faithful Memories And Oh! That I might always find you such What Satisfaction would then accrue to my self What Profit to you And how great and eternal Rewards to us both And that it may thus succeed with all of us Pray let it be our constant and fervent Desires to God thro' Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen THE Fourth Lecture Quest Who gave you that Name Answ My Godfathers and Godmothers in my Baptism wherein I was made a Member of Christ a Child of God and an Inheritour of the Kingdom of Heaven Quest What did your Godfathers and Godmothers then for you Answ They did promise and vow three things in my Name First That I should Renounce the Devil and-all his Works the Pomps and Vanity of this wicked World and all the sinful Lusts of the Flesh Secondly That I should Believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith And Thirdly That I should keep God's holy Will and Commandments and walk in the same all the days of my Life Quest Dost thou not think that thou art bound to Believe and to do as they have promised for thee Answ Yes verily and by God's help so I will And I heartily thank our Heavenly Father that he hath called me to this State of Salvation through Iesus Christ our Saviour And I pray unto God to give me his Grace that I may continue in the same unto my Lives end AS the Compilers of the Catechism did very wisely begin with a Question and Answer about your Christian Name to the End that at the mention thereof you might take occasion to consider the great Obligation which lies upon you to live according to that most Holy Religion which under that Name you have receiv'd so in Commenting upon that Question and Answer about your Christian Name I have given you my self some preparatory Admonitions accordingly to make that good Use of those Instructions shall be given you from your Catechism as to live suitably to them And being thus well prepar'd I hope to receive Benefit from what shall hereafter be deliver'd what remains but that I proceed to instruct you
shame of that will engage you to commit another to hide the former And therefore it is I say the usual Policy of Satan when he has Tempted any Person to commit a Wickedness then to lay the Shame and Disgrace thereof so sensibly before him that he shall again commit a worse on purpose to cover the Knowledge of the former from the Eyes of Men. And then Tenthly When he has once Engag'd a Person into many Sins either he will lull him into a fatal Security X. Having once Engaged a Person into many Sins he either lulls him in security or drives him into despair whereby he foolishly perswades himself that God will deal more mercifully with him than he has declared in his Word or else Satan will not fail to present at last to such an enormous Sinner's Conscience the infinite Guilt and Horrour of his Crimes to make him despair if he can that ever they will be Forgiven they are so many and Monstrous That so he may never endeavour to Repent or so much as fly to God in Prayer to have Mercy on him At first he presented to the Sinner's Fancy nothing but the Beauty the Conveniency the Pleasure the Glory of the Things of this World as of the Pleasures Riches and the Honours of this Life with all their Advantages without any thing of that Sting and Remorse and Trouble that must necessarily attend them if unlawfully pursued and obtain'd But when by this Means the Sinner has run on without the least stop or stay into a vast Number of wasting Sins some of them perhaps of such a Nature that no Reparation or Restitution can be made for them as Adultery and Murder Then will he pour in all of a sudden whole Broad-sides such an Horrour and such an amazing sence of Guilt into the Soul of such a Sinner that thinking it to no purpose to Retreat he shall push on to commit the most outragious Villanies till at length when Death seizes him he goes down into Hell desperately Cursing the Day he was Born and Blaspheming that God who gave him a Being And now Lastly I shall not mention any other way wherein Satan tempts Men except it be when God in Punishment to some sort of Sinners does abandon them to the Devil Lastly there are those whom God does in a great Measure give up to the Delusion of Satan Others whom he does wholly Abandon to the Power of the Devil to be wholly in a manner Ordered and Acted by him And there are Three sorts of Sinners that do seem to be thus abandon'd by God and given up some in a great measure others wholly to the Management of Satan First Such ill-dispos'd Minds as out of Hatred to the Ways of God and out of Love to their own Lusts do endeavour to possess their Minds with such Principles and do seek such Teachers as will make Sin easy to their Consciences and will reconcile the Hopes of Heaven and a bad Life together And such are in danger of being justly left in a great measure to the Delusion of the Devil As to such Men because They receive not the Love of the Truth that they might be Saved God does threaten to send them strong Delusions that they should believe a Lye 2 Thes 2.10 11. And because the Generality of the World is so ill-dispos'd that it cannot endure sound Doctrine which would discover or hinder or gall their Consciences in their evil Practices God does therefore most justly permit so many to be Deluded by Satan I. Such ill-dispos'd Minds as out of love to their Lusts seek after such Principles Teachers as will make sin easy to their Consciences are justly left to the Delusions of Satan into the most vile Principles and Prâ—ctices Hence no doubt has the Church of Rome in these latteâ—â—ays as 't was foretold it would 1 Tim. 4.1 Departed from the Faith giving heed to Seducing Spirits and Doctrines of Devils And hence also amongst our selves do so many particular Persons When they will not endure sound Doctrines heap to themselves Teachers having itching Ears and do turn away their Ears from the Truth and are turned unto Fables 2 Tim. 4.3 4. There are a Second sort of Sinners who seem'd to be wholly abandon'd by God and yielded up to Satan to be Tempted by him at his Pleasure and they are such II. Such as by a long Course of many Damning Sins have laid wast the Conscience and have baffled all the Methods of God's Grace to Reclaim 'em these are sometimes even in this Life abandon'd by God to be acted by the Devil Who in a long Course of many damning Sins that lay wast the Conscience have baffled all the Methods of his Grace to reclaim them and have resisted and grieved his Holy Spirit so long till Grace be wholly withdrawn from them Such are called Children of Disobedience Eph. 2.2 which in the Phrase of Scripture does signify Persons extreamly Disobedient and of such it is said in the same Verse that the Evil Spirit worketh in them He does act them as the Soul does the Body and does hurry them into such vicious Extravagancies and to commit such outragious Impieties that they seem to be Devils Incarnate Thus did the Devil enter into Judas Luk. 22.3 after he had formerly Baffled all the good Admonitions of our Saviour to reclaim him from his Thievery and other Villanies and at length spur'd him on to commit the Blackest Crime that ever was heard of even to Betray the Lord of Life into the Hands of his Enemies And there are many ungodly Wretches now a-days who do seem to sin with so much Enmity and Despite against God that it is hard to say whether they are not Devils in Humane Shapes But it is the same thing they have sinn'd themselves to that Degree that God has given them up and the Devil seems to Animate them And lastly so are Witches Magicians and Conjurers who have Covenanted away both Body Soul to the Devil on Condition he will be for some time at their Beck to execute their vile and malicious Purposes A Third sort of Persons abandon'd by God and that utterly to the Power and Management of Satan to actuate them as he pleases Are Witches and Magicians or Conjurers such as was that Woman of whom we read 1 Sam. 28. And these are a sort of miserable Wretches so far forsaken of Grace and the Fear of God that they have expresly Covenanted away both Body and Soul to the Devil on Condition he will be at their Beck to Execute their vile and malicious Purposes For Envy Malice and Revenge seems to be the Soul that animates these Children of the Devil or else the Pride and Vanity of doing Wonders and an insatiable Curiosity of knowing those secret Things to come which belong to God alone to know has put 'em upon making such a Contract with Satan And these wretched Miscreants sure must be suppos'd
those most excellent Words of the Apostle to the Eph. 6.10 11 12. with which I shall conclude Finally Brethren be strong in the Lord and in the Power of his might Put on the whole Armour of God that ye may be able to stand against the Wiles of the Devil For we wrestle not against Flesh and Blood but against Principalities against Powers against the Rulers of the darkness of this world against spiritual wickedness in high Places Wherefore take unto you the whole Armour of God that ye may be able to stand in the Evil Day and having done all to stand And so goes on in several Verses shewing with what Armour you must prepare your selves wherewith to defend your Innocency against the Assaults of Satan viz. with Truth or the Knowledge of the Gospel with Righteousness Charity Faith the Hope of Salvation and the word of God And then adds as I before directed you That you must Pray always with all Prayer and Supplication in the Spirit and watching thereunto with all Perseverance THE Fourteenth Lecture First That I should Renounce the Devil and all his Works the Pomps and Vanity of this wicked World and all the sinful Lusts of the Flesh HAVING already in order to the Explication of these Words shew'd you Who the Devil is what are his Works what is meant by Renouncing the Devil and all his Works and how necessary it is we should absolutely do so I come now Secondly In like manner to Explain unto you What is meant by the Pomps and Vanity of this wicked World and to shew you in what Sence and how far you must Renounce the wicked World with its Pomps and Vanity What 's meant by the Pomps and Vanity of the wicked World and in what sence and how far we must Renounce the wicked world w th its Pomps and Vanity Three things here to be explain'd and accordingly Renounced 1. The World 2. The wicked World and 3. The Pomps and Vanity of this wicked world To Renounce the Pomps and Vanity of this wicked World There is not a word here but will require some Explication As to the word Renounce indeed it may suffice what I before told you that it is of various Significations according to the Nature of the Thing to be Renounc'd by us And there being Three Things in these Words necessary to be Explain'd First The World Secondly The wicked World and Thirdly The Pomps and Vanity of this wicked World I will Expound to you the Meaning of each and will withal shew you in what sence and how far you are to Renounce every One of them And First I am to shew you what is meant by the World and in what Sence and how far you are to Renounce the World The World in Scripture does generally pass under a very bad Character and for the most part is mention'd as what does directly oppose God's Glory and our own Happiness The World a great Enemy to God's Glory and our own Happiness Thus Jam. 4.4 Know ye not that the Friendship of the World is Enmity with God and whosoever therefore will be a Friend of the World is an Enemy of God And on the contrary Gal. 6.16 St. Paul gives this Character of himself That through the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ the World is Crucified unto him and he unto the World And 1 Joh. 5.4 it is universally declar'd that Whosoever is born of God overcometh the World And therefore in the Second Chapter of the same Epist 15 16. we are commanded Not to love the World neither the Things that are in the World being assur'd that If any man love the World the love of the Father is not in him And indeed if we shall search throughout the whole Book of God we shall find such frequent and earnest Commands to Renounce this World and to beware of its Temptations that nothing except Satan the Ring-leader of all our Adversaries seems to be a more Mortal Enemy to the Happiness and Salvation of Mankind than this World And all this consider'd as also that it is made so material a Part of our Baptismal Covenant to Renounce as the Devil so the World I think it concerns you to be well informed what is meant both in Scripture and your Catechism by that World which you are so oblig'd to Renounce and in what sence and how far you are to Renounce it And a more nice and critical Enquiry and State of this Matter is the rather necessary because the World as hardly as it is spoke of is not absolutely and in its own Nature Evil as the Devil is for consider'd in it self it is the Creature of God and consequently very Good according to that Divine Testimony given thereunto Gen. 1.31 God saw every thing that he had made and behold it was very Good And it is only Evil accidentally by our Abuse of it That therefore you may Err on neither side neither despise the Workmanship of God's Hands to the Disparagement of God's Goodness in giving us of his Creatures for our Use and Convenience nor too much Dote upon the Creature to the Neglect of the Creator which is a Degree of Idolatry I will with what Skill God shall enable me state this whole matter to you and shew you What is meant by the World and in what Sence and how far you are to Renounce it And for the more full and compleat Explication of this Point I will do it both Generally and Particularly It is to be consider'd both generally and particularly And First as to the World in General it is visible what is meant by it viz. The whole Frame of Nature which we behold with whatever is contain'd therein True it is the World is put many times in Scripture as Joh. 7.7 and often elsewhere to signify Evil Men because that the Wicked make up the greatest Part of Men in this world But this is an improper and figurative meaning of the World Evil Men being but a part of the World and in this Sence will better be consider'd by us under the next general Point to be spoken to viz. The wicked World But Matth. 4.8 and in innumerable other Places of the Scriptures by the World is meant that whole Frame of Nature which we behold and all that Variety of Creatures which it contains and is given us by the Bounty and Goodness of God for our Use and Benefit I. By the world in general is meant that whole Frame of Nature which we behold and all that variety of Creatures which it contains and is given us by the Bounty and Goodness of God for our Vse and Benefit And now the great Question will be In what Sence and how far we must Renounce the World in this Sence of the Word And there are not ordinary Mistakes about it For some shall Cry out most grievously against this World as the Author of all their Sin and Misery and therefore many have endeavour'd
and Robbers that this Calling can hardly be suppos'd taken up in unnecessary Places by Vertuous and Honest Persons but is generally the last Reserve of loose and idle Livers who would never endure to labour in an honest Employment And therefore I would not have you tho' you should be brought into the sorest Want and be pincht with extream Necessity ever take up so dangerous a Calling I do say very moderately so dangerous a Calling for at best there is the utmost danger of Ruine to your Innocency therein and no One sure who has the least tender Regard for his Soul will take up such a Calling where there is but the least Possibility left of escaping the Loss thereof And in this Rank also as extreamly Destructive to Religion and Morality I think I may safely place the Calling of Players I know how Touchy many will be on such Persons account I shall therefore choose to express my Opinion concerning their Calling in the Words of a very Learn'd and Judicious Bishop of our own Church who does acknowledge That should they be Try'd by the Bench of Fathers and Councils of Old or would have it put to most Voices amongst later Divines both Popish and Reformed they would be utterly Cast and Condemn'd most holding not the Calling only but the very Practice and Thing it self Unlawful and Damnable And how Pernicious they are to Religion and Manners I shall have occasion to shew hereafter Thirldly Christians must Renounce all those wicked Arts whereby some do Abuse the most worthy and useful Callings III. All sinful Arts in the most useful Callings to serve their worldly Ends. And indeed there is no Calling tho' never so good in it self but has its Temptations attending it and Persons of ill Principles and dishonest Minds will sadly comply therewith Thus even in the Ministry the most excellent and useful Calling in the World since such Multitudes will not endure sound Doctrine and few of the Greater sort especially will without the utmost Indignation brook a Reproof many are therefore Tempted to Temper their Doctrines to the Humour of their Party and others to wink at the most scandalous Offences and Immoralities those great Reproaches of Christianity But if we should be wholly in telling you your Priviledges in Christ which the most Carnal Minds will love to hear of but little in Instructing you in the Duties of Religion which are so necessary to the gaining of an Interest in him which some sort of People will call a Legal Preaching we might perhaps thereby make our selves Dear to a Party but we should be Unfaithful to Christ So again should we forbear to Reprove the Envy the Malice Pride Censoriousness and Covetousness under the Mask of Religion of the Hypocrite on the one side or the open and scandalous Profaness and Debaucheries of the Libertine who calls himself of our Church on the other we should be reckon'd amongst those wicked Prophets Ezek. 13. who humour'd and flatter'd the Opinions and Vices of God's People and must expect that heavy Doom pronounc'd against such in that Chapter And indeed as every other Calling has its particular Temptations belonging to it So what is worse most Men think they may Honestly enough comply therewith and to think it indeed a necessary part of their Profession so to do Thus the Lawyer a very worthy and useful Profession in a Commonwealth as being that whereby Property and Right and Peaceableness should be maintained amongst Men may be Tempted perhaps to think it a part of his Profession to encourage Strife and foment Differences and that the Malice and Revenge the Wrath and Bitterness the Slanders and Evil-speakings the Strife and Contentions which are other Men's Sins must be his Livelihood And that he must make himself acquainted by Drinking hard with the worst sort of People that he may gain an Interest himself in 'em and get into Business So likewise the Tradesman will plead that the Importunity of Customers who will certainly beat down the Price of his Commodities as low as they can does make it necessary by Protestations and Equivocations and Lyes to set off his Wares to the best advantage And how few are there of our Country-Dealers who do not think it necessary or they cannot pay a hard Rent and maintain a Family to take advantage of the Ignorance or Necessity of their Neighbours and not only to conceal the Defects but by plain downright Lying and Avouching that their Beast is upright and sound put it off for more than it is worth Thus some Men of all Professions will think they must do or else they cannot live And indeed if Men could not get a Livelihood but in a way and trade of Sinning Persons of Callings and Professions and Dealers in in the World would lie under a shrewd Temptation But tell me must Men sell their Souls to the Devil for ever for the Gains here we know not how soon we must leave We count Esau a foolish as well as profane Person who in Extremity of Hunger sold his Birthright for a Mess of Pottage Gen. 25.33 34. And what is that Christian who shall sell his Eternal Inheritance for a Thing in comparison of no Value But I can see no necessity of foregoing a Livelihood or of yielding to the Temptations of a Calling Indeed if by a Livelihood men did not mean living in Superfluity Vanity Luxury which neither God nor Nature has made necessary to any Man 's Being nor indeed Wel-being in the World If they meant no more than getting an honest and moderate Provision suitable to the Station and Condition Providence has plac'd 'em in I do not know but generally Men do better provide for themselves by plain and honest Dealing than by serving their Interests by any sinful Art or Cunning whatsoever I do believe it is a true Proverb generally speaking that Honesty is the best Policy and Men Thrive tho' but slowly by it yet better and surer than by Cheating and Over-reaching And it is almost every One's Observation That a little Substance honestly got is a Comfort to the Owners whilst the Estate that is ill got wasts like Butter in the Sun and derives down a Curse upon those on whom it descends But however tho' it be not so that Honesty is the best way to Thrive and tho' your Temptations should be never so great and your Wants never so pressing you must suffer that Want or suffer worse And you would do well to consider that those who will rather suffer Want here than by sinful Ways provide a Relief shall be sure not to want the Love and Mercies of God hereafter and that will abundantly Recompence for all defect of Advantages in this World Fourthly You must Renounce all Levity and Desultory Skipping from one Calling to another IV. All Levity and Desultory Skipping from one Calling to another This may seem rather a Politick than Religious Precept because in common Observation it is
possest with a Spirit of Profaneness Lust or Vanity it is but what may reasonably be expected for tho' all Evil Conversation is Infectious yet Vice does then most easily Insinuate it self into our Dispositions and Flies to the very Heart when the Poison is mixt with Pleasure Wit and Smartness of Conceit And having such a malignant Influence upon Faith and Manners ought never to be frequented by Christians And now since it is Universally agreed amongst all serious Persons that a more Irreligious Spirit did never Reign upon any Theater than has in this last Age in our Modern Play-houses Since as is the general Complaint in these Houses Piety is so strangely Ridicul'd the Holy and Reverend Name of God Profan'd and his Glory and Interest render'd so Contemptible and Vile Since the Youth especially of our Nation are so allur'd hereby into the Love of and Delight in Idleness excessive Vanity Revelings Luxury Wantonness Lasciviousness Whoredoms and such Debaucheries by Oaths Looseness of Conversation and corrupt Atheistical Principles Since our Gentlemen are here taught to Deride Religion to Dissolve in Luxury to Abandon themselves to their Pleasures to be Debauchers of Women to be Profuse and Extravagant in their Expences and to be entirely Libertines Since the Young Ladies of our Nation are here throughly Instructed in Intrigues and Assignations to Scoff at the prudent Reservedness and Modesty of the best of their Sex to despise the wise Instructions of their Parents and Guardians to be Disobedient to their Authority and at last without their Knowledge or Consent to Marry themselves to some loose or lewd Libertine And indeed since the Minds and Manners of the Great Ones especially of both Sexes are thereby so foully Corrupted and their Affections so sadly alienated from the Love of God and Goodness All these things consider'd 't were greatly to be wisht our Play-Houses were totally supprest However in the mean time I think it concerns all that will be secure from ever Apostatizing from the Faith of Christ and a Religious Life so far to Reject these our modern Pomps as never to Enter within those Houses where these Plays are acted Secondly By Pomps II. By Pomps in the Sence of the Ancients were meant the solemn Processions of the Heathens in Honour of their Gods in the Sence of the Ancients as some do think are meant the Solemn Processions of the Heathens wherein they carried the Images of their Gods through the Streets of the City in a most Pompous manner all the Priests Magistrates and People of Rome as Tertullian does represent it Attending and Paying their Veneration towards them And answerably to these without the least straining of the meaning in the present State of the Church may be understood those Idolatrous Processions amongst the Papists where sometimes the Images of the Saints sometimes the Host The Idolatrous Processions of the Papists in honour of the Saints answerable to these is carried in the same Solemn manner as among the Pagans were the Images of their Gods And the like Adoration and Worship requir'd from all who accompany or accidentally fall amongst 'em out of Curiosity to observe their Vanities And as amongst the Ancients those were Censur'd as Partakers with the Heathen in their Idolatry who went along with them or were publick Spectators of 'em as thereby signifying to the Eyes of Men their Allowance and Approbation thereof and of the Idolatry they contain'd and were certain to be cast out of the Communion of the Church for the same And must not therefore be joined in So those Protestant Gentlemen who Travelling into Forreign Countries out of Curiosity to observe the Popish Vanities shall Voluntarily appear amongst the Train accompanying them cannot be thought more Favourably of And if through Force they are Compell'd to join in the Adoration of those Images and shall rather comply than suffer they are wanting in Discharging that great Duty of Confessing of Christ which is so strictly requir'd at our Hands as ever we expect to have him Confess us before God and his Holy Angels Thirdly By Pomps may be meant reductively III. By Pomps Reductively may be meant the Revels Drunken Riots of our Youth at Wakes and Festivals all those Revels and Riotous Meetings of Youth whereby our Great Festivals Piously instituted by the Church to be kept with Joyful Thanksgivings to God for his singular Favours vouchsafed to the World as at such Times are so sadly Profan'd by Drunkenness lewd Songs and Ballads profane and wanton Discourse and the like The Generality of our common People seem to apprehend nothing Spiritual in the Great Feasts of Christmas Easter and Whitsuntide And a Holyday is with them the Profanest Day in the Year But I will be bold to assert with the Learned Dr. Hammond that besides these other Sences of the Word Pomps All the sinful Courses that are us'd by Men in their Times of Jollity and Festivity the Luxury and Riot and unlawful Gaming and all Kind of Excesses which are but a Copying out the Heathen Bacchanals are Pomps to be Renounced by every Christian All Riot and Excess lewd and wanton Actions and Discourses are Sins and that far greater and more punishable in Christians than in Others particularly than in Jews whose Promises of an Earthly Plenty are not so contrary and irreconcilable with Corporal Excesses as are the spiritual Joys that are the Christian 's eminent Portion under Promise And therefore these are turned out of the World by Christ and by him transform'd and chang'd into spiritual Celebrations blessing and praising God into Feasts of Charity and sober Hospitality and Bounty to the Poor instead of those outward costly vain Pomps which the Eye of the World is so pleased with These to be Abstain'd from And therefore as I would advise you to be little fond of Wakes and such like Meetings of Promiscuous Company where little Good Quacunque ex causa fuerint producti Primo nil est perniciosius morum Integritati Quippe turba omnis utique animo gravis noxia nec enim quos extulisti mores unquam refers nemo non rubiginis aliquid aut imprimit aut Nescientibus allinit Coel. Rhodgi Lib. Octav. c. 7. and a great deal of Ill is commonly learnt So especially let me Entreat you never to take into your Hands much less to learn those wanton Ballads by Heart which do insensibly convey the Poison of ill Morals into the Soul and such a dis-relish to spiritual Thoughts and Exercises as can many times be never wore off And so much for the Pomps of the World Secondly And as the Pomps so you are also to Renounce and Reject the Vanity of this World Vanity of the World What And what indeed that does mean it is not so hard to guess for we have it every Day before our Eyes And that which I do suppose is chiefly thereby meant are all Affectation of Grandeur and Greatness in
sumptuous Houses rich Furniture uppermost Places Titles of Respect and costly Apparel True it is these things are not in themselves purely and absolutely Unlawful but may be enjoy'd without Sin by those who are lawfully possest of ' em Nevertheless these have an Aptness in them more than most other things of the World to corrupt Men's Minds and to Alienate their Affections from the Love of God and Goodness However the Affectation of 'em is undoubtedly a Sinful Vanity to be Renounced by every Christian And such vain Affectation does appear in these Cases following I. When Persons out-goe their Ability in Building and Furniture First As to sumptuous Houses and rich Furniture when Persons out-goe their Ability in compassing those things to the Ruine or great Prejudice of their Families and Posterity and do Build and Buy not paying the Labourer and the Tradesman and when with all their Care to Beautify and Adorn their own Houses they care not how Ruinous and Indecent the Houses of God do lie Thus to affect Sumptuousness I say is a sinful Vanity Thus the Prophet Jeremy 22.13 14. pronounceth a Woe unto him that buildeth his House by Vnrighteousness and his Chambers by Wrong that useth his Neighbours Service without Wages and giveth him not for his Work that saith I will build me a wide House and large Chambers and cutteth him out Windows and it is cieled with Cedar and painted with Vermilion And as for those who build and deck and trim up their own Houses and suffer God's House to be in Ruine and Decay to lie uncomely and nastily they had best to consider how ill God will take it as appears from that of Hag. 1.4 Is it time for you O ye to dwell in the cieled Houses and this House lie wast And in the Verses following he denounceth a Consumption on all they have for such Impiety So sinful a thing is the vain Affectation of sumptuous Houses and rich Furniture when joined to the Prejudice of others and the Contempt of God and so fit therefore to be Renounced by every Christian Secondly II. It appears in striving for Precedence And so likewise is he vain Affectation of the Vppermost Places This is a Vanity that is perhaps more usual amongst the lowest Rank of People which One would least expect than those of Birth and Quality tho' it is in none so unseemly as in them I have with Admiration beheld Farmers nay poor Tenants nay Labourer's Wives swell till they almost burst with Envy at their Neighbour's Stepping before or Sitting above 'em and even in the House of God so expresly contrary to our Saviour's Rule Not to seek the chief Seats in the Synagogues I have known 'em strive for the uppermost Places and to be whole Months nay Years afterwards out of Charity and that almost beyond Reconciliation meerly upon the account of Precedence A thing so unseemly and so odious a piece of Vanity especially in those of lower Rank that I can hardly forbear to express my self with Indignation concerning it but I shall only advise you in the Words of our Saviour Mark 12.38 39. to beware of imitating the Scribes and Pharisees the worst Patterns you can follow Who love the chief Seats in the Synagogues and the uppermost Rooms at Feasts It is a Pride and Vanity fit only for Scribes and Pharisees the Proudest Men on Earth but infinitely unbecoming the Disciples of the Meek and Humble JESUS who when they strive for Place it must be not to take but to give it In Honour preferring one another Rom. 12.10 Thirdly Again of like Nature to this last Piece of Vanity III. In affecting Titles above ones Quality and to be esteemed Vertuous above ones Desert is the Ambition and vain Affectation of Titles of Respect and Honour above ones Quality and Degree and the Desire to be esteemed by others more Vertuous and Good than we really are in our selves The meanest Persons that are now a-days will take it ill if they have not those Titles of Respect given them which do not at all belong to them and for Distinction sake are due to those above ' em And even Good Men who can heartily own and sorrowfully bewail in their Confessions to God that they are vile Sinners will hardly endure that others should say so or think so ill of ' em But so far should we be from affecting such Respects as are above our Merit that we should not over-eagerly desire those that are deserved and due to us nor must we Plume and Pride our selves when we have ' em To do otherwise proceeds from an Ambition which ill-becomes the Disciple of Him that was so exceeding Lowly Who tho' he was Lord of all yet came here into the World not to be Ministred unto but to Minister Matth. 20.28 And we should not be angry with others that do think or speak ill of us but at our selves that we deserve to be so thought or spoke of And herein also we have our Blessed Saviour for our Example who tho' He did no Sin neither was Guile found in his Mouth when he was Reviled Reviled not again 1 Pet. 2.22 23. Fourthly IV. In the vain Affectation of costly Apparel and Ornaments As The last Instance of sinful Vanity does appear in the Affectation of costly Apparel and Ornaments when Persons exceed what becomes their Rank and Degree in what they wear when they are proud of their Cloaths ond Ornaments when they Adorn themselves to undue Ends and Purposes and lastly when they spend too much Time and at unfitting Seasons therein I. When Persons exceed what becomes their Rank and Degree in what they wear First As for the use of costly Ornaments for Distinction sake it seems to be intimated by our Saviour when he says that Those who wear soft Raiment are in Kings Houses Matth. 11.8 And no doubt as Honour is to be paid to whom Honour is due so a Distinction in Habits according to the Dignity and Quality of Persons is allowable and useful but this Distinction is quite lost when Persons of lower Rank do strive to be seen as early in a new Dress and as Rich in their Attire as those that are above ' em II. When they are proud of their Ornaments Secondly And the Vanity is Intolerable when Persons of either Sex of what Rank or Quality soever they be grow proud of their Dress so as to be pufft up in their own Minds on so mean an account and Insolent so as to despise others for want of the like as if outward Ornaments can add any thing to real and inward Worth When alas we every Day behold many an ignorant empty stupid Wretch and many a vicious Beast flutter in a gaudy Garb when those Minds that are best adorn'd with Wisdom and Vertue choose but plain and mean Apparel But such vain Self-admirers would do well to consider how ill it far'd with Herod when Array'd in his
out of that vast Treasure of useful Knowledge did dictate to him what was Good and to be chosen what was Evil and to be refus'd by him and upon which Choice of Good and Rejecting of Evil its Office was to give its Testimony of Well-done to the Good and Faithful Servant to his unspeakable Comfort and Satisfaction Next in the Upright Nature of Man as it bore upon it the Image and Likeness of God there was plac'd a Will which of it self is a blind Faculty and chuses and refuses according to the Information of others And in the State of Innocence it was entirely complying with the Dictates of Reason and Conscience And to descend from the Rational to the Inferior and Bodily Powers It was the Divine Goodness did implant in our Natures those which we call the Passions and Affections in a Man which are principally these Admiration Love and Hatred And it was to very excellent Purposes that these were given us The use of Admiration was as to things which should offer themselves to our Approbation if Good that we might put a true value upon them according to their Worth if Bad that we might despise 'em according to the Vanity and Evil we should find in ' em And as to the two other principal Passions of Love and Hatred God's design in implanting in our Hearts the former was to move and stir us up with Vigour and Activity to pursue whatever we should find good and convenient to us And the Passion of Hatred was put into our Natures that we might avoid on the contrary whatever might be found hurtful and offensive And it was no other than the Divine Goodness which in the Nature of Man did place certain Appetites and Lusts Every particular Man had even at his first Creation Appetites to Food and Sustenance in order to preserve his own Being in Life and Health And Cupidity or the Inclinations of the Sex to each other was in order to the Multiplication of Mankind This now was the Original Frame and Constitution of Man The Image of God wherein Man was at first Created what And in the Perfection Order and Purity of all the Faculties and Powers of Soul and Body according to this Original Frame and Constitution did the Image of God in which he was at first Created consist So long as the whole Nature of Man was perfect in all parts the Understanding quick in discerning momentous and weighty Truths the Conscience faithful in Dictating Right ways the Will entirely Obedient to the Directions of Conscience and Reason so long as the Affections were only plac'd upon worthy Objects and the Lusts and Appetites were always under the Power and Government of Right Reason so long as Man remained in this State the Image of God continued unsullied The Bent and Inclination of the Soul towards God what And so long as he continued thus it is plain also that the whole Bent and Inclination of the Soul was towards God that to him it did point in all its Motions and did fix upon him as the End of all its Actions and did love him with the intensest degrees of Affection And that even the Bodily Part was perfectly compliant with the Soul in serving it entirely and solely to that End So that thus you see what was the Original Frame and Constitution of Man In what the Image of God wherein he was created at first consisted And that in all the Faculties and Powers of Soul and Body his whole Bent and Inclinations were Heaven-ward But now in the Unregenerate Nature all this Excellent Frame and Constitution is broken This Image of God is defac'd and all the Faculties and Powers of Soul and Body instead of inclining towards and Centring upon God and Heavenly Things tend downwards towards the Creature 1. In the Unregenerate Nature I say That Excellent Frame and Constitution wherein Man was Originally Created is now broken I. In the Vnregenerate Nature of the Original Frame and Constitution of Man wherein he was Created is broken So that instead of that Harmonious Subordination of the inferior Faculties to the Superior instead of the Will 's being subject to the Dictates of the Understanding and the Affections being subject to the Commands and Sovereignty of the Will and the Lusts and Appetites being Obedient to Right Reason and a well-inform'd Conscience instead of this the whole Order and Frame of Humane Nature is now turn'd upside down The Affections Lusts and Appetites do now Reign and Reason and Conscience are dragg'd after them in miserable Slavery And as to the Will of an Unregenerate Man the most that it can do is not without Reluctance and Regret to comply with the Temptations of the Senses like him in St. Paul I know that in me that is in my Flesh dwelleth no good thing for to will is present with me but how to perform that which is good I find not for the Good that I would I do not but the Evil which I would not that I do Rom. 7.18 19. The best that can be suppos'd of the Unregenerate Man is this that after the Preaching of the Laws of God to him and a Divine Light has been let thereby into his Understanding he does approve in his own Mind of the Ways of God as most excellent Such was he in St. Paul Rom. 7.22 I delight in the Law of God after the inward Man that is according to the Understanding or Superior Faculty contrary to the carnal or bodily part of him such a one does approve of what the Laws of God do prescribe But then alas he must own that he sees another Law in his Members warring against the Law of his Mind and bringing him into Captivity to the Law of Sin which is in his Members v. 23. So that the State of an Unregenerate Man is a State of meer Confusion Disorder and Rebellion the Affections Lusts and Appetites rising up in Opposition to the Dictates of the Mind and Conscience And it is a State of meer Impotency and Weakness the Mind and Conscience being so far unable to govern the Affections Lusts and Appetites that these latter get the better of the day carry the Mind and Reason captive and force it slavishly to do what the Flesh requires to have done by it so exceedingly spoil'd and broken in the Unregenerate Nature is all that excellent Frame Constitution wherein Man was at first created 2. And consequently then the Image of God wherein Man was at first Created must needs be miserably defac'd II. The Image of God wherein he was first Created defac'd in a State of Unregeneracy For why In that excellent Perfection and Order which appear'd in the Frame and Constitution of Humane Nature it was that those lively Strokes of the Divine Power Wisdom and Goodness were plainly visible But as a mishapen and monstrous Picture in which there is nothing of Regularity and good Feature cannot without Injury be said to
a Conclusion we must not content our selves in this great Work of Renouncing ALL the sinful Lusts of the Flesh that we have our Minds enlighten'd so as to know what we ought to do whilst our Affections and Bodily Powers do remain Rebellious against the Dictates of our Minds and Consciences But we must have our whole Natures possest with an Aversion an Antipathy from the very Heart against all Sin and we must have both the Mind Will and Affections nay the very Lusts and Appetites fully bent against it And we must have on the contrary a hearty Love and Disposition to all Vertue wrought in all the same Faculties both of Soul and Body We must be Renewed in the Spirit of our Minds and put on the New Man which after God is Created in Righteousness and true Holiness Eph. 4.23 24. And when a Person is thus inwardly Chang'd throughout in all the Faculties and Powers of Soul and Body it is then only that he can be truly said to be a New Creature a New Man And this indeed This the hard Part. to become thus Renew'd in the Spirit of our Minds so as to have the Heart and Affections set against Sin and sinful Pleasures as well as the Mind convinc'd of the Evil of 'em is the hard Work This is certain that it is not possible for any Man to work so great a Change in his Nature of himself but it is the Spirit of God that must assist wonderfully in the doing of it And indeed That we may be said sincerely and throughly to Renounce the Flesh and ALL its sinful Lusts that Renovation of our Corrupted Nature wherein this Renunciation does consist must be such as is wrought in us by the Spirit and Grace of God This I say because it is very possible for a Man to be Chang'd from some sensual Courses to an utter Hatred thereof and yet remain in God's Eyes a Carnal and Vnregenerate Man and the reason is because his Change proceeds not from any Inward Vital Principle of Vertue but from some prudential Methods in the management of his Pleasures as some the most sensual Epicures that live shall become at length temperate and sober because their Constitutions will not bear a Debauch but as the Spirit of God had nothing to do in the Change so in their Hearts and Minds they remain still to be sensual And others again you shall meet who have a full Conviction in their Minds and Consciences through the Preaching of the Word of the Evil of Sin and yet in their Affections they Love it and their Lusts and Appetites Rebelling against the Reason of their Mind will have it and their Wills do finally chuse it so that these Persons with the Mind do serve the Law of God but with the Flesh the Law of Sin as St. Paul in that much mistaken Chapter Rom. 7.25 does represent as was now shew'd you the Case of the Carnal Jew abiding only under the Conviction of the Law But where the Spirit of God works the Change that Person is Sanctify'd wholly and the whole Spirit and Soul and Body will be preserved Blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ 1 Thes 5.23 So that such a Person shall effectually Renounce the Flesh and all its sinful Lusts both of the Inward and of the Outward Man And accordingly as we will draw nigh to God and have him draw nigh to us we must cleanse our hands and purifie our hearts and not be double-minded Jam. 4.8 We must through the Help of his Grace Cleanse our selves from all Filthiness of Flesh and Spirit perfecting Holiness in the Fear of God 2 Cor. 7.1 We must be always I say in the perfecting of one Degree after another our Holiness and that Image of God which we lost by our Fall for the subduing of All our Lusts must be the Work of Time and it is not of a sudden that we can get an entire Conquest over 'em ALL. But if in our Strivings against 'em we find our selves still more and more to get ground upon 'em we are in a hopeful Condition In a Word therefore Brethren we are Debtors not to the Flesh to live after the Flesh for if ye live after the Flesh ye shall die but if through the Spirit ye do Mortify the Deeds of the Body ye shall live for as many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the Sons of God Rom. 12.13 14. The Reason of having enlargd so much upon this one Article of Renouncing the Devil c. And so I have at length done with this no less Important than Copious Subject the Renouncing of the Devil the World and the Flesh It may seem indeed as if I have been too long upon the Explication of one single Article of our Covenant viz. the Renouncing the Devil and all his Works the Pomps and Vanity of this wicked World and All the Sinful Lusts of the Flesh But if it be considered that half the Business of our Christian Religion is performed in Resisting the Enemies of our Salvation it will not be a Matter of Blame that I have been so long upon this Point especially in Instructing of Youth about it who ought to be very well fore-arm'd in order to their coming off Conquerors The truth of it is this Renouncing of the World the Flesh and the Devil that is the Resisting and Overcoming of all their Numerous Host of Temptations is the Christian's Warfare and great Work For as the Holy Scriptures do in a multitude of Texts Represent our State as a State of Warfare Fight the good Fight of Faith lay hold on Eternal Life for hereunto ye have been called before many Witnesses 1 Tim. 6.12 That is we Listed our selves in this Warfare at our Baptism in the Presence of the Church of Christ As our State I say is a State of Warfare against all these Spiritual Enemies so it does infinitely concern all of us to know as far as is possible All their Arts and Stratagems to deceive us and this I hope will be a sufficient Apology that I have been so improportionably long to what I have and shall be upon other Heads in shewing you what it is and how far you must Renounce the Devil and all his Works the Pomps and Vanity of this wicked World and all the sinful Lusts of the Flesh THE XXII Lecture Secondly That I should Believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith HAVING largely Explain'd the first Condition of Life and Happiness and shew'd you what I conceive is meant by Renouncing the Devil and all his Works the Pomps and Vanity of this wicked World and all the sinful Lusts of the Flesh I come now to do the like as to the Second Condition upon which we are to expect to be Justify'd to have our Sins Pardon'd and Eternal Life and Happiness conferr'd upon us and which we have also Covenanted with God to do and that is that We Believe all
to God's Holy Will and Commandments as ever we 'll hope to obtain Salvation or to be Inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven And that Evangelical or Gospel-Obedience The Nature and Measures of Christian Obedience which now under the Covenant of Grace is the indispensible Condition of Man's Salvation to give it you according as it is most exactly stated by the Learned Author of The Measures of Christian Obedience for it is impossible I do think for any one to do it more exactly therefore I shall give you an Abstract of that whole Work Is a sincere and entire Obedience to all the Laws of the Gospel Sincere it must be by being a true and undissembled Service of God opposite to all Hypocrisy or a false and feigned Pretence of obeying Him when in reality we only serve our own Selves or our own Lusts and Interests Entire it must be by being the Obedience of the whole Man to the whole Will of God and that at all times with this abatement of Rigour That all our unwilling and involuntary Failings which through Ignorance and Frailty we commit shall upon our Prayers to God and Charity to our Neighbour be forgiven us and even our wilful Transgressions when we repent and forsake 'em through the Mediation of Christ and the Grace of the Gospel shall not be imputed to our Condemnation Such is the Obedience which every one of you must carefully pay to the Holy Will and Commandments of God as ever you hope to be Inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven But for your better understanding the Nature and Extent of your Christian Obedience I will a little farther unfold each Part of this Description of it And I. Our Obedience must be sincere by being a true and undissembled Service of God opposite to all Hypocrisy or a false and feigned Pretence of obeying Him when in truth we serve our own selves I. Our Obedience to all the Laws of the Gospel must be sincere by being a true and undissembled Service of God opposite to all Hypocrisy or a false and feigned Pretence of obeying Him when in reality we only serve our own selves This is a certain Truth That our Gracious God for the most part hath made such Things the Matter of His Laws and of our Duty as really make for our own Interest Reputation or Profit to perform for so it really is to be Temperate and Chaste and Contented and Humble to be Vpright and Charitable and Peaceable c. But then our Obedience is sincere and done as unto God when we observe His Laws for His sake and because He commands it for otherwise we do not observe God's Will but our own His Commands had no share in what we did because it had been done although He had said nothing And thus sincere must our Obedience be unto God as ever we expect that God should Judge us at the last Day to have obeyed Him I say it must be done as unto God and sincerely from our Hearts to please Him and not only our selves And this is plainly expressed in the very words of the Gospel for it accepts not an heartless Service nor accounts it self obey'd by what was never intended for it The Lord thy God requires of thee to serve him with all thy Heart and with all thy Soul Matth. 22.36 37. And therefore St. Paul does pray that the Philippians may be sincere in their Profession being filled with the Fruits of Righteousness or Good Works to the Praise and Glory of God not themselves Phil. 1.10 11. God does not forbid us all intending our Advantage in the performance of his Commandments God indeed has not forbidden us all intending and designing of our own Advantage in the performance of his Commandments When He requires us to obey Him He doth not forbid us all Love of our Selves and Regard to our own Self-interests For why He does propose to us in Scripture the greatest Rewards possible as Motives to us to perswade us to obey And the Blessed Saints in the Scripture so Eminent for their Service to God are said to have had an Eye at the Recompence of Reward But then our Intention of our own Advantage in God's Service is forbidden and renders our obedient Performances corrupt and insincere when together with our Intention of serving God we either join first another Intention of serving Sin Or secondly when we design some temporal Ends as much or more than we design God's Service First I say That Man's Obedience is insincere But 1st that Man's Obedience is insincere who together with his Intention of serving God joins another Intention of serving Sin who together with his Intentions of serving God joins another Intention of serving Sin as if a Man as our Saviour tells us the Pharisees did make long Prayers and other Professions of Religion to enable him the better and without suspicion to devour Widows Houses as well as serve God Where his obedient Performances slow from such a mixture of Design as this they will in no wise be owned as an obedient but punished as a sinful Service Secondly Again Men's Obedience is insincere When they design some temporal Ends in the Practice of Vertue as much or more than they design God's Service as when a Man is temperate II. When he designs some temporal Ends in the practice of Vertue as much or more than he intends God's Service and will not drink which is his Duty indeed but yet only because he cannot without making himself sick But when in the Performance of any Vertue a Man has a regard as much if not more to his Profit or Ease than to the Commands of God in that case this Obedience is also insincere and will be far from entitling him to be an Inheritor of the Kingdom of Heaven For thus to have as much regard to our worldly Profit or Pleasure in the Performance of any Duty as to please God is a degrading of Him it is a setting up the World for His Rival And to bring other Things in Competition with Him is plainly to Renounce him In respect of our Love to God we must even hate Father and Mother Wife and Children the dearest Interests and Concerns we have in the World He will be served and respected above all for He is jealous of the Pre-eminence of His Service above all Things as an Husband is of his Wife's Love to him above other Men I the Lord saith he am a jealous God Exod. 20.5 And so much for that Sincerity which is required of us as the first Qualification of an acceptable Obedience II. That Evangelical or Gospel-Obedience which now 2dly Evangelical Obedience must be entire viz. under the Covenant of Grace is the indispensible Condition of every Man's Salvation must be an entire Obedience to all the Laws of the Gospel Now this Integrity of our Obedience is such a Perfection and Compleatness of it as excludes all Maimedness and Defects and this
Care our Heavenly Father hath taken in this great Affair to call us to this state of Salvation And we have seen and do testify says St. John that the Father hath sent the Son to be the Saviour of the World 1 Epist 4.14 And how hath he sent him to save it Why as was long before Prophesied Isai 61.1 He put the Spirit of the Lord upon him to preach the Gospel to the Poor he sent him to heal the broken-hearted to preach deliverance to the Captives and recovering of Sight to the Blind to set at liberty them that are bruised to preach the acceptable Year of the Lord Luke 4.18 19. Such was the very earnest Care of the Father that he Commissioned and sent his own Son to invite us his Rebellious Creatures and Subjects to lay down our Rebellious Arms against him and to embrace those Overtures and Conditions of Mercy and Salvation that he offered to us by the Preaching of the Gospel Nor was the Ever-blessed Son of God less intent upon this Blessed Work The Ever-blessed Son of God no less intent upon this blessed Work than the Father No sure it was his Meat to do the Will of Him that sent him and to finish his Work John 4.34 It was his Meat and Drink to save Men's Souls and therefore He went about doing good Acts 10.38 Doing good that is Executing that Office to which the Father had Authorized him in order to the Salvation of Men that Office of Mercy instructing and calling of the World to Repentance and in order to that winning 'em to it by other Works of bodily Charity with which carnal Men are most taken as Curing their Diseases Casting out Devils by the Power of him who was present with him He went about doing good of all kinds but all in order to the good of Men's Souls and he was zealous also to the highest degree in this blessed Work How mightily he importuned us to come into this state of Salvation For good God! with what mighty Importunity and winning Rhetorick did he the Son of GOD address himself to his own foolish Rebellious Subjects to come into this state and to receive freely the Means of Salvation Ho every one that thirsteth cries he as the Evangelical Prophet represents him bespeaking the World Isa 55.1 2 3. come ye to the Waters and he that hath no Money come ye buy and eat yea come buy Wine and Milk without Money and without Price Wherefore do you spend Money for that which is not Bread and your Labour for that which satisfieth not Hearken diligently unto me and eat ye that which is good and let your Soul delight it self in fatness Encline your Ear and come unto me hear and your Soul shall live and I will make an everlasting Covenant with you even the sure Mercies of David It is not to be expressed nor imagined with what mighty Zeal and Perswasion he did himself whilst on Earth pursue this blessed Work of our Salvation He has left a Succession of Ministers behind him to do the like Nor was he contented himself whilst on Earth thus to call us into this state of Salvation but moreover when he was to leave the World he provided a Succession of Ministers which he has left behind him to continue to the end of the World to do the same good Office under him for the Salvation of Mankind empowering them with the Gifts of the Holy Ghost to enable 'em to do it effectually As my Father hath sent me so send I you John 20.21 And accordingly has he committed it to our care as he made it his own to Preach the Gospel to Mankind to make known the Love of God as manifested in Christ to the World to receive those that Believe into the Covenant of Grace and Society of Christians by Baptism and by this means to call you into a state of Salvation And as he hath committed to us the Word of Reconciliation we therefore as the Ambassadors for Christ and as though God did beseech you by us we do pray you in Christ's stead to be reconciled to God 2 Cor. 5.19 20. We are perpetually preaching and declaring this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this good Tydings to you we instruct you in the Nature of that Salvation which is wrought for you we direct you to the means of attaining it and with all the powerful Motives drawn from the Word of GOD we do all we can to move you to seek this Salvation in the way that infinite Wisdom has appointed for the attaining of it And what I beseech you can be done more What can be done to call you into a State of Salvation if this will not When God our Heavenly Father when Jesus Christ his Son when his Holy Spirit by his good Inspirations when his Apostles Evangelists and a whole Succession of Pastors and Teachers since do spend so much Care upon this one Work what can be done more to save you Nay What could have been done more to my Vineyard that I have not done in it Will God most justly expostulate with us as he did with the Jewish Church Isa 5.4 which brings me to the Last thing which was to be spoke to in the Explication of these Words I am now upon viz. what infinite reason we have Heartily to Thank Almighty God our Heavenly Father that he hath Called us to this State of Salvation through Jesus Christ our Saviour And indeed it is a matter that infinitely deserves the deepest Sense and utmost Acknowledgements of the Divine Goodness to us whether we consider barely the Advantages of having GOD in Covenant with us or our own singular Happiness of being Called into it And First This great matter of Thankfulness whether we consider 1. The extraordinary Advantage of having God in Covenant with us As to the extraordinary Advantage it is to have GOD in Covenant with us which I have frequent occasion in this Argument to mind you of and consequently that it affords great matter of our Praise and Thanksgivings to him upon that account it is worthy your Notice that in this case GOD does condescend even to oblige Himself by Contract and Agreement with us whom he might Oblige to Odedience by his mere Authority without any Assurance of Reward that if we will but do our part Repent Believe and Obey he will be even bound in Justice having given his solemn Word and Promise for it to confer upon us the richest Blessings that Heaven and Earth can bestow viz. Pardon of Sins and Eternal Life and Happiness Alas if we were left to build our Hopes meerly upon the Merit of our own Righteousness and Vertue we could none of us have the least Expectations of obtaining as the Reward thereof such unspeakable Blessings as are now laid up in Heaven for us But GOD condescending by Covenant to engage himself to make 'em good to us we have thereby the fullest Assurance given us that we
Nor of deferring the hearing of good Advices till another time like Foelix who when St. Paul reason'd to him of Righteousness Temperance and Judgment to come did shift off the Apostle with a go thy way for this time when it is a more convenient Season I will call for thee Acts 24.25 On the contrary the truly resolute Christian takes David for his Pattern who having thought upon his Ways turn'd his Feet unto God's Testimonies And made haste and delay'd not to keep his Commandments Psal 119.59 60. 6. And he determines vigorously and speedily to betake himself to the Execution of all those Vows and Promises made in his Baptism The Resolute Christian makes no Exceptions of some particular Lusts some darling Sins but if there be any one more than ordinary dear to him he determines immediately to Mortifie to Cut off that tho' as near as his right Arm and to pluck it out tho' as tender as his right Eye He is not like King Agrippa whom St. Paul almost perswaded to be a Christian but he is both Almost and Altogether like St. Paul Acts 26.28 29. who held no Correspondence and Familiarity with any of the Enemies of God and his own Soul but is resolv'd to abandon them all alike to Believe every Article and to Obey every Command And thus the Resolv'd Christian determines to go on uniformly in the discharge of all his Engagements notwithstanding all Oppositions from the World the Flesh and the Devil What mighty Difficulties they will raise him how many Blocks they will put in his Way and what cunning Stratagems the Devil particularly will make use of to divert him from his Good Purposes and to make him break his Covenant with God you have already shew'd you But the Man of Resolution is a Man of Courage and will not through Fearfulness and Cowardice give way in the Day of Battle But with St. Paul is perswaded because he is Resolved That neither Death nor Life nor Angels nor Principalities nor Powers nor Things present nor Things to come nor Heighth nor Depth nor any other Creature shall be able to separate him from the Love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord Rom. 8.38 39. Lastly And now to render the Christian Resolution compleat in all its Parts you must publickly declaratively and solemnly protest it to all the World that it is the full determination of your Heart and Mind to adhere faithfully to God against all his Enemies the World the Flesh and the Devil that you will neither swerve from your Faith nor flinch from your Obedience Publick and Declarative this Resolution must be upon all Just Occasions as when Prophaness and Impiety grow bold and daring and when Sinners become Impudent and Triumphant in Immodest and Immoral Courses And when the Profession of Religion is thrown off as Ridiculous and below Men of Sense and Spirit In such an Age as this I say there is occasion given to all the faithful Servants of Christ to own and declare themselves his Disciples and that they are not asham'd of him and his Doctrines And with the Noble Mattathias 1 Mac. 2.19 they must be ready to say Tho' all the Nations under the Kings Dominions shall fall every one from the Religion of their Fathers yet will I and my Sons and my Brethren walk in the Covenant of our Fathers A Noble and Heroick Resolution worthy of us Christians to follow and absolutely necessary to be put on at this time when the Publick Affronts to God and his Religion are greater than were ever in a State professing Christianity And as the Resolution must be openly and declaratively so it must be solemnly made I mean that you who are now entring into a wicked World must take the first Opportunity of an Episcopal Confirmation and must there in the Face of the World in the Presence of the chief Officer in the Church of Christ the Bishop and before the whole Assembly of Christians there met you must there I say as is prescrib'd in the Office of Confirmation with your own Mouth and Consent openly recognize ratifie and confirm the same Vow that was made for you in your Baptism The Bishop will then demand of you in these Words Do ye here in the Presence of God and of this Congregation renew the solemn Promise and Vow that was made in your Name at your Baptism ratifying and confirming the same in your own Persons and acknowledging your selves bound to believe and to do all those things which your Godfathers and Godmothers then undertook for you And to this Demand every one of you must audibly answer I do And such as this it is probable might be that good Profession which Timothy had profess'd before many Witnesses 1 Tim. 6.12 So that thus at length you see in what consists Holy Resolution the Importance of these Words I will Thirdly And I am now to shew you that such Resolution and so duly form'd as this is a very powerful means will go a great way towards the Performance of our Covenant with God And 1. The very determining of the Will with a fix'd and settled purpose has a great force in it to make us put in Execution the most difficult part of our Vows and Promises We see even in Worldly Undertakings where the Advantages are very inconsiderable in comparison what Difficulties Men will go through when they are once bent upon a Design whereas when Persons have no Will nor Mind to do a thing the Wheels of Action move but slowly and their Endeavours are very faint For why when Men are fully purpos'd and are set upon a thing then it is the Subject of their Cares they lay all their Measures and they muster up all their Forces to carry it on and what is equal with all this they provide against all Attempts that shall be laid to ruine their Designs And if those who will be Rich or Great or Honourable project a thousand ways to carry their Point leave no Stone unturn'd refuse no hazards are discourag'd at no Disappointments and cross Accidents shall not we who have infinitely more valuable Treasures laid up for us in Heaven who have Crowns of Glory propos'd to us if we excel in Vertue shall we be faint and languid in our Endeavours What can be the reason of this but that in the great Business of Religion Men are not so much in earnest so resolute and intent as in the pursuit of their Worldly Advantages and Satisfactions so resolutely bent I say upon their Improvements in Religious Perfection for this would go a great way towards their performance of their Covenant with God Particularly to be fully resolved upon it is absolutely nccessary to baffle and discourage the Devil in all his Attempts upon us whom in order to resist the Apostle bids us be stedfast or resolute in the Faith 1 Pet. 5 9. For indeed such is his Resolution to destroy Mankind and such especially is his Pride in
and Hereticks when alas they are much less the Favourites of God themselves and it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the Day of Judgment than for wicked Christians Matth. 11.24 I do confess indeed as to that part of Prayer which we call Thanksgiving the most wicked and impenitent Sinners may bless God for their Creation Preservation and all the Blessings of this Life For he maketh his Sun to rise on the Evil and on the Good and sendeth Rain on the Just and on the Vnjust Matth. 5.45 and there 's nothing hinders but they should praise him for it But with what shew of Sincerity can they be thought to bless him above all for his inestimable Love in his Redemption of the World by our Lord Jesus Christ for the means of Grace and for the hopes of Glory when so long as they continue in their Sins they can expect no benefit from Christ's Redemption and can have no hopes of Glory True it is there have been observ'd in the World That there are praying Hypocrites is by virtue of Antinomian Principles both in our Saviour's Time and of latter days a sort of Impious and Prophane Wretches that have been greatly given to Pray and yet have been most notorious Lyars and Slanderers Proud and Censorious and above all most cruel and unmerciful Exactors and Oppressors but it is plain they were either Hypocrites and Atheists in the bottom and for a pretence and colour only made long Prayers that they might more easily devour Widows Houses Matth. 23.14 and so by the Opinion of their Sanctity delude unwary People to trust 'em till having 'em within their Power they might grind 'em to Powder Or they owe this to some other Wicked and Heretical Principles as our Modern Antinomians who do found their favour with God in his Arbitrary Election of their Persons without any respect had to their Virtues and Graces as acceptable through the Mediation of Christ and will therefore pretend to pray to him nay and in their Prayers presume to talk with him as familiarly as one Friend does to another But alas the Scripture gives none the least grounds for such Confidence and Presumption but does indeed let us know it is a fearful thing to presume to pray to God and at the same time to continue in Sin Sacrifices amongst the Jews were a kind of sensible and visible Prayers and Prayers did usually accompany them but whilst that People were notoriously wicked see how God does express his detestation of such their Sacrifices and Prayers Isai 66.3 He that killeth an Oxe is as if he slew a Man he that Sacrificeth a Lamb as if he cut off a Dogs Neck he that Offereth an Oblation as if he offered Swines Blood he that burneth Incense as if he blessed an Idol So that there is a great necessity of Resolving to forsake Sin and of being faithful in our Covenant if we will pray to God but if Men will go on wilfully in sinful Courses they had e'en as good not pray at all Heaven and Hell Light and Darkness may be joyn'd together and Reconcil'd as well as Prayer and Impenitence 3. As it will certainly procure the Divine Assistance 3. And especially Prayer duly qualify'd will be a most effectual Means to enable you to discharge your Covenant as it procures for you the Grace and Assistance of God without which you cannot perform it as has already been shew'd you I say if duly Qualify'd if put up with Faith and Sincerity for as appears from the last Particular the Prayers of such as are resolvedly Wicked will avail nothing but to their greater Damnation But otherwise Prayer doubtless is the most prevalent thing in the World with God to derive down his Blessings Favours and Graces of all sorts upon us Prayer saith the Learned and Pious Bishop Taylor hath saved Cities and Kingdoms from Ruine Prayer hath raised Dead Men to Life hath stopped the violence of Fire and shut the Mouths of wild Beasts It hath alter'd the course of Nature hath caused Rain in Aegypt and Drought in the Sea It made the Sun to go back from West to East and the Moon to stand still and Rocks and Mountains to walk and it cures Diseases without Physick and makes Physick to do the work of Nature and in a word does many Miracles But of all the Miracles that Prayer doth there is none so valuable if any so great as to Sanctify our Natures and to enable us to perform our Covenant with God which Prayer is a most effectual means to enable us to do I say That Prayer will most effectually procure for us the Graces of the Holy Spirit to enable us to perform our Covenant with God of which we have a most full and pregnant Proof Luke 11 9 10 11 12 13. our blessed Saviour in the foregoing Verses having given his Disciples a Prayer to learn to enforce upon 'em the constant and devout Exercise of this most Heavenly Duty tells 'em by way of Parable how prevalent an Importunate Prayer will be even with an Ill-natur'd Man to incline him to grant the Desires of him that Petitions him And then he proceeds to tell 'em That much more will Constancy and Earnestness in Prayer prevail upon God who is more tender to us and more forward of himself to do us good than our very Parents And I say unto you Ask and ye shall have seek and ye shall find knock and it shall be open'd unto you for every one that asketh receiveth and he that seeketh findeth and to him that knocketh it shall be opened If a Son shall ask Breaâ— of any of you that is a Father will he give him a Stone or if he ask a Fish will he for a Fish give him a Serpent or if he shall ask an Egg will he offer him a Scorpion If ye then being Evil know how to give good Gifts unto your Children how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him Which is as if he should say There is no fear that God should deny such Petitions or give his Children any hurtful thing when they ask that which is good for them And tho' many things which Men ask be not good yet his Spirit and the Assistances of it are so undoubtedly such that they will never be deny'd to them that ask them of the Father This is so full a proof of the prevalency of Prayer to procure of God the Grace of his Holy Spirit to sanctifie our Natures and to enable us to perform the Conditions of our Covenant that it would be e'en lost labour to multiply any more Texts to this purpose What then remains but that we therefore most earnestly and constantly Pray unto God that he would Sanctifie our Natures that he would grant unto us according to the Riches of his Grace to be strengthen'd with Might by his Spirit in the inward Man Particularly Let us therefore
at first created what 227 The Bent and Inclination of the Soul towards God what 1. In the Unregenerate Nature the Original Frame and Constitution of Man wherein he was created is broken 228 2. The Image of God wherein he was first created defaced Lastly the Tendency of all the Faculties both of Soul and Body are towards the Creature 229 1. To renounce the Flesh is to be renewed in the whole Frame and Constitution of our Nature after the Image of God The Image of God must be restored as far as it can in this Corrupt State It must be renewed to a perfection of Parts tho' not of Degrees 230 2. To renounce the Flesh is to be converted in the whole Bent and Inclination of the Soul towards God 231 LECT XXI The sinful Lusts of the Flesh what 232 The sinful Lusts of the fleshly Mind what 1. When we are curious to know Things which are either hurtful to be known or not proper for Man to know 233 2. When we do immoderately study to be exquisitely skilled in whatever Humane Arts and Sciences to the neglect or contempt of Divine Knowledge The Knowledge of our Christian Religion as it serves to nobler purposes so ought it to be prefer'd to any other 234 The necessary Points of Christian Knowledge 3. When out of Pride Prejudice and Contradiction to all sacred Truths we set up our own carnal Imaginations and fleshly Reasonings against those spiritual Notions and those mysterious Articles of our Faith which are delivered to us in Scripture 235 This Humour of opposing Reason to Revelation proceeds from meer Pride This corrupt Will what and how to be renounced 236 3. The Affections what and how to be renounced 237 1. As they are misplaced upon wrong Objects 2. As they are disproportionate to the Love Worth and Evil that is in those Objects towards which it is lawful to be well or evilly affected in moderate Degrees 3. The Lusts and Appetites are such sinful Lusts of the Flesh as are to be renounced 238 1. As they do desire undue Objects 2. As they desire them in immoderate Measures Lastly the inferior and bodily Powers viz. the Affections Lusts and Appetites to be renounced as they rebel against right Reason 239 The Business of Religion is to reduce Man as near as possible to his primitive State of Innocence and Integrity To this purpose of keeping under our fleshly Lusts it was that our Reason was given us 240 3. To renounce ALL the sinful Lusts of the Flesh what There must be no one fleshly Lust suffered to reign in us Our Business is particularly to oppose Lusts of Temper and Constitution This because it is a hard Doctrine to the Carnal Man is much evaded 241 The Objection from Rom. 7. clear'd We must renounce the Flesh and all its sinful Lusts so as to have an Aversion an Antipathy in our Hearts thereunto This the hard Part. 242 243 The reason of having enlarged so much upon this one Article of renouncing the Devil c. 244. LECT XXII Articles of Christian Faith of what Nature The whole Bible the Object of a Christian's Faith both the Old and New Testament 259 Some Instances of such Truths What it is to believe those Truths so as to make us capable of Life and Happiness 261 Our Belief thereof must be operative and practical Such was the Faith of Abraham and of all the Saints And such an operative and practical Principle is Faith whenever the things believed are of great Importance or Concernment to us 262 263. 2. To believe savingly we must apply our selves to Jesus Christ to intercede with God the Father for our gracious Acceptance What to believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith 1. To believe them All does import that we must assent to all and every one of those great Articles of Christian Doctrine contain'd in the Apostles Creed 264 Such as tend to destroy a good Life and send us to other Mediators than Christ to intercede with the Father for its Acceptance no Articles of Christian Faith 2. To believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith is to be fully perswaded of all and of every of those single Truths contain'd in each of those Articles 265 A Heretick may be such by believing only of one of those Truths contain'd in the Article 266 LECT XXIII 1. What it is to obey God's Holy Will and Commandments The Nature and Measures of Christian Obedience 267 1. Our Obedience must be sincere by being a true and undissembled Service of God opposite to all Hypocrisy or a false and feigned pretence of obeying him when in truth we serve our own selves does not forbid us all intending our own Advantage in the performance of his Commandments 268 But 1st That man's Obedience is insincere who together with his Intention of serving God joins another Intention of serving Sin 2dly When he designs some temporal Ends in the practice of Vertue as much or more than he intends God's Service 2. Evangelical Obedience must be entire viz. 1st The Obedience of the whole Man that is in the first place of the Mind and Vnderstanding 2dly of the Will 3dly of the Affections 269 270 This the distastful part and therefore endeavoured to be shifted off 271 2dly It must be an Obedience to the whole Law This endeavoured to be evaded by Excuses But in vain 3dly What it is to walk in the same all the days of our Lives 272 God will not endure a constant Revolution of Sin and Repentance 273 The difference between Evangelical and a Legal Obedience This difference not so great but that our wilful and chosen Sins will put a Barr to our Salvation 274 Some Sins are directly and expresly wilful Some indirectly and interpretatively 275 But the difference is 1st that those who sincerely and entirely obey shall not be called to an account for unchosen and involuntary Sins The first cause of an innocent Involuntariness Ignorance of our Duty Provided it be not wilful 2d Inconsideration excuses 1. When through surprize 276 2. When through natural weariness and the length and strength of a Temptation Lastly When by the violent discomposure of our thinking Powers our Minds are so disturbed that we cannot think what we do Ignorance and Inconsideration excuse not those Sins 1. which we have time to understand and observe nor 2. Crying Sins nor 3dly Those we do not endeavour against nor lastly which we are not sorry for 277 The 2d difference between Legal and Evangelical Obedience That our wilful and more heinous Sins when repented of through the Mediation of Christ according to the Terms he has obtained for us in the Covenant of Grace shall be forgiven us Remission of Sins upon Repentance the great Doctrine of the Gospel Repentance will be accepted to our pardon for our unknown or secret Sins whether wilfully or unwillingly committed but now forgot though generally repented of 2. For our most known and wilful Sins if
believed What Rebel is there or nature so bad that would not be won to leave off Rebelling against his Prince and to love and please him upon undoubted assurance that by so doing he should not only be pardoned and restored to Favour but also perferred to the greatest Honour and Happiness he is capable of receiving from any Mortal And yet how weak a motive is this in comparison of what comes from God to reduce Men to their love and loyalty to him God's love to Man when perceived and heartily believed is the great motive and attractive of Man's Love to God We love him because he first loved us 1 Joh. 4.19 Love is an active and commanding Principle in Man and procureth Thoughts Cares and Endeavours of pleasing God If any Man love me he will keep my words saith our blessed Saviour Joh. 14.23 And after this manner Faith worketh by Love Gal. 5.6 Thus I have represented to you how and after what manner Faith in the Understanding works a saving Consent in the Will unto the Condition of God's Covenant of Salvation CHAP. V. Some few Objections answered I. SOME have thought Men may be Justified only by their Believing even while they are Ungodly in their Lives and have thought that Scripture Rom. 4.5 will hear them out in such a conceit which saith He that worketh not but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly his Faith is counted for Righteousness But they grosly mistake the Scripture and deceive themselves For that Text speaks of God's Justifying the Gentiles upon their sincere conversion to the Christian Faith and Life though they had lived in Gentilism in all Ungodliness before and until then and though they should not work at all as the Judaizers would have had them in turning Proselytes to the Jewish way But otherwise it 's flatly against the express Doctrine of the Gospel and current of the Scriptures for Men to hope to be pardoned by any Believing whatsoever while they remain Impenitent as every Man doth while he remains Ungodly To justifie the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. It 's said that Christ made the Blind to See and the Deaf to Hear and the Dumb to Speak as well as it 's said God Justifieth the Ungodly But is any Man so senseless as to think that Christ made them to See to Hear and to Speak while they remained Blind Deaf and Dumb And if not but that they know the meaning is that Christ made those to See to Hear to Speak which had been Blind Deaf and Dumb before those Cures were wrought upon them they might as well know also that the meaning is that God justifieth those upon their believing which had been Ungodly until then and not that he justifies them while they remain Ungodly II. Some alledge that although the Faith which is alone and without the concomitant effects of it Repentance Regeneration c. doth not justifie yet that Faith alone which doth produce such effects doth justifie without the concurrence of these in the justifying Act. Which they illustrate by this Similitude A Man sees with his Eye alone though he doth not see with his Eye that is alone or separated from his Body In return to all which let these things be considered 1. They that go thus far do grant that which will secure the Notion of the necessity of Repentance Regeneration and new Obedience unto Justification They grant we see such a necessity of these as without which no Man can be justified no not by Faith In granting which though we suppose them to err in their foresaid Notion yet this makes their Error the less dangerous because the presence of Repentance Regeneration and Obedience are no less necessary to Justification according to this account than they esteem them to be who say they concur with Faith in the very act of Justification 2. When they say Faith alone is all that is necessary to the Justifying Act without the concurrence of any thing else done by us By Justifying Act they mean either God's Act or Man's Act. If Man's Act that 's nothing but Man's performing the Condition upon which God hath promised to Justifie Men. If they mean God's Act it is his imputing Mens performing the Condition of the Promise unto them for Righteousness The only thing then in question will be what it is which is a fulfilling of the Condition of the Promise of Justification which God imputes for Righteousness If they say it is only the Assent of the Understanding unto the Truth of God's Testimony in the Gospel or this Assent together with a Reliance on Christ for Salvation I have shewed before that both these may be found in Men Unregenerate and Unjustified And that these two of themselves without Repentance and hearty Obedience to the Laws of Christ are not a fulfilling of the Condition of the Promise and that consequently Men without these cannot be justified by any Faith whatsoever and so not by Faith alone unless they will call Repentance and Heart-Obedience in conjunction with the foresaid Assent of the Mind and reliance of the Soul by the name of Faith Which if they will we are agreed as to the Thing at least if not to the Name that we are justified by such a Faith alone And yet I doubt not that whenever Justification is promised to Believing singly and alone exprest but that there the foresaid effects are comprehended under the name also for the Reasons formerly given 3. They which say we are justified by Faith alone but not by that Faith which is alone do distinguish where the Scripture doth not distinguish The Scripture no where saith we are justified by Faith alone as contradistinguished from Repentance Evangelical Obedience c. The third Chapter of Rom. 28. and Tit. 3.5 are sometimes made use of to countenance their Notion but to how little purpose hath been shewed already in the Treatise which needs not be here repeated 4. The Scripture is not only silent in the case not any where affirming we are justified by Faith alone but it expresly affirms the quite contrary Jam. 2.24 Ye see then how that by Works a Man is justified and not by Faith only That this is affirmed in reference to our Justification before God had been shewed before 5. Faith and Repentance are a joint Condition upon which Justification is suspended and are both constituted so by the same means and that is by promise of pardon to such as do Believe to such as do Repent and by threatning the contrary to those that do not both And if they are a joint Condition of the Promise of Justification then Justification proceeds not upon either of them alone but upon both together 6. Whereas it is said in the Similitude that a Man sees with his Eye alone though not with his Eye which is alone or when it is alone I doubt this is no more true than that which is intended to be illustrated by it For Naturalists will