to his Lord what Love was this to the Souls â—…f Men it is certainly the most perâ—…ect imitation of the Love of Christ â—…at is possible to Man Christ so â—…oved us as to come down from Heaven to live a laborious Life and â—…o die an accursed Death for us this great Apostle so loved his Lord and so loved the Souls of Men that â—…e made it his choice to stay some time out of Heaven and to encounter all the Miseries and Terrours of this Life to serve Christ and his Church Where is this Divine Spirit now to be found Let us my beloved Brethren who are entrusted also with the Care of Souls by the great Shepherd and Bishop of our Souls blush to think how far short we fall of this Example let this inspire us with a flaming Love and Zeal for the Souls of Men for whom Christ died and make us at least contented to deny our selves some of the Ease and Security and Pleasures of Life to serve the Church of Christ which he hath purchased with his own blood But to keep my self within some Bounds I shall briefly Discourse on these two Heads which are very proper for this Occasion and very proper to my Text. First The great Rewards of faithful Pastors and Ministers of Christ and how much it is for their advantage to be removed out of this World St. Paul was very sensible of this which made him desire to depart and to be with Christ which is far better Secondly How necessary the Lives of such Men are to the Church and what a great loss it is when God removes them out of it Nevertheless to abide in the Flesh is more needful for you 1. Let us then consider in the first place the great Rewards of the faithful Ministers of Christ and how much it is for their advantage to depart and to be with Christ. Now I do not here intend a comparison between Heaven and Earth Good God! what different things are these and what Christian doubts whether Heaven be a happier Place than this World Heaven whither no Troubles or Sorrows can follow us no persecuting Sword no persecuting Tongue where we shall be delivered from all the Wants Necessities and Infirmities of the Body from â—…unger and Cold and Nakedness â—…m wracking Pains and languishing â—…cknesses where there is eternal Ease â—…d Rest and Joy without labour â—…ithout discontents without quarrels â—…here our Souls shall be perfected in â—…owledge and in love where we â—…all dwell in the Presence of God see â—…m as he is and know him even as â—…e are known where we shall dwell â—…ith Christ adore his Love behold â—…s Glory and be transformed our â—…lves into the likeness and image of â—…s Glory We have but obscure imâ—…rfect Conceptions of these things â—…w Heaven will out-do our highest â—…xpectations as much as the most â—…erfect state of Happiness in this World â—…ways falls short of what we expectâ—… and this is the case of all good â—…en it is a mighty happy Change â—…ey make when they remove from â—…arth to Heaven But there are different Degrees of Glory in the next World proportionâ—…d not only to our different attainâ—…ents in Virtue but to those different Trusts in Services which we have been employed in and have faithfully discharged here We read of the Reward of a Prophet that he who gives a Cup of cold Water to a Prophet in the name of a Prophet shall have a Prophet's Reward which must signify some peculiar Reward that shall be bestowed on Prophets We know so little of the other World that we cannot conceive what these different Rewards shall be The Prophet Daniel represents it by an external Glory 12. Dan. 3. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the Firmament and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever But our Saviour represents this by a different degree of Rule and Empire 12. Luke 42 43 44. And the Lord said Who then is that faithful and wise steward whom his Lord shall make ruler over his houshold to give them their meat in due season This is the honourable Character of Gospel Ministers in this World that they are Rulers in God's houshold to instruct and feed them with the Word of Life and their Reward is proportioned to their Work Blessed is that servant whom his Lord when he cometh shall find so doing Of a truth I say unto you That he will make him ruler â—…ver all that he hath What this Rule â—…ignifies in the other World is a Mysteâ—…y to us especially since we have â—…ancied the other World to be only a State of Contemplation not of Actiâ—…n where we shall have nothing to do â—…ut to see God and to love and to praise him but no service to do for â—…im but we know there are different â—…orders of Angels who are employed in great Trusts and Offices Arch-Angels Angels Thrones Dominions Principalities and Powers which are names of Rule and Government though we know not what their Power and Authority is nor how they Govern in like manner our Saviour promises his Apostles Verily I say unto you that ye which have followed me in the regeneration when the son of man shall sit on the throne of his glory ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel 19. Matth. 28. The like we may see in the Parable of the Pounds and Talents He who hath gained ten Pounds had Rule over ten Cities and he who gained five Pounds had Rule over five Cities for these Servants to whom the Lord gave these Pounds and Talents to improve plainly signify his Stewards and the Ministers of his spiritual Kingdom for no other Persons have in so peculiar a manner this honourable Character of the Servants of Christ throughout the Gospel And if there be Order and Government among the Angels themselves Why should we think that there is nothing like this among glorified Saints If Angels are the Ministers of God there is no reason to think that Heaven is a State of meer Rest and Contemplation especially when Happiness consists in Action And if Christ have any Ministers of his spiritual Kingdom in the next World it is most reasonable to think that those shall have the greatest Authority and be employed in the noblest Services who have been his faithful Stewards and Ministers in this World For the Church on Earth and in Heaven is the same Church though their State be very different and therefore they do not lose their relation to Christ nor their station in his Church by removing to Heaven It is a Sacerdotal Kingdom our High Priest is King and therefore a Priest of Iesus how mean soever this be thought now will be one of the highest Characters in Heaven What the Happiness of this is we cannot tell but we know that there are no empty Titles in Heaven but every degree of Dignity there signifies a peculiar degree of Happiness
but to perswade and direct you to turn the Delights and Charms of Musick into the Raptures of Devotion which would the most effectually silence all the Enemies of Church-Musick and Cathedral-Worship while as a divine Poet of our own Sings This would visibly turn Delight into a Sacrifice Now since Musick what ever it be and how well soever performed is of no use or value in Religion but as it serves the true ends of Devotion we must enquire What that Harmony and Melody is which is so acceptable to God How fit External and Sensible Melody is to promote this and how it may and ought to be improved to that purpose 1. As for the first I need not tell any Man who understands the Nature of Christian Worship that it is only they Melody of the Heart as St. Paul speakes that pleaseth God All true Christian Worship whatever the externals of it are is the Worship of the Mind and Spirit This alone is that Worship which it becomes a reasonable Creature to pay to his Maker his Sovereign Lord and Saviour as the Blessed Virgin sang My Soul doth magnifie the Lord and my Spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour For it is the Mind only that can praise God though the tongue must sing his Praises The best composed Hymns the most Musical Instruments the most Charming Voices are but lifeless Mechanical Sounds till they are Animated and Inspired by the Devotion of the Heart and God takes no more pleasure in the best Voices than in bodily strength or beauty Now the Melody of the Heart is the Consent and Harmony of all the Powers and Passions of our Souls in the Praises of God When Love and Joy and Admiration and the profoundest Reverence bear their several Parts and offer up our whole Souls as a Living Vocal Hymn of Praise Then we sing aloud in our Hearts to God when we feel the greatest Transports and Extasies of these Divine Passions which swallow us up in God and unite us to the Heavenly Quire Then we sing with true Melody in our Hearts to God when these Divine Passions which are Essential to Praise and Thanksgiving charm all our earthly Passions into a Calm quiet all their Storms and Tumults leave no jarring Discords no Discontents no Sollicitous Cares no Jealousies no Envyings to discompose the Harmony of our Souls which must be all Peace all Love all Joy to sing with a true Divine Melody the Praises of God This and nothing else is the true Praise of God when our minds are filled with such bright Ideas of his Glory and Perfections with such a lively Sense of his Majesty Wisdom Goodness Power discover'd in his great and wonderful Works of Creation Providence and the Redemption of the World by our Lord Jesus Christ as transport us with Love Admiration and Joy A Heart thus full of God will break forth into Songs of Praise When the Fire is kindled within as the Psalmist observes from his own Experience we shall then speak with our Tongues Here our Praises ought to begin to be sure here they must always end in the Heat and fervour of our Affections and an inward feeling of the Divine Praises if we would have them an acceptable Worship of God As far as the Harmony of Voices or Musical Instruments serve this End they are excellent Helps to Devotion but it is only their Subserviency to the Devotion of the Mind which gives them any Value or allows them any Place in Religious Worship 2dly Let us then consider of what Use Musick is to excite and quicken our Affections and to give a new Life and Spirit to Devotion Man is not all Soul and Spirit but a compound Creature consisting of Soul and Body and while our Souls are vitally united to Bodies they receive most of their Passions from them at least feel the most strong and vigorous Motions from those Impressions which our Senses make and Sight it self does not more variously affect our Minds than Hearing does Words and Sounds have very powerful Charms and give as quick a Turn to our Thoughts and Passions as Sight it self and not only Words but even a diversity of Sounds are fitted by Nature to express and to excite very different Passions Love Joy Admiration Desire Fear Sorrow Indignation Revenge give some distinguishing Notes and Accents to the very Voice which no Art but Nature teaches and which betrays the Passion without speaking a Word And such different Notes will also as forcibly imprint such Passions on our Minds as they naturally represent and that many times whether we will or no which is a great Secret in Nature and shews an unaccountable Sympathy between Sounds and Passions which are by turns the Natural effects and causes of each other and there needs no other proof what the natural power of Musick must be to raise and to calm our Passions and the Experience of all Mankind tells us that thus it is when the Composer knows how to fit Notes to Passions which the Knowledge of Humane Nature not the meer proportion of Sounds must teach him Without this a fine piece of Musick is like a company of fine Words put together without any great Sense or Meaning they make a fine Sound and that is all Now if there be a Natural Sympathy and mutual Causality between Sounds and Passions there is no doubt but true Devotional Musick will Excite or Heighten our Devotional Passions as we daily see and complain that wanton and amorous Airs are apt to kindle wanton Fires for Nature will act like it self whether you apply it to good or to bad purposes If there be no force in Musick to give a good or bad tincture to the Mind why do any Men complain of wanton Songs They may then blame the Poet but neither the Composer nor Singer for the Musick it seems does no hurt if there be Why do they condemn Church-Musick which will have as good an Influence upon a devout Mind as the other has a bad One Why then should any Man think Musick improper for the worship of God It is a Natural Power though improved by Art as most other natural Powers are and all Natural Powers are made for the Worship and Service of God as far as they are capable of serving him which Musick is in a very high Degree if it have such a Natural Power over our Passions as to Increase and Actuate though it can't create Devotion Both Poetry and Musick were originally used to celebrate the Praises of God lost their Glory when they descended to meaner Subjects but were prophaned by a prostitution to men's Lusts and Vices The first account we have of singing is the Song of Moses Exod. 15. when God had made the Children of Israel to pass through the Red-Sea on dry ground and had drowned the Aegyptians and we can't have a more ancient Account than this which is the most ancient History in the World And throughout the Old Testament both
Courtships of the World cannot defend us from our selves we cannot stop our ears against 〈◊〉 we cannot harden our selves against â—…s Terrors it is a domestick Fury â—…hich when it is provoked and awakenâ—…d will be heard and will make us â—…emble will make us judge and conâ—…emn our selves and begin our own â—…orments in frightful Horrors and Agoâ—…es of Mind 2dly Whereas Reason can fortify the â—…ind against all external Calamities â—…hen our Spirits are wounded that â—…ttle Reason we have left proves our â—…ormentor When we are under the â—…ransports of violent and disorderly â—…assions Reason can't be heard or is â—…ibed by Passion to justify its own Exâ—…esses Wise Counsels are lost on such â—…en as much as a Lecture of Philoâ—…phy would be in the Noise and Diâ—…raction of an Alarm or Battel What a sullen and obstinate thing is â—…rief how does it pore on its own â—…isfortune nourish its Disease and â—…espise all Arts of Diversion that it is â—…ommonly above the cure of any thing â—…ut Time which weakens the Impresâ—…on or tires men with their own Comâ—…laints When our Consciences are wounded with Guilt this arms all the Reason we have against us for Reason in such Cases can never be on our side then Reason discovers our Shame and Danger aggravates our Sins and many times drives such awaken'd Sinners into the very Horrors of Dispair disputes against the possibility of their Pardon and blots their Names out of all the Promises of the Gospel how large and universal soever they be The Guides of Souls who are always consulted upon such Occasions how much soever they are despised at other times could tell a great many sad Stories of thiâ—… kind enow to convince Sinners that even Wit and Reason is a very dangerous Enemy when a guilty Conscience turns the edge of it against our selves 3dly When there is no Ease and Comfort within there is no other Remedy but to seek for Support and Comfort from abroad and there are a great many pretty Diversions in the World to entertain Men who are at leisure to attend them but these are no Entertainments to a wounded Spirit When men are galled by their own Passions by Fear Emulation Jealousy Discontent in the very midst of laughter â—…e heart is sorrowful As great as Haâ—…n was all his Riches and Power â—…ailed him nothing while he saw â—…ordecai the Iew sitting at the King 's â—…ate 5. Esth. 13. The good things of this World are â—…ry considerable when there is an eaâ—… and cheerful mind to enjoy them â—…t they cannot make a man easy and â—…ppy whose Mind is disturbed they â—…ay entertain an easy Mind but canâ—…t quiet the Tumults and Disorders of â—…ssions nor give any Ease to a woundâ—… Spirit Much less can external things apâ—…ase the Horrors of a guilty Consciâ—…ce Away all ye vain Delights will â—…ch a man say what have I to do with â—…easure when Torments everlasting â—…orments must be my Portion Why â—…o you tell me of Riches and Honours â—…hen the great God is my Enemy â—…hen I am despised and abhorred of my â—…aker and am thought worthy of no â—…etter Portion than Eternal Flames 〈◊〉 am not at leisure to attend the Flatâ—…ering Courtships of this World my Thoughts are taken up with a more â—…readful Prospect of things to come O Eternity Eternity the never-dying Worm the never-dying Death 4thly Nor can a wounded Spiâ—… find any Support from the Considerations of Religion unless it find its Câ—… there If the Belief of a Divine Providence and another World can cure oâ—… Love to present things it will give uâ—… quiet and easy Passions too but without this a wounded and distemper'â—… Spirit will reproach God as well aâ—… Men and rage against Heaven it self â—… like that wicked King This evil is 〈◊〉 the Lord why should I wait on the Lâ—… any longer As Solomon observes Tâ—… foolishness of Man perverteth his waâ—… and his heart fretteth against the Lord. If the Fear of God and of thoâ—… Punishments He has threatned agaiâ—… Sin makes us true and sincere Peâ—…tents conquers our vicious Habiâ—… and reforms our Lives this is such 〈◊〉 wounded Spirit as God will bind up again such a broken and contrite heaâ—… as God will not despise but the Thoughâ—… of God and of a future Judgment aâ—… very terrible to Impenitent Sinners It is a dreadful Prospect to look intâ—… the other World and to see those Lakes of Fire and Brimstone prepared for the Devil and his Angels And this 〈◊〉 all that Bad men can see in the next â—…orld Thus we see how supportable all â—…ternal Evils and Calamities are how â—…supportable a wounded Spirit is and â—…e comparing these two Cases will â—…ggest some very useful Thoughts to â—…s As First This is a great Vindicatiâ—… of the Providence of God with â—…spect to those Evils and Calamities â—…at are in the World Sufferings are â—…ery necessary in this corrupt and deâ—…enerate State of Mankind but though â—…od sees it necessary to punish Sinners â—…et he has made abundant Provision to â—…pport us under all external Sufferâ—…gs He inflicts nothing on us but â—…hat the Spirit of a Man can sustain â—…d support it self under but our â—…reatest Sufferings are owing to our â—…elves and no more chargeable on the â—…rovidence of God than our Sins are â—…othing that is external can hurt us â—…hile our minds are sound and healthâ—…l but it is only a disordered or guilty â—…ind which gives a Sting to Afflictiâ—…ns God corrects in measure as we â—…re able to bear but we our selves tye the Knots or add the Scorpions to thâ—… Scourge Secondly This greatly recommendâ—… the Divine Wisdom in that Provisioâ—… God has made for our Support undâ—… Sufferings As â—…t Since the generality oâ—… Mankind were not likely to prove anyâ—… great Philosophers GOD hath bestowed on them such a measure of Naturâ—… Courage as will bear Afflictions betteâ—… than the Reason and Philosophy 〈◊〉 more thinking men and we may generally observe that those who maâ—… the least use of their Reason and haâ—… the least share of External Comforâ—… have the greatest Portion of this â—…taught Courage because they need 〈◊〉 most 2. God has provided the greatâ—… Supports for the best men Thoâ—… who use their Reason and examine thâ—… nature of things will more easily beâ—… Poverty and Disgrace and such otheâ—… Evils than men who judge by Opinion and popular Mistakes Those who live by Reason and govern their sensual Appetites and Inclinations and use the things of this World so as not to be mastered by them retain that Courage and Strength of Mind which is lost by softness and Effeminacy But a truly devout man who beâ—…ieves the Wisdom and Goodness of Providence and the Rewards of the next Life has the greatest Support of all Whereas an impenitent Sinner who wounds his Conscience with Guilt and an Atheist who believes neither a God nor a Providence have nothing but Sottishness and Stupidity to support them and
him also freely give us all thingâ—… Who then shall separate us from the 〈◊〉 of Christ Shall Tribulation or Distreâ—… or Persecution or Famine or Nakedness or Peril or Sword Nay in 〈◊〉 these we are more than Conquerors throâ—… him that loved us For I am perswadâ—… that neither death nor life nor â—…gels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to coâ—… nor height nor depth nor any otâ—… creature shall be able to separate 〈◊〉 from the love of God which is in Câ—… Iesus our Lord 8. Rom. 32 35 37 〈◊〉 While our minds are warmed wâ—… such thoughts as these we shall 〈◊〉 able to bear up under the greaâ—… Trials if not with Chearfulness yet at least with Patience and a quiâ—… Submission to the Will of God Aâ—… if ever there were occasion for suâ—… comfortable and supporting Thougâ—… the Divine Providence has made it 〈◊〉 necessary at this time to bear the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an Incomparable Lady our most â—…acious Queen whose Death all â—…od Subjects must Lament and I â—…ay God forgive those that do not â—…ch severe Providences as these will â—…ach the greatest and most unbroken â—…inds to serve the Lord with fear and to â—…joyce with trembling But how seâ—…re soever Providence is in some parâ—…cular instances the sense of the Diâ—…ne Goodness iâ—… the Redemption of â—…ankind by the Incarnation and â—…eath of his own Son should teach 〈◊〉 to be dumb and not open our mouths â—…cause it is his doings In speaking to which words I â—…all 1. enquire What may be called â—…e doings of the Lord 2. What it 〈◊〉 to be dumb and not to open â—…ur Mouths 3. The force of this â—…rgument to oblige us to a quiet and â—…atient Submission under the greatâ—…st sufferings That it is God's doâ—…ng 1. What may be called the doâ—…ng of the Lord This may be thought 〈◊〉 very needless question for are â—…here any Events Good or Evil which are not God's doing If wâ—… believe a particular Providence wâ—… must answer No and yet somâ—… things are more peculiarly God'â—… doings than others are with respect to this present Argument aâ—… God's doing it is a reason for 〈◊〉 quiet and patient Submission to the Divine Will In many cases men bring Ruine and Misery upon themselves by theâ—… own sin and folly and then they may thank themselves for it but have no reason to complain of Providence and when they cannot charge Providence with their misfortunes patience it self is not properly a Submission to God because their sufferings are no more God's will than their sin and folly is If men destroy their Estates by profuseness and prodigality and their Bodies by intemperance and lust if ill-contracted Friendships indiscreet Bargains or an ungovernable Tongue perplex their Affairs and prove very troublesome or dangerous all this is owing not merely to Providence but to themselves and they must be contented to reap the fruit of their own doings and to implore the Divine Goodness and Providence to deliver them from the evil consequences of their own sin and folly Whatever evils we suffer which are not the natural or moral effects of our own sin or folly they are properly God's doings as inflicted by God either for the punishment of our sins or for the trial and exercise of our virtues or to serve the wise ends of his Providence in the world Those Evils which we do not immediately bring upon our selves God inflicts on us either by the ministry of wicked and injurious men or by the disorders of Natural Causes or by some seeming casual and fortuitous Events for the Actions of Men the Powers of Nature and what we call Chance and Fortune are all in the hands of God and therefore are more or less his doings But if we may say That some things are more peculiarly the care of Providence than others Life and Death are certainly so no man can be Born or Die without the particular Order and Appointment of God Our Saviour tells us not a sparrow falls to the ground without our Father much less men and assures his Disciples that all the hairs of their head are numbred and their Lives are more sacred than their Hairs Some men are of opinion That God has absolutely Decreed the certain term and period of every man's life But I know no foundation for this neither in Scripture nor Reason nor does any man believe it but those who subject all Mankind and all the Things of this World to irreversible Necessity and Fate which is the strength of the Atheistick Hypothesis though incautiously espoused by some men who are so far from being Atheists that I hope they are very good Christians And therefore I suppose these Christian Fatalists if I may so call them mean no more than what we all own That no Sparrow much less a Man falls to the ground without our Father that God not only foreknows the period of every man's Life and by what means he shall Die but with Infinite Wisdom and â—…ustice Orders and Appoints it â—…ot by an absolute and unconditional â—…ecree but as the Wise Determiâ—…ation of a Free and Just Provâ—…ce And if God have any more conâ—…ernment for Nations and Commonwealths than he has for particular men as we who can attend but a few things at once and therefore make the matters of greatest importance our more particular care are apt to conceive then the Lives and Deaths of Princes must be more particularly Ordered and Determined by God because Nations it may be many Nations and Countries more than their own are concerned in the consequence of it and of the more universal concernment any thing is the more we are apt to think it belongs to the Care of God For this reason some Philosophers have confined the Providence of God to the Heavens and Heavenly Bodies which have such a univerversal influence on things below or to Nations and Publick Societies and to the several kinds and species of Beings not to particular Men or Creatures And so far they were in the right that if the Divine Providence could not equally take care of the whole World and of every particular Creature in it it would certainly in the first place take care of the great Springs of motion But though this be no reason for God's peculiar care of one thing more than another because his All-seeing Eye and Almighty Arm can equally take care of all yet our Saviour has taught us from the worth and value of things that God will certainly take the more care of them and in case of any Competition give the preference to things of the greatest moment Behold the fowls of the air for they sow not neither do they reap nor gather into barns yet your heavenly Father feedeth them are ye not much better than they And if God so clothe the grass of the field which to day is and to morrow is cast into the oven shall he not much more clothe you O ye of little faith
that St. Paul did not intend to condemn all Self-love which when it acts regularly is the natural Principle of all Moral and Religious Actions and having prevented this Objection which lay in my way for the further Explication and Improvement of these Words I shall do these three Things 1. Inquire what that Self-love is which the Apostle here condemns 2. How dangerous and perillous such Times must needs be wherein this Self-love prevails 3. Shew the Folly and Unreasonableness as well as Wickedness and Impiety of it 1. What that Self-love is which the Apostle condemns For can Self-love be the fruitful Parent of all Piety and Virtue and the cause of all the Evil and Wickedness which is committed in the World Can the same Fountain send forth sweet water and bitter and yet thus we see it is both good and bad Men act from a Principle of Self-love and design their own happiness and satisfaction This inspires good Men with great and generous designs sets them above this World makes them devout Worshippers of God and very just and charitable to Men and it is the same Principle which acts in bad Men and drives them into all the Excesses of wickedness they gratifie their own Inclinations and Appetites â—…y it they find present Ease and Pleasure they do what they love they please themselves they pursue what they call Happiness which is self-Self-love still though turned off of its natural Byass by mistaken Notions of Happiness All Men love themselves but self-Self-love does not act alike in all Men because they are not all agreed what Self to love For Man consists of Soul and Body of Spirit and Flesh which have different Interests Appetites and Inclinations and have distinct Pleasures and Satisfactions of their own A good Man loves his whole Self Soul and Body too and designs and endeavours the Happiness of both which is the entire Happiness of a Man and this is a vertuous self-Self-love which makes the Flesh subordinate to the Spirit governs our sensual Appetites by Reason improves our Minds in Wisdom and Knowledge raises our Souls up to God and entertains them with the love and the admiration of that best of Beings and above all things secures an eternal Interest the Salvation of our Souls and the glorious Resurrection of our Bodies into immortal Life But a Bad Man loves but one part of himself and that the meanest part too and made much more mean and vile by being loved alone His self-Self-love is nothing else but the love of the Flesh and of the Lusts and Appetites and Pleasures of it a love of this World and all the objects of Sense which gratifie a carnal and fleshly Mind the Soul is no part of his care so far from it that he is not willing to believe he has a Soul unless it be to subdue Reason to Sense and brutish Passions to stifle the natural notions of a Deity to root up all the seeds of Piety and Vertue or to charm his Conscience that it may not chide and condemn and disturb him in his Enjoyments For the understanding of this we must observe that when the Scripture condemns the love of our selves it does not mean our Personal Self for so every man does and must love himself or his own Person but it is to love something for our selves which we will have to be our selves when God never made it to be so which is our own Self or a Self of our own making and to love this Self in opposition to the Love of God and Men which is to love our selves only and to make all other things subordinate to Self which is the adequate notion of a vitious Self-love 1. It is a Self of our own making that is it is what a Sinner will call Himself and will account his whole Self and in pleasing of which he placeth his whole happiness though it be but a little part of that Self which God made God made Man Soul and Body but such Men will call nothing themselves but Flesh God made Man for a rational and intellectual Happiness as he made him a reasonable Creature but such Men place their whole Happiness in Sense Now Flesh is not the Man of Gods making the Pleasures of Sense are not the Happiness of a Man Man was made to enjoy the Pleasures of Sense in conjunction with those of Reason and in subordination to the Diviner Pleasures of the Mind but a sensual Happiness he was not made for that 's the Happiness of an inferiour and brutish Nature And those who will have this to be their Self and their Happiness are their own Creatures not Gods and are lovers of their own Selves of their own Inventions their own Ways and Devices as the Scripture speaks 2. Such Men are Lovers of themselves in opposition to the Love of God that is they are lovers of Pleasures more than lovers of God as the Apostle here speaks They prefer their own Will and Humour and the Gratification of their Lusts before the Will and Laws of God and in contradiction to them A Good Man lives in subordination to God as a Creature ought to do to his Maker and Sovereign Lord the Will of God is the Rule of his Will and Choice the Love of God gives Laws and Bounds to his Love of himself He pleaseth himself in such Instances as God allows he denies his own Will and Appetites Inclinations and Interests when they oppose the Will and Laws of God Such a Man can hardly be said to have any Self to have any Will any Love any Desires of his own for God is all this to him God lives in him he is more Gods than he is his own as St. Paul speaks I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me 2 Gal. 20. But a Bad Man hath divided himself from God cast off his obedience affects an independent State to stand by himself and to be his own Lord and Master and a God to himself and such a Man is properly said to love himself for he distinguishes himself from God and prefers himself before him 3dly Such Men are properly said to be Lovers of themselves because they love themselves in opposition to the rest of Mankind they gratifie their Lusts and serve their private Interests without any regard to the Laws of Justice or Charity It is their Principle to do good to themselves without ever being concerned what either private Men or publick Societies suffer by it They are the whole world to themselves and have no body else to please or take care of unless they can serve their own designs by it Such men are properly Lovers of themselves that is only of themselves for they love no body else And this is the sordid narrow selfish Spirit of Flesh and Sense which dwells within it Self is its own Center and its own Circumference for Flesh is a narrow Principle can have no Pleasures nor feel any Pains but its own and therefore must confine
deplorable must the state of Religion needs be when Self-love prevails which is such a direct contradiction to all Piety and Virtue to the Love of God and Men The Apostle indeed tells us of these Lovers of themselves that they have a Form of Godliness but deny the Power thereof They make a Show of Religious Worship and it may be a very glorious and pompous Show too for this may serve their Interest and give them Reputation with their Prince or with the People but their Religion has no power upon their Lives cannot subdue any one Lust as it is impossible it should while they are acted by Self-love And yet it is much to be desired that such Men would retain a Form of Godliness that they would not publickly affront Religion nor ridicule all that is Sacred but it is in vain to hope for thus much from all of them St. Paul's perillous Times was a very Modest and a very Religious Age to ours wherein men seem to be ashamed to be thought Religious and therefore if they ever think fit to go to Church take great care that no Man who sees them shall suspect that they come thither to worship God But though few Men attain to such an outragious Contempt of Religion as this yet all the Corruptions of Religion are more owing to Self-love than to Innocent Mistakes This secretly influences Mens Faith and forms their Notions and Opinions This invents a Form of Godliness and turns Religion into Show and Pageantry when Men bring Self-love into the Church it quickly turns true Religion out it is Pride and Ambition or Covetousness and a love of sensual Pleasures which makes Men Infidels and Hereticks and occasions all the Schisms which divide the Church For when such Self-lovers cannot cast off all Religion they must fit their Religion to Self-love to serve their Lusts or to give them security in the Enjoyment of them when they cannot raise Self up to the terms of Religion they must bring Religion down to Self It were easie to give undeniable Proofs and infinite Examples of this but I must proceed For having shewn what this vicious Self-love is and what Mischeifs it does in the World both to Mens private Fortunes to publick Societies and to the Church of God it remains 3dly To consider the Folly and Unreasonableness as well as Impiety of this Principle All the Wickedness that is committed in the World and most of the Miseries which Mankind suffer are owing to Self-love and could we convince Men of the Folly and Unreasonableness and Impiety of this it would lay the Axe to the very Root of all Wickedness it would reform the World and heal all the Maladies and Distempers of it And to do this the more effectually I shall distinctly apply what I have to say to the several Notions of Self-love 1. Let us consider Self-love as it signifies the love of Flesh and Sense when we love a part of our selves for the whole and expect our whole entire Happiness from the gratification of some inferior Appetites which at first hearing appears as absurd and impossible as it is to make a Part the Whole The greatest part of Mankind in all Ages have made this Experiment but no Man was ever made happy by it We see infinite Examples of miserable Sinners and the most prosperous always find that that they want something else to make them happy and would Men wisely consider the nature of things they would find that it is impossible it should be otherwise What is Happiness but such a State of Ease and Rest and Self-enjoyment as is agreeable to our Natures and can a reasonable Soul then find its compleat and perfect satisfaction in the Pleasures of sense the perfection and the happiness of our Natures is the same thing and therefore that which perfects our Natures must perfect our Happiness Is Sense then the perfection of a reasonable Nature if not how can it be its perfect Happiness Is not Wisdom and Knowledge the perfection of the Understanding is not the love of the best and most excellent Being the perfection of the Will and is not this the perfection of a Reasonable Soul and is it possible to make a Man happy who feels none of those divine and exalted Pleasures which are proper to a Mind Well! but if the enjoyments of Sense will give a compleat and entire satisfaction that will make the Man happy when he has no relish of any other Pleasures and then we need not dispute which Pleasures are greatest in themselves when the Man has what he likes best and is happy in it which is as much as to say that it makes no difference whether a Man enjoy the happiness of a Man or of a Beast that a Beast is as happy a Creature as a Man a Worm as an Angel because it has what satisfies and wants and desires no more But however let us consider whether the pleasures of Sense can give perfect ease and satisfaction to a reasonable Soul that they do not all Men find and the reason why they cannot do it is very plain The Pleasures of Sense cannot give perfect ease and satisfaction without a full unconfined and undisturbed Enjoyment and without such an Enjoyment as equals the Desire As for the first not to take notice how apt Men are to be disturbed in their Enjoyments from without there is enough within the very Frame and Constitution of a Reasonable Soul do disturb them For they find there a Natural Sense of the difference between Good and Evil a Natural Modesty which makes them blush in secret at some infamous Vices and sours the Pleasures and frequently interrupts the commission of them a natural belief of a God who is the Judge of the World and the Avenger of all wickedness a strong perswasion that they shall live after death and be rewarded and punished according to their works I need not tell you how uneasie such thoughts as these make the enjoyment of all sensual pleasures and an uneasy Happiness is a contradiction that if God intended Man for a Sensual Happiness I must confess he is the worst contrived Creature in the world as if he were made by chance not by a wise Creator for the Principles of his nature disturb and contradict the enjoyment of his natural Happiness Or whether you will call this Nature or Education or what you please there are very few Men with the help of all the Wit and Philosophy of Atheists can deliver themselves from this Belief and from these Fears and much fewer do it than pretend to do so and therefore there are very few who have an easy and undisturb'd Enjoyment of Sensual Pleasures that is who are easy and happy in them unless to sin with Fear with Shame with Guilty Remorse with frightful Presages of judgment be an easy and undisturb'd Enjoyment As for the Second it is very plain that the Enjoyment of Sensual Pleasures can never answer the
of Humane Nature is to do good this I take to be the great Advantage and Glory of Riches and Power that it makes Men Publick Patrons and Tutelar Angels to their fellow Creatures which is the nearest Resemblance of the Perfection and Happiness of God and in the Pagan World made Gods of Men But Self-love knows nothing of this Happiness but destroys not only the Sense but the Notion of it But to set aside other Considerations Mankind will not suffer a Man to make himself Easie and Happy by Self-love When he is known they combine against him as a common Enemy they load him with Infamy and Reproach they strip him of his ill-gotten Riches and severely revenge his Injuries this is the great End of Humane Government and the proper use of the Rods and Axes of Princes to restrain and govern Self-love and to punish the outrages it commits This is enough to satisfie us of the Folly and Unreasonableness of this Principle and how impossible it is that Self-love should make any Man happy I will add but one Argument more to disswade you from it that this Self-love can never enter into Heaven That is a Holy Place a Spiritual State wherein nothing can enter that is Unclean Flesh and Blood whether a fleshly Carnal Mind or an Earthly Body cannot inherit the Kingdom of God There God is all in all there is Universal Love among all those blessed Inhabitants and therefore there can be nothing of Self O that blessed Place where there is perfect Unity and Harmony of Souls no Parties and Factions no Emulations and Jealousies no Private Interests no Rivals where all center in God and embrace each other and mingle Flames and feel and rejoyce in each others Happiness To which Blessed Place God of his infinite Mercy bring us all through our Lord Iesus Christ To whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost be Honour Glory and Power now and for ever Amen SERMON XVI Preached at the Temple Church 2 Cor. iv ver 18. While we look not at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen For the things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal THIS is the Principle of that true greatness of Mind which appeared in the Apostles and Primitive Christians and enabled them to do that which the Pagan Philosophy boasted of without doing viz. to contemn the World and to live above its Hopes and Fears to bear the Miseries of Life and to despise the Pleasures of it to suffer Shame and Reproach and the loss of all Things and Death it self made as terrible as Pain could make it not only without Fear but with Joy and Triumph For which Cause saith the Apostle we faint not but though our outward man perish yet the inward man is renewed day by day for our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory while we look not at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen for the things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal By the Things which are seen is meant all the Good and all the Evil things of this Life by the things which are not seen all the Happiness and Miseries of the Life to come But is not this a very strange Choice to prefer what is absent and unseen before what is present and sensible To be unconcerned about the Happiness or Miseries of this Life and to live upon unseen Hopes and Fears No saiâ—… 〈◊〉 Apostle We have all the reasoâ—… 〈◊〉 world to do so because seen thingâ—…â—…re but temporal and unseen things are eternal This World will last but a little while the Fashion of this World passeth away but the World to come will have no end and this makes such a difference between seen and unseen Things that there can be no reasonable Competition as there is no Comparison between them So that in speaking to these Words there are two things distinctly to be considered 1. The Reasonableness of this Principle of looking to unseen Things or of living by Faith for it is Faith alone that can give us a View of the invisible World And 2. The Reasonableness of this Choice in preferring unseen before seen Things because the things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal 1. The Reasonableness of this Christian Principle of Action of looking at unseen things or living by Faith Some unthinking Men are apt to make a Jest of believing if you have any natural Reasons or sensible Demonstrations they will hearken to you but Faith is below a man of Wit and Philosophy who knows how many Cheats and Impostors there have been in the World But such men little consider how necessary Faith is in Humane Life that they themselves in a thousand Cases have no other Principle to act upon in the greatest Concernments of this Life and that upon much less evidence than we have for another World There are but three ways of knowing any thing Sense or Reason or Faith which last extends further and has a more universal Influence upon the Government of our Lives than either Sense or Reason Our whole Conversation with Mankind is resolved into Believing into a Civil Historical or Political Faith all humane Commerce and Intercourse is founded on it and there are very few Actions of our Lives that can be performed without it that he who will not believe must not live in this World And is it not absurd and ridiculous then to laugh at believing when they might as well laugh Sense and Reason out of the World and live as well without them Now if we must live by Faith in this World if we must believe and must trust one another if we must depend on Mens Word or Oath or Friendship or Honesty though we can have no natural Certainty or Demonstration of Moral Causes what reason can there be to banish Faith out of Religion which is of such absolute necessity in all the other Concernments of Life One would think there should be less need of Faith for this World than for the next which is an invisible State and can be certainly known only by Revelation and if Faith be ever reasonable it is most reasonable where it is most necessary where there is no other means of knowledge This is enough to shew you how little those Men understand themselves who ridicule Faith which is to ridicule Humane Nature and all Humane Conversation If we may if we must believe if we cannot live without believing it must make a man contemptible to talk against all Faith which is an Essential part of Humane Knowledge and a necessary Principle of Moral Prudence Some Men are so afraid of being thought easy and credulous that they run into the other Extream and will believe nothing at least nothing concerning another World And think
could things be better ordered for the encouragement of Virtue and Religion Good men whatever their Condition be have the Advantage of the Wicked even as to this present Life they may be easy and enjoy themselves in all Conditions for GOD has provided for their present Support but if bad men be Sufferers they have nothing to support them and though they be prosperous they feel such Disorders of Passions or such guilty Fears as sowre all their other Enjoyments 3. God has so wisely ordered things that we cannot support our selves under Sufferings without making a wise and good use of them for the best Arguments to comfort us under Sufferings will afford us no comfort unless they make us better It is a great comfort that Afflictions are appointed by a wise and good God But he who considers this will naturally enquire into the Reason why God strikes will search and try his way and turn unto the Lord will hear the rod and who it is that hath appointed it That Afflictions are ordered for our good will make us endeavour to reap the Spiritual Benefit of them for that Afflictions are useful is no Comfort at all unless we make a wise use of them unless they bring forth the peaceable Fruits of Righteousness No Man can take Comfort in the Rewards of the next World without bearing his Sufferings well in this for our Sufferings will have no reward unless they make us better unless they purify our Minds and exercise our Faith and Patience and Submission to the Will of God 3dly I observe That it is better to suffer than to sin even with respect to our present ease because Sufferings may be born by an innocent and vertuous Mind but Guilt inflicts an unsupportable wound upon the Spirit and â—…ose Sufferings which the Spirit of a Man can bear are rather to be chosen â—…han what the Spirit of a Man cannot â—…ear Lastly I observe That the Governâ—…ent of our own Passions contributes â—…ore to our Happiness than any exterâ—…al Enjoyments While our Minds are disordered with violent and tumultuâ—…us Passions we can never be Easy and Happy whatever else we enjoy for this gives such a Wound to the Spirits as no external Enjoyments can heal But he who has his Passions under government who knows how to Love and Fear Desire and Hope though he may be a great Sufferer can never be miserable because he can support himself under all other Sufferings What a wrong Course then do the generality of Mankind take to make themselves happy They seek for Happiness without when the Foundation of Happiness must be laid within in the Temper and Disposition of our Minds An easy quiet Mind will weather all the Storms of Fortune but how calm and serene soever the Heavens be there is no peace to the wicked who have nothing but noise and tumult and confusion within To God the Father God the Son and God the Holy Ghost be Honour Glory and Power now and for ever Amen SERMON VII Preach'd at the Funeral of the Reverend Richard Meggot D. D. and late Dean of Winchester December the 10th 1692. at Twickenham I. Phil. 23 24. For I am in a strait betwixt two having a desire to depart and to be with Christ which is far better Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you ST Paul wrote this Epistle to Philippi from Rome where he was in Bonds for the Gospel but though his Body was confined to a Prison his Soul his great Divine Soul was at Liberty to visit the Churches he had planted to advise and counsel and comfort them to encrease their Knowledge and to confirm their Faith to instame their Zeal and to spur them forward to more perfect Attainmens in all Piety and Virtue The Philippians seem greatly concerned least the Progress of â—…e Gospel should be hindred by St. Paul's Imprisonment and lest they and the whole Church should be deprived of the Labours and Ministry of so great an Apostle should this Persecution extend to Life as they had reason to fear it would As for the first St. Paul assures them That his Bonds were for the furtherance of the Gospel for his Imprisonment was taken notice of both in the Court and City which made Men curious to know what that Doctrine was which he preached and for which he suffered Bonds and this published the Gospel more effectually than his Preaching could have done Verse 12 13 c. As for the second he tells them He was no farther concerned either about Life or Death but that Christ might be magnified in his Body If he lived his Life was wholly devoted to the Service of Christ and of his Church if he died it would be for his own great Advantage To me to live is Christ and to die is gain verse 20 21. and this made it a hard choice to him whether he should desire to live or die whether he should get rid of his Bonds and make his Escape out of a troublesome World into the Regions of Ease and Rest to reap the Fruit of his Labours here in the eternal Enjoyment of his Lord whom he had so faithfully served or whether he should live to Encounter with a thousand Difficulties and Deaths in the Service of Christ and of the Souls of Men. What I should chuse I wot not for I am in a strait betwixt two having a desire to depart and to be with Christ which is far better nevertheless to abide in the Flesh is more needful for you Was there ever such a Dispute as this before That a Man who was as certain to go to Heaven as he was to die who had himself been snatch'd up into the third Heavens and had his Mind possest with strong and vigorous and lively Idea's of the Glories of that place who had seen and heard such things as could not be expressed who saw a Crown a glorious immarcessible Crown prepared for him I say that such a Man should make any question what he should chuse whether immediately to take possession of this Crown and Kingdom or to live longer in this World to suffer Bonds and Imprisonments Hunger and Cold and Stripes and all the ill usage which he had so often met with for no other reason but still to preach the Gospel and to enlarge the Borders of Christ's Church What a Contempt is this not only of the little Pleasures and Satisfactions but even of all the Miseries of Life What a Triumph is this over the World over all the Frowns and Terrours of it What a Triumph is this over Self such a degree of Self-denial as the Gospel it self does not command which is in some sence to deny Heaven to deny all the Joys of Christ's Presence for the sake of doing good For it is to delay to put off Heaven to adjourn his own Happiness that he may live the longer to serve his great Master though with great Difficulties and Labours What Love was this