bicause the Apost'l declareth that Love casts out Fear and how can Fear bring in that Love by which it self is cast out In Nature bicause That cannot but shun Fear and Grief and that not only as it is corrupted but in its whole integrity When we address our selvs to Love we shall not miss of the grief of Tenderness bicause it is Love's certain attendant but if we address our selvs to Grief we court the Handmaid which we cannot obtein bâ—n by the Mistress and if we ad-dress to That grief which proceeds from Fear we court a Scoundrel that is as coy as worthless no less an enemy to Loving grief than to our own inclinations Obj. Is not Repentance the first step to Conversion and is not Repentance Grief Answ That duty which the Gospel prescribeth as necessary to salvation is not only a Step to conversion but Conversion it self it is not only Grief for what is past but Change for the future We are miserably abused by a base Translation I appeal to you that understand the Greek and Latin Toungs whether 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be any kin to the Latin words Repentance Penance Attrition or Contrition by which the Latin Priests with no less injury to the Gospel than to the words to their own great advantage but inestimab'l loss of souls have translated them that so they might translate the Duty it self from Turning to Grieving And I appeal to your Bibles whether in the whole New Testament you meet any word that declareth Grief necessary to salvation I know St. James prescribeth it to the insolent wanton rich as a specifik for That particular vice but where do you find it enjoyned as universally necessary for All kinds of sinners No the Spirit of God knew that the Grief which issueth from Love needs not be commanded bicause it floweth naturally from that fountain and the other grief which proceeds from Fear is not worth commanding bicause it is not worth accepting as having nothing but Torment It is a great maim to the happiness of mankind but a much greater to the glory of God's goodness in Christ that for That very reason it is enjoined for which it is to be cast out For we are told that Christ hath not redeemed us from Temporal punishment tho he have from Eternal but we must our selvs pay the temporal price either in this life by voluntary grief and penances proportional to our guilt or in the other life by the fire of Purgatory c. Were this true it would make one half of the Gospel And as the story it self is a great disparagement to the sufficiency either of our Lord's Sufferings or his Love if Those could not purchase or This would not grant us a full redemtion as well from the one punishment as the other so is it a greater to his Faithfulness if he would concele from us the knowlege of what he had left necessary for us to do for our selvs How many Souls must there now and in all ages ly frying in Purgatory that had never com'n thither if our Lord had been as kind as himself charactered the damned rich man who did all his possib'l that his brethren might have warning of that place of Torment And how can such poor souls scape the tentation to blaspheme that Neglect that exposed them to such danger without warning yea That Treachery that deluded them with promises of Full and Free pardon without the Least intimation of any grief or penance necessary to be suffered either in the one life or the other Were this true the sum of Christ's benefits must upon due computation rise no higher than this that he Redeemed us from Hell and Betrayed us to Purgatory Blessed be God who hath shewen us a better escape than by Grief and Penance The Love that casteth out Fear for this reason bicause it hath torment will for the same reason cast out such Grief too In Christ Jesus nothing else is Needful bicause nothing else Availeth but Faith working by Love Let That so inflame our hearts as to melt them with a genuine sorrow purging them from all their dross and we need not fear any other Purgatory nor seek any other Grief II. THOSE who make not Repentance only but the whole cours of a Religios life a state of Torment are no less abused by the same spirit of Fear which perpetually tormenteth them with doubts and putteth them upon enquiries whether they be in the state of salvation or no This they cal Self-examination and their Teachers prescribe it as a Spiritual duty frequently to be used but especially before the holy Communion But if Fear will hear reason it may consider That however Self-examination be by all wise men of all Religions highly magnified yet is it not to be exercised by All men in the same manner 1. To those that are Enemies or Strangers to Godliness as it is most necessary so it is most easie They need not much examining whether they be in a good state or no the first glance discovereth the contrary the Question proper to Them is this Whether it be better to continu in That state or com out of it To which question more Seriosness than Time is required 2 Those who have forsaken their sins especially those who have for any considerabl time do'n so may with as great Fruit as Pleasure examin 1. What progress they make By comparing their present stature in Christ with that of the last moneth or year they may increase it 2. They may daily examin their daily actions that they may beg pardon for what they shall find ill do'n and pay thanks for what they shall find well and take Warning from the One and Corage from the Other to do better the next day 3. But to question their whole interest in Christ whether they be Children or Enemies to God to be anxiosly solicitos upon such a question as This I am not so sure that it is a Religios yea or a Safe exercise at all as I am that there are pernicios mistakes in the Rules prescribed for the performance particularly in this that there is too much partiality shewen for Fear against Hope whereas plain Reason would perswade us to judge as favorably for our selvs as our evidences can permit since severity can do very litl if any good but may do much hurt 1. It can do but litl good for it can only repete the lesson wherein we are already perfect Our Fear of the worst is the very Reason which puts us upon examining our selvs when we severely censure our selvs this is no more but that we fear the worst so we end where we began the whole exercise is running a circle of Fear without the least progress in Grace 2. It is not only a Fruitless labor but a Dangeros tentation If we fear that God hateth Us nature will promt us to hate God in
of those unhappy widows and orphans who have nothing left them by their deceased husbands and fathers but their merits to administer But oh the disappointment Our Apost'l after his so great boast of the Galatians love quickly complains Where is the blessedness you spoak of And well may we demand Where is this great beauty that so descends to the very feet Hath age withered it to a deformity equal to its youthful loveliness Our very eyes are as loathsom as the primitive Preachers very feet were beatiful and the deformity descends to our posterity as their only sure inheritance yea som are so impios as to make God a party with themselvs in the entayl pretending that Clergy-mens children are equally hated of God and Man seldom or never attaining either worth in themselvs or prosperity in the world God be blessed we are henceforth secured from that malicios slander This conspicuos and perhaps matchless assembly having for ever rooted that fals toung out of its dwelling Yet thogh the Toung be rooted out the Heart is still the same so void of Love so full of ' spite against this once so honored caling that we must think it a great bargain if we can compound for ordinary charity and depose my Text to this poor plea The Preachers of the Gospel bring no evil tidings therefor they deserv not to be hated And since it is better to Cure an evil than to Complain of it I conceve I cannot do better service to my Text the Gospel and its Preachers than by removing the cause of the hatred we sink under which indeed is no other than that Epidemical mistake the root of all misery the taking things by wrong handl The Gospel hath two handls Threats and Promises its threats are Few and its promises Many its Threats shew us our danger only that we may rejoyce in our escape its Promises immediately raise our joys Threats therefor both in quantity and design sit upon the face of the Gospel as beauty-spots do upon that of a fair Lady here one and there another to this only end that by their vanquished blackness they may set off the lustre of the beauty which is to adorn the very feet but by the unhappy officiosness of melancholy messengers those spots have been enlarged to a visor which so cover the face of Religion that we cannot see its Joys for its Fears and the very grace of God which bringeth salvation appeareth like the inhumane Nero saying Let them Hate me so they Fear me This ugly visor shall I endeavor to pull off as my Text directs me by two Propositions 1. The Gospel doth not design to bring us to God by Fear but by Love For it is a Gospel of Peace glad tidings of good things 2. The mistake of this is the cause that the Gospel and its Preachers are so hated by the world For if Glad tidings make the messenger beautiful Evil tidings must make him loathsom I. THE Gospel doth not draw men to God by Fear but by Love This as it is clearly exprest in my Text so is it almost in every page of the New Testament I shall instance but in one or two places more which expresly offer one handle and reject the other In this same Epistle ch 8 v. 15. our Apost'l declareth as clearly as possib'l You have not receved the spirit of bondage again fear but the spirit of Adoption whereby we cry Abba Father And no less clearly 2 Tim. 1.7 God hath not given us the spirit of Fear but of Power of Love and of a Sound mind In the former place he opposeth the spirit of the Gospel to That of the Law and in the later he vieth with the Philosophers who pretend to exalt the mind to the highest freedom and perfection If this can be yet more clear St John hath made it so for with pomp unmatched by any other pen he ushereth his first Epistl with This proclamation These things we write unto you that your joy may be full and throghout the whole body of the following Epistl exalteth Love as the only way to this fulness of Joy ch 4. v. 18. There is no fear in Love but Love when it is perfected casteth out fear bicaus Fear hath Torment It is impossib'l to find Plainer and therefor needless to seek for More declarations of this truth Nothing can remain but that we reconcile them with such other words of Scripture as seem to contradict them Two such especially there are One spoken by our Lord and another by our same Apostl to which may be reduced all others of the same air These two therefore if we can reconcile we shall both State and Clear the truth 1. Our Apostl himself seemeth to contradict this Phil. 2 12. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling Doth not this offer salvation by that handl which but now he rejected That we may now or at any other time reconcile appearances of contradiction we must carefully consider which of the two Propositions may best be broght to compliance It is plain that what we have heard declared a-against Fear cannot be bent to any other sence we must therefor try whether the fear and trembling which he recommendeth to the Philippians may agree both with his declaration in two other Epistl's that we have not receved the spirit of fear or with his exhortation in the same Epistl ch v. Rejoyce in the Lord evermore and again I say rejoice To find out this it is necessary we look about us and see how he useth the same phrase upon other occasions possibly it may be an Idiom Twice more we find him at the same phrase and in both places his meaning will very well comply with Love and Joy Eph 6.5 Servants obey your Masters with Fear and Trembling What doth not a Servant please both God and his Master better if he Obey him with Love and Chearfulness And what shall we say to the 9 th verse And you Masters do the same things to Them Must Masters also treat their Servants with Fear and Trembling Yes but such as may circulate between the best Masters and the best Servants even such as himself explaineth by good will v. 7. This possibly will be plainer by 2 Cor. 7.15 His inward affection is more abundant towards you while he remembreth the obedience of you all how with Fear and Trembling you receved him Titus came in kindness to visit them and they welcomed him with such endearing caresses as made his already great inward affection more abundant than before Here certainly the Fear and Trembling which so welcomed and heightned Love must be so far from excluding it and Joy that they import an extraordinary mesure of them Yea we need look no farther for a good light whereby to see the meaning of this phrase in That his exhortation to the Philippians than the encoragement wherewith he quickneth them in the words immediately following For it is God which worketh in you
apparently trampl the Epicurean to dirt yet with force how short of the Gospel who 's Joys are fed with Hopes more glorios and Evidences more incontestab'l than could enter into Plutarch's imagination Here then let us take our post Let us not so much contend for the Truth of the Gospel as its Joys Yea let us argue from its Joys for its Truth since infinite goodness will not fail to make That truest which is Best Let us compare the Fruits of the Spirit with That of the Vine the Beauty of Holiness with That of a Whore the Plesures of an Angel with those of a Beast and he cannot scape the evidence that his choice is as foolish as impios True saith Plutarch we must be careful to shun superstitios fear as the most pernicios error in the world and herein he proceedeth so far as to say that it is less impios to deny God to have Any being than to character him such as superstition apprehendeth him Let the comparison pass for odios our Apost'l putteth us above any need of it When he saith Love casteth out Fear he condemneth it sufficiently thogh he say not whether it be more or less guilty than its daughter Atheism Objection What then must we not fear God as our Savior admonisheth Answ Yes as our Savior admonisheth but no otherwise For we must distinguish Fear that hath Torment from fear that hath only Caution Love casteth not out That fear that keepeth waking but that which tormenteth it Therefor casteth it out BICAUSE it hath torment That is the Reason and That is the Mesure Just the same Fear and in the same Mesure as That Reason requireth but no more The Best and Greatest Subject so feareth the Law of his Prince as to beware he run not upon its Punishments yet is he not thereby hindred from living chearfully upon those honors and riches which by the same Law he enjoyeth A good man may be very careful to avoid the Threats yet chearful in festing upon the Promises of the Gospel Yea our Apost'l himself so far cherisheth this kind of Fear as to say I keep my body in subjection lest possibly when I have preached to others I my self should be a cast away II. THE SEMIATHEISTS who mount not the scorners chair so as to oppose All Religion yet keep distance from a Religios life and they are kept at that distance by Fear And under this character com not only the Worst but the Most Not only those for whom the Apost'l declareth the Law to have been made the lawless and disobedient the ungodly and profane c. but the unscandalously wicked yea such moral men of whom we may say as our Lord did of the young man they are not far from the Kingdom of God Such as would pass thro the world with as litl guilt as possib'l but with as litl troubl too and therefor put repentance as an evil day far from them not in love to their Lusts but their Ease They hear an evil report of Repentance which must be their entrance upon a Religios life Those who press it and its conditions speak in a stile opposit to St. John these things we write to you that your grief may be full Those who adventure upon it complain that such a grief is no more in their Power than it is for their Pleasure And those who have long served under it are as far from freedom as at first but live as much tormented with fear that their repentance is insufficient as at first they were with repentance it self For those who are broght to Repentance by Fear are still to cherish That fear as their best security from relaps They must ever and anon but specially when they are to receve the holy communion be anxiosly examining themselvs whether their repentance be sound and themselvs in the state of grace or no and they are directed by Teachers as melancholy as themselvs and marks which rather multiply than remove their fears They are told of a twofold hypocrisy open and secret and the bounds between the Least that saving grace requireth and the Most that a hypocrite may perform are so undiscernab'l that they cannot be sure whether they be in the one state or the other But still the more they Examin the less they Satisfie themselvs they bate and flutter without End or any other fruit but this that they entang'l themselvs more and perhaps at last sink into deep melancholy incurab'l either by Spiritual or Corporal Physician and by so sad a spectacl the by-standers take warning to shun the place of Torment and hate their Ministers as Tormentors So the Christian World is almost all divided between such as are frighted from a Religios life and such as live fearfully under it It is worth more time than I can allow fully to convince either party of their error but it is of so great import that I must however briefly avow that it proceedeth in Both from taking repentance by the wrong handl I. THOSE who are frighted from Religion by the hardship of Repentance It would not be so terribl if we receved it by the spirit of Love bicause it would be neither so Difficult to be obteined nor so Troublesom in the performance 1. Not so difficult to be obteined Observ the Love of God as proclamed in the Gospel and answer that Love of God so as to be able to say with the Apost'l We love God bicause he loved us first and forbear grieving for your sins if you can I say again Love God and forbear to griev for having offended him if you can But be sure you cannot for it is utterly impossib'l to forbear grieving when we have offended whom we love 2. Yet fear not you that love your Ease this grief will not disturb it For as I said of Fear so say I of Grief there is a grief that hath Torment and there is a grief that hath only Tenderness a grief that hath Bitterness and a grief that hath only Sharpness and That such a sharpness as shall not mar your fest but improve it with its poignance This is that grata aciditas which recommendeth bankets it is so sweetned by the sence of God's pardoning goodness that it is none of the meanest part of the joys of the Spirit I pray you take notice and remember it I deny not but grief is necessary I confess it is impossib'l a penitent soul can be without it But this grief as it is Necessary so it is Natural as a gracios foul cannot be without it so can he not Wish to be so it costs him no pain either to obtein or exercise it But the grief that proceedeth from the spirit of Fear is every way contrary I. It is hard to be obteined To fear God's punishment and for That reason to griev for sin and thence to love God for pardoning upon such repentance This is to go quite against the hair both in grace and nature In Grace