Matter hath been rightly stated then Religion and the Fear of God is the first Principle and Foundation of true Wisdom and that which we are to consider and take along with us in all the Designs and Actions of our Lives and all Wisdom which does not begin here is preposterous and will prove folly in the issue Secondly As Religion is the beginning of Wisdom so it is the perfection of it it is the highest point of Wisdom in which we can be Instructed The fear of the Lord says Solomon Prov. 15. 33. is the instruction of Wisdom A good Understanding says David Psal 111. 10. have all they that do his Commandments The Practice of Religion is the perfection of Wisdom and he understands himself best who lives most according to the Laws of God And this I might shew by instancing in particular Virtues the practice whereof is much Wiser and every way more for our Interest than the contrary Vices but this is too large an Argument to engage in and therefore I shall content my self at present briefly to shew that the chief Characters and Properties of Wisdom do all meet in Religion and agree to it The First Point of Wisdom is to understand our true Interest and to be right in our main End and in this Religion will best instruct and direct us And if we be right in our main End and true to the interest of it we cannot miscarry but if a Man mistake in this he errs fatally and his whole Life is Vanity and Folly Another property of Wisdom is to be steady and vigorous in the Prosecution of our main End To oblige us hereto Religion gives us the most powerful Arguments the glorious Happiness and the dismal Misery of another World The next Point of Wisdom is to make all things stoop and become subservient to our main End And where-ever Religion bears sway it will make all other things subordinate to the Salvation of our Souls and the Interest of our Everlasting Happiness as the Men of this World make every thing to submit and give way to their Covetous and Ambitious and Sensual Designs Another part of Wisdom is to Consider the Future and to look to the last End and Issue of things It is a common folly among Men to be so intent upon the present as to have little or no regard to the future to what will be hereafter Men Design and Labour for this present Life and their short continuance here in this World without taking into serious Consideration their main Duration and their Eternal Abode in another World But Religion gives us a clear Prospect of a Life after Death and overlooks Time and makes Eternity always present to us and minds us of making timely provision and preparation for it It takes into Consideration our whole Duration and inspires us with Wisdom to look to the End of things and to what will be hereafter as well as to what is present It is likewise a great Property of Wisdom to secure the main Chance and to run no hazard in that And this Religion directs us to take care of because the neglect of it will prove fatal Another Mark of Wisdom is to lay hold of Opportunities those especially which when they are once past will never return again There are some Seasons wherein great things may be done which if they be let slip are never to be retrieved A Wise Man will lay hold of these and improve them and Religion inculcates this Principle of Wisdom upon us that this Life is the opportunity of doing great things for our selves and of making our selves for ever this very day and hour may for ought we know be the last and only Opportunity of Repentance and making our Peace with God Therefore to day whilst it is called to day let us set about this necessary work lest any of us be hardned through the deceitfulness of Sin to morrow it may be too late to begin it and the Justice of God may cut us off whilst we are wilfully delaying it and the Opportunities of Saving our Immortal Souls may vanish and be for ever hid from our eyes The next Property of Wisdom is to foresee Dangers and to take timely care to prevent them The Prudent Man saith Solomon foreseeth the Evil and hideth himself that is shelters and secures himself against it but the simple pass on and are punished that is the Evil overtakes them and their Folly is punish'd in their fatal Ruine Now the greatest Danger is from the greatest Power even from him who is able to save and to destroy I will tell you says the Wisdom of God whom ye shall fear fear him who after he hath killed can destroy both Body and Soul in Hell Again another main Point of Wisdom is to do as little as we can to be repented of trusting rather to the Wisdom of Prevention than to that of Remedy Religion first teacheth Men Innocency and not to offend but in case we do as in many things we offend all it then directs us to Repentance as the only Remedy But this certainly is folly to Sin in hopes of Repentance that is first to make work for Repentance and then run the hazard of it for we may certainly Sin but it is not certain that we shall Repent And if it were yet it is great folly to lay in before hand and to make work for trouble Ne tu stultus homuncio es qui malis veniam precari quam non peccare was a Wise Saying of old Cato Thou are says he a silly Man indeed who chusest rather to ask Forgiveness than not to Offend If a Man had the best Remedy in the World he would not make himself sick to try the Virtue of it and it is a known Comparison and a very fit one that Repentance is Tabula post Naâ—fragium a Plank after Shipwreck But I am greatly afraid that thousands of Souls who have trusted to it have perished before they could get to Land with this Plank in their arms The last Character of Wisdom I shall mention is In all things to consult the Peace and Satisfaction of our own Minds without which nothing else can make us Happy and this Obedience to the Laws of God doth naturally procure Great Peace have they says David that love thy Law and nothing shall offend them The work of Righteousness says the Prophet shall be Peace and the effect of Righteousness quietness and assurance for ever The fear of God and the keeping of his Commandments is the best Preservative against the troubles of a guilty Conscience and the terrifying apprehensions of a Future Judgment And this is the great Wisdom of Religion that whosoever liveth according to the Rules and Precepts of it prevents the chief Causes of discontent and lays the surest Foundation of a perpetual satisfaction of Mind a Jewel of inestimable price which none knows but he that has it and he that hath it knows the value of
seduce him or draw him aside in his enquiry after Truth he hath no interest but to find the Truth and follow it He is enquiring after the way to Heaven and Eternal Happiness and he hath the indifferency of a Traveller which is not inclined to go this way rather than another for his concernment is to find out the right way and to walk in it Such an indifferency of Mind hath every good Man who sincerely desires to do the will of God he stands ready to receive Truth when sufficient Evidence is offered to convince him of it because he hath no manner of concernment that the contrary Proposition should be true As in Mathematicks a Man is ready to give his Assent to any Proposition that is sufficiently demonstrated to him because he hath no inclination or affection to one side of the Question more than to the other all his design and concernment is to find out the Truth on which side soever it lies and he is like to find it because he is so indifferent and impartial But if a Man be biass'd by any Lust and addicted to any vicious Practice he is then an interested Person and concerned to be partial in his Judgment of Things and is under a great temptation to Infidelity when the Truths of God are proposed to him because whatever the Evidence for them be he cannot but be unwilling to own the truth of that Doctrine which is so contrary to his Inclination and Interest If the Affections and Interests of Meâ— were as deeply concerned and as sensibly touched in the truth of Mathematical Propositions as they are in the Principles of Morality and Religion we should find that when a Proposition stood in their way and lay cross to their Interest tho' it were never so clearly demonstrated yet they would raise a dust about it and make a thousand cavils and fence even against the evidence of a Demonstration they would palliate their Error with all the Skill and Art they could and tho' the absurdity of it were never so great and palpable yet they would hold it fast against all Sense and Reason and face down Mankind in the obstinate defence of it for we have no reason to doubt but that they who in Matters of Religion will believe directly contrary to what they see would if they had the same interest and passions to sway them in the case believe contrary to the clearest Mathematical Demonstration for where there is an obstinate Resolution not to be convinc'd all the Reason and Evidence in the World signifies nothing Whereas he that is biassed by no Passion or Interest but hath an honest Mind and is sincerely desirous to do the Will of God so far as he knows it is likely to judge very impartially concerning any Doctrines that are proposed to him For if there be not good Evidence that they are from God he hath no reason to deceive himself in giving credit to them and if there be good Evidence that they are Divine he hath no interest or inclination to reject them for it being his great design to do the will of God he is glad of all opportunities to come to the knowledge of it that he may do it Thus you see how a sincere desire and endeavour to obey the Will of God does secure Men against fatal Errors and Mistakes in Matters of Religion because such Persons are hereby better disposed to make a right Judgment of Divine Things both because they have truer and surer notions of God and Religion and are more impartial in their search and enquiry after Truth This is the first Account Secondly Another Reason why they who sincerely desire to do the Will of God have a great security in discerning Truth from Error is because the Providence of God is more especially concerned to preserve such Persons from dangerous Errors and Mistakes in Things which concern their Eternal Salvation When Men are of a teachable Temper God loves to reveal himself and his Truth to them and such is an humble and obedient frame of Mind Psal 25. 9. The meek will he guide in Judgment the meek will he teach his way The proper disposition of a Scholar is to be willing to learn and that which in Religion we are to learn is what is the good and acceptable will of God that we may do it for Practice is the end of Knowledge If you know these things says our Blessed Lord happy are ye if ye do them It is necessary to know the will of God but we are happy only in the doing of it and if any Man be desirous to do the Will of God his Goodness is such that he will take effectual care to secure such an one against dangerous and fatal Errors He that hath an honest Mind and would do the will of God if he knew it God will not suffer him to remain ignorant of it or to be mistaken about it in any necessary Points of Faith or Practice St. Paul is a wonderful Instance of the Goodness of God in this kind He was undoubtedly a Man of a very honest Mind he had entertained the Jewish Religion as revealed by God and been bred in it and out of a blind reverence and belief of his Teachers who rejected Christ and his Doctrine he likewise opposed and persecuted them with a mighty Zeal and an honest intention being verily perswaded as he himself tells us that he ought to do what he did against the Name of Jesus of Nazareth he was under a great prejudice upon account of his Education and according to the heat of his natural Temper transported with great Passion But because he did what he did ignorantly and in unbelief God was pleased to shew mercy to him and in a miraculous manner to convince him of the Truth of that Religion which he persecuted He was sincerely desirous to do the will of God and therefore God would rather work a Miracle for his Conversion than suffer him to go on in so fatal a Mistake concerning the Christian Religion And as the Providence of God doth concern it self to secure good Men from dangerous Errors and Mistakes in Matters of Religion so by a just Judgment he gives up those who allow themselves in vicious practices to Error and Infidelity And this is the meaning of that passage of the Prophet Esa Ch. 6. 10. so often cited by our Saviour and applied to the Jews of making the heart of that People fat and their Ears heavy and closing their Eyes lest they should Understand and be Converted So again Isa 66. 3 4. God threatens the People of Israel That because they were wicked and abominable in their Lives he would abandon them and give them over to a Spirit of Delusion they have chosen their own ways and their Soul delighteth in their Abominations I also will chuse their delusions God is said to chuse those things for us which he permits us to fall into So Rom. 1. 28.
other things should be made subordinate and subservient to this great Design and be no further minded by us than they really are so For that which is our great End will subdue all other things and bring them into subjection to it and will reject them and throw them aside if they be inconsistent with it If Heaven be our utmost aim and in order to that it be our great study and endeavour to be Righteous and Holy this Resolution and Design sincerely entertained will over-rule all other Considerations and make all the things of this World to stoop and give way to that which is our chief End the Eternal Happiness and Salvation of our Souls And thus I have done with the Second Thing I proposed namely what is meant by seeking the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness and what by seeking them first I proceed in the Third place to lay down some plain Rules for our Direction and Furtherance in seeking the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness that is in the great business of Religion First Let us always live under a lively and powerful sense of another World that we are placed here in this World but for a little while and that wholly in order to our preparation for a better and a happier Life Let this thought be often in our Minds that Eternity is the most considerable duration and the next World the place of our Everlasting abode where we must dwell and continue for ever and therefore our present state is but of little Moment and Consideration to us but only in order to our future and Everlasting Condition We may please our selves here for a little while with Toys and Trifles with Dreams and Shadows of Pleasure and Happiness and may be exercised with some Troubles and Afflictions for a short space for a moment as the Apostle calls it our light afflictions which are but for a moment and so indeed it is compared with all Eternity but the substantial and durable Happiness or Misery remain for Men in the other World and will certainly be their portion according as they have demeaned themselves in this World Now the serious Consideration of this cannot fail to put us upon vigorous preparations for another World and to make us wholly intent upon our Eternal Concernments and to resolve whatever becomes of us in this World to take effectual Care that we may be Happy for ever He that firmly believes the Immortality of his Soul and a Life after Death which will never have an end must needs take into Consideration his whole duration and bend all his Care and Thoughts how he may avoid the greatest and most lasting Misery and secure to himself an Immortality of Bliss and Happiness Secondly Let us be always under a Conviction of the absolute and indispensable necessity of Holiness and Righteousness as the only way and means whereby the Kingdom of God is to be attained and that Holiness and Happiness are not to be separated the one being a necessary Condition and Qualification for the other and consequently that it is the vainest thing in the World for any Man to hope to enter into the Kingdom of God without endeavouring after his Righteousness there is so strong a connexion between them that a Man may as reasonably expect to be well and at ease without Health as to be Happy without Holiness for this makes us like to God and our Likeness and Conformity to God is that alone which can make us capable of the Blessed Sight and Enjoyment of God We must be Partakers of a Divine Nature in order to our participation of the Divine Blessedness And the Consideration of this will effectually engage us to seek the Righteousness of God without which we shall never enter into his Kingdom and to follow Holiness without which no Man shall see the Lord. Thirdly Let us always remember that Righteousness is of a great extent and comprehends in it all goodness it takes in all the Duties of Religion and the Practice of all of them it is a Complication of all Graces and Virtues of all the Parts and Ingredients of all the Duties and Offices of a good Man To denominate a Man Righteous all Causes must concurr all the Essential Principles and Parts of Religion and Goodness must meet together Knowledge and Practice Faith and Good Works Right Opinions and Real Virtues an Orthodox Profession and a Holy Life abstaining from Sin and doing of Righteousness Purity of Heart and Unspotted Manners Godliness and Honesty the Bridling of our Tongue and the Government of our Passions and above all things Charity which is the Band of Perfection For Righteousness is our Conformity to the Law of God as Unrighteousness and Sin is the Transgression of it Now this if it be real and sincere will be uniform and universal equally respecting all the Laws of God and every part of our known Duty and will not content it self with an especial regard to one or two Precepts of the Law tho' never so considerable and then allow it self in the neglect and violation of the rest no nor with the observation of the Duties of one Table of the Law if it overlook the other no nor with Obedience to all the Commandments of God one only excepted St. James hath put this very Case and determined it that he that shall keep the whole Law save only that he offend in one point is guilty of all that is he is not sincere in his Obedience to the rest And therefore if we seek the Righteousness of God our Righteousness must be Universal as he that hath called us is holy so must we be holy in all manner of Conversation in the tenor of our Actions and the whole course of our Lives and any one Reigning Sin and Vice any gross and notorious defect in the Virtues of a good Life will spoil all our Righteousness and will effectually shut us out of the Kingdom of Heaven Fourthly Let us wisely subordinate the several parts and duties of Religion to one another according to the intrinsical worth and value of them that so we may mind every part of Religion in its due place and according to the true nature and importance of it Knowledge and Faith are in order to Practice and a good Life and signifie nothing unless they produce that the Means of Religion such as Prayer and Fasting diligent Reading and Hearing of the Word of God Reverent and Devout Receiving of the Blessed Sacrament are of less account and value than that which is the End of all these which is to make us inwardly and really good and fruitful in all the works of Righteousness which by Jesus Christ are to the Praise and Glory of God And therefore the Means of Religion which I have mentioned are to be regarded and used by us in order to the attaining of these Ends without which they are meer Formalility and Hypocrisie and instead of finding acceptance with God they are an
Poetical Number and Skill in it than at this distance from the Time and Age in which it was written we can easily understand The main Scope and Design of iâ— is very plain and obvious namely to Magniâ—ie the Law of God and the observation of its Precepts as that wherein true Religion doth mainly consist And indeed if we attentively read and consider it every part of this Psalm does with great variety of expression and yet very little difference of the sense descant upon the same ground viz. The Excellency and Perfection of the Law of God Aâ—d tâ—â— worâ—â— of tâ—â— Teâ—t seem to be as full and comprehensive of the sense and design of the whole Psalm as any one Sentence in it I have seen an end of all Perfection but thy Commandmâ—nt is exceeding broad These words are variously rendred and understood by Interpreters who yet in this variety do very much conspire and agree in the same sensâ—â— The Chaldee Paraphrase renders the words thus I have seen an end of all things about which I have employ'd my Care but thy Commandment is very large The Syriac version thus I have seen an end of all Regions and Countries that is I have found the compass of this habitable World to be â—iniâ—e and limited but thy Commandment is of a vast extent Others explain it thus I have seen an end of all Perfection that is of all the things of this World which Men value and esteem at so high a rateâ— of all Worldly Wisdom and Knowledge of Wealth and Honour and Greatness which do all perish and pass away but thy Law is Eternal and still abideth the same or as the Scripture elsewhere expresseth it the word of the Lord endureth for ever Thy Law that is the Rule of our Duty Natural and Revealed or in a word Religion which consists in the Knowledge and Practice of the Laws of Godâ— is of greater perfection than all other things which are so highly valued in this World for the perfection of it is Infinite and of a vast influence and extent it reacheth to the whole Man to the Happiness of Body and Soul to our whole duration both in this World and the next of this Life and of that which is to come And this will clearly appear if we consider the Reasonableness and the Wisdom of Religion which consists in the knowledge of God and the keeping of his Laws First The Reasonableness of Religion which is able to give a very good account of it self because it settles the Mind of Man upon a firm Basis and keeps it from rolling in perpetual uncertainty whereas Atheism and Infidelity wants a stable Foundation â—t centers no where but in the denial of God and Religion and yet substitutes no Principle no tenable and constituent Scheme of things in the place of them its whole business is to unravel all things to unsettle the Mind of Man and to shake all the common Notions and received Principles of Mankind it bends its whole force to pull down and to destroy but lays no Foundation to build any thing upon in the stead of that which it pulls down It runs upon that great absurdity which Aristotle who was always thought a great Master of Reason does every where decry as a Principle unworthy of a Philosopher namely a progress of Causes in Inâ—initum and without End that this was the Cause of that and a third thing of that and so on without end which amounts to just nothing and finally resolves an infinite number of effects into no first Cause than which nothing can be more unskilful and bungling and less worthy of a Philosopher But this I do not intend at present to insist upon having treated largely on the same subject upon another Occasion I shall therefore proceed in the Second place to consider the Wisdom of Religion The fear of the Lord is Wisdom so saith the Psalmiâ—t it is true Wisdom indeed it is the beginning of Wisdom Caput Sapientiae the top and perfection of all Wisdom Here true Wisdom begins and upon this Foundation it is raised and carried on to Perfection and I shall in my following Discourse endeavour to make out these two things 1. That true Wisdom begins and is founded in Religion in the fear of God and in the keeping of his Commandments 2. That this is the Perfection of Wisdom there is no Wisdom without this nor beyond it First True Wisdom begins and is founded in Religion and the Fear of God and Regard to his Laws This is the first Principle of Wisdom and the Foundation upon which the whole Design of our Happiness is to be built This is in the first place to be supposed and to be taken into Consideration in all the Designs and Actions of Men This is to govern our whole Life and to have a main influence upon all the Affairs and Concernments of it As the first Principle of Humane Society and that which is to run through the whole frame of it is the Publick good this was always to be taken into Consideration and to give Law to all Laws and Constitutions about it So Religion is the first Principle of Humane Wisdom by which all our Actions are to be conducted and govern'd and all Wisdom which does not begin here and lay Religion for its Foundation is preposterous and begins at the wrong end and is just as if in the forming of Humane Society every one in the settlement of the Constitution and the framing of Laws should have an eye to his own private and particular advantage without regard to the Publick Good which is the great End of Society and the Rule and Measure of Government and Laws and in the last issue and result of things the only way to procure the setled welfare and to secure the lasting Interests of particular Persons so far as that is consistent with the Publick Good And it would be a very preposterous Policy to go about to found Humane Society upon any other terms and would certainly end in Mischief and Confusion And such is all the Wisdom of Men in relation to their true Happiness which does not bâ—gin with Religion and lay its foundation there which does not take into Consideration God and his Providence and a Future State of Rewards and Punishments after this Life All Wisdom which does not not proceed upon a supposition of the truth and reality of these Principles will certainly end in shame and disappointment in misery and ruine because it builds a House upon the Sand which when it comes to be try'd by stress of weather and assaulted by violent storms will undoubtedly fall and the fall of it will be great And this Error every Man commits who pursues Happiness by following his own Inclination and gratifying his Irregular Desires without any Consideration of God and of the restraint which his Laws have laid upon us not for his own Pleasure but for our good For when all things are
this precious Treasure to every bodies rapine and extortion and can quietly look on whilst Men thrust in their hands and take it out by whole handfuls as if it were of no greater value than Silver was in Solomon's days no more than the stones in the street And yet when it is gone all the Silver and Gold in the World cannot purchase and fetch back the least moment of it when perhaps we would give all the World for a very small part of that time which we parted with upon such cheap and easie terms Good God! what a stupid and senseless Prodigality is this do we consider what we do when we give away such large portions of our time to our ease and pleasure to diversion and idleness to trifling and unprofitable Conversation to the making and receiving of impertinent visits and the usual and almost inseparable attendants thereof spiteful observations upon them that are present and slandering and backbiting those that are absent For the great design of most People in visits is not to better one another but to spie and make faults and not to mend them to get time off their hands to shew their fine Cloaths and to recommend themselves to the mutual contempt of one another by a plentiful impertinâ—nce when we part with it by wholesale in sleep and dressing and can spend whole Mornings between the Comb and the Glass and the Afternoon at Plays and whole Nights in Gaming or in Riot and Lewdness and Intemperance in all which People commonly wast their Mony and their time together Nay how do even the best of us misplace this precious Treasure and tho' we do not employ it to wicked purposes and in Works of Iniquity yet we do not apply it to the best and noblest use to the Glory of God and the Good and Salvation of Men By thus laying out this Treasure we might lay up for our selves treasures in heaven and help others on in the Way thither Thus our Blessed Saviour employed his precious time in going about doing good in all kinds and upon all Occasions healing the Bodies and enlightning the Minds and saving the souls of men This was his Business and this was his delight it was his meat and drink and his very Life he spent himself in it and sacrificed his Ease and his Safety and his Life to these great Ends for which he came into the World he considered the Goodness and the Greatness of his work and the little time he had to do it in which made him incessantly industrious in it and to run the Race which was set before him with great speed and to work while it was day because he knew the night would come when no man can work And this brings me to the Second thing I observed from the Text namely that there is a certain and limited time for every man to do this Work in while it is day I must work the works of him that sent me whilst it is day And this day comprehends all the Oportunities of our Life which will soon be over and therefore had need to be well spent A great part of our Life is past before the Season of Working begins it is a great while before the use of our Reason begins and we come to have our Senses exercised to discern between Good and Evil beâ—ore our Understandings are ripe for the serious Consideration of God and Religion and for the due Care of our Souls and of the Eternal Concernment of another World so that this first part of our Life is in a great Measure useless and unprofitable to us in regard to our great Design For Infancy and Childhood are but the Dawnings of this Day and no fit time to work in and Youth which is as the Morning of this day tho' it is the Flower of our Time and the most proper season of all other for the Remembrance of God and the Impressions of Religion yet it is usually possest by Vanity and Vice the common Custom and Practice of the World hath devoted this best part of our Age to the worst Employments to the Service of Sin and of our Lusts How very few are there that lay hold of this Opportunity and employ it to the best Purposes And yet the following Course of our Lives doth in a great measure depend upon it for most Persons do continue and hold on in the Way in which they set out at first whether it be good or bad And those who neglect to improve this first Opportunity of their Lives do seldom recover themsâ—lves afterwards God's Grace may seize upon Men in any part of their Lives but according to the most ordinary Methods of it the Foundations and Principles of Religion and Virtue are most commonly laid in a pious and virtuous Education This is the great Opportunity of our Lives which setleth and fixeth most Men either in a good or bad Course and the Fortune of their whole Lives does usually follow it and depend upon it 'T is true indeed our Day continues many times a great while longer and we are to work while it continues and 't is never too late to begin to do well and to enter upon a good Course but there is no such proper and advantagious Season for the beginning of this work as in our youth and tender years This is the accepted time this is the day of salvation God's Grace is then most forward and ready to assist us and we are then least of all indisposed for the receiving of the Impressions of it and the Impressions of it do then go deepest into our minds and are most lasting and durable But if we neglect this Opportunity we provoke God by Degrees to withdraw his Grace and to take away his holy Spirit from us and by degrees we settle in vicious Habits and are every day more and more hardned through the deceitfulness of sin It is never too late to work while the day lasts but the sooner we begin this work and set about it in good earnest the easier we shall find it if we defer it late every step will be up the Hill and against the Grain Thirdly After this Season is expired there will be no â—urther Oportunity of working when this day is once at an end then cometh the night when no man can work The Night is a time unfit for work when we can hardly do any thing if we had never so great mind to it and there is such a Night coming upon every one of us and Wo be to us if we have our work to do when the Night overtakes us There is usually an Evening before this Night when it will be very difficult for us and next to impossible to do this work and this is the time of Sickness and Old Age in which men are commonly unfit for any work but most of all that which requires the whole force and vigour of our Minds the business of Religion If we attempt this work
secured against dangerous and damnable Errors in Religion and whereby they may discern Truth from Imposture and what Doctrines are from God and what not and this our Saviour declares to us here in the Text namely That an honest and sincere mind and a hearty desire to do the Will of God is the best Preservative against fatal Errors and Mistakes in Matters of Religion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 If any Man desire to do his Will he shall know of the Doctrine whether it be of God or whether I speak of my self There are two dangerous mistakes in Religion To reject any thing which really comes from God and To receive and entertain any thing as from God which doth not really come from him First To reject any thing which really comes from God This mistake the Jews frequently fell into when they rejected the true Prophets which God from time to time sent to them slighting their Message and persecuting their Persons but they miscarried most fatally and remarkably in their contempt of the true Messias that great Prophet whom they had so long expected and whom God sent at last to bring Salvation to them but when he came they knew him not nor would receive him but used him with all the despite and contempt imaginable not as a Teacher come from God but as a Deceiver and Impostor Now the danger of rejecting any thing that comes from God consists in this that it cannot be done without the highest Affront to the Divine Majesty To reject a Divine Message or Revelation is to oppose God and fight against him So our Saviour tells the Jews that in despising him they despised him that sent him Secondly There is also another dangerous mistake on the other hand in entertaining any thing as a Revelation from God which is not really from him And this likewise the Jews were frequently guilty of in receiving the false Prophets which spake in the name of the Lord when he had not sent them And this is commonly the temper of those who reject the truth greedily to swallow error and delusion So our Saviour tells us of the Jews John 5. 43. I am come in my Fathers name and ye receive me not if another shall come in his own name him ye will receive This Prediction of our Saviour's concerning the Jews was fully accomplish'd for after they had rejected him who gave such abundant evidence that he was the true Messias and a Teacher sent from God they received others who really came in their own names and ran after those who pretended to be the Messias and were in great numbers destroyed with them And this is very just with God that those who receive not the truth in the love of it should be given up to strong delusions to believe lies No◠these being the two great dangerous Mistakes in Religion which Men are liable to my Work at this time shall be to shew how a sincere desire and endeavour to do the Will of God is a security to Men against both those dangers and it will appear to be so upon these two accounts I. Because he who sincerely desires and endeavours to do the Will of God is hereby better qualified and disposed to make a right Judgment of Spiritual and Divine things II. Because God's Providence is more especially concerned to secure such Persons from dangerous Errors and Mistakes in things which concern their Eternal Salvation These shall be the two Heads of my following Discourse First Because he who sincerely desires and endeavours to do the Will of God is hereby better qualified and disposed to make a right Judgment of Spiritual and Divine Things and that for these two Reasons I. Because such a Person hath a truer notion of God and Divine Things II. Because he is more impartial in his search and enquiry after Truth First Because such a Person hath a truer notion of God and Divine Things No Man is so likely to have clear and true apprehensions of God as a good Man because he hath transcribed the Divine perfections in his own mind and is himself in some measure and degree what God is And for this Reason it is that the Scripture so often lays the foundation of all Divine Knowledge in the practice of Religion Job 28. 28. The fear of the Lord that is Wisdom and to depart from Evil is Understanding and Psal 111. 10. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom that is the Principle and Foundation of it a good understanding have all they that do his Commandments Whereas the Vices and Lusts of Men darken their Reason and distort their Understandings and fill the Mind with gross and sensual apprehensions of Things and thereby render Men unfit to discern those Truths which are of a Spiritual Nature and tendency and altogether indisposed to receive them For tho' the Vices of Men be properly seated in their Wills and do not possess their Understandings yet they have a bad influence upon them as Fumes and Vapours from the Stomach are wont to affect the Head Nothing indeed is more natural to the Mind and Understanding of Men than the knowledge of God but we may abuse our Faculties and render them unfit for the discerning even of their proper Objects When Men by wicked Practices have rendred themselves unlike to God they will not love to retain the knowlenge of him in their Minds but will become vain in their imaginations concerning him What Clouds and Mists are to the Bodily Eye that the Lusts and Corruptions of Men are to the Understanding they hinder it from a clear perception of Heavenly Things the pure in Heart they are best qualified for the sight of God Now according as a Man's Notions of God are such will be his apprehensions of Religion All Religion is either Natural or Revealed Natural Religion consists in the belief of a God and in right conceptions and apprehensions concerning him and in a due reverence and observance of him and in a ready and chearful obedience to those Laws which he hath imprinted upon our Nature and the Sum of our Obedience consists in our conformity to God and an endeavour to be like him For supposing God to have made no external Revelation of his Mind to us we have no other way to know his Will but by considering his Nature and our own and if so then he that resembles God most is like to understand him best because he finds those perfections in some measure in himself which he contemplates in the Divine Nature and nothing gives a Man so sure a notion of things as practice and experience Every good Man is in some degree partaker of a Divine Nature and feels that in himself which he conceives to be in God So that this Man does experience what others do but talk of he sees the Image of God in himself and is able to discourse of him from an inward sense and feeling of his Excellency and Perfections And as
God is said to give over the abominable Heathen to a Reprobate Mind As they did not like to retain God in their knowledge God gave them over 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to an Injudicious and Undiscerning Mind When Men abandon themselves to Wickedness and Impiety God withdraws his Grace from them and by his secret and just Judgment they are deprived of the Faculty of discerning between Truth and Error between Good and Evil. 2 Thes 2. 10 11 12. It is said that the Man of Sin should come with all deceiveableness of Unrighteousness in them that perish because they received not the love of the Truth that they might be Saved And that for this Cause God would send them strong delusion that they should believe a Lye that they all might be Damned who believed not the Truth but had pleasure in Unrighteousness And it is just with God that Men of Vicious Inclinations and Practices should be exposed to the Cheat of the grossest and vilest Impostors God's Providence is concerned for Men of honest Minds and sincere Intentions But if Men take pleasure in Unrighteousness God takes no further care of them but delivers them up to their own hearts Lusts to be seduced into all those Errors into which their own vain Imaginations and their foolish hearts are apt to lead them Thus have I endeavoured as briefly as I could to shew that an honest Mind that sincerely desires and endeavours to do the Will of God is the best security against fatal Errors and Mistakes in Matters of Religion both because it disposeth a Man to make a true Judgment of Divine Things and because the Providence of God is more especially concerned for the security of such Persons There remains â—an Objection to be answered to which this Discourse may seem liable but this together with the Inferences which may be made from this Discourse I shall referr to another opportunity The Second SERMON ON JOHN VII 17. If any Man will do his Will he shall know of the Doctrine whether it be of God or whether I speak of my self I Made entrance into these words the last Day in which our Saviour declares to us that an honest and sincere Mind and an hearty Desire and Endeavour to do the Will of God is the best Security and Preservative against dangerous Errors and Mistakes in Matters of Religion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 if any Man desire to do his Will he shall know of the Doctrine whether it be of God or whether I speak of my self Now there are I told you two great Mistakes in Religion To reject any thing which really is from God and to receive and entertain any thing as from God which is not really from him And therefore I proposed from this Text to shew how a sincere Desire and Endeavour to do the Will of God is a security to Men against both these Dangers namely upon these two Accounts First Because he who sincerely Desires and Endeavours to do the Will of God is hereby better qualified and disposed to make a right Judgment of Spiritual and Divine Things and that for these two Reasons I. Because such a Person hath a truer Notion of God and Divine Things He that resembleth God most is like to understand him best because he finds those Perfections in some measure in himself which he Contemplates in the Divine Nature and nothing gives a Man so sure a Notion of Things as Practice and Experience II. Because such a Person is more Impartial in his search and enquiry after Truth and therefore more likely to find it and to discern it from Error That Man only stands fair for the entertainment of Truth who is under the Power and Dominion of no Vice or Lust because he hath nothing to corrupt or bribe him to seduce him and draw him aside in his enquiry after Truth He hath no manner of concernment that the contrary Proposition should be true having the indifferency of a Traveller and no other Interest but to find out the right way to Heaven and to walk in it But if a Man be biass'd by any Lust and addicted to any vicious Practice he is then an interested Person and concern'd to make a partial Judgment of Things and is under a great Temptation to Infidelity when the Truths of God are proposed to him because whatever the Evidence for them be he cannot but be unwilling to own the Truths of those Doctrines which are so contrary to his inclination and interest Secondly Another Reason why they who sincerely desire to do the Will of God have a greater security in discerning Truth from Error is because the Providence of God is more especially concern'd to preserve such Persons from dangerous Errors and Mistakes in Things which concern their Eternal Salvation When Men are of a teachable Temper of an humble and obedient frame of Mind God loves to reveal himself and his Truth to them Psal 25. 9. The Meek will he guide in Judgment and the Meek will he teach his way The proper disposition of a Scholar is to be willing to Learn and that which in Religion we are to Learn is what is the good and acceptable Will of God that we may do it for Practice is the end of Knowledge If ye know these Things saith our Saviour happy are ye if ye do them It is necessary to know the Will of God but we are only happy in the doing of it and if any Man be desirous to do the Will of God his Goodness is such that he will take effectual care to secure such a one against dangerous and fatal Errors He that hath an honest Mind and would do the Will of God if he knew it God will not suffer him to remain ignorant of it or to be mistaken about it in any necessary Point of Faith or Practice Thus far I have gone I shall now proceed to remove an Objection to which this Discourse may seem liable and then draw some Inferâ—nces from the whole After all that hath been said some perhaps may ask Is every good Man then secure from all Error and Mistake in Matters of Religion This is a mighty Priviledge indeed But do not we find the contrary in Experience That an honest Heart and a weak Head do often meet together For answer to this I shall lay down these following Propositions First That if there were any necessity that a good Man should be secured from all manner of Error and Mistake in Religion this Probity of Mind and sincere desire to do the Will of God is the best way to do it because such a Temper and Disposition of Mind gives a Man the best advantages to discern betwixt Truth and Error and God is most likely to reveal his Will to such Persons But there is no necessity of this because a Man may be a good Man and go to Heaven notwithstanding a great many Mistakes in Religion about things not necessary For while we are in this
Revelation and Rule of their Written Law and that they were not Infallibly Assisted is evident from the great Errors they fell into in making void the Commandments of God by their Traditions and in their Rejecting and Crucifying the true Messias and the Son of God In like manner the Apostles and first Teachers of the Christian Religion were immediately Inspired and Miraculously Assisted in the Publishing of the Christian Doctrine and for the speedy and more effectual Propagating and Planting of it in the World in despite of the violent Prejudices that were against it and the fierce opposition that was made to it But when this was done this Miraculous and Extraordinary Assistance ceased and God left the Christian Religion to be preserved and continued by more Humane and Ordinary ways the Doctrines of it being committed to Writing for a standing Rule of Faith and Practice in all Ages and an Order of Men appointed to Instruct People in those Doctrines with a Promise to secure both Teachers and People that sincerely desiâ—e to know and do the Will of God from all Fatal Errors and Mistakes about Things necessary to their Eternal Salvation and this is a Provision more likely to be made by God and better suited to the Nature of Man than the perpetual and needless Miracle of an Inspired or any otherwise Infallible Church Thirdly This way is likewise more agreeable to the Nature of Religion and the Virtue of Faith The Design of an Infallible Church is to secure all that continue in the Communion of it against all possibility of Error in Matters of Faith The Question now is not whether an Infallible Church would do this but whether that Church which arrogates Infallibility to it self does not pretend to do this And if they could do it it would not be agreeable to the Nature of Religion and the Virtue of Faith For Faith which is the Principle of all Religious Actions would be no Virtue if it were necessary A true and right Belief can be no Virtue where a Man is Infallibly secured against Error There is the same Reason of Virtuous and Criminal Actions and as there can be no Crime or Fault in doing what a Man cannot help so neither can there be any Virtue All Virtuous Actions are Matter of Praise and Commendation and therefore it can be no Virtue in any Man because it deserves no Commendation to believe and own that the Sun shines at Noon-day when he sees it does so No more would it be a Virtue in any Man and deserve Praise to Believe aright who is in a Church wherein he is Infallibly secured against all Error in Matters of Faith Make any thing necessary and impossible to be otherwise and the doing of it ceases to be a Virtue God hath so framed Religion and the Evidence of Truth and the Means of coming to the Knowledge of it as to be a sufficient Security to Men of honest Minds and teachable Tempers against all Fatal and Final Mistakes concerning Things necessary to Salvation but not so that every Man that is of such a Church should be Infallibly secured against all Errors in Matters of Faith and this on purpose to try the Virtue and Disposition of Men whether they will be at the pains to search for Truth and when it is proposed to them with sufficient Evidence tho' not by an Infallible Hand they will receive it in the love of it that they may be Saved Fourthly This is as much security against Error in Matters of Faith as God hath provided against Sin and Vice in Matters of Practice and since a right Belief is only in order to a good Life a Man would be hard put to it to give a Wise Reason why God should take greater Care for the Infallible Security of Mens Faith than of their Obedience The Reason pretended why God should make such Infallible Provision for a right Faith is for the better security of Mens Eternal Salvation and Happiness Now the Virtues of a good Life have a more Direct and Immediate influence upon that than the most Orthodox Belief The end of the Commandments i. e of the Declaration of the Gospel is Charity In the Christian Religion that which mainly avails to our Justification and Salvation is a Faith that worketh by Charity and the keeping of the Commandments of God He that heareth these Sayings of mine and doth them saith our Blessed Lord I will liken him to a Wise Man that Built his House upon a Rock and again not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord i. e. makes Profession of Faith in me shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but he that doth the Will of my Father which is in Heaven and again if ye know these Things happy are ye if ye do them And the Apostle St. Peter Exhorts Christians to add to their Faith and Knowledge Virtue and Godliness and Brotherly Kindness and Charity that so an abundant entrance may be ministred to them into the Everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ So that the Virtues of a good Life have the greatest Influence upon our Salvation and the main stress of Christianity is to be laid there And therefore whatever Reason can be assigned why God should provide for the Infallible security of our Faith is much stronger why an equal Provision should be made to secure Holiness and Obedience of Life because without this Faith cannot Infallibly attain its End which is the Salvation of our Souls But this it is granted God hath not done and Experience shews it and therefore it is unreasonable to suppose that he hath done the other It is sufficient that in both kinds he hath done that which is sufficient to make us capable of Happiness if we be not wanting to our selves the rest he hath left to the sincerity of our Endeavours expecting that We on our part should work out our Salvation with fear and trembling and give all Diligence to make our Calling and Election sure And if God hath made such Provision by the Gospel for all that enjoy the Light and Advantage of it that none can miscarry without their own fault then both his Goodness and Wisdom are sufficiently acquitted without an Infallible Guide and Judge in Matters of Faith and that Irreverent way of Arguing in the Canon Law might well have been spared that of necessity there must be an Infallible Judge of Controversies in Religion aliter Dominus non videretur fuisse discretus otherwise God would not seem to have Ordered Matters discreetly But what Infallible Security soever they have in the Church of Rome as to Matters of Faith they are certainly the worst provided of wholsom and safe Directions for the Consciences and Lives of Men of any Church in the World No Religion that I know of in the World ever had such Lewd and Scandalous Casuists Witness the Moral Divinity of the Jesuits which hath been so exposed to the World not only by those
of it Nay I will go farther yet That there are no other Promises made in Scripture of Direction or Assistance or Security from Mistake to any Church but the same are made in as full and express Terms to every good Man that sincerely desires to know the Truth and to practise it Is it promis'd to the Church or to the Pastors of it I will be with you always And hath not our Saviour promised the same to every one that is obedient to his word John 14. 23. If a Man love me he will keep my words and my Father will love him and we will come unto him and make our abode with him And does not the Apostle apply the same Promise to every good Christian Heb. 13. 5. I will never leave thee nor forsake thee For where is the difference between these Expressions I will be with you and I will make my abode with him I will be with you always and I will never leave thee nor forsake thee Is it promised to the Church that the Spirit shall lead her into all Truth and is not the same Promise made to every good Man John 14. 21. He that hath my Commandments and keepeth them he it is that loveth me And he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father and I will love him and will manifest my self to him that is God will reveal his Will to those that love him and keep his Commandments Hath God promised to build his Church upon a Rock And doth not our Saviour use the same Metaphor concerning every Man that doth the Will of God Mat. 7. 24. Whosoever heareth these Sayings of mine and doth them is like a Wise Man that built his House upon a Rock So that if to be built upon a Rock signifies Infallibility it belongs to every good Man who sincerely practiseth what he knows as much as to any Church When Men are enabled by God to work Miracles for the confirmation of the Doctrines which they deliver there is great Reason to believe that they are Infallibly assisted in the delivery of those Doctrines But without this 't is the vainest thing in the World for any Person or Church to pretend to it because they offer no Evidence â—it to satisfie any Man that they are so assisted And I do not hear that the Pope among all his Priviledges does pretend to the Power of Miracles Secondly From hence likewise we may infer the great Reason of Error and Infidelity in the World If any Man be an Infidel it is not the fault of his Understanding but of his Will it is not because there is not sufficient Evidence that the Christian Religion is from God but because Mens Interests and Lusts make them partial and incompetent Judges of Matters of Religion The Evidence of the Christian Religion is such as recommends it to every Man's Reason and Conscience so that as St. Paul argues if the Gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost In whom the God of this World hath blinded the minds of them that believe not lest the Light of the Glorious Gospel of Christ who is the Image of God should shine unto them 2 Cor. 4. 3 4. If Men did but stand indifferent for the entertainment of Truth and were not swayed by the interest of any Lust or Passion I am confident that no Man that hath the Gospel fairly proposed to him would continue an Infidel If Men did but truly live up to the Principles of Natural Religion they would easily be convinc'd that the Christian Religion which is so suitable thereto is from God Thirdly and Lastly What hath been said is a great Argument and Encouragement to Obedience and Holiness of Life Do we desire not to be mistaken about the Mind of God Let us heartily endeavour to do his Will If we would not be seduced by the Error of the Wicked let us take heed of their Vicious Practices The best way certainly to preserve a right Judgment in Matters of Religion is to take great care of a good Life God's Goodness is such that he will not suffer any Man's Judgment to be betrayed into a Damnable Error without some Vice and Fault of his Will The Principles of Natural Religion are born with us and imprinted upon our Minds so that no Man can be ignorant of them nor need to be mistaken about them and as for those Revelations which God hath made of himself to the World he hath been pleased to accompany them with so much Evidence that an honest and sincere Mind may easily discern them from Error and Imposture So our Saviour hath assured us That if any Man desire to do his Will he shall know of the Doctrine whether it be of God On the other hand if we see any oppose the clear Truth or to depart from it and to embrace gross Errors and Delusions we may almost certainly conclude that there is some Worldly Interest or Lust at the bottom of it So our Saviour has likewise told us that the Reason why Men love Darkness rather than Light is because their Deeds are Evil and every one that doth Evil hateth the Light neither cometh to the Light lest his Deeds should be reproved I will Conclude this whole Discourse with St. Peter's Exhortation the 2 d of Pet. 3. 17 18. Ye therefore Beloved seeing ye know these Things before beware lest ye also being led away with the Error of the Wicked fall from your own stedfastness But grow in Grace and in the Knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ To him be Glory both now and for ever Amen A SERMON ON LUKE XII 15. And he said unto them Take heed and beware of Covetousness for a Man's Life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth AMong all the irregular Appetites of Men there is none that is more common and unreasonable and of a more Universal bad Influence upon the Hearts and Lives of Men than this of Covetousness and therefore in speaking of this Vice I shall strike at the Root of a great many others even of Apostacy from God's Truth and Religion of which Covetousness and the Love of this present World is one of the most common Causes So that if I can contribute any thing to the Cure of this great Distemper of Mens Minds I shall in so doing remove that which is the Cause and Occasion of a great part of the Evils and Mischiefs which are in the World And to this end I have pitched upon these Words of our Blessed Saviour to his Hearers And he said unto them Take heed and beware of Covetousness for a Man's Life consisteth not in the abundance of the Things which he possesseth In Which Words are these Threâ— Things Observable First The Manner of the Caution which our Saviour here gives Take heed and beware he doubles it to shew the great Need and Concernment of it Secondly The Matter of the Caution or the Vice which our
abomination to him and his Soul hates them And so likewise the Circumstances of Religion are less considerable than the substantial Means and Instruments of it And therefore all Rites and Ceremonies are in Religion of less consideration than the Substance of God's Worship and ought always to be subordinate to it In like manner the Moral Duties of Religion comprehended under the two great Commandments of the love of God and our Neighbour because they are of Eternal and indispensable obligation are to be preferr'd to matters of meer positive Institution and where they cannot stand togother that which is positive ought to be set aside and to give way for the present to that which is moral and good in its own Nature and not only because it is Commanded and Enjoyned for in this Case God hath expresly declared that he will have Mercy and not Sacrifice Upon which ground our Saviour declares that the Law of the Sabbath ought to give place to works of Mercy Upon the same account Peace and Charity are to be valued above Matters of Nicety and Scruple of doubtful Dispute and Controversie because the former are unquestionably good the latter doubtfully and uncertainly so All these things ought to be considered and are of great moment to make a Man sincerely and wisely Religious For Men may keep a great stir about some parts of Religion and be very Careful and Diligent Zealous and Earnest about the Means and Instruments of Religion and in the Exercises of Piety and Devotion and yet be destitute of the Power and Life of it and fall short of that inward and real and substantial Righteousness which alone can qualifie us for the Kingdom of God The Fifth and last Direction I would give is this That we have a particular regard to the great Duty of Charity or Alms-giving this being very frequently in Scripture called Righteousness as being an eminent part of Religion and a great Evidence of the truth and sincerty of our Piety And this our Saviour particularly directs to as the way to the Kingdom of God Luke 12. 33. After this general Exhortation to seek the Kingdom of God he instanceth in Charity as the direct way to it give Alms provide for your selves Bags that wax not old a Treasure in the Heavens that faileth not And elsewhere our Saviour speaks of this Grace and Virtue as that which above all others will make way for our admission into Heaven Luke 16. 9. I say unto you make to your selves friends of the Mammon of unrighteousness that when ye fail they may receive you or ye may be received into Everlasting Habitations And St. Paul calls it laying in store for our selves a good foundation or as the word may better be rendred in this place a good treasure against the time to come that we may lay hold on Eternal Life 1 Tim. 6. 19. St. James speaks of it as a main and most essential part of Religion and the great Evidence of a true and sincere Piety Jam. 1. 27. Pure Religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this to visit the Fatherless and Widows in their affliction Finally our Lord instanceth in this as the very thing which will admit us into or shut us out of Heaven by the performance whereof we shall be Absolved and for the neglect whereof we shall be Condemned in the Judgment of the Great Day Mat. 25. So that this part of Righteousness or Religion ought in a more especial manner to be regarded by us because upon the performance or neglect of this Duty our Eternal Happiness doth so much depend The Fourth and last thing only remains to be spoken to which is to set before you the most proper and powerful Motives and Incouragements to the minding of this great Interest and Concernment But this will be the Subject of another Discourse The Second SERMON ON MATTH VI. 33. But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you THESE Words which I began to Discourse upon the last Day are a strict Charge and Command to all Christians to mind the business of Religion in the first place and to take all imaginable Care to secure the Happiness of another Life but seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you In the handling of which Argument First I Explained what is meant by the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness Secondly I shew'd what is meant by seeking these and what by seeking them first Thirdly I laid down some Rules for our Direction and Furtherance in this great Business I shall now proceed to represent to you in the Fourth and last place some of the most proper and powerful Arguments and Encouragements to engage us to the minding of this great Inteâ—est and Concernment amongst which I shall in the last place particularly consider the Encouragement here given in the Text seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you 1. My First Argument shall be from the Worth and Excellency of the things we seek the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness which are certainly the greatest and best things we can seek The Kingdom of God is the Eternal Salvation of our Souls Everlasting Life and Happiness in another World which to animate our Endeavours and to tempt our Ambition the more are set forth to us under the notion of a Kingdom And what will not Men do to obtain that what pains will they not take what hazards will they not run what difficulties will they not grapple with and break through if they can to come at a Kingdom which when they have obtained they are exposed to as many and commonly to more Cares and Fears to greater Difficulties and Dangers in the keeping than they were for the getting of it And yet all this Men will do for a corruptible Crown for one of the petty Kingdoms and Principalities of this World which are continually tottering and ready to be overturned by open violence or to be undermined by secret Treachery But the Kingdom which I am speaking of and perswading you and my self to seek after is not like the Kingdoms of Men and of this World it is called the Kingdom of God to signifie to us the Excellency and stability of it as much beyond any of the Kingdoms of this World as the Heavens are high above the Earth and as God is greater than Man a Kingdom which cannot be shaken a Crown which fadeth not away a Scepter which cannot be wrested from us But to quit the Metaphor and speak to the Thing the Kingdom of God imports the Eternal Salvation of our Souls I say of our Souls which both in respect of the Dignity of their Nature and their Immortal duration are infinitely more valuable than any of the perishing things of this World and ought to be much dearer to us Other
the lawful Enjoyments of this World as he that makes it his only Design to be Rich and Great in this World nay as to the necessaries of Life and a competency of outward things he hath a much greater and better security from the Providence and Promise of God than the Men of the World have by all their Care and Pains Besides that he hath this Considerable advantage by minding these things only as accessories that if he miss of them he hath something better to support him in the want of them being secure of a Happiness which this World can neither give nor take from him But now the Worldly Man if he be defeated in his Designs is of all Men most miserable because he hath nothing else to Comfort him nothing else to trust to he fails of his hopes as to this World and hath done what in him lies to make his Case desperate as to the other Upon all these Considerations and Encouragements you see how reasonable it is that we should make Religion and the Concernments of another Life our great Care and Business And yet how are these neglected by the greatest part of Mankind and by the best of us God knows not minded as they ought and as they deserve What can we say for our selves in excuse of so intolerable a folly There are two or three things which Men commonly prâ—tend if not in justification yet in mitigation and excuse of this great neglect First they pretend great difficulties and discouragements in the ways of Religion This I have already acknowledged to be true so far as to awaken our Care and to whet our Industry but by no means to make us despond and give over all Care of so great a Concernment because of the Difficulties it is attended withall Men who have no mind to a thing are apt to imagine great difficulties in the attaining of it and to magnifie them in their fancies beyond Reason As the People of Israel when they were to enter into Canaan which was the Type of the Kingdom of Heaven represented the Inhabitants of the Land whom they were to Conquer more terrible than in truth they were reporting to one another that the Land was full of Giants and Sons of Anak Men of prodigious Stature which reached up to Heaven And this the Wise Man observes to be the perpetual excuse of the Sloathful when they have no mind to a thing they say there is a Lyon in the way that is they fancy to themselves Dangers and Terrors which are not Thus Men who are averse from Religion and have no mind to be at the trouble and pains to get to Heaven are apt to complain of the monstrous and insuperable Difficulties of Religion and how hard it is for a Man to mortifie his Lusts and subdue his Appetites and govern his Passions and to do all those things which are necessary to bring him to Heaven Well! it is acknowledg'd to be difficult And is it not so to get an Estate and to rise to any thing in this World The true pains which Men take about these things shew that they are difficult only when Men have a mind to a thing and their Heart is set upon it they do not stand to complain of the difficulty but buckle to it and grapple with it Is Religion difficult And what is not so that is good for any thing Is not the Law a difficult and crabbed study Does it not require great labour and perpetual drudging to excel in any kind of Knowledge to be Master of any Art or Profession In a word is there any thing in the World worthy the having that is to be gotten without pains And is Eternal Life and Glory the only slight and inconsiderable thing that is not worth our Care and Industry Is it fit that so great a good should be exposed to the faint and idle Wishes to the cheap and lazy Endeavours of sloathful Men For what Reason Nay with what Conscience can we bid less for Heaven and Eternal Life than Men are contented to give for the things of this World things of no value in Comparison not worthy the toiling for not sure to be attained by all our Endeavours things which perish in the using and which when we have them we are liable to be deprived of by a thousand Accidents One fit of a Feaver may shatter our Understandings and confound all our Knowledge and turn us into Fools and Ideots an Inundation or a Fire may sweep away and devour our Estates a Succession of Calamities may in a few hours make the Richest and Greatest Man as Poor as Job and set him upon a Dunghill But be the Difficulty what it will of attaining the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness they are to be sought at any rate because they are absolutely necessary and we miserable and undone if we have them not And therefore not to dissemble in the Matter the Difficulties of Religion are considerable but then they are much greater aâ— first and will every day abate and grow less and the work by degrees will become eaâ—â—e and turn into Pleasure and Delight a Pleasure so great as none knows but he that hath it and he that hath it would not exchange it for all the sensual Pleasures and Enjâ—yments of this World Secondly Others pretend want of time for the minding of so great a Work And 't is very true that all Persons have not equal leisure for this purpose some are much more straitned than others and more taken up with the necessary Cares of this Life but God hath put no Man upon this hard necessity that for want of time he shall be forced to neglect his Body and his Health his Family and Estate to save his Soul And yet if any Man were brought to this distress it were well worth his while to secure his Eternal Salvation tho' it were with the neglect and loss of all other things But those who are most straitned for time have so much as is absolutely necessary for there is a considerable part of Religion which does not require time but Resolution and Care Not to commit Sin not to break the Laws of God not to be intemperate to make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the Lusts thereof does not spend time but saves it for better Purposes so that every Man hath time not to do that which he ought not to do And for the positive part of Religion whether it consists in the exercise of our Minds or in the External Acts of Religion no Man is so distrest but he hath time to think of Heaven and Eternity time to love God to esteem him and delight in him above all things And this a Man may do very frequently and very acceptably while he is labouring and travelling about his Worldly Affairs while his hand is upon the Plow his heart may be with God and while he converseth here upon Earth his Thoughts and Affections may be in
it too well to part with it for the pleasures of Sin which are but for a season and which always prove bittâ—rness in the end and for the little sweetness which they yielded leave a terrible sting behind them Thus have I briefly represented the Reasonableness and Wisdom of Religion It is of Infinite perfection and of a vast influence and extent it reacheth to the whole Man the Happiness of Soul and Body and to our whole duration the Happiness of this World and the next for Godliness that is true Religion and Piety hath the Promise of this Life and of that which is to come But now where are the Effects of true Religion in the full compass and extent of it to be found Such real Effects as do in any measure bear a proportion to the power and perfection of their Cause For nothing certainly is more Excellent and Amiable in its definition than true Religion is but alas how imperfect is it in the Subject I mean in us who ought to shew forth the power and perfection of it in the Practice and Actions of our Lives the best demonstration of the excellent frame and temper of our Minds What a conflict and strugling do the best Men find between their Inclination and their Duty How hard to reconcile our Practice and our Knowledge and to make our Lives to agree with the Reason of our Minds and the clear Conviction of our Consciences How difficult for a Man in this dangerous and imperfect state to be in any measure either so wise or so good as he ought How rare is it for a Man to be good natur'd gentle and easie to be intreated without being often betray'd into some weakness and sinful compliances especially in the bad Company of our Betters How next to impossible is it to be strict and severe in our Lives without being sower to govern our Lives with that perpetual Caution and to maintain that evenness of temper as not to be sometimes peevish and passionate and when we are so not to be apt to say with Jonah we do well to be angry There are two Precepts in the New Testament that seem to me to be the nicest of all other and hardest to be put in practice One is that of our Blessed Saviour Be wise as Serpents and innocent as Doves How hard is it to hit upon the just temper of Wisdom and Innocency to be Wise and hurt no body to be Innocent without being Silly The other is that of the Apostle be angry and sin not How difficult is this never to be angry but upon just Cause and when the Cause of our anger is just not to be transported beyond due bounds either as to the degree of our anger or as to the duration and continuance of it This is so very nice a Matter that one would be almost tempted to think that this were in effect a prohibition of anger in any Case be ye angry and sin not be ye so if ye can without Sin I believe whosoever observes it will find that it is as easie to suppress this Passion at any time as to give way to it without offending in one kind or other But to proceed How hard a Matter is it To be much in Company and free in Conversation and not to be infected by it To live in the midst of a wicked World and yet to keep our selves free from the Vices of it To be temperate in the use of things pleasing so as neither to injure our Health nor to lose the use of our Reason nor to offend against Conscience To Fast often without being conceited of it and bargaining as it were with God for some greater Liberties in another kind and without censuring those who do not tie up themselves to our strict Rules either of Piety or Abstinence when perhaps they have neither the same Opportunities of doing it nor the same Reason to do it that we have nay perhaps have a much better Reason for not doing just as we do For no Man is to prescribe to others his own private Method either of Fasting or of Devotion as if he were the Rule and his Example a kind of Proclamation enjoyning all his Neighbours the same days of Fasting and Prayer which he himself for Reasons best known to himself thinks fit to observe And then how hard is it to be chearful without being vain and grave and serious without being morose to be useful and instructive to others in our Conversation and Discourse without assuming too much Authority to our selves which is not the best and most effectual way of doing good to others there being something in the Nature of Man which had rather take a hint and intimation from another to advise himself and would rather chuse to imitate the silent good Example which they see in another than to have either his Advice or his Example imposed upon them How difficult is it to have a Mind equal to every Condition and to be content with mean and moderate things to be Patient in Adversity and Humble in Prosperity and Meek upon sudden and violent Provocations to keep our Passions free from getting head of our Reason and our Zeal from out-running our Knowledge to have a Will perfectly submitted and resigned to the Will of God even when it lies cross and thwart to ours so that whatever pleaseth God should please us to be Resolute when our Duty happens to be difficult and dangerous or even to believe that to be our Duty tho' it certainly be so which is very inconvenient for us to do to hold out and be unwearied in well-doing to be careful to preserve our Lives and yet upon a great Occasion and whenever God calls for them to be content to lay them down To be Wise and Innocent Men in Understaâ—ding and yet in Malice Children to have many great Virtues and not to want that which gives the great lustre to them all I mean real and unaffected Modesty and Humility In short How difficult is it to have regard to â—ll God's Commandments and to hate every evil and false way To have our Duty continually in our eye and ready to be put in practice upon every proper Occasion To have God and the Consideration of another World always before us present to our Minds and operative upon our Practice To live as those that know they must die and to have our thoughts perpetually awake and intent upon the great and Everlasting Concernments of our Immortal Souls These are great things indeed easie to be talkt of but hard to be done nay not to be done at all without frequent and fervent Prayer to God and the continual aids and supplies of his Grace not without an earnest endeavour on our parts a vigorous resistance of Temptations and many a sore conflict with our own perverse Wills and sensual Inclinations not without a perpeâ—â—al guard and watchfulness over our Lives and our unruly Appetites and Passions Little do
unexperienced Men and those who have taken no great pains with themselves imagine what Thought and Consideration what Care and Attention what Resolution and Firmness of Mind what Diligence and patient continuance in well-doing are requisite to make a truly good Man such a one as St. Paul describes that is perfect and entire and wanting nothing that follows God fully and fulfils every part of his Duty having a Conscience void of offence towards God and towards Man Who is there among us that is either wise enough for his own direction or good enough for the peace and satisfaction of his own Mind that is so happy as to know his Duty and to do it as to have both the Understanding and the Will to do in all things as he ought After our best Care and all our Pains and Endeavours the most of us will still find a great many defects in our Lives and cannot but discern great and manifold imperfections in our very best Duties and Services insomuch that we shall be forced to make the same acknowledgment concerning them which Solomon does concerning the imperfection of all things under the Sun that which is crooked cannot be made streight and that which is wanting cannot be numbred And when all is done we have all of us reason to say not only that we are unprofitable servants having done nothing but what was our duty to do but have cause likewise with great shame and confusion of face to acknowledge that we have been in many respects Wicked and Slothful Servants and so very far from having done what was our duty to do that the greatest part of the good which the most of us have done is the least part of the good which we might and ought to have done The Practice of Religion in all the Parts and Instances of our Duty is work more than enough for the best and greatest Mind for the longest and best order'd Life The Commandment of God is exceeding broad and an Obedience in any good measure equal to the extent of it extreamly difficult And after all as the Man in the Gospel said with tears to our Saviour concerning the weakness of his own Faith Lord I believe help thou my unbelief Mar. 9. 24. So the best of Men may say and say it with tears too concerning every Grace and Virtue wherein they excel most Lord I aspire I endeavour after it be thou pleased to assist my weakness and to help me by thy grace continually to do better The Summ of all is this If we be careful to do our best and make it the constant and sincere endeavour of our Lives to please God and to keep his Commandments we shall be accepted of him For God values this more than whole Burnt-Offerings and Sacrifices more than thousands of Rams and ten thousands of Rivers of Oâ—l because this is an essential part of Religion To love God with all our hearts and minds and strength and to love our Neighbours as our selves The Duties comprehended in these two great Commandments sincerely practised by us though with a great deal of imperfection will certainly be acceptable in the sight of God in and through the Merits and Mediation of Jesus Christ the Righteous Blessed are they saith St. John very plainly in the conclusion of that obscure Book of his Revelation Blessed are they that do his Commandments that they may have right to the Tree of Life Rev. 22. 14. I speak now to a great many who are at the upper end of the World and command all the Pleasures and Enjoyments of it but the time is coming and whether we think of it or not is very near at hand when we shall see an end of all perfection and of all that is desirable upon Earth and upon which Men are apt to value themselves so much in this World and then nothing but Religion and the Conscience of having done our Duty to God and Man will stand us in stead and yield true Comfort to us When we are going to leave the World how shall we then wish that we had made Religion the great business of our Lives and in the Day of God's Grace and Mercy had exercised Repentance and made our Peace with God and prepared our selves for another World that after our departure hence we might be admitted into the presence of God where is fulness of Joy and at whose right hand are pleasures for evermore Let no Man therefore of what Rank or Condition soever he be in this World think himself too great to be good and too Wise to be Religious and to take care of his Immortal Soul and his Everlasting Happiness in another World since nothing but this will approve it self it to be true Wisdom at the last All other things will have an end with this Life but Religion and the Fear of God is of a vast extent and hath an influence upon our whole duration and after the course of this Life is ended will put us into the secure Possession of a Happiness which shall never have an end I will Conclude this whole Discourse with those words of our Blessed Saviour If ye know these things happy are â—e if ye do them Which thou who art the Eternal Spring of Truth and Goodness grant that we may all know and do in this our day for thy Mercies sake in Jefus Christ to whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost be all Honour and Glory Dominion and Power now and for ever Amen A SERMON ON 2 PETER I. 4. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious Promises that by these ye might be partakers of the Divine Nature THE Connection of these words with the foâ—mer is somewhat obscure but it seems to be this The Apostle had in the Verse before said that the Divine Power of Christ hath by the knowledge of the Gospel given us all things that pertain to Life and Godliness that is by the knowledge of the Gospel we are furnish'd with all Advantages which conduce to make Men happy in the next Life and Religious in this and then it follows whereby are given unto â—s exceeding great and precious Promises Whereâ—â— this seems to refer to the whole of the foregoing Verse as if it had beeâ—â—â—id Christ by the Gospel hath given to us all things that conduce to our Future Happiness and in order thereto all things which tend to make Men holy and good Or else Life and Godliness are by a Hebraism frequent in the New Testament put for a Godly Life And then among all those things which conduce to a Godly Life the Apostle instanceth in the Promises of the Gospel which do so directly tend to make Men Partakers of a Divine Nature In the handling of these words I shall First Consider the Promises here spoken of whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious Promises Secondly The influence which these Promises ought to have upon us that by these ye might be made partakers of
a Divine Nature First We will consider the Promises which are here spoken of whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious Promises And because the chief Promises of the Gospel are here intended I shall take occasion from this Text to handle the Doctrine of the Promises which is frequently discours'd of in Divinity but not always so clearly stated And to this purpose it will be proper to take into Consideration these four things 1. What the Promises are which are here spoken of whereby are given unto us Promises 2. Why they are said to be so great and precious exceeding great and precious Promises 3. We will Consider the Tenour of these Promises 4. When Men are said to have a right to them so as they may apply them to themselves These four Heads will comprehend what I have to say upon this Argument 1. What the Promises are which the Apostle here speaks of whereby are given unto us Promises And no doubt the Apostle here intends those great and excellent Promises which Christ hath made to us in the Gospel So that to satisfie our selves in this enquiry we need only to consider what are the Principal Promises of the Gospel Now the great Promises of the Gospel are these three 1. The Promise of the free Pardon and Forgiveness of our Sins upon our Faith and Repentance 2. The Promise of God's Grace and Holy Spirit to assist our Obedience 3. The Promise of Eternal Life to Reward it 1. The Promise of the Pardon and Forgiveness of our Sins upon our Faith and Repentance The Gospel hath made full and clear Promises to this Purpose that if we believe the Gospel and will forsake our Sins and amend our wicked Lives all that is past shall be forgiven us and that Christ died for this end to obtain for us Remission of Sins in his Blood The light of Nature upon consideration of the Mercy and goodness of God gave Men good hopes that upon their Repentance God would forgive their sins and turn away his wrath from them But Mankind was doubtful of this and therefore they used expiatory Sacrifices to appease the offended Deity The Jewish Religion allowed of no Expiation but for legal impurities and involuntary transgressions such as proceeded from ignorance and inadvertency but not for Sins of Presumption and such as were committed with an bigh hand If Men sin'd wilfully there was no Sacrifice appointed by the Law for such Sins But the Grace of the Gospel justifies us from the greatest Sins upon our Faith and sincere Repentance So St. Paul tells the Jews Acts 13. 38 39. Be it known â—nto you therefore men and brethren that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins And by him all that believe are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the Law of Moses There was no general Promise of Pardon nor way of Expiation under the Law perfect Remission of Sins is clearly revealed and ascertain'd to us only by the Gospel 2. Another great Promise of the Gospel is the Promise of God's Grace and Holy Spirit to assist our Obedience Our Blessed Saviour hath promised that our Heavenly Father will give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him 'T is true indeed there was a peculiar Promise of the Holy Ghost to the Apostles and Christians of the first Ages which is not now to be expected namely an Extraordinary and Miraculous Power whereby they were qualified to publish the Gospel to the World and to give Confirmation to it But now that the Christian Religion is propagated and setled in the World the great End and Use of these Miraculous Gifts is ceased but yet the Spirit of God doth still concur with the Gospel and work upon the Minds of Men to excite and assist them to that which is good And tho' this Operation be very secret so as we cannot give an account of the manner of it yet the effects of it are very sensible and this influence of God's Holy Spirit is common to all Christians in all Ages of the World This Proposition is Universally true and in all Ages and Times If any Man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his It must be acknowledged that the Spirit doth not now work upon Men in that sudden and sensible manner as it did in the first times of Christianity because then Men were strongly possest with the prejudices of other Religions which they had been brought up in and therefore as more outward means of Conviction were then necessary so likewise a more powerful internal Operation of the Spirit of God upon the Minds of Men to Conquer and bear down those prejudices and to subdue them to the Obedience of Faith But now the Principles of Religion and Goodness are more gradually instilled into the Minds of Men by the gentle degrees of Pious Instruction and Education and with these means the Spirit of God concurrs in a more Humane way which is more suited and accommodated to our Reason and offers less violence to the Nature of Men. So that this Promise of God's Holy Spirit is now made good to us as the Necessity and Circumstances of our present State do require God does not use such extraordinary Means for the producing of those Effects which may be accomplish'd in a more ordinary way The assistance of God's Holy Spirit is still necessary to Men to encline and enable them to that which is good but not in that manner and degree that it was necessary at first Because the prejudices against Christianity are not now so great and many of those Advantages which were necessarily wanting at first are now supplied in an ordinary way and therefore it is not reasonable now to expect the same extraordinary operation of the Spirit of God upon the Minds of Men which we read of in the first beginnings of Christianity 3. There is likewise the Promise of Eternal Life to Reward and Crown our Obedience And this the Scripture speaks of as the great Promise of the Gospel 1 Job 2. 25. This is the promise which he hath promised us even Eternal Life And upon this account the new Covenant of the Gospel is preferred before the old Covenant of the Law because it is establish'd upon better Promises All the Special and Particular Promises of the Law were of Temporal good things and these were the great Encouragements that were given to Obedience under that imimperfect Dispensation but now Godliness hath not only the Promise of the Life that now is but of that which is to come as the Apostle tells us 1 Tim. 4. 8. The Gospel hath clearly revealed to us a happy State of Immortality after this Life of which Men had but very obscure and doubtful apprehensions So the same Apostle tells us 2 Tim. 1. 10. That it is now made manifest by the appearance of our Saviour Jâ—sus Christ who hath abâ—lisbed Death and hath brought Life and Immortality
genuine Sense of this Expression seems to be this that those who according to the good Pleasure of God's Will and the wise dispensation of his Providence are appointed to suffer for his Cause should demean themselves so and so Let them that suffer according to the will of God that is those whom God thinks fit to call to Suffering And this agrees very well with the like Expression Chap. 3. of this Epist ver 17. for it is better if the will of God be so that is if God have so appointed it and think it fit that ye suffer for well-doing than for evil-doing Secondly What is here meant by committing the keeping of our Souls to God as to a faithful Creator That is to deposit our Lives and all that belongs to us in a word our selves into the Hands and Custody of his Merciful Care and Providence who made us and therefore we may be sure will faithfully keep what we commit to him For as we are his Creatures he is engaged to take care of us and will not abandon the work of his own hands Besides that he hath Promised to be more especially concerned for good Men to support them in their Sufferings for a good Cause and to Reward them for it and he is faithful that hath promised And therefore there is great Reason and great Encouragement in all our Sufferings for God's Cause and Truth to commit our Souls to his Care and Custody Our Souls that is as I said before our Lives and all that belongs to us in a word our selves For so the word Soul is frequently used both in the Old and New Testament Psal 7. 5. Let the Enemy persecute my Soul and take it that is my Life for so it follows in the next words yea let him tread doâ—n my Life upon the Earth And Psal 54. 3. Oppressors seek after my Soul And Psal 59. 3. they lie in waâ—t for my Soul that is my Life And Psal 16. 10. Thou wilt not leave my Soul in Hell my Soul that is my self thou wilt not suffer me to continue in the Grave and under the power of Death but wilt raise me up to Life again And so likewise in the New Testament Mar. 8. 35. Whosoever will save his life shall lose it but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the Gospels the same shall save it The same word which is here rendred Life in the very next Verse is rendred Soul For what shall it profit a Man if he shall gain the whole World and lose his own Soul that is his Life And so likewise Joâ— 12. 25. He that loveth his Life shall lose it And he that hateth his Life in this World in the Original the Word signifies Soul He that hateth his Life in this World that is who neglecteth and exposeth his Life in this World for the sake of Christ shall keep it unto Life Eternal And Luke 9. 25. that which the other Evangelists render by the word Soul or Life he renders himself for what is a Man advantaged if he gain the whole World and lose himself And so here in the Text to commit the keeping of our Souls to God is to commit our selves to his Care and Providence Thirdly What is here meant by committing our selves to him in well-doing By well-doing is here meant a fixt Purpose and Resolution of doing our Duty notwithstanding all hazards and sufferings which is call'd by St. Paul Rom. 2. 7. A patient continuance in well-doing It signifies sometimes acts of Goodness and Charity but in this Epistle it is taken in a larger sense for Constancy and Resolution in the doing of our Duty as Chap. 2. 15. for so is the will of God that with well-doing that is by a Resolute Constancy in a good Course ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish Men. And ver 20. But if when ye do well and sâ—ffer for it that is if when ye suffer for well-doing ye take it patiently this is acceptable with God And Chap. 3. ver 6. As long as ye do well and are not afraid with any amazement that is are Resolute and Constant in doing your Duty notwithstanding all Threatnings and Terrors And ver 17. For it is better if the will of God be so that ye suffer for well-doing than for evil-doing that is for your Religion and Constancy in so good a Cause as Christians and not as Criminals upon any other account So that the plain meaning of the words is as if the Apostle had said wherefore being forewarned of Suffering and Persecution for the Cause of Religion the summ of my direction and advice upon the whole matter is this that since it is the will of God that ye should suffer upon this account commit your selves in the constant discharge of your Duty and a good Conscience to the particular Care and Providence of Almighty God as the faithful Creatour And now I come to handle the particular Points contained in the words and they are these Three First That when Men do suffer really and truly for the Cause of Religion they may with confidence commit themselves their Lives and all that is dear to them to the particular and more especial Care of the Divine Providence Secondly Always provided that we do nothing contrary to our Duty and a good Conscience for this the Apostle means by committing our selves to God in well-doing If we step out of the way of our Duty or do any thing contrary to it God's Providence will not be concerned for us to bear us out in such Sufferings Thirdly I shall Consider what ground of Comfort and Encouragement the Consideration of God as a faithful Creatour affords to us in all our Sufferings for a good Cause and a good Conscience First When Men do suffer really and truly for the Cause of Religion and God's Truth they may with confidence and good assurance commit themselves their Lives and all that is dear to them to the particular and more especial Care of his Providence In the handling of this I shall Consider these three things 1. When Men may be said to Suffer really and truly for the Cause of Religion and when not 2. How far they may rely upon the Providence of God to bear them out in these Sufferings 3. What â—â—ound and Reason there is to expect the more Particular and Especial Care of God's Providence in case of such Sufferings 1. When Men may be said to Suffer really and truly for the Cause of Religion and God's Truth and when not In these Cases First When Men Suffer for not renouncing the true Religion and because they will not openly declare against it and Apostatize from it But it will be said that in all these Cases the question is what is the true Religion To which I answer That all Discourses of this Nature about Suffering for Religion do suppose the truth of some Religion or other And among Christians the truth of the Christian Religion
is taken for granted where ever we speak of Mens Suffering Persecution for it And the plainest Case among Christians is when they are Persecuted because they will not openly deny and renounce the Christian Religion And this was generally the Case of the Primitive Christians they were threatned with Tortures and Death because they would not renounce Jesus Christ and his Religion and give demonstration thereof by offering Sacrifices to the Heathen-gods Secondly Men do truly suffer for the Cause of Religion when they are Persecuted only for making an open Profession of the Christian Religion by joyning in the Assemblies of Christians for the Worship of God tho' they be not urged to deny and disclaim it but only to conceal and dissemble the Profession of it so as to forbear the maintenance and defence of it upon fitting Occasions against the Objections of those who are Adversaries of it For to conceal the Profession of it and to decline the defence of it when just occasion is offer'd is to be ashamed of it which our Saviour Interprets to be a kind of denial of it and is opposed to the confessing of him before Men Mat. 10. 32 33. Whosoever shall confess me before Men him will I also confess before my Father which is in Heaven But whosoever shall deny me before Men him will I also deny before my Father which is in Heaven And this by St. Mark is express'd by being ashamed of Christ that is afraid and ashamed to make an open profession of him and his Religion Mark 8. 38. Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and finful generation of him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy Angels And this likewise was the Case of the Primitive Christians under the moderate Emperors when the Persecution of them was not so hot as to drive them to a denial of Christ provided they would be contented to conceal and dissemble their Religion in that case they did not hunt them out nor Prosecute them to renounce their Religion if they made no discovery of themselves But yet they who suffered because they would not conceal their Profession of Christianity did truly suffer for the Cause of Religion Thirdly Men do likewise truly suffer for the Cause of Religion when they suffer for not betraying it by any indirect and unworthy means such as among the Primitive Christians was the delivering up their Bibles to the Heathen to be burnt and destroyed by them For to give up that holy Book which is the great Instrument of our Religion is in Effect to give up Christianity it self and to Consent to the utter extirpation of it And such likewise is the Case of those who suffer in any kind for not contributing to break down the Fences of Religion in any Nation where the Providencâ— of God hath given it a Legal Establishment and Security or in a word for refusing to countenance and further any Design which visibly tends to the Ruine of Religion For to destroy Religion and to take away that which hinders the Destruction of it are in Effect much the same thing Fourthly Men do truly suffer for the Cause of Religion when they suffer for the Maintenance and Defence of any necessary and Fundamental Article of it tho they be not required to renounce the whole Christian Religion For what St. Paul says of the Article of the Resurrection of the dead is true of any other necessary Article of the Christian Religion that the Denyal of it is a Subversion of the whole Christian Faith because it tends directly to the overthrowâ—ng of Christianity being a Wound given to it in a Vital and Essential Part. And this was the Case of those who in any Age of Christianity have been persecuted by Hereticks for the Defence of any Article of Christianity And I cannot but observe by the Way that after the Heathen Peâ—secutions were ceased Persecution was first begun among Christians by Hereticks and hath since been taken up and carried much beyond that bad Pattern by the Church of Rome which besides a standing Inquisition in all Countries which are entirely of that Religion a Court the like whereto for the clancular and secret Manner of Proceeding for the unjust and arbitrary Rules of it for the barbarous Usage of Mens Persons and the Cruelty of its Torments to extort Confessions from them the Sun never saw erected under any Government in the World by Men of any Religion whatsoever I say which besides this Court hath by frequent Croisadoes for the Extirpation of Hereticks and by many Bloody Massacres in France and Ireland and several other places destroyed far greater numbers of Christians than all the ten Heathen Persecutions and hath of late revived and to this very Day continues the same or greater Cruelties and a fiercer Persecution of Protestants if all the Circumstances of it be considered than was ever yet practised upon them and yet whilst this is doing almost before our eyes in one of our next neighbour Nations they have the Face to complain of the Cannibal Laws and bloody Persecutions of the Church of England and the Confidence to set up for the great Patrons of Liberty of Conscience and Enemies of all Compulsion and Force in Matters of Religion Fifthly Men do truly suffer for the Cause of God and Religion when they suffer for asserting and maintaining the Purity of the Christian Doctrine and Worship and for opposing and not complying with those gross Errors and Corruptions which Superstition and Ignorance had in a long Course of Time brought into the Christian Religion Upon this Account many Good People suffer'd in many past Ages for resisting the growing Errors and Corruptions of the Church of Rome which at first crept in by Degrees but at last broke in like a mighty Flood which carryed down all before it and threatned Ruin and Destruction to all that opposed them Upon this Account also infinite Numbers suffered among the Waldenses and Albigenses in Bohemia and in England and in most other Countries in this Western Part of Christendom And they who suffer'd upon this Accountâ— suffer'd in a good Cause and for the Testimony of the Truth Sixthly and Lastly Men do truly suffer for the cause of Religion when they suffer for not disclaiming and renouncing any clear and undoubted Truth of God whatsoever yea though it be not a Fundamental Point and Article of Religion And this is the Case of those many Thousands who ever since the IV. Council of Lateran which was in the Year 1215 when Transubstantiation was first defin'd to be an Article of Faith and necessary to Salvation to be believ'd were persecuted with Fire and Sword for not understanding those words of our Saviour this iâ— my Body which are so easily capable of a reasonable Sense in the absurd and impossible Sense of Transubstantiation And though this disowning of this Doctrin be
the only sure way to be happy for ever is so to improve the short and uncertain time of this Life that we may approve our selves to God in this World and enjoy him in the next or as St. Paul expresseth it that having our fruit unto Holiness our end may be everlasting Life And this Work consists in these three things First In the Care of our own Salvation Secondly In doing what we can to promote the Salvation of others Thirdly And in order to both these in the careful Improvement and good Husbandry of our time First In the Care of our own Salvation And this consists in two things 1. In the Worship of Almighty God 2. In the careful and conscientious Practice and Obedience of his Holy Laws 1. The Care of our own Salvation consists in the pious and devout Worship of Almighty God that we honour him and pay him that Homage and Respect which is due from Creatures to him that made them and is the great Soveraign and Judge of the World that we have an inward Reverence and Esteem of him and that we express this by all solemn externalacknowledgments of him as by praying to him for the supply of our Wants by praising him for all the Blessings and Benefits which we have received at his Hands and that we set apart constant and solemn times for the Performance of these Duties and that when we are employed in them we be serious and hearty and attentive to what we are about and perform every part of Divine Worship with those Circumstances of Reverence and Respect which may testifie our awful Sense of the Divine Majesty and our inward and profound Veneration of him with whom we have to do And this is that which is directly and properly Religion 2. This Care of our own Salvation does consist likewise in the conscientious and constant Obedience and Practice of all God's Holy Laws in the Conformity of our Lives and Actions to the Laws which he hath given us whether they be natural or written upon our Hearts or made known to us by the Revelation of his Word that we govern our Passions by Reason and moderate our selves in the use of sensual Delights so as not to transgress the Rules of Temperance and Chastity that we demean our selves towards others and converse with them with Justice and Fidelity with Kindness and Charity These are the Sum of the Divine Laws and the Heads of our Duty towards our selves and others all which are more powerfully enforced upon us by the Revelation of the Gospel and the plain Promises and Threatnings of it the Faith of Christ being the most firm and effectual Principle both of Piety towards God and of Universal Obedience to all his particular Commands And this is the great work which God hath sent us to do in the World so the Wise Man sums up our Duty Eccl. 12. 13. Fear God and keep his commandments for this is the whole duty of man The Fear and Reverence of the Divine Majesty is the great Foundation and Principle of Religion but Obedience to God's Laws is the Life and Practice of it God does not expect that we should spend the greatest part of our time in the immediate Acts of Religion and in the solemn Duties of his Worship and Service but only that we should allot a fitting Proportion of our time to these according to the Circumstances of our Condition in this World and the Example of Holy and Good Men that are in the like Circumstances with our selves For such is the Goodness of God that he does not only allow us to provide for the Necessities and Conveniencies of this Life but hath made it our Duty so to do It is one of the Precepts of the Gospel which the Apostle chargeth the Bishops and Teachers of the Gospel to inculcate frequently upon Christians that they which have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works that is to employ themselves in the works of an honest Calling for necessary uses that is for the support of their Families and the relief of those who are in want and necessity And the Apostle lays great weight and stress upon this as a very great Duty Tit. 3. 8. This is a faithful saying and these things I will that thou affirm constantly that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works These things are good and profitable unto Men that is of general benefit and advantage to Mankind So that no Man's Calling is a hindrance to Religion but a part of it and by performing the Duties of Piety in their proper Seasons and spending the rest of our time in any honest and useful Employment we may make our whole Life a perpetual serving of God we may glorifie God in our eating and drinking and in all other lawful and useful actions of Life in serving the Occasions and Necessities of Life with Sobriety and Temperance and in managing our Worldly Commerce with Justice and Integrity we may serve God and perform considerable Duties of Religion So that provided we do nothing that is sinful and manage the Actions and Concernments of this Life with a due regard and subserviency to the great interests of Eternity we may do the work of God all the while we are providing for our selves and employed in the works of an honest Calling For God who hath designed this Life in order to the other considers the necessities of our present state and allows us to make provision for it There are some Persons indeed whose Birth and Condition sets them above the common Employments of Life and the Works of an ordinary Calling But these also have a work given them to do for God hath sent no Man into the World to no purpose and only to take his pastime therein neque enim ita generati sumus à natura ut ad ludum jocum facti esse videamur sed ad severitatem potius quaedam studia graviora atque majora for â—e are not says Tully de Off. Lib. 1. so framed by Nature as if we were made for sport and jest but for more serious Employments and for greater and weightier business and those who are tied to no particular Calling may allow so much larger portions of their time to Religion and the Service of God and God likewise expects from them that they should be useful to Mankind in some higher and nobler way according to the publickness of their station and influence Such Persons may be serviceable to their Country and the Affairs of Government and in the care of publick Justice and may employ their time in preparing and rendring themselves more fit for this Service They may find a great deal of work to do in the good government of their Families and in the prudent care and management of their Estates and in reconciling differences among their Neighbours and in considering the necessities of the Poor and providing for their supply So