satisfie his Justice some other Way As a convict Criminal we say has not satisfyed or is indebted to the Law till he has suffered the Punishment for his Crime which the Law thinks fit to inflict or else finds Favour and has it remitted him As for the Greatness of the Debt which Mankind by his Sin has thus contracted to the divine Justice 't is express'd in this Parable by ten thousand Talents which according to our Way of Reckoning is above a Million of Pounds A vast Sum this but yet far short of what we owe to the Justice of God by Reason of our Iniquities which are not only Millions but Innumerable even as the Stars in Heaven and the Sand upon the Sea-Shore Nor are they only numberless but very great not only many Thousands but many Thousands of Talents Every Sin as 't is a wilfull Violation of the Laws of God has Weight enough if God should be extreme to mark what is done amiss to sink a Soul into eternal Ruin And the Reason is because God's is the highest Authority and his Laws most just and equal and we have an infinite Obligation to obey him both as his Creatures and Dependents who live by his Favour and Bounty and have received numberless and inestimable Blessings from him and likewise as rational Creatures that we may perfect our own Nature by the Practice of those Virtues which will conform us to the Image and Likeness of God himself And therefore Sin being an Opposition to the highest Authority a Violation of the best Laws a Breaking through the strictest Bonds those of Submission to the Author of our Being and of Gratitude to the Giver of all the Blessings we enjoy and likewise of Self-Love and Preservation in rejecting the Means of advancing our own Nature to the Similitude and Enjoyment of God which is our chief Happiness Sin being all this must needs be exceeding sinful and indeed the greatest Evil and in no case eligible And therefore the oftner 'tis repeated and the more of Choice there is in the Commission of it and the more heinous the Instances of it are and the greater Obligations Men are under by Reason of God's Bounty and Goodness to them whether as to natural or spiritual Endowments to serve and obey him the higher proportionably rises the Guilt of Sin And he that often and wilfully commits great Impieties notwithstanding infinite Obligations to the contrary which was and is the Case of every Sinner is indebted to God's Justice not only Ten Thousand Talents but Ten Thousand Millions of Talents i. e. his Debt is infinite and unless some Miracle of Mercy intervene the divine Justice cannot be satisfyed but by his undergoing an infinite Punishment And all the World must acknowledge it just that Sin being the greatest possible Evil should be repay'd with the greatest Possible that is eternal Punishment So vast a Debt then lying upon all Mankind by reason of their Sins it is most true in the Second Place That 't was utterly impossible for them of themselves ever to clear this Debt and make Satisfaction to the divine Justice and the sad Consequence should it have still remain'd upon Account would have been no less than eternal Misery Which is represented very lively in the Parable by the King's Debtor having nothing to pay and the King thereupon commanding that he should be sold and his Wife and Children and all that he had and Payment made According to the Custom of the Jews in so using Debtors that were not able to pay 2 Kin. 4.1 'T is utterly impossible for Mankind of themselves ever to have paid this vast Debt because every individual meer Man is deeply engaged and always will be so in the same Account so deeply that he can never clear himself much less make Satisfaction for others Nor is there any thing valuable enough in all the Treasures of Nature to buy off this Sentence just though sad The Soul that sinneth it shall die Wherewith shall I come before the Lord Mic. 6.6 says the Prophet Micah when he had a Controversy with the People for their Sins and wherewith shall I bow my self before the high God Shall I come before him with Burnt Offerings with Calves of a Year old will the Lord be pleased with Thousands of Rams or Ten Thousands of Rivers of Oil Shall I give my First-born for my Transgression the Fruit of my Body for the Sin of my Soul As if he had said what 's all this to him that is the Creator of every thing the Lord and great Proprietor of all already and whose Glory and Happiness is infinitely above even our most exalted Thoughts and Conceptions He is an Ideot that does not confess that all the Riches of the Universe are utterly insufficient as the Psalmist expresses it to redeem the forfeited Souls of Mankind so that that must be let alone for ever All therefore that is in Man to give being far from sufficient to commute for the Punishment his Sins has deserv'd God's Justice must be satisfyed by his undergoing that Punishment that is eternal Death for ever dying yet never dead extremely miserable and for ever so A Punishment so inexpressibly great that Annihilation is much to be preferr'd before it for who can dwell with everlasting Burnings Who can bear an eternal Banishment from the supreme Good and Confinement to the dire Abodes of the Devil and his Angels those merciless Executioners of the divine Justice who will exact the Pains we are to suffer with the utmost Cruelty Who can bear the Gnawings of that never dying Worm Remorse of Conscience for forfeiting such infinite Happiness and plunging our selves headlong in such a bottomless Misery and that for the Sake of what was always empty and unsatisfying even when we did enjoy it And who can bear the Horrors of Despair of ever seeing an End of such Torments as these which yet might have been intirely avoided if we would This is indeed an unconceivably miserable Condition and all Men that ever lived must have been involv'd in it had not the Wisdom and the Goodness of God found out a Means both to satisfie his Justice and at the same Time to be merciful to his miserable Creatures To forgive the Debt to those that had nothing to pay and yet to have full Satisfaction made him for it 'T is what could never have enter'd into the Heart of Man to conceive 't is the great Mystery of divine Love which even the Angels desire to look into and 't is that which is and shall be the Subject of eternal Hallelujah's in Heaven Thirdly therefore let us consider the wondrous Compassion of our good God in pitying our sadly deplorable Condition and forgiving us all that Debt which we could never have paid though we had suffer'd the Pains of Hell for those shall never have an End and this is express'd in the Parable by the King 's being mov'd with Compassion at the miserable
Wrongs how great soever to be submitted to and put up in Silence by Christians by Vertue of the Command of forgiving Injuries 't would be to betray the Sheep to the Wolves to expose the Disciples of Christ to the Malice of all the wicked World which is not consistent with the Wisdom and Goodness of the great Shepherd of the Sheep Christ Jesus And St. Paul says expresly He that provideth not for his own House i. e. for the comfortable Subsistence of his Family has deny'd the Faith and is worse than an Infidel i. e. Acts contrary to the Obligations both of Nature and Religion But he will soon ruin instead of supporting his Family who suffers ill Men without Interruption to make what Havock they please of his Person Reputation or Estate But now as for smaller Injuries in any of these Respects such as make no great Alteration in our Circumstances and may be born without any great Inconvenience these are to be pass'd by and the Injury forgiven according to the Measures before described And 't is observable that the Instances our Saviour makes use of in this Matter are of the lesser Sort of Injuries such as a Blow on the Cheek the taking away of a Garment and the like and 't was for being rigorous about a few Pence that the King in the Parable was so wroth with his Servant And rather than a Christian should embroil himself in Law-Suits and run the Hazard of losing the Ornament of a meek and quiet Spirit for such small Matters he should suffer a Repetition of such Injuries And indeed as Religion is in all Respects the greatest Prudence so particularly in forbidding litigious Quarrels unless a Man's whole Interest or at least a great Part of it be at Stake for Law is now become a boundless Ocean and generally very rough and Stormy and swells Men's Passions to an exorbitant Height and shipwrecks their Charity as well as their Estates And as to those greater Injuries our Saviour mentions Mat. 5.44 of Men's being our Enemies profess'd and hating and cursing and despitefully using and persecuting us Neither he nor his Apostles there or any where else forbid Christians endeavouring in a legal Manner to secure and defend themselves and recover their own but only not to return Evil for Evil and to be so far from Purposes of Revenge or retaliating such Injuries as rather to love and bless and pray for and do good to upon Occasion those that deal so maliciously by them and to manage the Suit or Contention with them with Charity having no Rancour or Malice in their Hearts against the Person of their Adversary That is in short our holy Religion does oblige us in lesser Injuries intirely both to pass by the Offence and forgive the Offender according to the Measures before described but in greater Injuries of any Sort where Ruin or insupportable Damage will follow though it permits nay obliges to endeavour a legal Reparation and so not to forgive the Offence yet Christians must as intirely and according to the same Measures forgive the Offender as in the smallest Instances of Wrong And by this Means they will become the Children of their heavenly Father who though in infinite Mercy he forgave the World of Sinners and moreover bestowed on them richly all things to enjoy yet in the Person of his blessed Son their Representative he severely express'd his Displeasure against their Sins that they might be deter'd from persisting in them afresh to the Ruin of their immortal Souls Besides those Injuries that terminate upon a Man's self and his own Concerns there are others done to our Neighbour and the Publick which must not be pass'd by without animadverting upon them according to their Deserts As for Instance if a bloody Villain murders a Man's Friend or Neighbour or Relation and he knows who is the Murderer it may be he only in this Case whatever Inclination he may have to conceal it whether out of natural Compassion or Unwillingness to be the Occasion of the Man's Execution since nothing can recall the murder'd Person to Life and the Murderer may live to repent or the like Because he is a Member of Society and obliged as much as in him lies to promote its Safety and Happiness which by such Villains is much disturb'd and lessen'd and would be ruin'd should such Men pass unpunish'd 't is his Duty to endeavour by all lawful Means to bring so heinous an Offender to condign Punishment that so corrupt a Member being cut off from the Community the Health of the whole may be better secur'd And so in all Cases of the like Nature Always remembring that if any thing of private Revenge be intermix'd it pollutes the Action and makes the Man doubly guilty of Malice and Hypocrisy What has been hitherto said concerning the Limits of forgiving Injuries concerns Men only as private Persons As for Magistrates and Governours they being constituted by God to be a Terror to evil doers Rom. 13.3 4. to be Revengers to execute Wrath upon them and to praise and encourage those only that do well the Measure of their Forgiveness of publick Injuries is the publick Good so far as is consistent with their Obligations as Magistrates as is conducive to the common Weal according to the Judgment of Prudence and unprejudic'd Reason they may and do well to incline to Lenity and Compassion but a foolish and a mercenary Pity is a betraying their Trust a bearing the Sword in vain and such Magistrates instead of being Fathers of their Country are indeed the Perfidious Destroyers of it And thus much for the Nature of christian Forgiveness of Injuries in Imitation of the divine Pattern God has set us with its general Limits As for the great Obligation we have to copy after this admirable Pattern of our merciful heavenly Father it is twofold 1 With Respect to God 2 to our Selves First With Respect to God our Obligation to forgive one another as he has forgiven us is very great because 't is what he has declared will be highly pleasing to him as a Resemblance of that Perfection of his Nature which he seems most of all to take Delight in For so Exod. 33.19 when Moses desired to see his Glory he told him he would make all his Goodness pass before him and Chap. 34.6 The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed The Lord the Lord God merciful and gracious long-suffering abundant in Goodness and Truth keeping Mercy for Thousands forgiving Iniquity Transgression and Sin And accordingly St. John gives the Definition of him God is Love Now certainly those that have receiv'd such infinite Favours from this good God and have been forgiven so vast a Debt as we sinners have have the greatest Reason in the World to endeavour to the utmost of their Power to please this their greatest Benefactor in every thing And nothing being more pleasing to him than to see the Image and Reflection of his
Condition of his insolvent Servant and loosing him and forgiving him the Debt The King in the Parable was very merciful who upon the humble Entreaty of his poor Servant and his Promise if he would have Patience with him at length to pay him all was moved to Compassion and forgave him But God is infinitely more merciful in compassionating our Condition and forgiving our great Debt as will appear from the following Considerations For First our Debt is infinitely greater Ten Thousand Talents in Comparison of the numberless Number of the heinous Sins of Mankind are but as the Sand of an Hour-Glass compar'd with that of the Sea-Shore and one wilful Violation of our Obedience to God is a far weightier Debt to the divine Justice than Millions of Talents would be from one Mortal to another And the Reason is plain because the Distance between God and Man is infinite and for a Beggar to spurn at a Prince is certainly a Crime of much higher Aggravation than to do the like to one of his own ragged Gang. All that is culpable as was said is met together in a wilful Sin and therefore infinite and amazingly great must be the Guilt of all Man-kind who have heap'd up Transgressions without Number and have no Way left of paying this great Debt but by suffering without End the Pains of Hell And such a dreadful Punishment as this being annex'd to Sin by him who is infinitely good and just is Argument sufficient that there is no Debt comparable to that which a guilty Sinner owes to the Justice of God And therefore when God gives Mercy so great an Exaltation as to forgive so vast a Debt as this 't is Compassion impossible to be parallel'd Secondly God's Compassion in forgiving us is infinitely greater than that good King 's in the Parable because we less deserve God's Favour than that poor Servant did his Lord's He acknowledg'd his Debt and was griev'd for his not being able to discharge it and humbly submitted himself to his offended Lord but 't is quite otherwise with us we add Obstinacy and Pride to our long Score are still in actual Rebellion against God and daily more and more provoke him by new Impieties We make what Haste we can as the Prophet expresses it to fill up the Measure of our Fathers Iniquities and our own rather than by Repentance and better Life to lessen the great Account that is against us And this is to enflame God's Anger rather than to move his Compassion and does indeed deserve quick Vengeance rather than Forgiveness And yet so boundless an Ocean is the divine Goodness even in this rebellious State God pities his poor unhappy Creatures and is full of Compassion long-suffering and of great Kindness and repenteth him of the Evil and when we deserve nothing but the severest Punishment thinketh upon Mercy and forgiveness and proposes very easie Conditions of Reconciliation and Readmittance to his Favour and even courts us to accept them Turn ye turn ye from your evil Ways for why will ye dye O House of Israel Now for the great and infinitely happy God to treat such hardned Rebels at so tender and compassionate a rate to be so ready to forgive those who not at all deserve it but rather the utmost Expresses of his Vengeance is doubtless a Mercy infinite and beyond Comparison Thirdly The poor Debtor in the Parable humbly besought his Lord's Pity and Forbearance he fell down on his Face and worshipped him and by that his humble Behaviour and earnest Intreaty inclin'd his Lord to commiserate his sad Condition But instead of this we are not so little sensible of or afflicted with any thing as that great Debt we owe to the divine Justice So far from passionately begging for our Pardon that we spend but very few Thoughts about it and most of us are very little and some not at all apprehensive of the Need we have of being again receiv'd into God's Favour and the sad Consequence if we are not And are far more sollicitous about promoting some petty Interest in this World than about the Pardon of our Sins which is the One Thing necessary in Order to our Escape from Hell And this is so great a slighting and undervaluing God's Forgiveness expresses so much Indifferency whether he does it or no that one would think it should be enough to provoke God to resolve the Destruction and swear in his Wrath that they shall never enter into his Rest And yet so wondrously compassionate is our good God unsought to undesired he of his own meer Tenderness intirely forgave the past Offences of his thoughtless Creatures and for the Future still promis'd Forgiveness to such as should offend anew upon this only easie Condition that they should no more wilfully break his holy Laws and immediately repent when through Surprize or Inadvertency or the Force of Temptation they should do amiss And to be thus merciful notwithstanding so much Provocation to the contrary is Compassion that has no Parallel Fourthly God's Goodness in pitying and forgiving Sinners is infinitely greater than that of the King in the Parable in forgiving his poor Debtor because the Misery Mankind is delivered from by this Mercy of God is infinitely greater than that which the poor Wretch in the Gospel escap'd by the Compassion of his Lord. His Punishment had his Lord dealt rigorously with him would have been that he should be sold and his Wife and Children and all that he had that so in some Measure at least Payment might be made and the utmost that this could amount to was Poverty and Slavery both of himself and all his Family all the Days of his Life Which though indeed a very sad Condition and such as no Submission could be too great no Entreaties too earnest to avoid yet certainly comes infinitely short of these eternal Miseries in the Regions of Darkness and in the Society of the Devil and his Angels which would have been the Portion of the whole Race of Mankind had not God's merciful Forgiveness prevented it and given us better Hopes Now the greater the Necessity the greater the Charity that relieves it the greater and more general the Danger the more valuable the Rescue the more extreme the Misery and the greater the Number of those that were condemn'd to suffer it the greater the Compassion that relents and delivers from it It being therefore absolutely necessary that God should pardon Sinners that they might escape the Punishment due to Sin for they had nothing to pay and the Danger of those Punishments being imminent the Measure of Men's Iniquities rising to so great a Height and the Misery that would have involv'd all Man-kind had God's Vengeance had its free Course and Sin its due Reward being no less than that of Hell and that for ever too That Compassion of God that inclin'd him to forgive so many wretched Debtors as the whole Race of Man-kind and prevented such otherwise
unavoidable endless and unconceivable Misery was certainly infinite Compassion wonderfully great and beyond Comparison Fifthly The Consequence of God's forgiving Sinners is infinitely happier than that of the Forgiveness of the poor Debtor in the Parable He after his Lord 's loosing and forgiving him was out of Fear indeed of that sad Misfortune which otherwise must have faln upon him he enjoy'd his Liberty and that of his Wife and Children and continu'd still in Possession of what he had 'till he forfeited all again by his Cruelty to his Fellow-Servant which was no mean Comfort but then this was all We read of no new Favours conferr'd upon him or that he was entrusted with any more of his Lord's Revenue or the like But now the compassionate God has to Forgiveness of Sinners added innumerable and inestimable Faziours dignifi'd them with the Title of his Sons communicated to them fresh Assistances of his blessed Spirit to help and guide them in the Way to Happiness and promised them Crowns of eternal Glory and everlasting Inheritances in Heaven and an intimate Vision and Enjoyment of himself who is the Center of Felicity provided they continue sincerely obedient to him for the Time to come There is no Happiness which a rational Creature is capable of but God in his infinite Mercy freely and bountifully confers upon Man-kind now that his Compassions have reconciled them to him 1 Tim. 6.17 and in the Words of St. Paul He gives us richly all things to enjoy And for God not only to forgive obstinate Rebels against his divine Government to pass by their vile Ingratitude to him their greatest Benefactor and base Abuse of his Blessings to his Dishonour but to confer upon 'em Favours of the greatest Value to receive 'em into his own Bosom and make 'em Coheirs with his eternal Son and advance 'em to his heavenly Kingdom This is such an admirable Expression of the divine Goodness and Love of Mankind as could never proceed from any other but him who is Goodness it self In the last Place that which exalts the Compassion of God to the highest Degree and makes it indeed miraculous is the amazing Course he took thus to shew Mercy in the Pardon of Sinners and yet satisfie his Justice too The King in the Parable was at Liberty to dispose of his own as he pleased and he might have forgiven without further Regard to any thing of Justice in that Case a greater Debt if it had been owing to him But in the Case of God's forgiving Sinners it was otherwise God had before solemnly declar'd to our first Parents and very often afterwards that the Soul that sinned it should die and his Justice was concern'd to see that Sentence executed and in the Nature of the thing likewise 't was perfectly just that the Violaters of God's holy and good Commands ungrateful Rebels against their Creator and greatest Benefactor should receive a due Recompence for their Wickedness Now Justice is as essential to God as Mercy and though his infinite Goodness mov'd him to have Compassion upon Sinners yet his Justice pleaded for their Punishment Mercy would remit the Debt but Justice required Satisfaction A Difficulty this which mortal Wit could never solve But God who is infinitely wise as well as good and just that the Work of his Hands might not perish nor his Image and Likeness be for ever miserable and that his Justice likewise might be fully satisfyed contriv'd a wondrous Way for the Redemption of Sinners by freely forgiving 'em their vast Debt and yet making full Satisfaction to his Justice for the Sins of the whole World And that was by the Incarnation of his blessed Son and substituting him in our stead to suffer as the Representative of Mankind the Punishment due to their Iniquities and by his spotless Blood to make an universal Attonement and through the Merit of that his precious Sacrifice for what 's above the Merit of the Blood of the Son of God To purchase for them Pardon and Forgiveness the Love and Favour of God in this World and the eternal Enjoyment of him in the next And by this means as the Apostle expresses it Rom. 3.26 to declare his Righteousnes that he might be just and the Justifyer likewise of him that beleiveth in Jesus Thus Mercy and Truth are miraculously met together and Righteousness and Peace have kiss'd each other And for ever blessed be that infinitely wise and just Compassion which in so wondrous a Manner contriv'd the Forgiveness of our vast Debt and the Satisfaction of the divine Justice too What Love can be greater than this that God should send his eternal Son into the World to be the Propitiation for Sinners And that while we were Enemies Christ should dye for us and bear our Sins in his own Body on the Tree that through his Stripes we might be healed Wonderful art thou O Lord in thy Doings towards the Children of Men and thy Mercy is over all thy Works And O that our Hearts might be warm'd with the same divine Flame and we might love much to whom so much hath been forgiven And thus much for the first thing to be considered in this Parable namely the glorious Example of Forgiveness that God has set us in his dealing thus mercifully with us miserable Sinners who lay under a vast Debt to the divine Justice and had nothing to pay and how infinitely this Compassion of God to Sinners exceeds the greatest and most generous Expression of Forgiveness that can be shewn by one Man to another 'T is greater than the King 's forgiving Ten Thousand Talents to his poor Servant in the Parable because he entreated him and had nothing to pay I proceed now to the second General to be consider'd in this Parable which is God's great Displeasure against those that will not imitate this his compassionate Example in forgiving such as have been injurious to them but like that wicked Servant to whom the King had been so gracious rigidly requiring full Satisfaction for little Trifles and Punctilios As he no sooner out of the Presence of his compassionate Lord but took his Fellow-Servant by the Throat who ow'd him an Hundred Pence and though intreated to have Patience as earnestly as he had but just before intreated his offended Lord yet without the least Pity threw him into Prison till he should pay the Debt The Consequence of such a revengeful Temper will be like that of this cruel Servant who was not only severely rebuked for his Wickedness but had the Pardon his Lord gave him recalled and was deliver'd over to the Tormentors till he should pay the uttermost Farthing So likewise shall my heavenly Father do unto you says our Lord if ye from your Hearts forgive not every one his Brother their Trespasses And under this General there are likewise as was said Three Particulars to be considered First What it is to forgive one another as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven us
better and if a Man be as poor and despicable in the Eye of the World as Lazarus yet if he is of a contented resign'd Soul and make it his Endeavour to be rich towards God he at length shall be fill'd with Joy unspeakable and full of Glory while many rich that have their Portion in this Life shall be sent empty away And thus much for the first thing this Parable informs us of namely that from a Man's prosperous or adverse Condition in this World there is no Judgment to be made concerning his final Condition in the next The second thing it informs us of is that whatever Change is made in the Condition of the Soul after its Departure from this World its State shall be from thenceforth for ever unalterable For so in the Parable when the Rich Man being in Torments lifted up his Eyes and saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his Bosom and cry'd and said Father Abraham have Mercy on me and send Lazarus that he may dip the Tip of his Finger in Water and cool my Tongue for I am tormented in this Flame Abraham after he had told him that he had in his Life-Time receiv'd his good things and Lazarus his evil things and that then there was a great and unexpected Change and Lazarus was comforted and he tormented he adds moreover that between him and them there was a great Gulf fix'd so that those which would pass from thence to him could not neither could any pass from him to them What is meant by this Gulf fixed between Heaven and Hell which hinders any Comfort or Relief coming from thence to that miserable Place or any Trouble or Annoyance from that Place to Heaven so that the Condition both of the Wicked and the Righteous remains unchangeably happy or miserable respectively Has been much controverted especially amongst the School-men But it tending to very little Edification to relate their Opinions most of which are very frivolous I shall only say what is the most receiv'd Opinion in our Church By the Gulf fixed we suppose is only meant God's irreversible Decree that those whose Wickednesses made them incapable of the Vision and Enjoyment of God and sunk them down to Hell shall for ever remain there without any Hopes of Comfort or Relief and that the Righteous likewise shall be receiv'd into Life and Happiness everlasting and such as all the Powers of Hell shall never be able to lessen or disturb And this methinks to any sensible Man should appear to be an Opinion the most reasonable and most agreeable to the Holy Writings Now here 't will be worth our while since the rich Man's Punishment is express'd by his being tormented in Flame and doom'd to be for ever so to satisfie two Queries usually put in this Case as first Why the Torments of Hell are express'd by Flames and Burning And secondly How it can be consistent with the Divine Justice to punish the transient Acts of Sin with such an endless Misery To the first I return this Answer as to me the most satisfactory Though I believe that at the general Conflagration when the Heavens shall be shrunk up as a scorch'd Parchment and the Elements melt with fervent Heat and the World and all that 's in it be burn'd up though I believe that God will then take Vengeance of his Enemies in real Flames of Fire which shall for ever encircle and prey upon their Bodies yet I think that will be the least Part of their Torment and that the Extremity of it will consist in the inward Trouble of their Minds arising from an impatient Appetite and continual Thirst after that Felicity which they know through their own Default they shall never come to enjoy And that such vehement Desires and the Passions consequent upon the disappointment of them should be call'd Flames and Burning is no more than what is usual in our common Manner of speaking and the Expression of fervent and ardent Desires is often met with in the holy writings too particularly where David says My Soul breaketh out with the very fervent desire it hath always to thy Commandments And Rage and Fury and Impatience and the like which attend unsatisfied Desires are likewise frequently attended with the Epithet of Fire as every one must needs have observ'd Now Man having an innate uncontrolable Thirst after Happiness and which is always equally intense and that to the highest Degree when as the Punishment of his Rebellion against God his foolish and wicked Choices here his Pursuit after lower Good and Neglect of the supreme he shall be for ever banish'd to an infinite Distance not only from the Fountain of Happiness but from every Stream and Participation of it which here below cool'd his Heat a litle and for the present gratified that his Desire and yet the Appetite and Thirst after it continuing as great as ever and the Wretch withal sensible of the utter Impossibility of attaining it and that not so much as one Drop from that Fountain of Bliss shall ever be given to allay his Thirst and cool his parch'd and inflam'd Tongue His Desire must for ever be to the highest Degree craving and importunate in vain and being continually thus disappointed his Impatience will still grow hotter and hotter and his Remorse for bringing this upon himself turning to eternal Rage and Fury and boyling up like Rivers of enflam'd Brimstone the Fire will be everlasting And what a Calenture think we will the whole Man be in when without the fiercest material Flames shall prey upon the Body and hotter Fires within torment the Soul And this Notion of the Flames of Hell seems to me not obscurely hinted in the Rich Man's lifting up his Eyes in his Torment and when he saw the happy State of Lazarus in Abraham's Bosom begging him to impart though but one Drop of that Bliss he enjoy'd to cool his parched Tongue His Desire of that Happiness was in the greatest Degree of Ardency and when he saw Lazarus in Abraham's Bosom then he cry'd out Father Abraham have Mercy on me for I am tormented in this Flame Thus much for the first Query To the second I return this in Brief That since Sin is the greatest Possible Evil it being a Violation of the strongest Tyes and Obligations an Opposition and Contrariety to the Supreme Good and in no Case eligible as every considering Man must needs confess it can't be too rigorously dealt with even by the Infliction of the greatest possible Punishment for there is the same Proportion between the greatest Evil and the greatest Punishment as between a lesser Evil and a lesser Punishment And therefore unless we 'll say there can never be any Proportion between a Fault and its Punishment I think we must own there is Proportion here Now the Use we may make of this second Part of the Parable is this That since the Consequence of a Life of Wickedness is so dreadful and remediless a
deceiving his own Soul From him shall be taken away even that which he hath he shall be deprived of it to inrich his industrious Brother and add to his Abundance What Grace he had before shall be withdrawn and he naked and defenseless left to the Fury of his Spiritual Enemies the Dews of Heaven shall no longer drop upon his barren Soul but parch'd and sapless it shall be reserv'd to eternal Burnings Consider this all ye that forget God and are unfruitful under all his Care and fatherly Nurture and Admonition lest at length he pluck you away and there be none to deliver you And remember the Words of Solomon Prov. 29.1 He that being often reprov'd still hardeneth his Neck shall suddainly be destroyed and that without Remedy And thus have I done with the first of our Saviours Parables in which is set before us a Blessing and a Curse a Blessing if when the good Seed is sown and we have heard the Word we receive it into honest and good Hearts and according to our several Abilities bring forth Fruit to Perfection that is obey and Practise it with Constancy and Perseverance And a Curse if we remain still barren and unfruitful not Doers of the Word but Hearers only deceiving our selves into eternal Perdition It becomes us all therefore to take heed how we hear and not be like the High-way-side suffering our Thoughts to wander from the Instructions we have heard and leaving the good Seed unregarded to the Mercy of the great Enemy of Souls and exposing our Minds as a common Tract to vain and wicked Fancies and Imaginations and diabolical Suggestions nor like the stony Ground impenetrable to any deep and lasting Impressions of the Word of Life nor like that over-run with Thorns and Briars and noxious Weeds such as are the Cares and deceitful Riches and Pleasures of this Life which will choak the Word and render it unfruitful But that we treasure up this Divine Word in our Memories ponder and consider it and set our Love and Affections upon it So shall it grow and prosper and bring forth Fruit in some Thirty in some Sixty in some an Hundred-Fold to the Honour and Glory of God and the eternal Salvation of our immortal Souls Which God of his infinite Mercy grant for Jesus Christ his Sake Now 2 Cor. 9.10 He that ministreth Seed to the Sower both give us this Heavenly Bread for our Food and multiply the Seed that is sown and encrease the Fruits of our Righteousness that being inrich'd in every good thing to all Bountifulness there may be given through us Thanksgiving unto God Amen Amen The PRAYER I. MOST Holy Jesus thou blessed Author of the best Religion who hast in great Plenty sown among us the Seed of a happy Immortality even thy holy Word and watered it with the Dew of thy heavenly Grace and art wanting in nothing on thy Part to cause it to flourish and bring forth abundantly the Fruits of Righteousness I thy unworthy Servant unfeignedly bless this thy infinite Goodness and tender Care for the Children of Men but must with Shame confess that hitherto thy Care has been in too great Measure defeated by my Inconsiderateness and Obstinacy my Soul still remains barren as the High-way-side impenetrable to the Sermons of the Gospel or at best flitting and unconstant in religious Purposes which have been short-liv'd as the Grass that grows upon the Top of the Rocks or else choak'd with the Briars of worldly Cares and Distractions with covetous and sensual Desires Thus have I courted Death in the Error of my Life But now being awaken'd by thy Mercy and become sensible of the Danger I am in and the sad Consequence if my Barrenness continues I humbly beg and earnestly at the Throne of Grace that Thou from whom is all our Sufficiency wouldst aid me with thy blessed Spirit and help my Infirmities and strengthen me mightily in the inner Man that thy Word may ever hereafter take so deep a Rooting in my Soul as to produce the genuine Fruits of Christianity II. I am sadly sensible O Lord that the Heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked who can know it Do thou therefore who art the Searcher of our Spirits purge my Soul of all lurking Hypocrisy and Pride and Self-conceit and every thing that will hinder the Growth and Increase of this heavenly Seed and make me apt to receive and cherish it by creating in me an honest and good Heart and renewing a sincere and right Spirit within me Grant that I may so seriously attend to and consider the great Truths thy Goodness hath revealed to us in the Gospel as intirely to assent to them and heartily endeavour to conform my Practice to my Belief and may I always heedfully preserve those divine Instructions and moving Arguments to a persevering Piety which I have learned from thy Word lest the infernal Bird of Prey deprive me of the good Seed and in its room plant devillish Affections And O that Patience and Hope and an humble Dependance upon thee for Direction and Defence may be my Support in this my Pilgrimage That so chearfully running the Race that is set before me and thankfully acknowledging the early Influences of thy blessed Spirit in my tender Years and waiting for the later Distillations of thy Grace which will bring my Fruit to Perfection and always endeavouring o proportion my Increase to the Means and Opportunities of it thy Goodness hath vouchsafed me I may at last escape the Intolerable Punishment of Unfruitfulness and having my Fruit unto Holiness the End may be everlasting Life through thy Merits and Mercies O blessed Saviour Jesus Amen PARABLE II. Of the Tares Matth. xiii 24 25 26 27 28 29 30. Another Parable put Jesus forth unto them saying The Kingdom of Heaven is likned unto a Man that sowed good Seed in his Field But while Men slept his Enemy came and sowed Tares among the Wheat and went his way But when the Blade was sprung up and brought forth Fruit then appeared the Tares also So the Servants of the Housholder came and said unto him Sir didst not thou sow good Seed in thy Field From whence then hath it Tares He said unto them an Enemy hath done this The Servants said unto him wilt thou then that we go and gather them up But he said nay lest while ye gather up the Tares ye root up also the Wheat with them Let both grow together until the Harvest and in the time of Harvest I will say to the Reapers gather ye together first the Tares and bind them in Bundles to burn them But gather the Wheat into my Barn THE Interpretation of this Parable is thus set down Vers 37. of this Chapter He that soweth the good Seed is the Son of Man the Field is the World the good Seeds are the Children of the Kingdom but the Tares are the Children of the wicked one the Enemy that sowed them
of the Wealthy over the Poor would then consist chiefly in this That they are by God's Providence enabled to be the Supporters of the weak it being according to the Words of the Lord Jesus Acts 20.35 more blessed to give than to receive Especially if we in the Next Place consider the Measure of this Charity And in general it must be equal to the Necessities of the Poor or at least agreeable to every Man's Ability A great Necessity must have a great Supply as suppose a whole Family be in want the Relief ought to be greater than to a single Person If a Forreigner is distress'd and has not wherewithal to carry him to his own Country he should be more plentifully reliev'd than a Traveller that is in his Native Country and has comparatively but a little Way to go He that is a Prisoner or Captive for a great Debt or Ransom should receive more liberally of our Charity than one that may be releas'd for less the Necessities of a poor Man that is sick being doubly great the Relief that is given him should bear Proportion and be more liberal than ordinary And the more dangerous and lasting and consequently chargeable the Sickness is the Charity should rise the higher still and greater Care be had of him and Visits oftner made to him He that is utterly helpless and uncapable of working ought to receive more largely of our Charity than one that is in some Measure able to help and provide for himself In these and all other Cases of this Nature he that has the greatest need must have the greatest Supply and he that has the greatest Ability his Charity must be answerable and he must give most But to prevent all unnecessary Scruples in this Matter we should remember that Charity does not consist in an Indivisible Point less than which shall not be accepted for a Mite given with a free Heart and good Intention by a poor Widow that could afford no more was not only accepted but the Charity highly commended by our Lord himself and no doubt but was crown'd with a great Reward The general Rule in this Case is that of the Apostle 1 Pet. 4.11 As every Man has receiv'd the Gift even so minister the same one to another as good Stewards of the manifold Grace of God That is every Man's Charity must be proportionable to his Ability he that has much must give plenteously and he that has little must chearfully give of that little and no Man that has any Share in this World 's Good must wholly shut up his Bowels of Compassion from his Brother that hath need Remembring That he that soweth sparingly 2 Cor. 9.6 shall reap sparingly and he that soweth plenteously shall reap also plenteously So that according to the Order of our good Creator we see Riches are like our Blood to circulate and ought to be convey'd in due Proportions to every Part of the great Body of Mankind The greater Channels are to supply the lesser and the fuller they are the more they must communicate And none must presume upon Pain of the worst of ill Consequences to stop this Course or divert it to unprofitable Uses When our own Needs and those of our Relatives are modestly and reasonably satisfied and provided for all the rest God gives us to bestow upon the poor and needy 't is their Inheritance and we shall be unjust in our Stewardship if we with-hold it from them And in the Words of the excellent Bishop Taylor Certainly there is not any greater Baseness than to suffer a Man to perish or be in extreme want of that which God gave me for him and beyond my own Needs And it must ever be remembred That as Men's Estates increase their Charity must in due Proportion increase likewise it must not lie an useless Lump in a Chest or be improv'd only to increase the Hoard or minister to Luxury and Excess or the Extravagancies of a prodigal Heir but this Blessing of God must be distributed according to the Will of God to sweeten and alleviate the Miseries of Man And now would Men but act according to this their Duty what abundant Supply would there be for the Necessities of every one That of Isaiah 49.9 10. would then be literally fulfill'd Say to the Prisoners Go forth to them that are in Darkness shew your selves they shall feed in the Ways their Pastures shall be in all high Places They shall not hunger nor thirst neither shall the Heat nor Sun smite them for he that hath Mercy on them shall lead them even by the Springs of Waters shall he guide them How many bitter Complaints how many Sighs and Tears how much Misery and how much Sin would by such Charity be prevented How many more might most Men relieve than they do How very many might a Man of a large Estate take care of and what vast Numbers of poor might have a very comfortable Subsistence if all such Men would conscientiously perform their Duty in this Matter And with what Ease might this be done too That which is every Day squander'd away to no Purpose or consum'd in Vice and Vanity could it be computed would amount to a prodigious Sum and were but so much bestow'd in Charity by every rich Man as heedlesly and unaccountably slips from him how many would enjoy a comfortable Maintenance who now want Necessaries and are ready to be starv'd and all the while the rich Man be not discernably the poorer for it And if so little when rightly dispos'd of would go so far in this blessed Work what happy Effects should we soon see if Men of large Possessions would be perswaded to obey their great Benefactor and give largely of their Abundance And in order to this they would do well to remember that Riches are not properly and intirely Men's own but Talents committed to them by God to improve and lay out to his Glory That 't is he that is the great Lord and Proprietor of all and Men how opulent soever no other than his Stewards inrich'd on purpose that they may supply those that have need and take care that none in this great Family of the World perish for want of what is needful for their Support And that of the Discharge of this their Steward-ship they must render an Account at the Day of Judgment the general Audit of all Mankind and then the faithful and good Stewards that have fulfill'd their Lord's Command and gave the poor of this great Family their Portion of Meat in due Season shall be receiv'd into their Master's Joy But the unfaithful and wicked Stewards that were cruel and hard-hearted to their fellow-Servants and only feasted and pamper'd themselves grew excessive and luxurious with their Lord's Allowance and did eat and drink with the Drunken their Lord will come in a Day when they look not for him Luk. 12.42 and cut them asunder and appoint them their Portion with Unbelievers
another and shews what wretched Shifts Ill Men are put to to palliate their great Neglect of their Duty to their Master as appears by his Lord 's answering and saying Thou wicked and slothful Servant thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not thou oughtest therefore to have put my Money to the Exchangers that at my coming I might have receiv'd my own with Usury By which is represented the Necessity of Mens improving their Talent for that very Reason were it true which they are apt to plead in Excuse for their slothful Negligence For to him that looks upon God as so austere a Being there is more than ordinary Obligation to improve what he has committed to his Trust for that Purpose And because a Man esteems God as an hard and severe Master therefore to be idle and negligent in his Service is a very preposterous Course and looks as if he had a mind to provoke his Anger against him But indeed This is the Truth God is so very far from being an unreasonably severe Master that He is a most indulgent Parent and commands nothing but what is very practicable and highly conducive to the Good and Happiness of his Creatures which should create a Filial Love and Reverence in us towards him rather than a slavish Dread But however he is not so unreasonably fond neither as to pass by the Provocations of obstinate irreclaimable Rebels and clear those that are Impenitent as well as Guilty that have heinously offended him and yet take no care to amend and recover his Favour Though he does not reap where he did not sow nor gather where he did not strew yet he expects a due Improvement of what he commits to our Charge and is ready likewise proportionably to reward our Industry And this is apt indeed to quicken and encourage us in our Duty but by no means to scare and affright us from it For nothing can be more reasonable than for God to expect we should improve what he bestows upon us for that very end and that we should obey those Commands of His which are so highly reasonable in themselves and which he likewise assists us to perform Let no Man therefore say God is an unreasonably rigid Master and his Commands intolerable Burdens for 't is abominably false as will appear more fully in the Sequel But were it true it would be no Excuse for Sloth and Idleness in his Service much less for wholly deserting it but rather an Argument for double Care and Diligence in it By the Lord of that Slothful Servant commanding his One unimprov'd Talent to be taken from him and given to him who by his Industry had improv'd his Five Talents to Ten is represented God's depriving those of his Grace and the Assistances of his Holy Spirit who so much neglect it and make no use of it to the great Enas for which it was given them viz. His Glory and Their own Happiness and making still greater Additions of his Grace to such as have well improv'd their former Stock And by his commanding the Unprofitable Servant to be cast into Outer Darkness where shall be weeping and gnashing of Teeth is express'd their Deplorable Condition in the Regions of eternal Misery and Despair who make no Improvement of the Talents committed to them the Deprivation of Grace in this World being a certain Forerunner of Perdition in the other It nearly concerns therefore every Man carefully to improve the Talent committed to him because unto every one that hath shall be given and he shall have Abundance but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath This Parable thus interpreted affords us these Six Heads of Discourse First That God gives sufficient Grace to every sensible Christian wherewith to work out his Salvation Secondly That God expects from every Man that he should improve what Grace he has receiv'd and that proportionably to the Measure in which it was given him and make use of it to the Ends for which it was given Thirdly That there will be a Time when our Lord will come to take Account of Men's Improvement of the Grace that was given them and reward every Man according to his Deserts Fourthly That there shall be Degrees of Men's Happiness or Misery in the other World according to the Degrees of their Improvement or Negligence and Carelessness in this Fifthly That 't is abominably False and Impious to charge God as being unreasonably rigid and severe in taking this Account of Men's Improvement and expecting to find a Good Use made of what he committed to their Trust And Lastly That the Condition of the Diligent will be unspeakably happy and that of the Unprofitable unspeakably miserable and that both in this World and the next First God gives sufficient Grace to every sensible Christian wherewith to work out his Salvation I say to every sensible Christian because I would confine my Discourse to the State of such as are Christians and such of them as have the Use of their Senses and their Reason For as for those that are out of the Pale of Christ's Church though Charity will incline us to hope well of them and that God's Mercy will extend even to Heathens that never yet heard of the Gospel of Christ and his Spirit assist them to live according to that Natural Law written in the Heart of every Man yet we can determine nothing in this Case with Relation to them and have nothing else to do but to leave them to the Infinite Mercy of God and pray for their Conversion And as for such as have been receiv'd into the Fold of Christ and have afterwards prov'd Idiots and without the Use of their Reason their Case is likewise wholly in the Dark to us and though we need not question but God's Infinite Goodness will incline him to pity their Deplorable Condition yet which Way he will express his Mercy to them we must not presume to say Hidden things belong to God the reveal'd are for us and our Children Among which I take this to be one That God gives sufficient Grace to every sensible Christian wherewith to work out his Salvation And here not to enter into the Endless and most Abstruse Dispute about Predestination which the less Men trouble their Heads about the better 't is for 'em in all Respects I shall only urge two or three plain Places of Scripture to confirm this Position and add to 'em one as plain Reason The Places of Scripture are first that in 2 Pet. 3.9 where the Apostle says that God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to Repentance to which is agreeable that of St. Paul to Timothy 1 Epist 2.4 God will have or desires that all Men should be sav'd and come to the Knowledge of the Truth Now the next Scripture I will quote which is 2 Cor. 3.5 tells us That we are not sufficient of our selves to think any thing as