Woe and Infamy He was despis'd and rejected of men a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief and we hid as it were our faces from him He was despis'd and we esteem'd him not As these Marks of a true Miracle agree to the Works of our Saviour so do they to those of the Apostles and Primitive Believers For these were only resemblances of what their Lord had done before repetitions of his miraculous Acts and therefore bear the same Marks and Signatures Phlegon free'd by the Emperor Adrian mentions the Miracles of St. Peter according Contra Celsum to Origen who liv'd near Phlegon's time and had read his Books then commonly extant and therefore his Testimony must be as valid as if we had the Originals Porphyry as ingenious vid. Cyrill lib. 10. against Julian and as severe an Enemy as ever appear'd against our Religion owns several Miracles to be perform'd by the first Christians in defence of their Worship God therefore bore witness to their Doctrin by thus wonderfully displaying of himself their Doctrin therefore is true For when Miracles are once brought to second a Doctrin these silence all my scruples I yield I am convinc'd for God cannot exercise his own Power or delegate it to any other to give sanction to a Lye or honour an Impostor But these Marks cannot agree with any Miracles which were wrought in competition with our Saviour's As for the Cures pretended to be perform'd by the Emperors Vespasian and Adrian as they are related by a Cap. 7. in Vespasian Suetonius b Histor l. 4. c. 81. Tacitus and c 12. p. Edit Salmasil Spartianus those who reflect what different Artisiees were about that time especially us'd to gain an esteem of Divinity to the Emperors will not much wonder that such reports should be spread of them or that Persons should counterfeit and imitate those Diseases describ'd to give themselves out to be reliev'd by them So that they fail against the first and principal Mark of a true Miracle because it is not evident that they were at all perform'd For there seems to be no necessity for the Hypothesis of Grotius That Vespasian was endued from above with a Power of working Miracles because he was to be God's Minister of Vengeance against the Jews The next who appear'd after these but who made a much greater Figure than they was that famous Impostor Apollonius Tyaneus but his Transactions want the greatest part of the Notes of a true Miracle For first They are feign'd to be done in private and therefore what reason have we to believe that they were done at all Secondly The Person who gives an account of him Philostratus liv'd above an hundred Years after him 3ly All his Miracles are only false Transcripts of our Saviour's with all submission to a late famous Author â—p Parker of the Law of Nature p. 296. who has asserted the contrary Thus because Jesus Christ was the Son of God Apollonius is fancy'd to be so too Because Angels proclaim'd our Saviour's Birth a parallel Miracle is advanc'd in favour of Apollonius Because our Saviour was forsaken by his Disciples Apollonius is deserted by his Scholars Because our Saviour was accus'd before Pilate Apollonius is impeach'd before Domitian Because our Saviour converst with his Disciples after his Resurrection Apollonius also appears after his Death to a certain Young man and gives him an account of a future State about which he was extremely curious Because our Saviour ascended into Heaven there was also a Voice heard inviting Apollonius into Bliss 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Philost lib. 8. cap. 12. Thus all other workers of Miracles who ever have made any opposition to our Saviour cannot produce these Marks of a true and just Miracle and therefore their Doctrins are not of God nor are they to be look'd upon as Prophets So that I shall proceed to shew Lastly That tho' Christianity was at first establish'd by Miracles yet that there is no reason why we should expect a continued succession of them to the present Times For it is unreasonable to expect that God should work a Miracle where the End may be accomplish'd without one This would be to make Miracles too vulgar and despicable For a thing often seen how excellent soever it is yet ceasing thereby to be new it ceases also to be admir'd For 't is not the worth or excellence of an Object which draws the eyes and wonder of Men after it For can any thing be imagin'd more august and beautiful than the Sun in its full light and glory and yet how many more Spectators and Wonderers does the same Sun find under the veil of an Eclipse Miracles continued in the Christian Church till the Christian Religion had receiv'd its settlement from them in a great measure and should God call Persons to convert Infidels he might perhaps employ this extraordinary Method again Tho' since Christianity is fully establish'd 't is more likely that he might accomplish this grand Design by the invisible workings of his Grace upon the Hearts of the Unconverted by inclining and moving them within and by some extraordinary Providences without And this may give us reason to suspect some of St. Xavier's and the Indian Missionary's vid. Xaverii Epist lib. 3. Epist 4. c. Miracles As to the present Objections of the Obj. Deists which they propose in this form That if God had reason to work Miracles in former times there is also reason why he should form them at present since the same Spirit of Unbelief prevails and flourishes now as much as it did when Miracles were wrought And therefore God is oblig'd to work Miracles in favour of those who question Religion now as he did in behalf of them who liv'd in the times of Jesus Christ and his Apostles To this it may be reply'd That the Resp Proofs which we have of the ancient Miracles are convincing to us as well as to them before whom they were visibly wrought nay there is this to be said in favour of the ancient Miracles That they have undergone the Test of Time and have been discuss'd in most Ages thro' which they have past and yet no flaw is found in them which cannot be said of modern Miracles if they could be had And therefore on this account they carry a greater ground of Credibility But we may remark farther That those who may justly demand new Miracles ought to have made good use of those means which God had before display'd to manifest his Truth They ought without Biass or Passion to have examin'd the Revelation of the New Testament They ought to be adorn'd with all those Virtues which they themselves own to be perfective of their Natures and just Qualifications of a pure and generous Deist They ought to be truly humble and submissive to whatsoever bears the resemblance of Divine Revelation and if they have not these Excellencies which the Light
raise the Body from the same Grave in which it was at first repos'd unless it was the same Body which was there at first repos'd Tho' the Body shall be glorify'd and spiritualiz'd yet it shall be the same For if the Bodies of our first Parents could pass from Immortality to Mortality and yet continue the same obnoxious to Punishment in this for Sins committed in that why may not the Reverse of this be true and Men from Mortal become Immortal from Corruptible become Incorruptible and yet abide the same I shall close this Essay with making a short Reflection on a Passage in a late Treatise written on this Subject by the Learned Dr. Hody to whose Merit I pay an extraordinary Deference tho' I cannot in all things in this Point pay an Assent to his way of Reasoning He seems without sufficient Motive to endeavour to overthrow the Arguments of the Fathers by which they prove the Identity of the Rising Body The Fathers reason in short That since there is a relative combination between Soul and Body since the Merit or Demerit of any Action is shar'd between them that therefore they shall both appear the same to receive Rewards or Punishments for their good or ill Actions This method of Discourse seems just and true notwithstanding that the Learned Doctor says that Dr. Hody concerning the Resurrection of the same Body p. 210 The Arm that stabs sins no more than the Sword and 't is the Soul only that is the Murderer This is a fine abstracted Cartesian way of talking but would scarce be accepted in any Court of Justice if a Murderer should plead it to his Judge to exempt his Body from satisfying the Law And this Notion seems to tend to confirm that which some Enthusiasts not long since advanc'd that So long as we keep the Soul pure we may do what we please with the Body To strengthen this the Doctor Ibid. says That the Body is not capable of any Rewards or Punishments Why then from this Argument should the same Body rise But certainly tho' the Body can resent no Pleasure or Pain without the Soul yet they in conjunction receive several Impressions of both which the Soul could not perceive alone therefore to make both perfectly happy or miserable both must be rais'd and both the same The Doctor 's last Argument is That if all the bulk of the same Matter should rise we should be Monsters of Men at the Resurrection But the Effluvia to answer this Objection which make up this vast Mass flow from the Carneous Parts and from the Blood which are not particularly concern'd in Human Actions the former of which Plato so much admir'd by the Doctor calls only * Wool or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Plato in Timaeo Down to wrap the Body easily and softly round the latter the Forrage and Pasturage of the Flesh But from the Vessels Parts and Organs peculiarly serviceable to Life Motion Sense Imagination Understanding and Will the Effluvia are inconsiderable nor would they much surpass their due Dimensions if all the Matter which ever belong'd to them were rais'd AN ESSAY Against SCEPTICISM In Matters of Religion IN order to endeavour to give some Check to the prevailing Humour of Scepticism which is become so extreamly Modish that no Person can be that self-admir'd thing a Wit without it I shall First as is most natural propose a short view of some of those pretended Reasons which the Scepticks and Deists and others of the same Order usually give for their Scepticism and Doubts about the Truths of Religion To every one of which I shall return a transient Reply Secondly I shall take a short survey of the true Reasons and Motives which make Men Scepticks First The pretended Reasons are such as these First They believe Religion to be false because many who make great shews of being Christians are only such out of Interest and in all likelyhood would change the Christian Profession for another which would be more serviceable for their Designs Secondly They have an ill Opinion of Religion because many who are zealous for its Truths are yet negligent of the Morals of it and live after such a manner as would make a sober Heathen blush Thirdly They despise Religion because several Professors of it embrace it not out of Reason or Conviction but out of a supine Credulity and walk blindly on in the Christian Religion only because it is the Worship of their Country Fourthly They entertain a low Idea of Christianity because tho' said to be reveal'd for the good of all Mankind yet God has only propagated it in a small part of the World and even where it has been promulg'd it is found but an indifferent Expedient to work any such extraordinary Effects on Mens Minds as might be expected from a Religion which God Himself came down from Heaven to preach and to seal with his Blood Fifthly That the Divisions amongst single Christians and the Wars and Discords between Christian Princes and Commonwealths often heightned by Religious Controversies and inflam'd by the violent Harangues of Ecclesiastick Persons are great Prejudices against the Christian Religion and give a Moral Deist great Advantage over a Zealot for Christianity These have been and still are some of the leading Forces in the Van of Scepticism There are indeed many particular Objections laid against peculiar parts of Christianity which cannot fall within the compass of this short ESSAY But to return a cursory Reply to each one of these Objections First 'T is no just Reflection upon the Religion That many who make great shews of being Christians are only such out of Interest and in all probability would change the Christian Profession for another which would be more serviceable for their designs Tho' some may be Christians at present out of Interest yet if we enquire into the first Institution of our Religion we shall find that it was its intrinsick Worth which first recommended it to the World when there was no outward Motive or Interest to make it taking For did the Apostles and first Disciples of our Saviour turn Christians upon any temporal Prospect Or what Advantage could those who succeeded them for the two first Centuries propose What could they gain by this new Profession but Disgrace Imprisonment and Death And can any one be a Platonick lover of Shame and Pain and court Misery for its own sake alone Now these purer Times nighest to the origin of our Religion are those which our Adversaries ought to have enquir'd into and level'd their Objections against otherwise their Arguments only wound the present Professors of Religion many of which we own to live below the dignity of it but fall far short of doing any injury to Religion it self Secondly The Sceptick ought not to have an ill Opinion of Religion because many who are zealous for its Truths are yet negligent of the Morals of it and live after such a manner as
would make a sober Heathen blush First because the Christian Religion is only a Law for our Actions which can invite and perswade alone but cannot force an Observance And the ill Actions of Christians ought no more to be imputed to Christianity it self than the Disorders of any Persons who live under Civil or Municipal Laws ought to be charg'd upon those Laws Secondly Tho' these Persons Lives are an open contradiction to Christianity yet it does not follow but that they may be convinc'd of the Truth of it in their Minds and Understandings For we may easily see that Men are not always determin'd by the dictates of their Reason but frequently by the biass and relish of their Senses and Passions Nor can we conclude that because Persons live as if Christianity was an Imposture that therefore they are fully perswaded that it is so Farther we find that they have often Remorses and sad Reflections on their Actions which can only rise in Minds satisfy'd of the Truth of that against which they practise For only the fear of being call'd to Account hereafter can make us sorrowful and amaz'd for having done amiss here under temporal Impunity Thirdly Morality Philosophy and the noblest Institutions which ever were lie under the same blemish with Christianity For the Lives of their Professors have seldom answer'd their refin'd Rules And it is scarce possible that they should do so till Man is subtiliz'd into a pure Spirit and rescued from those Passions and Inclinations which at present checquer and discolour our Natures As to the Zeal of these Persons it is false and counterfeited if their Actions are not conformed to their great Pretensions Thirdly 'T is no just Objection against Christianity That several Professors of it embrace it not out of Reason or Conviction but out of a supine Credulity and walk blindly on in the Christian Religion only because it is the Worship of their Country For the Christian Religion does not demand any such credulous Temper of Mind from its Professors All that it requires is an Understanding free from Prejudice and which is ready to pay attention to Reason Our Saviour at the Establishment of this Religion did not desire to be believ'd on his own Testimony If I bear witness of my self says he my witness is not true He appeals to his Miracles as the most glorious Credentials of his Celestial Mission for the Works which the Father had given him to finish the same Works that he did bore witness of him that the Father had sent him These Miracles he proposes to the Examination of the Spectators and if they could discover any Imposture in them that they were perform'd by the power of Nature or of Magick as was * Celsus apud Origen p 340. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 viz Christum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 viz. ab Aegypto 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 afterwards urg'd then he refus'd to be believ'd He does not fix the guilt of Unbelief purely in the Jews rejecting his Religion but in refusing to pay an Assent to it after that it was made suitable to Reason prov'd out of the Prophecies of the Old Testament supported by Miracles greater than every thing but their Infidelity If I had not done among them Works which none other man did they had not had sin but now have they both seen and hated me and my Father As our Saviour so his Apostles addrest to the Reasons of their Followers in order to excite their Faiths Thus St. Paul Prove all things hold fast that which is good And that Apostle which our Saviour lov'd after a most passionate manner advises the Church Not to believe every Spirit but to try the Spirits whether they are of God So that the Christian Faith does not consist in an implicit Credulity and blind Assent but in a well-founded and rational Belief arising from just Information and exact Reasoning on Things The saving Principles of Religion indeed are few and lie in a small Compass though not within so little Bounds as the Author of The Reasonableness of Christianity and * Hobbes de Civ Relig p. 386. c. par 6. c. Dico autem alium Arti culum Fidei praeter hunc JESUM HSSH CHRISTUM hommi Christiano ut necessarium ad salutem requiri nullum c. Mr. Hobbes contend for And tho' every one ought to give the true Reasons for his Belief yet the Saving Truths of Religion in many illiterate Persons if attended with a Moral Life Humility of Spirit and Fervency of Devotion may be as acceptable to God as in the most eminent Critick in Theological Matters who can give the nicest Resolution for every thing relating to them Yet notwithstanding this every one is oblig'd as far as lies in his power to examin and try the Articles of his Religion and to be a Christian not by Education Custom or Example but by Reason and Conviction So far is Religion that is the Reform'd Religion such as was taught by our Saviour and his Apostles from encouraging a supine Credulity or blind Belief Nor is the Sceptick's Fourth Objection valid That Christianity has been propagated by God only in a small part of the World and even where it has been promulg'd it is found but an indifferent Expedient to work any such extraordinary Effects on Men's Minds as might be expected from a Religion which God himself came down from Heaven to preach and to seal with his Blood As to the first part That Christianity is only known to a small part of the World it may be reply'd First That tho' God has been graciously pleas'd to promise that he will by his good Providence so order things that the sound of the Gospel shall be heard in the uttermost parts of the Earth yet has he not limited the Time when it shall thus be universally promulg'd Secondly That it is the fault in some measure of Christians themselves why their Religion is not diffus'd among the unconverted Nations because Voyages to these barbarous Climes are only undertaken upon Motives of Interest or Prospects of Commerce without any design to promote the Truths of Religion Thirdly The Christian Religion has been communicated to almost all the Civiliz'd World Most of the Territories of the four famous Empires have had the Gospel preach'd amongst them besides other Parts more lately discover'd While good Morals and Humanity while Humility Chastity Honour and Probity flourish'd so long the Christian Religion continued but when these were deâ—ac'd by Violence Ambition Pride Lust and Ill-nature it was time for Religion to take her flight up to Heaven or to some more hospitable Regions upon Earth For how could she subsist when her foundation Morality was remov'd Fourthly As to those places where the Christian Religion has not been heard of God will deal with them as a God of Mercy He who lives up to the Light of his own Reason up to a true Sence of the Dignity of his own Nature
and is a kind of a pure Evangelick Deist if I may so call him may have our Saviour's Merits which he never heard of so far imputed to him as to free him from a state of Misery And how and by what Means God may make him happy is an Enquiry over-curious and concerning which our present Condition will not allow us to be satisfy'd A future State is in some proportion to us what America was to our Fore-fathers And I with all possible submission think that the Hypothesis of an †Dr. Scotâ—'s Christ Life Part 2. Ch. 4. Sâ—ct 1. p. 2â—5 admirable Person of our Church is too bold where he seems more than to intimate that God may extend the Tryal and Probation of these Heathens beyond this Life and discover in the other Life the Light of the Gospel to so many of them at least as have made any tolerable Improvements under the Light of Nature and if they make good use of it reward them accordingly That God will act not only justly on their own accounts but also in some degree mercifully on our Saviour's by these Nations seems an evident Truth But how or by what way is more than even this thoughtful Person ever knew As to the second part of the Objection That even where Christianity has been promulg'd it is found but an indifferent Expedient to work any extraordinary Effect on Men's Minds it may be answer'd That it is purely Satyr and Invective and is plainly void of Truth For tho' it must be with confusion own'd that many Christians are guilty of Vices which would make an ingenuous Heathen blush yet the Establishment of Christianity has given a total defeat to many National and Publick Crimes Amongst many Civiliz'd Nations as is plain from their own Poets and Historians Parents might expose their Children and Masters murder their Slaves with Impunity and without any dread of being call'd in question Those unnatural Sins condemn'd by the Apostle in the first Chap. to the Romans were parts of their Religious Worship a fit Service for such Gods Men were condemn'd to massacre one another in their Amphitheatres were engag'd against Beasts or with Men as cruel Altars were stain'd with human Blood a greater Villany than any it was design'd to expiate A Hero never dy'd but that he had pompous Trains of Slaves to attend him to their fancy'd Elysium But now all these barbarous Practices were as much banish'd by Christianity as the Idolatrous Rites of the Zabii by the * v. Maâ—monâ—des Mor. Nev. p. 3. c. 29. And Dr. Speâ—cer de Leg. Heb. p. 177. cap. 9. â— 1. c. Jewish Ceremonies a sufficient Indication that Christianity has been highly profitable to the World Fifthly The Divisions among single Christians and the Wars and Discords between Christian Princes and Commonwealths often heighten'd by Religious Controversies and inflam'd by the violent Harangues of Ecclesiastick Persons and the Cause of Religion being defended by the Dint of Calumny as a late †◠Tâ—â— Amyntor â— 52. Author phrases it are no just Prejudices against Christianity nor do they give a Moral Deist an advantage over a Zealot for it We cannot deny but Christianity ill understood has been the innocent Author of publick Divisions and private Discords the most beautiful Parent of ill-resembling Children The Gospel has arm'd Nations to their own ruin and the Pulpit has given the signal for very unnatural Wars Notwithstanding this Religion it self ought not to be blam'd For first The Founder of this Religion predicted that such a dismal Event should attend his Institution Think not that I am come to send Peace on Earth I came not to send Peace but a Sword Secondly It was not the design of Christianity to cherish Factions and Discords amongst its Followers Nothing could be a greater encourager of Candor Good-nature Peace and Mutual Forbearance than this Religion justly practic'd and all the Calamities incident to human Life are in a great measure the Products of Irreligion and Scepticism For if every Person liv'd up to the height of his Religion all Wars and Contests would quickly cease all Passions be compos'd and the Seat of the ancient Paradise would not neâ—d to be farther enquir'd into when all the World was One. These Objections which I have endeavour'd transiently to answer are some of the pretended Reasons for Scepticism and Doubts about Religion I shall proceed Secondly To take a short Survey of the true Reasons and Motives which make Men Scepticks And the first is Pride For the Truths of Religion as they are design'd for the Salvation of all Men so are they in some sort adapted to the Apprehensions of all But there are several of such sublime and exalted Thoughts that they can relish nothing but what is plac'd out of the vulgar method of Thinking Thus the Emperor Julian tho' adorn'd with Temperance Gravity Chastity and Sobriety as appears from his own * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. v. Jullani Misoâ—â—g p. â— 0 â—dit Spanhem Writings nor do his Adversaries Cyril or Nazianzen deny it yet the nicety and sublimity of his admir'd Philosophy made him too proud to debase his Understanding as he fancy'd to the Lowliness of the Christian Faith Out of this Principle a late †Toâ—and ' Christianity not Mysterious Writer has excluded all Mysteries out of Religion and nothing now must be believ'd but what can be comprehended The second true Cause of Scepticism is Prejudice or a rash Judgment made upon Religion For not only the Jews and Gentiles but some who have been initiated into Christianity frame false Idea's of it They are too much prejudic'd to believe that God will punish Crimes of finite duration with infinite Pain They fancy that there is reason to hope that he may release his Threats and some way mitigate the Penalty that it is a servile and mercenary Motive to engage us to Obedience by addressing to our Fears by proposing Prospects of eternal Misery But these Objections rising from Prejudice would be easily remov'd if the Sceptick would consider that God does not punish Men for Sins which they could not avoid not for single Acts but inveterate Habits and final Obstinacy That Repentance if sincere takes off the greatest Guilt That he gives us Grace to shun Sin and Grace to repent of it That Hope and Fear are the fittest Passions by which a reasonable Creature may be acted upon That every Sin is against infinite Majesty an Act too of our own Choice That God would be wanting in promoting the Observance of his Laws if he did not make the greatest Punishment due to the Violation of them That he promises eternal Happiness to Obedience as well as threatens everlasting Misery upon Disobedience The third true Cause of Scepticism is a Disposition of Heart contrary to Religion For a Soul stain'd with Vice can never comply with the Truths of Religion The Will and Affections must first be purify'd before the Understanding can be enlightned Hence our Saviour endeavours to plant the Innocence even of Children in the Minds of his Followers before he proposes the great Mysteries of Religion Happy are they who have preserv'd their Innocence unstain'd and whose Soul has never lost its native Candour The first proposals of Religion will strike upon such Minds as these with the most vigorous Light and will convince them as soon as addrest to them But to Spirits sunk into a state of Sin Religion appears upon a disadvantage and like an Object striking upon a disorder'd Organ forms an irregular Impression Let the Wings of the Soul once be disengag'd from the weight of Sin as the Pythagoreans as well as Scripture neatly stile it and it will fly up to Truth and Goodness as to its proper Center The fourth Cause of Scepticism is the prevailing Humour of turning every thing into Ridicule Nor are sacred Things themselves exempted which takes off that Veneration which is due to them and makes them look first contemptible and afterwards false The fifth true Cause of Scepticism and the last which I shall mention is want of Consideration or Attention For if Men either think not at all or not regularly or employ their Thoughts in other curious Speculations they will of necessity continue Scepticks But the fault is in themselves not in Religion they can no more complain of Obscurity in that than those who have wilfully clos'd their own Eyes of want of Light in the Heavenly Luminaries Let the Sceptick take away these true Causes of Scepticism and the pretended ones will vanish of their own accord But while these remain they are like to continue Scepticks till the Punishments of a future State shal not only make them understand but even feel that Religion is True FINIS
are Eternally punish'd for this sinning were ty'd to the Observance of this Law If they were oblig'd to it once so are the Angels which stand at present for the blessed Angels are just the same now which they were once Tho' now the Objects of God's Eternal Vengeance yet were they once his chief Ministers as much his Favourites as the most spotless most unstain'd of all the Angels ty'd to no other Rules no other Terms of Obedience The Blessed Angels are therefore at present rang'd under the Occonomy of the Moral Law as well as the Cursed were immediately after their Creation and before their Fall which may be farther prov'd by the Analogy that there is between the Moral Law and the Celestial There is the nearest Resemblance and Analogy between the Moral Law and the Celestial whether we consider the Moral Law as it may be reduc'd to One Precept to Two or to Ten. It may be reduc'd to One to that of Love for Love is the fulfilling of the Law But the most perfect Love is display'd in Heaven in the most perfect Charity for tho' Prophecies shall fail tho' Tongues shall cease tho' Knowledge shall vanish away yet Charity never fails but is compleated in Heaven 'T is the bond of Perfectness and in it as in a Center all Duties meet and are accorded The Moral Law may be farther combin'd into Two Precepts Thou shalt love the Lord thy God and Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self for on these Two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets But the Law remains in Heaven under this Character For first The Saints and Angels love their Ever-blessed God with the purest Transports of Devotion they adore him with the most profound Veneration and they serve him with the most faithful Homage Secondly They pursue one another with the most sincere Love and unfeign'd Charity they rejoyce at one another's Happiness and are as unanimous in their Affections towards one another as they are in their Adoration of God But Lastly The Moral Law is dilated into Ten Precepts and under this latitude they are practic'd in Heaven with the utmost vigour Eight of these Precepts are Negative and there is no doubt but that they are observ'd by the Saints and Angels with the greatest accuracy Far be it from those pure Spirits to lift up their Eyes to any God but the True One to detract from or to envy one another to desire what belongs to another no not another's Happiness As to the Affirmative Commands tho' they do not abide literally yet they remain mysteriously because they are chang'd into better The Fourth of the Sabbath or the Lord's Day shall be alter'd into a more noble one for in Heaven there shall be no distinction of Days but all the Rounds of an happy Eternity shall make up one Day which shall not know a second and that wholly appropriated to the Lord one Everlasting Sabbath one Eternal Rest As to the * Affirmativorum sc Praeceptorum erit in beatltudine summa observatio nisi forte illius de Honoratione parentum quia non erit necessitas impendendi hunc actum Scot. l. 3. Sent. d. 38. q. 1. Fifth it shall not be abolished but perfected for tho' all Carnal Relations shall cease as only subservient to the Necessities of this Life yet shall that Honour that Reverence that Obedience which are by the Fifth Commandment peculiarly attributed to Parents become due to all the Saints The force of all is That the Obedience of the Blessed is a just Rule for our Obedience on account of the Matter of it because they practice the same Virtues and practice them by the same Rule which we are oblig'd to God's Will perform'd in Heaven is therefore on this account a just Standard for our accomplishing of it on Earth So is it on account of the Manner of its Performance by the Blessed Saints and Angels which was the Second General So that I shall very briefly shew that they perform God's Will after that Manner as to be just Patterns for us For First They perform it with all possible Chearfulness and Alacrity The Word is no sooner out of God's Mouth but it is also executed and these Ministers of his stay not so long as even to promise Obedience There is not among them any demurring to the quality of the Command or any delay put to the Execution of it by an over-modest representing their own unfitness for their Task They question not at all with God about the suitableness thereof nor yet debate with themselves whether or no or with what Vigour they shall apply themselves to the Execution of it Secondly They perform God's Will uniformly For an imperfect Obedience is in strict speaking no Obedience at all for he who only obeys so far as himself pleases only does God's Will as far as it complies with his own There is this more extensive Proof of the Uniformity of the Angel's Obedience That the greatest part of it is employ'd in discharging such Commands as subject them in some proportion to those Creatures which are plac'd below them Such are those Commands which demand their attendance upon us who are by Creation made somewhat lower than they yet have made our selves much more so by our Sins and Frailties So that it is easy to be imagin'd That had not their Obedience been truly uniform it would not have carried them to a compliance with such Branches of it as seem not fully consistent with the Dignity and Grandeur of their Order and Station Thirdly Their Comportment with the Divine Will is constant and settled and they always discharge the Will of God as well as chearfully and uniformly That Establishment which is destin'd to their Piety by the Election of God will most certainly produce this Constancy Besides this the Scripture displays them as always looking on the Face of God expecting as it were and inviting his Commands or travelling about his Messages as continually descending from Heaven about their Earthly Ministrations or ascending up thither after the Execution of them Fourthly The Obedience of the Angels is as compleat as it is chearful uniform and constant and reaches to every Branch of their Injunction as well as to all God's Commands because as there can be no doubt of their sufficiency for such a Compliance who are so near to the Divine Influences and so gloriously adorn'd by them so the same Reason and Obedience which move them to have a respect to all God's Commands will incite them to have a regard to every the minutest Punctilio as having the same Impress of the same Divine Will stampt upon it A DISCOURSE Concerning The Qualifications of PRAYER Or A Method to Pray in the Spirit Against the Enthusiasts EPHES. Chap. VI. ver 18. Praying always with all Prayer and Supplication in the Spirit AS Religion is the Life of the Soul so is Prayer the vital Spirit of Religion without which it can neither live nor move
nor have its Being This is the chief Branch of the Worship of God requir'd of all who acknowledge Him to Be and most reasonable for all who own the World to be govern'd by His Providence and themselves to stand in need either of His Grace or His Pardon or who hope for His Rewards or fear His Punishments in a future State And as it is thus a very necessary Duty so if exactly practic'd is it a difficult one too For it is a Discoursing with God and for Man who is but of yesterday to correspond with the Almighty who inhabits Eternity must employ the utmost force of all his Powers and Faculties For if the Cherubim and Seraphim who were always without Spot or Blemish and in whom was never found any Guile cover their Faces while they are Praising and Adoring the infinite Perfections of God what Gesture can be humble enough for Man who composes himself to Pray to Him laden with his Sins and whose Iniquities have gone over his Head If those glorious Spirits are describ'd in Scripture as shifting from place to place while they are worshiping their Creator as conquer'd and overpower'd by the Purity of His Nature with what Confusion must Man appear before Him who was conceiv'd in Sin and born in Iniquity What attention and application of Thought What modesty of Expression What submissiveness of Behaviour What Love and Admiration What warmth of Affection must be us'd to make our Sacrifices acceptable to our Maker And certainly as it had been the highest Presumption to have offer'd to have entertain'd any Entercourse with the Almighty had not He Himself encourag'd it so since He has vouchsafed to do it it is our most excellent Glory that we can address our Supplications to Him But still the Obligation abides to put them up with all the Devotion and Fervency of Spirit which our Imperfections are capable of to prepare our selves with the nicest diligence that we may Pray always with all Prayer and Supplication in the Spirit By Praying always is not meant a constant or continued Exercise of the Act of Prayer so as to be always invoking the Name of God For this would be inconsistent with our other relative Duties for there are Virtues to be practic'd which more immediately regard our Neighbour and our selves as well as those which solely respect God and we are oblig'd to Justice Charity and Humanity as well as to Pray Praise and Adore But by Praying always is to be understood such a Godlike Frame and Temper of Spirit accompany'd with such an Innocence of Life and relish of Heavenly Things that we may be ever dispos'd for this Duty when fit opportunities shall call for it By Praying in the Spirit whatsoever the Enthusiasts pretend seems to be only imply'd that our Prayers ought to have the Qualifications before mention'd so that they ought to be put up rather for things Spiritual than Temporal for God's assistance to enable us to persevere in Goodness for the removal or averting of Temptations for all Graces needful for us and Means for the securing or encreasing of them which are styl'd the Gifts or Privileges of the Holy Spirit And this too falls under the former Head and is a Qualification necessary to make us Pray aright since there can be no better Argument that we are well qualified for Prayer than that we pray for Blessings of the most noble Importance the most momentous Concern So that in the Text are couch'd the Qualifications requir'd to make us successful Petitioners at the Throne of Grace For the reason why so many Prayers are not heard by Heaven after those Promises which are annex'd to the Performance of this Duty is because we are not duly accomplish'd to be Candidates for its Mercies And it is easy for us in this Case to vindicate the Faithfulness of God and to make an Apology for our Maker in our Maker's own Words which are that We ask and receive not because we ask amiss In order therefore to make us fit Supplicants to the God of Glory and to put our Souls into such a Temper that they may be constantly and habitually fitted for the Discharge of this Duty there are several Qualifications needful I shall therefore consider First What Qualifications are necessary to prepare us for Prayer or before we Pray and in order to it Secondly What is requir'd in the very time or act of our Praying when our Devotions are on the Wing and our Lips are touch'd with a Coal from the Altar Thirdly What must be done after we have Pray'd to make our antecedent Prayers duly effectual Fourthly What Acts are to be continued and extended through each of these both before in and after our Prayers First therefore What Qualifications are necessary to prepare us for Prayer or before we Pray and in order to it Now the First Qualification necessary to prepare us for Prayer is the Purity of our * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Menander Hearts or the Direction of our Lives by the Commandments of God For if our Affections are impure or our Ways unrighteous it is in vain to make our Applications to God for we know that God heareth not Sinners but if any man is a worshipper of God and doth his Will him he heareth For The Eyes of the Lord are over the Righteous and his Ears are open to their Prayers alone For without Godliness whatsoever Antinomian Schemes some Persons may draw whether it consists in Innocence or sincere Repentance our Prayers can never mount up to the presence of God because the Burden of our Sins will certainly keep them from ascending to that Holy Place where nothing but what is compleatly so can appear And it would be Presumption to hope that our spotless Saviour should present so unacceptable a Sacrifice to his Father as the Petitions of a Supplicant who declares himself to be in a State of Hostility against both of them by an avow'd complying with what they most abhor Nay it is the most unwarrantable Insolence for him who still retains a Love for his Sins and yields to them upon the general returns of Temptation to approach his Maker in any Holy Office For it is only an honouring Him with his Lips while his Heart is far from Him and seems to be what the Apostle calls a Lying to God a professing himself his most devoted most obedient Servant while his own Conscience by a reflection on his Actions will tell him that he is his open and inveterate Enemy 'T is a colluding with Him who tries the Heart and the Reins and to whose Eyes all things are nâ—ked and open as if Omniscience could be impos'd on by Pretences or a Religious Pageantry was tantamount to Solid Virtue and Piety or saying of Lord Lord would excuse for the not doing the Will of our Father which is in Heaven So that till we are free from all known and willful Sin 't is to no purpose to make any