Preservative But these Books are not much better than the others nay I cannot tell whether they are not more dangerous Those Moralities are very ill placed and few People are the better for them It is a very suspicious kind of Morality which comes from the Pen of those Authors who write indifferently upon Matters of Love and religious Subjects who sometimes seem to be Libertines and sometimes devout who after they have said a hundred licentious things given you the History of a great many Disorders and related several scandalous Passages entertain you with Devotion and Piety This is a monstrous Mixture If those Authors were truly religious they would forbear writing those things which Religion condemns and which scandalize the publick Such Books are particularly fit to confirm worldly Men in their Opinion that Gallantry provided it does not proceed to the highest degree of Crimes is no great Sin and to persuade young People that they may easily grow devout here after tho' they now spend their Youth in Libertinism From all these Confiderations I infer that let People say what they will all the Books which present their Readers with Impurity either bare-faced or under some Veil are extreamly pernicious Having thus discoursed of ill Books I come now to the Books of Religion It may seem at first that I should rather seek in these the Remedy than the Cause of Corruption Indeed the end of religious Books should be to banish Corruption and to establish Piety in the World and there are many of them which attack Ignorance and Vice with Success and which may prove excellent Preservatives against the Corruption of the Age. But I hope no body will take it amiss if I say that there are Books of Religion which do not conduce much to the promoting of Piety nay that some prove a hindrance to it This I shall now endeavour to shew I shall not speak of any particular Book I will only offer some general Considerations which my Readers may apply as they see Cause It is not my Design to rank among bad Books all those Works to which some of the following Reflections may be applied Some indeed are downright bad but may are in several respects good and useful tho' they have their Faults and as good Books ought to be distinguished from bad ones so it is not less necessary to discern what is good in every Book from what is naught or useless The Books of Religion which I think ought here to be taken notice of are of four sorts 1. Those which explain the Scripture 2. The Books of Divinity 3. The Books of Morality 4. The Books of Devotion 1. It cannot be denied but that among the Books of the first sort there are some very good ones and that we have at this Day great Helps for the understanding of the Holy Scripture But it ought likewise to be granted that some of those Books which are designed for the expounding of Scripture do only obscure and perplex the Sense of it It would be tedious to mention here all the Defects of that kind of Writing I shall therefore observe only the Principal 1. The First and the most Essential is the not Expounding of Scripture according to its true Meaning and this Fault which is but too frequent in Commentaries proceeds chiefly from two Causes 1. That Expositors do not apprehend the Scope of the Sacred Writers and 2. That they enter with Prejudices upon the Reading of Scripture The true way to understand the Scripture is to know the Scope of it and never to swerve from that Good Sense and Piety joined with the Study of Languages History and Antiquity are here very serviceable A Commentator ought in a manner to transport himself into those Places and Times in which the Sacred Authors lived He should fancy himself in their Circumstances and consider what their Design was when they spoke or writ what Persons they had to deal with and what Notions Knowledge or Customs did then obtain But those who being ignorane of these things set about Expounding the Scripture can hardly do it with Success It is a Wonder if they do not miss the true Mark and if they do not obtrude forced and very often false Glosses upon their Readers On the other hand many Authors apply themselves to the examining of Scripture with a Mind full of Prejudices They explain in by the present Notions of the World Nothing is more usual with Commentators than to make the Faithful under the Old Testament speak as if they had been as well acquainted with the Truths of the Gospel as Christians are and as if those Questions and Disputes which are treated in Common-Places of Divinity had been agitated at that time When those Expositors for Instance meet with the World Righteous or Righteousness in the Psalms they fancy that David had in his Thoughts all that Divines have vented concerning Justification and upon this Supposal what do they not say or what do they not make Preachers say It has been observed that almost all Commentators are partial and endeavour to put upon the Scripture a Sense that favours the Opinions of their respective Sects This Spirit of a Party is chiefly remarkable in some of those Commentaries which these last Centuries have produced 2. The second Rule of a Commentator should be to expound clearly and familiarly the literal Sense of Scripture and never to have recourse to a mystical Exposition but in those Places where the Spirit of God directs us to look for it And yet a great many Authors do almost entirely forsake the literal Sense to pursue mystical Explications In their Opinion every thing is mystical in the Holy Scripture especially in the Old Testament They are not contented with unfolding the true Mysteries and Prophecies which manifestly relate to the Times of the Gospel but they turn all things into Figure They find Mysteries Allegories Types and Prophecies every where even in the plainest Discourses This they call searching and diving into the Scriptures But this way of expounding the Word of God is a Fountain of Illusions For as the Holy Ghost does not explain those pretended Mysteries so they must be put to their Guesses and beholden to their Imagination for the Discovery of them and he that is the most copious or lucky in his Conjectures is the greatest Man Now I leave any one to judge whether Commentators who follow no other Guide but their Imagination can avoid being very frequently mistaken and giving a great many handles to Libertines and Infidels 3. We are not to forget here the School-Commentators The Holy Scripture should be expounded in a simple and popular manner and this cannot be denied if we consider that it was given for the Instruction and the Salvation of all Men and that the Discourses of Christ and his Apostles were addressed to the Common People and to such Persons as were far from being Philosophers Nothing therefore seems more repugnant to the
of good things are sprinkled with that Spirit of Fanaticism I shall not stand to give here the Character of those Books nor to shew the mischief they may do in relation to Libertines or to those Persons who want either Knowledge or a discerning Judgment because I will not repeat what I have said of Mystical Piety Part I. Cause II. Art VIII 3. Some Authors who have put out Books of Piety have made it their whole Business to administer Comfort Those who read their Works may easily see that they looked upon the Comfortable side of Religion and that their principal design was to fill their Readers with Confidence Hope and Joy Without doubt it is a laudable and pious Design to use ones endeavours to Comfort the Afflicted and particularly good Men and I confess that we find in the Books which have been composed with that view many edifying things and noble Sentiments of Piety but for all that those Books may easily inspire Men with security when the Consolations which they dispense are not attended with great Circumspection and Prudence I could wish that all those who have published Books of this kind had well considered these two following Truths The first is that the Comforts which Religion affords belong only to true Christians so that it is an essential part of the Duty of Comforters carefully to distinguish Persons and to mark clearly who those are that have aright to Religious Comforts The Second is that it is as necessary to Sanctifie as it is to Comfort Men Nay That the Sanctifying them is the more necessary of the two because Holiness is more essential to a good Man than Consolation and Joy and also because Men are much more inclined to presume than to condemn themselves besides that there are but few who want Comfort in comparison with those who ought to be teâ—tified The Consolations of which the Books of Piety are full are intended either for Afflicted Persons or for Sinners As for the first it is better to teach them how to make a good life of their Afflictions and to bring them to examine and amend their Lives than to discourse to them upon some general Topick of Comfort which perhaps will only lay them faster asleep in security and which is besides generally misapplied For all that the Gospel says of Afflictions is commonly laid together and that too with no great Judgment and what is said only of the Afflictions of the Faithful who suffer for Christ's sake is applied to the Afflictions which are common to all Mankind It is much more necessary to teach Men how to die well than to fortify them against the fear of Death Nay we cannot give them a more substantial Comfort than if we persuade them to live well since a good Life will most certainly bring them to a happy Death But we ought to be particularly cautious when we comfort Sinners and give them assurances of the Divine Mercy for if this is not done with great circumspection we may easily harden and ruin at the same time that we are comforting them This is the mischief of those Books which speak but little of Repentance and insist much upon Confidence whose only design it is to encourage the greatest Sinners and to exhort them to a bold reliance upon God's Mercy without fearing either the heinousness or the Multitude of their Sins Such Consolations are capable of a good Sense but if they are not proposed with due explication and restrictions vast numbers of People will abuse them That which has been writ by some Authors in Books of Devotion concerning Sin and Good Works is apt to lead Men into this fancy That good Works signify nothing in order to Salvation and that Sin does not obstruct it Under pretense of answering the Accusations of the Devil and of the Law these Authors enervate the strongest Arguments for the necessity of Good Works they confute the Declarations of Scripture concerning Sanctification and they destroy as much as in them lies the Sincerity and Truth of the Precepts and threatnings of the Gospel For what they call the Accusations of the Devil and of the Law is sometimes nothing else but the just apprehensions of a guilty Conscience which are inspired by the Gospel and which should be cherished and fortified to bring Sinners to Repentance instead of being removed by ill dispensed Consolations It is said to this that Sinners are not to be driven to Despair But do we make Sinners desperate by saying that they are not in a State of Salvation when really they are not Do we not comfort them enough when we exhort them to have recourse to God's Mercy and to repent What if we should by unseasonable Consolations fill them with a vain and groundless Confidence would not that security ruin them more certainly than Desperation To make Men fearless is the ready way to undo them After all I cannot imagine why People should talk so much of Despair and seem so hugely afraid of it By the endeavours used in Books and Sermons to keep Sinners from it one would think that we had great reason to fear on that hand and that nothing were more ordinary than for Men to despair of the Divine Mercy and yet there is nothing more unusual For one Sinner who is terrified with his Sins thousands are undone by Security It is remarkable than the Scripture speaks but seldom of Despair and when we have well examined all the places which are thought to mention it we shall not find many that speak positively of it Many Church-men who have Cure of Souls confess that they never saw any Person afflicted with Despair And as for the Instances which are alledged to this purpose it is certain that what is called Desperation is commonly nothing else but a Fit of the Spleen and an effect of Grief and Melancholy So that those who make long Discourses to prevent Sinners falling into Despair take great pains to little purpose and do for the most part fight with a shadow 4. There is another Fault in some Books of Devotion quite contrary to this I have now observed which is that they terrify their Readers without reason If Authors otherwise Pious and Learned had not spoken in their Writings of the Sin against the Holy Ghost of Reprobation Despair the Power of the Devil and of some other Matters many People would have been free from those terrible Frights which the indiscreet handling of those Subjects did throw them into The reading of such Books has occasioned and does still produce great Mischiefs when they are read by Men of weak Heads that are inclined to Melancholy and the Number of such Persons is very considerable Some have fancied they had committed the Sin against the Holy Ghost and being possessed with that dismal Thought they have spent their Lives in dreadful Apprehensions of which nothing could cure them Others have imagined that their Case cure them Others have imagined that their Case was
Religion is attended with some difficulty The general Rule is to chuse those which are instructive and edifying Every body will own this to be a good Rule but all Men do not agree in the Application of it What seems edifying to some appears quite otherwise to others In point of Religion all Men should be of the same Mind since they are all bound to believe the same Truths and practise the same Duties but their Tastes are different because many of them have a vitiated Palate To speak my Mind upon this Subject I think that Christians should chiefly stick to those Books which prove the Truths of Religion and which establish by solid Arguments the fundamental Articles of the Christian Faith and to those which give a clear and exact View of the Duties of Morality To these it may be useful to add the Works in which we find the Examples of Persons eminent for their Piety and Virtue Such Examples are very efficacious to excite Men to the Practice of what is good and they prove a great Preservative against the Scandal occasioned by bad Example and against the Corruption of the Age. But not to enlarge further upon the Choice of Books I refer the Reader to what has been said in this Chapter A judicious Choice of Books being once made the next thing is to make a good use of them And here two Rules are to be observed 1. A Man should read with Judgment And 2. he should read in order to Practice 1. What Book soever we read it is absolutely necessary to read it with Discretion and Judgment We are commanded in Scripture * 1 Thes V. XXI 1 Joh. IV. I. To prove all things and to hold fast that which is good to try the Spirits and the Doctrines whether they are of God This Caution is to be used lest we fall into Errors since every Author is a Man and by consequence may sometimes be mistaken The common People do particularly need this Advice because they are very apt to believe that whatsoever is read in Books especially in Books of Devotion is true But tho' a Book should contain nothing but what is good Discretion is necessary to make a just Application of the Contents of it to out selves because that which is proper for some is not sutable to others The not observing this Rule is the Reason why some Readers who have a pure but a timorous and short-sighted Conscience are terrified without Cause and apply to themselves what is said only of wicked Men when on the other hand hardened Sinners deceive themselves with vain hopes by adapting to themselves what related only to good Men. 2. We ought to read in order to practice and that we may grow better this is the more important Rule of the two and that which distinguishes true from hypocritical Devotion Many are very regular and constant in Reading and they seldom fail to do it Mornings and Evenings But the Deportment of those Persons who are so assiduous in the perusing of good Books is not always agreeable to the Rules of Devotion and Piety When they are but just come from their Reading we find them often sowr peevish and passionate after they have read in the Morning they spend the Day in Slandering Gaming or Idleness and they avoid only the grosser and the more noisie Sins There are Readers of another Character they read and even delight in the Reading of Books of Religion They like well enough those Works which prove the Truths of the Christian Religion or treat of Morals they speak of them advantagiously and they will say fine Things concerning the Abuses which are crept into Religion and upon the Necessity and the Beauty of Morals but all this terminates only in a vain and fruitless Approbation which they give to the Truths and Duties of the Gospel for after all they reform nothing in their Lives Such Readings are but meer Amusements and they are good for nothing but to rock Conscience into a most dangerous Sleep The End of Reading as well as that of all Religion ought to be the Practice of Holiness I. shall here observe last of all that Christians have a Book which alone might suffice to preserve them from the Danger of ill Books and to secure them against the Corruption of the Age if they did use it as they ought I mean the Holy Scripture It is the best of all Books a Work divinely inspired which contains nothing but what is most excellent and true and wherein we find every thing that is necessary to instruct and to sanctifie Men. But it were to be wished 1. That the Translations of Scripture which are in the hands of the People should be rendered more perfect so that they might express the Sense of Sacred Authors with all possible Exactness All those who have studied the Original Text of the Bible will own that this is a necessary Work and that the Translations need some Amendments And so we see accordingly that now and then Divines and Translators apply themselves to the correcting of them 2. It would be to no purpose to have exact Translations of Scripture if Men could not read it I have already remarked it elsewhere as a crying and shameful Abuse that a great part of Christians should not be able to read This Abuse should have been reformed long ago and this might easily be done if every Pastor did endeavour it in his own Church and if the Magistrates did lend a helping Hand toward it 3. The Holy Scripture should be read more than it is and Men should make that use of it for which it was given Other Books are only Streams but when we read the Scripture we drink at the very Fountain-head Humane Books have their Faults and therefore they ought to be read with great Discretion But this Divine Book is most perfect it is a Guide to whose Conduct we may give up our selves without fear or danger This being certain is it not strange that the best of all Books should be the most neglected In many Countries the Bible is a Book unknown to the People In other places the reading of it is permitted but with great Cautions as if it were dangerous for Christians to reveal a Book by which God was pleased to reveal his Will to Men. In those places where Christians have an entire Liberty to read the Scripture great multitudes make no advantage of that freedom Many that are addicted to reading leave the Word of God for other Books In a word very few read it with suitable Dispositions and with a sincere Design of learning the Will of God and of growing the better by it And thus the far greater part of Mankind is destitute of the most efficacious mean and remedy which the Divine Goodness has afforded to Men to preserve them from the Contagion of Sin and to make them happy And so we need not wonder that the Corruption of Christians should be such as
be much advanced as long as the Evil is not taken in its Cause and as long as such Principles and Abuses continue among Christians as are and will always be Obstacles to the Progress of the Gospel Lastly I considered that this Matter had not yet been thoroughly handled by any Author at least that I know of Of those who have touched upon it in their Books some have confined themselves to Considerations purely Moral and others to Theological Reflections upon the Errors which are in Vogue or upon the Controversies which divide Christians but they have omitted many things which seem essential no doubt because they did not intend to treat this Subject purposely or because they did not take a View of the whole extent of it As these Considerations have made me wish for a long while that among so many able Men who write about Religion some might undertake so important a Subject so they have determined me to Publish these Essays upon the Causes of Corruption hoping that others will apply themselves to the full Discussion of those Matters which are here but imperfectly hinted at But that the Scope of this Treatise may be the better understood and that no body may expect that in it which according to the Scheme I formed to my self ought not to have a place here I shall acquaint the Reader with one thing which he may perhaps have foreseen from what has been already said I do not propose to my self to handle this Matter in the way of the Divinity Schools No Man therefore ought to wonder if I say nothing of the State in which all Men are born nor of that Inclination to Vice which is observed in them For tho' this is the first Original of Corruption yet certainly this Corruption would be much less if Christians did use the means which God affords them to overcome it and if there were not other Sources which feed and strengthen that vitious Propensity Besides I do not consider Corruption in general as it is Common to all Mankind but I enquire into the Causes of the Corruption of Christians in particular Neither do I design to write a Moral Treatise so that it must not be expected that I should discourse of Self-Love and Pride and of all the other Passions which are the Ordinary Occasions of Mens Sins or that I should trace out all the particular Causes of every Sin This would carry me too far and such things have been often examined I therefore apply my self only to the general Causes and I manage the the Matter thus I divide this Work into Two Parts because the Causes of Corruption may be of Two sorts I shall call those of the first sort Particular or Internal because they are within us and to be found in every particular Man that lives ill Those of the Second sort which are more general I name External because they proceed rather from certain outward Circumstances and from the unhappiness of the Times than from the fault of particular Persons The Causes I shall treat of in the First Part are no other but the ill Dispositions in which most Christians are and which hinder their applying themselves to Piety And of these I shall observe Nine I. Ignorance II. Prejudices and False Notions concerning Religion III. Some Opinions and and Maxims which are used to Authorize Corruption IV. The Abuse of Holy Scripture V. A false Modesty VI. The Delaying Repentance VII Man's Sloth and Negligence in Matters of Religion VIII Worldly Business IX Men's particular Callings The Causes to be Considered in the Second Part are these Seven I. The State of the Church and of Religion in General II. The Want of Discipline III. The Defects of the Clergy IV. The Defects of Christian Princes and Magistrates V. Education VI. Example and Custom VII Books I declare here that in discoursing upon these Sources I do not mean to tax all Christians without exception So when I speak of Ignorance and of Prejudices commonly received Knowing and Learned Men are excepted And when I observe certain Defects in the state of the the Church and of Religion in Discipline in Clergy-men or in Christian Magistrates I suppose those Faults obtain more in some Places than in others In short whoever should apply what is said in this Treatise to all sorts of Persons and Churches would certainly mistake my Design And now I must desire those who may chance to see this Book to examine seriously what 〈◊〉 propose in it No Lover of Truth or Religion can refuse his attention to a Subject of this Nature But I hope it will be more particularly welcome to Church-men and Divines who are called by their Function to set themselves against Corruption and to endeavour all they can to promote Piety and the Glory of God To Conclude I heartily implore his Blessing upon this Work who put it into my Heart to set about it and who is my Witness with what Design and Intention I publish it A TREATISE Concerning the CAUSES OF THE Present Corruption OF CRISTIANS PART I. CAUSE I. Ignorance WHEN a Man thinks of the Causes of that Corruption which over-runs the Christian World the first which offers it self to his mind is Ignorance and therefore I shall begin with it Our Notions and Knowledge are the first Principles of our Actions We can never love a Thing or adhere to it when it is not at all or when it is but imperfectly known to us Supposing then that Men are Ignorant or very little Instructed in Religion there is no wonder that they should be Corrupt for they must of necessity be so On the other hand when they appear to be extreamly Corrupt we may conclude that they want Instruction I do not deny but that Corruption proceeds sometimes from the wickedness of the Heart which resists the Light of the Understanding and that Men frequently Act against their Knowledge But it may safely be said That if Christians were well Instructed they would not be so Corrupt and that wherever an extraordinary Corruption is visible there is likewise a great deal of Ignorance This is confirm'd by the Scripture and by God's Conduct in the Establishing the Christian Religion When the Apostles speak of those Disorders wherein the Heathens lived before their Conversion they ascribe them to the darkness of their Minds * Eph. IV. 18. The Gentiles says St. Paul have their Vnderstanding darkened being alienated from the Life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their Heart The same Apostle calls the Times which preceded the Coming of of Christ the Times of Ignorance And the first Thing which God did to change the Face of the World and to rescue it from Corruption was to dispel the Clouds of their Ignorance and to enlighten them with the Knowledge of himself by the Preaching of the Gospel Although Christians cannot be charged with so gross an Ignorance as that of the Heathens yet they
Goodness of God who has so well provided for the Necessities of Men and on the other hand to set Bounds to our Curiosity and to fortify our Faith against those Doubts which might start up in our Minds by reason of so many things which we are ignorant of As therefore of all Truths none are of greater Consequence or of a more intire certainty than those which Religion depends upon so the Proof of those Truths ought to be simple evident and suited to all Mens capacity Thus when in order to prove the Being of a God we alledge for instance the State and Order in which the World subsists when we shew that the World cannot be eternal and that things had a beginning when we establish the Inspiration of Scripture by the Prophecies it contains which were undoubtedly written before their accomplishment When we prove the Truth of the Christian Religion by the Truth of Matters of Fact and History and demonstrate that if the Facts upon which Religion is founded are not certain there is no such thing as certainty in the World in respect of things that are past and that if the Testimony of the Apostles is rejected there are no Witnesses or Historians who may not be rejected upon better grounds When we confirm the Sacred History by the concurring testimony of Pagan Writers and by the most Ancient and the most unquestionable Monuments which past Ages can afford When we reflect upon the manner in which the Christian Religion was planted in the World and upon the alteration it has made in it When we insist upon the Characters of Truth Sincerity and Divinity which are observable in the Scripture In short when we take Religion to pieces and make Men see and feel that its Doctrines its Precepts its Promises and its Threatnings have nothing in them that is absurd or bad or contrary to our natural apprehensions nothing but what perfectly agrees with sound Reason and the Sentiments of our own Consciences and nothing but what is advantagious to particular Persons and to Societies When I say we urge these Proofs and others like them and have the Art of proposing them in a clear and judicious Method it is certain that they contain nothing that is very difficult These are the clearest and the strongest Proofs that can be used in a Subject of this Nature and the Arguments which are made use of to establish these Proofs are for the most part so natural and so conform to the Ideas of our Minds and to the Principles of Common Sense that there are few even of the Vulgar who may not apprehend them if not perfectly and in their whole extent which is reserved to Men of a larger Capacity yet so far at least as sufficiently to be sensible of their Force If then Difficulties and Obscurities are to be met with in the Discussion of the Principles of Religion it is because this Matter is neglected and the People are little Informed But if the same Care had been taken to Instruct Christians in the Fundamental Truths of Religion which was bestowed upon Explaining and Clearing Particular ones they would have another kind of persuasion than they have of the Truth of their Religion These great and sublime Truths have without comparison more suitableness and affinity with the Nature of Men and the Sentiments of their Hearts than many obscure difficult and less necessary things which yet have been effectually taught them 4ly But against this Experience may possibly be Objected It may be said that there are Christians who most certainly have Piety and yet did never meditate much upon the Foundations of Christianity I. Answer That it is not conceivable how a Man should be a pious Christian without being persuaded of the Truth of his Religion For at this rate Piety would be but mere Conceit and Enthusiasm and we must say notwithstanding all that Scripture and Reason tell us to the contrary that Men are Christians without Knowledge or Reason It cannot be otherwise but that good Men must have been convinced of the Truths of the Gospel and have had a lively sense that these are the most certain and the most important of all Truths If we enquire what Principle it is which produces Piety in the Hearts of the most simple People we shall find it is an unmovable Persuasion that there is a God a Judgment a Heaven and a Hell which Persuasion is necessarily founded upon some of the Proofs I have hinted at I grant which no doubt will be Objected to me that in many this Persuasion is not clear enough and that it is not the result of a particular examination but this does not lessen the force of my Argument For though the Persuasion of Good Men should not be so clear and so well grounded as it might be yet it does not follow but that it is sincere a Man may be convinced of a Truth tho' he does not discover all the certainty and all the Proofs of it and tho' he is not able to answer all the Objections against it So that still it is true that there is no Religion without the belief of the General Truths of it After all we must acknowledge that there are Good Men who are not so well instructed upon this Head as it were to be wished And this defect of Instruction this imperfection of their Faith is one of the main Causes of the defects and imperfections of their Piety Thus we may frequently observe in their Conduct such Weaknesses and Opinions as do not agree with the pure Light of Faith and with the exactness of the Rules of the Gospel This is part of the Unhappiness we lament and of that Corruption of which we seek the Causes But no Man will dispute but that if the same Persons had more instruction they would carry Virtue much farther than they do The degree of Piety does ordinarily follow the degree of Faith Where there is no Faith there is no Piety and where Faith is weak and faint Piety is â—anguid and defective This is the geneâ—al State and Character of Christians at this time either downright Impiety or 〈◊〉 Piety that is both feeble and imperfect 5ly In the last place some will perhaps Object here that Incredulity is the effect â—ather than the Cause of Corruption and that Atheism does not produce Corâ—uption but Corruption Atheism To this 〈◊〉 say that these two things do mutually uphold and support each other Many fall into Infidelity because their Hearts are vitiated their licentious way of living takes them off from enquiring into Religion and hinders their believing of Divine Truths But it is not less certain â—hat one of the great Causes of the Disâ—rders of Christians is that either they do â—ot believe at all or that they believe weakly and confusedly and this cannot â—e reasonably contested II. Here is then the first and the prinâ—ipal Defect That Men are not sufficiently â—â—structed in the general Truths and Prinâ—iples of
Essence of Religion that it falls to the Ground as soon as they are taken away And in Proportion as the Necessity of a good Life is weakned so much is the Power and Beauty of that Holy Religion which Christ brought into the World lessened Religion contains Doctrines Precepts Promises and Threatnings It does altogether depend upon the Existence of a God and the Certainty of another Life and a Judgment to come But if you banish out of Religion the absolute Necessity of good Works you attack it in all its Parts and you undermine its very Foundations For this makes the Knowledge of its Doctrines vain and needless it turns its Precepts into bare Counsels the Promises of it which are conditional and suppose Obedience cease to be Promises the Threats which God denounces against Sinners are but empty Menaces which God makes only to fright Men but does not intend to execute This destroys the chiefest and strongest Proofs of the Existence of a God and of another Life it ruines that great Argument for Religion which is drawn from the Difference between Virtue and Vice and from the Deserts of both and it contradicts the Necessity the Nature and Justice of the last Judgment All this may easily be demonstrated This Necessity of good Works might likewise be proved from the plain Declarations of the Word of God and it might be shewen that there is no Truth more clearly and frequently inculcated than this in Holy Writ But not to engage in these Particulars which do not properly belong to my Purpose I shall take it for granted that a Holy Life is absolutely necessary for either that is true or there is nothing true in Religion Yet how clear soever this truth may be it is but little known and Men are not much persuaded of it No Man indeed does flatly and without some Preamble deny the Necessity of Holiness every Teacher professes that to be his Doctrine all Christians in Shew at least are agreed about it But when they come to explain their Meaning clearly concerning this Necessity when it comes to the Application or to Practice or when they establish other Doctrines they contradict themselves they hesitate upon the Matter or they explain it with certain Restrictions which sooth Men in Security and dispose them to believe that Salvation may be obtained without good Works which overthrows their Necessity Nay some frame to themselves such a Notion of Religion as even excludes Good Works this will appear in the following Chapters If it be said that though this intire and indispensable Necessity of a good Life were not supposed yet this would not presently open a Door to Licentiousness since there remain other sufficient Motives to Holiness such as those which are derived from the Justice and Reasonableness of the Divine Laws from the Gratitude and Love we owe to God from the Edification of our Neighbour and from our Calling and Duty I answer that these Motives are very just and pressing and that they necessarily enter into that Obedience which all true Christians pay to the Commandments of God I acknowledge besides that they would be sufficient to inspire all men with the Love of Virtue if they did all govern themselves by the Principles of right Reason and Justice But these are not the only Motives which ought to be urged God proposes others besides he promises he threatens he declares * Heb. XII 14. that without holiness no man shall see his face which imports an absolute necessity And surely as Men generally are there are many of them upon whom those Motives taken from Decency Justice Gratitude Duty or the Edification of our Neighbours will have very litte Force The most Honourable Motives are not always the most effectual Man being so Corrupt is so many ways and by so strong a Biass carried towards evil that it is hard for him without an absolute necessity to abstain from it But how much less will he refrain from sin if he is persuaded that it is not necessary to controul his inclinations and to confine himself to a kind of Life which appears unpleasant and melancholy to him Now as this is the Disposition in which most People are we need no longer wonder why there is so little Religion and Piety among Men. 2. If it is difficult to practise those Duties which we do not think necessary especially when they cross our Inclinations it is yet harder to practise them when we do not know them It is not possible to do good or to avoid evil if we do not know the good that we should do and the evil we ought to shun Now in this the generality of Christians want instruction Every body speaks of Piety and Virtue but few Men know what they are The Common People are little acquainted with the Duties of Religion or the Rules of Christian Morals This must be confest and the Glory of God requires that we should ingenuously own it I cannot but enter here into some Particulars to prove this Ignorance 1. There are some essential Duties unknown to a great number of Christians and which were never thought of by an infinity of Men. I will alledge for an Instance one of the plainest and of the most necessary Duties of Morality and that is Restitution Tho' the Scripture should not expresly enjoyn it we need but consult Reason and natural Justice to be convinced that he who has done an injury to another Man by taking from him any part of his Property is bound to make up that damage by restoring to him whatever he has wronged him of There is every day occasion enough to make Restitution nothing being more common than for one Man to appropriate to himself by unlawful means what belongs to another and yet in many places Restitution is a thing without President But this we ought not to wonder at considering that there are Thousands of Christians who never heard a word of this Duty This Matter is so little known and the People are so little instructed about it that a Treatise concerning Restitution written by Mr. la Placette having been published some Years since it has been read as a very singular Book the Subject whereof was new and curious Nay some have gone so far as to censure this Doctrine of Restitution pretending that it was novel and too severe such a pitch of Ignorance are Men arrived at in Matters of Morality And this is not the only Duty which is not understood there are many others besides either among those which are common to all Men or among those which are particular to every Calling and which it does not appear that Men were ever taught or ever made the least Reflection upon Now a Man must needs neglect the Duties that he does not know 2. There are divers Sins which are not commonly ranked among Sins or which Men do not think to be Damning Sins Of this number is Lying and unsincerity either in Discourse or in Dealings Among these
of their Duty is that they do not profess Devotion and Piety This is the ordinary Plea of Men of Business of Worldlings of Young People of Courtiers of Military Men and of a great many besides in all Conditions We do not pretend to Devotion they cry we are ingaged in the World And with this shift they not only think themselves excusable for neglecting Piety but they fancy they have a Right to neglect it and that they do a great deal if they observe some of the External Duties of it One can hardly believe that these Persons are in carnest when they make such an Excuse It astonishes a Man to find Christians who have the considence to say That Piety is not their Business that they are of another Profession and that they are not at leisure to be Devout I fancy there are Two Things which deceive those who who alledge this Excuse 1. That they do not well understand what Devotion is they look upon it as a very austere and singular way of living from whence they conclude that but few People are able to apply themselves to it and so they turn it over to the Clergy to Women or to those who have much leisure I have observed already the Falseness of this Prejudice and shewed that Piety is neither singular nor austere 2. The other cause of their Error seems to be this that they do not consider that Piety is every Bodies Business and that such is the nature of it that it may be practised by all Men. Not but that secular Occupations and Callings do frequently obstruct Piety and ingage Men in Vice and therefore a Christian should never be so taken up with the Affairs of this Life as thereby to disable himself from performing the Duties of Christianity But after all a Man may live like a good Christian in any lawful Calling and in that sense properly we are to understand the Words of St. Paul That the Grace of God which brings Salvation has appeared unto all Men teaching them to live soberly righteously and godly in this present World * Tit. II. 11. Do those who plead it for an Excuse that they do not profess Devotion imagine that there are two ways to go to Heaven the one for Devour and the other for Worldly Men the one narrow and the other broad Do they think that the Commandments of God do not concern all Men that there is respect of Persons with God or that he dispenses with his own Laws How can they prove these Distinctions Are not we all Christians Have not we all been Baptize Does not God give us all the same Laws Or have some more reason to love God than others And ought not the great Concern of our Salvation to be equally dear to us all I grant that those who have greater opportunities and more Leisure than others ought to make use of these Advantages But I maintain at the same time that none stand in greater need of Piety than those who say we are engaged in the World we do not pretend to Devotion It is because they are not Devout that their Condition is very sad and the more they are engaged in the World the greater are the Temptations and Distraction to which they are liable Now he that is exposed to a Storm had need take more care than he who enjoys a Calm These are the principal Maxims and Sentiments which are made use of to Authorize Corruption Whoever takes notice of what is said and done in the World must needs acknowledge that these and the like Maxims are vented abroad every day so that in order to obstruct the Progress of Corruption it is absolutely necessary to undeceive Men in reference to these Sentiments and to oppose that Criminal Boldness which shamefully Corrups the Truths of Reilgion and turns Impieties into Religious Maxims and Articles of Faith CAUSE IV. The Abuse of Holy Scripture IT is a daring piece of Confidence to Authorize Corruption with Maxims borrowed from Religion but it is the last degree of Audaciousness and Impiety to turn the Holy Scripture to such a scandalous use and to seek in that Divine Book Pretences and Apologies for Vice and yet the Extravagance and Temerity of many bad Christians come up to this pitch Several declarations of the Word of God are made by them as many Maxims under which they think to shelter themselves and if we believe them there is nothing either in their Practice or Opinions but what is agreeable to the Will and Intentions of God himself This Abuse of the Scripture I design to shew in this Chapter to be one of the Causes of Corruption and it cannot he too seriously considered The Passages of Scripture which are abused to this purpose may be reduced to these Four Heads The first comprehends the places which are brought against the necessity of Good Works Under the second we will examine those declarations of Scripture by which some endeavour to prove That all Men without exception are in a state of Corruption which subjects them to Sin In the third place we shall answer the Arguments drawn from the Examples of those Saints whose Sins are Recorded in Scripture And lastly we shall make some Reflections upon those Scripptures in which the Divine Mercy is promised to the greatest Sinners There are divers Passages in Scriptures which being ill understood lead many into this perswasion That Good Works are not of absolute Necessity And First nothing is more confidently alledged to this purpose than what we read in many places * Rom. III. c. That we are justified by Faith and not by our Works No Doctrine is more clearly and expresly delivered in the Gospel than that of Justification by Faith But it is a Perverting of this Doctrine to conclude from it that Salvation may be obtained without Good Works This Conclusion must needs be false since the Gospel enjoyns Good Works as a necessary Condition in order to Salvation St Paul tells us that †Heb. XX. 14. without Holiness no man shall see God And does not that import that none shall be saved without Holiness and Good Works The same Apostle teaches us that at the Day of Judgment when Men shall be admitted into or excluded from Heaven God will have a regard to their Works to the good or evil which they shall have done | Rom. 11. 6. God will render to every man according to his Works * 2 Cor. V. 10. We must all appear before the Judgment seat of Christ that we may receive according to what we have done whether good or bad This is very positive and therefore since there can be no Contradiction in Scripture here is enough already to Convince us that the Doctrine of Justification by Faith has nothing in it which destroys the necessity of Good Works But it will appear yet less difficult to reconcile these two Doctrines if we suppose that which no Man can reasonably Contest
giving an account of his Dispute with St. Peter and of his reproving him for his too great Compliance with the Jews he affirms that we are justified by the Faith of Christ and not by the Work of the Law Why has not than difference been observed which St Paul makes about Works When he speaks of the Works of the Mosaical Law he calls them the Works of the Law or barely Works but when he treat of the Works which the Gospel prescribes he call them Good Works because they are really good holy and profitable in their own Nature but this Title of Good Works is never bestowed upon the Works of the Ceremonial Law which considered in themselves had nothing of Goodness or Holiness in them In a word Good Works in St. Paul's stile are quite another thing than barely Works or the Works of the Law If this had been considered such great â—ains needed not to have been taken to make * Rom. 3.27 St. Paul agree with St. James †Galat. 11.16 St. Paul says that Man is justified by Faith withâ—ut the Works of the Law | Jam. 11.24 and St. James â—hat Man is justified by works and not by Faith â—nly There is no contradiction between these two Apostles Both follow one Hypothesis and argue upon the same Principles St. Paul disputing against the Jews who wou'd tie Christians to the Observance of the Works of the Mosaical Law â—â—ffrms that Faith in Christ is sufficient provided it brings forth Good Work 's â—nd that it is not necessary to observe the Mosaical rites St. James disputing against â—ereticks who pretended that Faith did â—ave without Good Works and so did â—ntirely ruin our Saviour's Morals deâ—lares that Faith which does not proâ—uce Good Works is not sufficient to â—alvation Is not this the same Doctrine with St. Paul's But instead of reconciling these two Apostles some People find here great difficulties They do not reconcile St. James with St. Paul but they rather refute St. James by St. Paul St. James is expounded with great Caution as if he had gone too far by saying that Man is justified by works and not by Faith only This Proposition is softned as much as possible it is excused rather than explained but as for what St. Paul says that Faith alone justfiies without Works it is taken in the utmost strictness so that all is ascribed to Faith and nothing to Good Works Nay Faith is set in Opposition to Good Works and God to God himself the Passages of Scripture which speak of Faith being brought out against those which relate to Works It is true say some the Scripture says that without Holiness no manshall see God but it is likewise written that we are not justified by our Works but only by Faith And by this way of reasoning Men raise themselves above the reproaches and accusations of their own Consciences I say it once more this is to attack and confute the Word of God by it self and to charge the Holy Ghost with self-contradiction For in short if a Man can be justified without Good Works he can be saved without them too since the being justified is the same thing with the being saved Now if a Man can be saved without Good Works he may see the Face of God without Holiness which is directly contrary to what St. Paul tells us * Heb. 21.14 that without Holiness no man shall see the Lord. 2. A great many People imagine that it is one of the Priviledges of Christians not to be tied to the Observation of God's Law as the Jews were some mistaken places give occasion to that Error and particularly this †Rom. 6. We are no more under the Law but under Grace These words are thus interpreted The Law did prescribe Works but the Gospel requires only Faith the Law did threaten but the Gospel speaks only of Grace and Pardon So that to require Works at this time of day is to bring back the Dispensation of the Law There is something of Truth in this reasoning but those who make use of it to free themselves from the Observation of God's Commandments do very little understand either what the Law or the Gospel is and wherein these two Dispensations differ It is certain that the Law was a Dispensation of Severity it did not propose to Men remission of sins and salvation as the Gospel does The Law had not that power and efficacy to sanctify Men which Grace has The Law laid upon the Jews great many Obligation which were not only burdensom and painful but which besides had no intrinseâ—â—â— Holiness in them and those Duties were enjoyned under a Curse The Law it self was a time of Severity and Malediction in respect to all the Nations of the Earth since all the while that Oeconomy did subsist they were excluded from the Covenant which God had made with the Jews In these several regards we are not under the Law but under Grace But if from this that we are not under the Law we should infer that we are no longer bound to do what is just this Inference would overturn the whole Gospel and transform Religion into Libertinism Iâ— because we are under Grace we ought to speak no more of Works why should the Gospel prescribe Works and the same Works which the Law enjoyned excepting only the Ceremonies Why should this Gospel call us to a Holiness which exceeds that of the Jews and enforce this Obligation with more terrible Threatnings than those of the Law Why did our Saviour John the Baptist and the Apostles preach up Repentance and enter upon their Ministry with these Words | Mat. 3.2 and 4.4 repent ye According to the Hypothesis of these Men they should have spoken to them after this manner * Acts 11.17 This is the time of Grace the Law is past and the Covenant of Works is abolished therefore fear nothing let not your sins trouble you for Salvation is promised to all Mankind Whence comes it to pass that our †Mat. 5.6.7 Saviour speaks only of Works in his Sermon upon the Mount or that St. Paul declares that the natural intention and the proper effect of Grace is to teach Men to live according to the rules of Temperance Justice and Godliness Must we say that God is altered that he does not love Holiness so much now as he did heretofore of that Sin is become less odious to him since it was expiated by the death of his Son But it is said we are no more under the Law What are Christians then a Lawless People On the contrary we are under the Law I mean under the Law of Christ under | Rom. 8.2 the Law of the Spirit of life which makes us free from the Law of Sin and Death But let us hear St. Paul himself in what sense and respect does he say that we are no more under the Law but under Grace He says this precisely to shew that
we ought to live no longer in Sin These are his own words * Rom. 7.14 15 16 17.18 What then Shall we Sin because we are not under the Law but under Grace God forbid On the contrary Sin shall not have dominon over you for ye are not under the Law but under Grace you were formerly the servants of Sin but now being made free from Sin and become the servants of God Ye have your fruit unto holiness We need but read the sequel of his Discourse to see how he inveighs against those who turned the Grace of the Gospel into a pretense to live in Sin Before I leave this matter I shall taâ—â— notice of two Errors which are pretty common The First is the applying to Christians at this day all those things which were spoken of old by the Apostles to the Converted Jews It is said that we are no more under the Law and Christians are often exhorted to bless God for being no longer under the Curse of the Law and the Yoke of Moses And upon this a great many Oppositions are observed betwixt the Law and the Gospel For my part I do not think those Exhortations and Oppositions so very proper to be insisted on when we are speaking to Men who never were Jews unless we do it with a design to shew the Excellency of the Gospel-Covenant above that of the Law and the advantages of Christians above Jews For after all the Law was given only to the Jews and the Gentiles were never subjected to the Ceremonies or the Curse of it as the Jews were Why should we then say to People who never were under the Law You are no more under the Law The Apostles indeed spoke in that manner to the Converted Jews but as to those who were formerly Pagans it would be more fitting to tell them * Thess 1.9 Ephes 11.12 4.17 You have been converted from Idols to the living God Remember that ye were in times past Gentiles without hope and without God in the World and therefore live no longer like Heathens It is a great fault not to expound the Scripture according to the true scope of it and to apply all that it contains to all sorts of Persons without distinction The other Error is of greater consequence People fancy that because we are not under the Law which was a Covenant of Rigor we are now to speak of nothing else to Men but of Grace and Promises and that it is contrary to the Spirit of the Gospel to threaten and to denounce Curses against Sinners It has been said already in what sense the Law was a Covenant of Rigor in opposition to the Covenant of Grace but the Gospel has also its Curses and they are much more terrible than those of the Law The Gospel speaks of the future Punishments of another Life in much clearer and stronger Expressions than the Law does To be convinc'd of this we need but reflect upon that opposition which St. Paul makes between the Law and the Gospel in the Tenth Chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews He that despised Moses Law died without mercy under two or three Witnesses of how much sorer punishment suppose ye shall he be thought worthy who has trodden under foot the Son of God and has counted the Blood of the Covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing and has done despight unto the Spirit of Grace We know him that has said Vengeance belongeth unto me I will recompense faith the Lord. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hand of the living God 3. The Libertines do likewise abuse what St. Paul says in the Epistle to the * Gal. 5. Galatians concerning Christian Liberty when he declares that Christians are freed from the bondage of the Law when he exhorts them to stand fast in that Liberty and protests that Christ prositeth nothing to those who would be justified by the Law But a Man may see with half an Eye that the Apostle means only that Christians are no longer bound to observe Circumcision and the other Ceremonies of the Law of Moses That St. Paul has no other view or design but this will plainly appear to every one who will read the whole Epistle and particularly the second Chapter of it In the V Chapter we find two things which are decisive in this Matter 1. St. Paul speaks there expresly of Circumcision * Gal. V. Behold I Paul say unto you that if you be circumcised Christ shall profit you nothing for I testifie again to every Man that is circumcised that he is a debtor to do the whole Law †ver 13. Christ is become of none effect unto yon whosoever of you are justified by the Law ye are fallen from Grace 2. It is very observable with what circumspection the Apostle delivers himself left his Doctrine should be wrested to favour Licentiousness after he had said You are called to liberty he adds immediately only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh He explains what he means by living after the Flesh by making an enumeration of those Sins which the Flesh produces and which exclude Men from the Kingdom of Heaven He exhorts Men to live after the Spirit and to practise the Christian Vertues In the Fourth Chapter he pursues the same Exhortations and he ends the Epistle with these remarkable Words which contain the summ of his Doctrine * Chap. VI. 15. For in Christ Jesus neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor Vncircumcision but a new Creature that is to say Whether a Man be a Jew or a Heathen it matters not so he believes in Jesus Christ and observes God's Commandments †ver 16. Peace and Mercy be on them all who walk after this Rule Is there anything plainer than this Doctrine And yet how clear soever it may be Christian Liberty is alledged to set Men free from the Obligation to keep God s Commandments All that St. Paul fays against Circumcision and the Ceremonies of the Law is by an Enormous Blasphemy turned against the Holy Commandments of the Son of God Can any thing more Odious or Prophane be imagined than the perverting of the Holy Scripture at this rate 4. Those who plead on the side of Corruption are wont to object against what is said in behalf of Holiness this Sentence of Solomon's | Ephes VII 16. be not righteous overmuch neither make thy self over-wise And what Inferences do they riot draw from thence They conclude from this Place That a Man ought not to pretend so much to Holiness or to set up for a good Man and that in all things Mediocrity is best One may easily apprehend that such Sentiments must needs introduce Licentiousness especially when they are thought to be supported by a Divine Authority But let us see whether or no such Conceits can be founded upon this Sentence of Solomon's I shall ask in the first place Whether it is possible for a
has exalted them I do not deny but that many Christians are still in the same condition with Heathens or very near it being dead in their Sins and following the course of this World but this can be said only of bad Christians and not of those who have felt the Divine and Sanctifying vertue of the Christian Religion 3. It will be further said that we must needs acknowledge that all Men without exception are Sinners because that is St. John's Doctrine * John 1.8 If we say that we have no sin we deceive our selves This is a truth which no Man denies because it is too evident both from Scripture and Experience But we must take care to understand this Proposition aright that all men are sinners and that we explain it so as that it may Comport with that just difference we are to make between good and bad Men else under a pretence that all Men are Sinners the distinction between Virtue and Vice will be taken away It is fit to remark upon this occasion that the Scripture does not give the name of Sinners to all Men but only to the wicked and impious this may be seen in the whole Book of Psalms When we say then that we are all poor Sinners we must know in what sense we say it As to these words If we say that we have no sin we decieve our selves It is visible that St. John says this upon two accounts which relate to two sorts of Sins into which Men may fall First there are great Sins there is that Corruption in which Men lived before their Conversion In this regard St. John might say to those he writes to who were new converted Christians that they were all Sinners meaning that they had all been so for indeed both Gentiles and Jews had been extreamly Corrupt Secondly there are Sins into which those whose Regeneration is not yet perfect may fall as Fhere are Infirmities from which the most regenerate Men are not free In this sense all Men are Sinners and the Christians to whom St. John directs his Epistle were all Sinners also tho' already converted But the question is whether a true Christian sins like other Men and whether he who is a Sinner taking that word according to the ordinary use of Scripture that is to say one in whom Sin reigns is a true Christian That can never be said To this purpose we may hear St. John himself in the III Chapter of the same Epistle where he expresly tells us that he who is born of God does not commit Sin that whoever sinneth is of the Devil and that by this we may know the Children of God and the Children of the Devil Are not these words very plain Who can have the confidence after this to excuse Corruption by saying we are all Sinners But yet it is not only said that we are all Sinners by these Men but besides that we are all Great wretched and abominable Sinners It is no wonder that Men who have such Sentiments should be so Corrupt 4. But to this there is a reply at hand to shew that the justest Men are guilty of very frequent Sins and it is taken from these words The just man sins seven times a day I might let this alone because I am engaged only to answer those Places of Scripture which are wrested into an ill sense about this matter And this that the just man sins seven times a day is no where to be found in the Bible Those who quote these words as if they were Scripture will pretend no doubt that they are contained in Prov. xxiv 16. But there is nothing like this in the Sacred Text. These are the words of Solomon a just man falleth seven times and riseth up again But the wielded shall fall into Mischief Solomon speaks of the frequent Afflictions of good Men and particularly of the ill usage they meet with from wicked Men. In the 15 Verse he addresses himself to the wicked and tells them that it is in vain for them to lay wait for and to persecute the Just for adds he a just man falleth seven times and riseth up again but the wicked shall fall into Mischief and perish The meaning is that God takes care of the Just and that if he permits that they should fall into many Calamities he does likewise deliver them This is asserted almost in the same words Psal xxxvii 24. Though the just fall he shall not be utterly cast down for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand To the same purpose we are told Job V. 19. He shall deliver thee in six troubles yea in seven there shall no evil touch thee This admits of no difficulty and all Interpreters are agreed about it And yet for all that as men are apt to entertain every thing which excuses Corruption this Proverb That the just man sins seven times a day prevails and passes for an Article of Faith Is it not a lamentable thing that Men should be thus obstinately bent to wrest the Scripture into a sense favourable to Corruption and that they should dare to falsify it at this rate There are many falsifyings in the way of citing this Passage 1. Whereas Solomon says only the just he is made to say the justest man to give the greater force and extent to this Sentence to debase Piety the more and to insinuate that the best and holiest Men are great Sinners 2. Solomon is made to say that the just Sins but he does not say that he says only that the just falls I know that to fall signifies sometimes to sin but falling denotes likewise very frequently to be afflicted and a Man is blind who does hot see that in this Text the word fall is used in this second sense The 17 Verse which comes immediately after that which we are now examining proves it beyond exception rejoyce not when thine enemy falleth c. Besides those who are acquainted with the Sacred style know that it does not usually express the Sins of infirmity to which the Just are subject by the word fall that word importing commonly the fall of wicked Men. 3. Solomon is made to say That the justest Man sins seven times a day This is another falsifying an addition to the Text which is of no small consequence Seven times a day is not in the Text there is only seven times Every body knows that Seven times signifies many times And so the meaning would be that the Just do nothing else but transgress that many times a Day he falls into Sin But who does not see that this would be the description of a Man in whom Sin reigns and who is habitually ingaged in it and not the Character of a good Man I do not say but that just Men have their weak sides and fall sometimes into Sin this happens more or less according to the degree of their Regeneration but it is Impious to say that their Life is spent in continual Sins and
Corrupt Man living under the Law and not his own This is the Key which lets us into the meaning of his Discourse in which the Law is mentioned almost in every Verse 3. Lastly That which makes it as clear as the Sun that this is his true sense is that when the Apostle considers and speaks of himself as a Christian he uses quite another Language To be satisfied of this we need but run over this Chapter and compare it with other places in his Epistles If he says here ver 7 8. That concupiscence is felt and reigns within a man who is under the Law he declares Gal. V. 24. That Christians have crucified the flesh with the lusts of it If he says ver 9 10. That sin lives within him and that he is dead he had said Chap. VI. 2 11. That he was dead unto sin and living unto God through Jesus Christ If he says ver 14. That he is carnal and sold under sin it is apparent that he does not there speak of himself since Chap. VIII 1 and 8. he tells us That those who are in Christ Jesus are not in the flest and that those who are in the flesh cannot please God and have not his spirit If he says here v. 18. I know that in me dwelleth no good thing he declares Eph. III. 17. that Christ dwells in our hearts by Faith If he says ver 19. The good that I would I do not and the evil which I hate that I do he testifies in many places That the faithful do that which is good and abstain from evil If he complains ver 21 22 23. of his being captivated to the Law of Sin he teaches Chap. VI. 17 22. That Christians are no longer the servants of Sin that they an freed front it and become the servants of Righteousness If he cries out ver 24.0 wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this Death It is manifest that these are not the Expressions of a Man Regenerated by Jesus Christ for he addâ— immediately I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. There is therefore now as Condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the Flesh but after the Spirit For the Law oft he Spirit of Life which is in Christ Jesus has made me free from the Law of Sin and Death Chap. VIII 12. Now let any Body judge whether what is said in this Chapter can be applied to St. Paul considered as a Regenerated Christian Can it be said that Concupiscence reigns in him who has crucifyed it That Sin lives in him who is dead to Sin That he who is not in the Flesh is a carnal Man That he who is freed from Sin is sold to Sin That no good thing dwells in those in whom Christ dwells That a Man is at the same time miserable and happy a Slave and yet delivered by Jesus Christ dead and alive To say this is it not to call Good Evil and Evil Good to put Darkness for Light and Light for Darkness Is it not to admit downright Contradictions in Scripture But especially is it not to open a door to Licentiousness and to give us a strange Notion of a Regenerate Man By all that has been said I do not mean that there are no remnants of Corruption in those who are Regenerated Neither do 〈◊〉 deny but that in those whose Regeneration is but begun there is some such struggle as that which is described in this Chapter This is Musculus's Notion in his Commentary upon the Romans * Page 118. But that this Chapter should be the Picture of a Regenerate Man and of a true Member of Christ is a thing so contrary to the Gospel and to all he Ideas of Religion that one can hardly â—imagine how there could ever be Men who believed it But that which Corrupt Christians endeavour to prove by those Passages I have mentioned they think to put out of all question by the Examples of those Saints Whose Sins are recorded in Holy Writ To this purpose they alledge Noah Lot Abraham Sampson David Solomon St Paul St. Peter c and from these Instances they conclude that since those great Saints fell into such heavy Sins Sin is no Obstacle to Salvation and that it is not inconsistent with Piety If We did make a right use of the Word of God we would draw a quite contrary influence from these Instances and consider that it is absurd to plead Precedents against an express Law If we must needs be governed by Examples we ought certainâ—â— to chuse the good and not the bad one to imitate what is praise worthy in the Saints and not what deserves blame theâ— Faults being like so many Beacons set 〈◊〉 to keep us from striking upon the samâ— Rocks But to answer directly I say first Thaâ— we are a little too apt to rank among Sainâ— some Illustrious Persons mention'd in the Sâ—cred History who perhaps were nothing less than Holy Men and who it may be diâ—perish in their Sins tho' God thought iâ— to make use of them to carry on the Designs of his Providence and to deliver hiâ— People It would be a rash thing to pronounce upon any Man's Salvation or 〈◊〉 speak irreverently of those great Men bâ— the instance of Solomon whose Salvation has been at all times questioned by Divines should teach us not to be so hasty in placing those among Saints of whom the Scripture speaks with some honour and is sheltering our selves under their Examples As to those who by the Testimony of Scripture it self did truly fear God 〈◊〉 might observe that they fell but once into those Sins related in the Sacred History which would by no means favour impenitent and habitual Sinners But this answer does not fully satisfie for besides that it apposes a thing which in respect of several â—ersons cannot certainly be known there are â—ome Sins which are so black such as Adulteâ—y and Apostacy that a Man can hardly comâ—it them more than once except he is alâ—gether sold to Sin and further any one of â—ose Sins is incompatible with a State of â—egeneration We must therefore frankly own that â—hen those great Men sinned in that manâ—er they did not act like Saints that they â—ut themselves into a State which considerâ—d in it self was a State of Damnation and â—hat they had perished if they had contiâ—ued in it for as Ezekiel says Chap. XXXIII â—8 When the righteous turneth from his â—ighteousness and committeth iniquity he shall â—ven die thereby We may judge of the heinâ—usness and danger of those sins by the deâ—ree of Repentance which some of these Men â—ave expressed for them and by the publick â—cknowledgments they made of them What â—arms was David in when he composed he LI Psalm which is the Psalm of his Repentance What a deep sense had St. Peter of his fault in denying his Master What do then such Examples signify to â—hose who live
upon which they have most reason to reproach themselves as is well known to those who make any reflection upon their Conduct And if this Shame is able to spoil those who other wise are Virtuous and to extinguish their Zeal and Piety we ought to reckon it among the Principal Causes of Corruption 3. Shame may lead men to the highest Degrees of Wickedness For besides that a man sins against his Conscience when for fear of Men he dares not do his Duty besides that he offends God in a very provoking manner when he is ashamed to obey him and fears Men more than Him I say that this shame is apt to betray him into the great est Enormities A man is capable of every thing when he becomes a Slave to other mens Judgment and when Complaisance or Humane Consideration have a greater force upon him than the Laws of Religion and his Duty Whenever a man dares not appear good he dares appear in some measure wicked And when he ties to Vertue an Idea of Honour to Vice and from complying in every thing with the Opinions of loose and profane Persons 1. Men do not arrive of a sudden at this degree of Corruption false Shame carries them to it by little and little It makes one sin at first through Complisance tho' with some Reluctancy By this Conscience grows weaker a man contracts the Habit of slighting its Suggestions and Vice becomes more familiar to him Then he begins to sin more boldly the shame of doing good increases and the shame of sinning grows less In a little time he comes to do out of Custom and Inclination what he did before but seldom and with some inward Conflict From thence he proceeds to an open contempt of Piety and so he forsakes an Interest to which he was well affected at first but which this shame has made him dislike Thus many Persons who had good dispositions in their youth being let loose into the World have lost their Innocence and are turned Libertines and Atheists Now this false Modesty being so pernicious we can never labour too much to prevent its ill effects And this we shall succeed in if we seriously consider that there is a great deal both of Error and Cowardice in the sentiments and conduct of those who are hinder'd by shame from discharging the Duties of Religion and Conscience First there is a great deal of Error in their Proceding This Shame is founded upon nothing else but the Judgment which the World makes of Piety But if those who despise Religion are in the wrong as they most certainly are if it is Extravagance and Folly in them to pass a false Judgment upon Piety it is a much greater Madness in those who understand better Things to subscribe to a Judgment which they know to be False and Erroneous and to make that the Principle of their Actions If Vertue is a Thing that is Good Just Necessary Acceptable to God and Useful to those who Practise it if with it we cannot fail of Happiness and if without it there is nothing but Dread and Terror why should we be ashamed to give up our selves to it A Wise Man ought to esteem that which deserves Esteem and if Ignorant and Corrupt People are of another Mind he ought to set himself above their Judgment and to despise the Contempt of the senseless Multitude The Judgment of Men cannot make that Just which is Unjust nor supersede the Necessity of what is Necessary so that it should be of no weight in so important a Concernment as that of our Salvation Our Happiness is not to be Decided by Man's Esteem or Contempt and the Approbation of God and our Conscience is infinitely to be preferred before their groundless Opinions But if there is so much of Error in vicious Shame there is likewise a great deal of Cowardice in it Nothing is more base and unworthy than for a Man to desert the Interest of Vertue when he is sollicited by his own Conscience to adhere to it Not to have Resolution enough to do his Duty in such a Case is on the one hand to submit his Reason and Conscience to the Caprice of others and to depress himself beâ—ow the vilest Things in die World and â—on the other it is to have greater Regard for Men than for God And is there any thing more abject than this Proceeding Is not this shameful Cowardise in a Christian who is called to profess openly his Religion and Faith and who ought to think it his Glory to maintain the Cause of Vertue and Justice in spight of all the Contradiction and Contempt of the Age That Threatning which our Saviour has denounced against those who should not have the Courage to embrace the Christian Profession or should abandon it belongs also to those mean-spirited Christians we are now speaking of * Mat. VIII 38. Whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful Generation of him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed when he cometh in the Glory of his Father with the Holy Angels The first and chief Remedy against this false Shame is then to be possessed with the following Reflections Before all things to have a right Apprehension of the Certainty and Importance of Religion to consider that it proposes to us infinite Rewards but that those Rewards are reserved only for those who have the Courage to observe its Precepts to think what Pleasure and Glory it is to be approved of God and of one own Conscience To fix deeply this great Truth in our minds that Mens Judgment is very inconsiderable that our Felicity depends neither upon their esteem nor contempt and to remember that the Scripture calls the Men of the World Fools and that a time will come when Shame Confusion and Misery shall fall to the Lot of those Despisers of Religion while * Rom. II. Glory Honour and Peace shall be to every one that does good 2. We shall easily conquer this Shame if we consider that the Danger of incurring Mens Contempt or Hatred by doing our Duty is not always so great as we may imagine I confess Piety is often despised but yet it frequently commands Respect Even those who think it strange that their Example should not be followed cannot help having a secret esteem and veneration for good Men. When Zeal is accompanied with Meekness and Discretion there is no fear that a Man should make himself odious or ridiculous by practising Vertue A Christian Deportment is so far from exposing Men always to the Contempt of the World that on the contrary it frequently happens that those who would avoid this Contempt by neglecting their Duty do thereby bring it upon themselves 3. There might be yet another Remedy against this Vicious Shame and that is the Example of Men of Authority Whatever they approve or do is reputed Honourable in the World and on the other side what they despise or neglect
inclined But yet we must confess that the various Circumstances of Time Plate and of the State of Religion contribute much to the progress of Piety or of Corruption in the World There are some happy Circumstances and some Times very favourable to Piety as on the other hand there are unhappy Circumstances and Times in which it is like a Stranger upon Earth the Means to promote it being then neither so effectual nor so frequent The design of this Work obliges me to consider what may be thought in this respect of the time we live in and whether this Corruption which dishonours Christianity does not proceed from the unhappiness of the Times and from the present state of the Church and Religion But we cannot succeed in this Enquiry nor pass a sound judgment upon the present state of Religion without running back to its first Origin and Nature and without taking a view of those Ages which are elapsed since its first Establishment The Knowledge of the Scripture and of History are here of great use The Scripture informs us what the state of Religion should be and History shews us the different states through which it has passed When we examine Religion by these two Rules we perceive that it neither has been nor will be always in the state it is now in It is fit in the firs place to seek the true Notion of the Christian Church and Religion in Scripture There it is that Chistianity still subsists in all its Beauty for neither the Ages which are past nor the Changes which have happened have been able to tarnish in the least the Brightness of those Native and Lively Colours in which our Saviour's Religion is set forth in Holy Writings We may take notice of four Principal Characters in the â—dea which the Scripture gives us of the Christian Church and Religion And these are Truth Holiness Union and Order 1. The first and the chief Character of this Church and Religion is the Knowledge and the Profession of the Truth this is what distinguishes Christianity from false Religions The Church is the Church of Christ no longer than while she retains the Purity of Faith and of Evangelical Doctrine It would be needless to prove this 2. The Sacred Writers represent the Church as a Society altogether Holy They name her * Eph. V. 27. Pet II. The Spouse of Christ a glorious Spouse having neither spot nor wrinkle nor any such thing but being holy and without blemish They call her †Heb. XII The house of the living God a holy Nation and the assembly of the first born which are written in heaven They give to Christians the glorious Titles of Kings Priests Saints Elect Children of God and New Men They speak of them as of a People separated from the World and its Vices dedicated to God and to good Works and living in the practice of Piety Temperance Justice Charity and all other Vertues 3. Union and Love is the third Character of the Church and of the true Disciples of Christ The Scripture does not speak to us of many Churches but of one of which all the Faithful are Members in what place soever they may be St. Paul says that there is buâ— one Faith one Baptism and one God the Apostles enjoyn above all things Union and Charity and they give many Precepts to maintain these and to make them flourish among Christians 4. As Holiness and Union cannot be preserved where there is no Order so the Church was to be a well regulated Society in which every thing might be done in a convenient and orderly manner And in fact there are in the Sacred Writings many Laws to this purpose We find there several regulations concerning the way in which the Church ought to be governed and concerning the calling of Bishops and Pastors and the Principal Functions of their Office The Scripture does besides appoint the exercise of Discipline the manner of proceeding in relation to scandalous Sinners and the Administration of Publick Alms. It prescribes the chief acts of Religion and Divine Worship Prayers Fasting Sacraments Preaching and some other Heads All these Laws are designed to establish Order and Piety in the Church and to banish Confusion and Scandals out of it And this order cannot be a thing indifferent since the Apostles have given us Laws about it It is not difficult to shew that most Christian Societies are hardly to be known by these Marks But before we come to that it is necessary to observe the different States through which the Church has passed from her infancy to this time II. If we consider the Church in her infancy we must acknowledge that the first Ages of Christianity were very pure in Comparison of the following But yet must take heed when we speak of the purity of the Primitive Church that we do not form to our selves too advantagious an Idea of it as if Christianity had been then in its utmost Purity and Perfection The Church in her beginnings did consist of Jews and Heathens These Men embracing Christianity did not so entirely strip themselves of their Prejudices and Customs but that they brought with them into the Church some of the Notions of Judaism and even of Gentilism It is well known that this was the first occasion of those Heresies which did stain the Purity of the Christian Doctrines and Morals and the cause of several disorders which happened in the very Times of the Apostles Besides the Apostles and the first Ministers of the Christian Religion were not able by reason of the Persecution and of the obstacles they met with to regulate all things as they would have done if the Church had been in peace We need not therefore wonder if we find Imperfections and Defects apparent enough in the state of the Primitive Church And it is of some importance to observe this not only that we may have true apprehensions concerning this matter but that we may besides obviate an unhappy Consequence which might be drawn in favour of the present Corruption from what has been known in the first Ages of Christianity No doubt but there were Disorders and Scandals at that time but we are to remember that the Church was then made up of Men who for the most part were born and had lived in Paganism and whose life had been spent in the thickest darkness of Ignorance and Vice Yet for all that the Church was then more holy and pure than she has been since or is at this day in most places This is matter of fact which cannot reasonably be contested for besides that it may be verified from the Testimony which the Sacred and some of the Heathen Authors bear to the Innocency of the Primitive Christians and that it is probable that Men were kept in awe while the Apostles were alive in the time of Miracles besidesall this I say there are two Considereations which prove that Corrupton could not be then so great or so
practice of the Apostles and of the Primitive Church Fasting being enjoyned by our Saviour and established by the example of the Apostles and by the universal practice of the first Christians and of all the Churches in the World for several Ages there is reason to wonder that in some places this Duty should be almost out of date For as to solemn Fasts which are celebrated from time to time and seldom enough those are not properly the Fasts of which the Gospel speaks and which were observed by the Ancients They are Acts of publick Humiliation designed for times of Calamity or of extraordinary Devotion and the use of these ought not to be too frequent because Custom is apt to lessen their effect But I mean those Fasts which are helps to Devotition and Holiness and Means to mortify the Body and to dispose Men to Humiliation and Repentance Uniformity in Divine Worship would be another very necessary Establishment It would shew the unity of Faith it would render Religion venerable and prevent those Disorders and Confusions which are inevitable when Rites and Practices quite different nay sometime contrary to one another are observed in several Churches Lastly Care should be taken that divine Service might be performed every where in an orderly grave and decent manner The exterior of Religion has a greater influence than we imagine upon the essence of it besides that we save an express Law * 1 Cor. XIV 40. Which says that all things should be done decently and in order Indeed Pageantry and Pomp the great number of Ceremonies and whatever savours of Superstition ought to be avoided as well as every thing which is contrary to the essence of Evangelical Worship And it were better to fall into an excess of Simplicity than to Clog Religion with too many Ceremonies But yet under pretence of Simplicity we are not to run into Confusion and to neglect the externals of Religion and Divine Service If we should examine by this Rule what is done in some Churches with relation for instance to the Laws and Forms of Publick Assemblies to the celebration of Divine Worship and the Sacraments and to the Persons who receive the Communion and who officiate we might find there several things to be rectified And it would be very useful to take this into Consideration for the want of Gravity and Decency and a dry and careless performing of Publick Worship render Religion despicable and make the People who commonly judge of things by their Outsides to entertain a mean notion of divine Service which produces the contempt of Religion and by consequence ill Manners VI. This contempt of Religon is another Fault which ought not to be passed over in silence It has been always the general sense of Mankind that Religion is to be honoured and respected The Heathen Religions as false as they were did attract the Veneration of the People and the same may be seen at this day among the several Nations of Infidels Certainly then the Christian Religion deserves all the veneration and respect which Men are capable of But it must be confessed that in many places it is falling of late into a very great outward meanness Men are accustoming themselves to look with indifference and with haughtiness and scorn upon every thing which has some relation to the Church or to Religion This appears especially in the contempt which is expressed towards the Clergy Tho' the Scripture represents their Office as a most Excellent and Honourable Imployment tho' it enjoyns Christians to * Heb. XIII 27. 1 Thess V. 13. Honour Love and Reverence those who have the rule over them yet the Ecclesiastical Order is generally but little honoured And what is more surprizing it is most depressed and abased in those Churches which otherwise profess a purer Doctrine and Worship than other Christian Societies I do not speak of all Churches in general but whoever sees what is practised in many places would be apt to think that it was a part of the Reformation of the Church to strip the Clergy of all Ecclesiastical Authority and of every thing that might render them venerable to the People and to set them upon a low and contemptible Foot Their Character is become Abject if not Odious and it becomes so more and more every day That which makes it more despicable is the Poverty which many of them are forced to live in It is not difficult to find out the Grounds of this Contempt It may be justly charged upon the Clergy themselves their Character is become vile because they support it but it does not follow that Men have a Right to despise them all that is to be done is to endeavour the reclaiming of them If under pretence of Persons being unworthy or of some abuse in Offices it was lawful to despise the Professions themselves would not even Magistracy be often the vilest of all employments May we not say besides that Church-Men do not well maintain their Character because they are despised An Office which is slighted will never be well discharged it is seldom that great worth is to be found in a Post which is little honoured or rather much despis'd The chief Cause of this Contempt was the manner in which things were ordered in the last Century Persecution Poverty and the Opposition of the higher Powers were at first great Obstacles to the establishing of good Order Princes and great Men did possess themselves of the Revenues and Authority of the Church Nothing was left to Church-men but the care of making Sermons and of Administring the Sacraments They were turned into bare Preachers a Character which for the most part is not very fit to create Respect I say nothing here of the Discipline and Government of the Church because I am to speak of these more largely by and by This Abasement of Religion and of the Ministry is a visible Cause of Corruption As soon as Sacred things are disregarded Impiety must needs prevail especially if the Ministers of Religion are despised then Religion can have no great force upon Men's Minds The Master cannot be honoured when his Servants are slighted Men who are without Authority cannot contain the People in their Duty Whatsoever comes from an abject Person who is neither beloved nor esteemed can never be received with submission The contempt of Pastors draws of necessity after it the contempt of Divine Service of Preaching and of other Sacred Functions The Poverty of Church-men is not much less fatal to the Church than the immense and excessive Riches which did formerly corrupt the Clergy For besides that in those times and places in which the Christian Religion is predominant and professed by Persons of Quality Poverty makes the Ministers of Religion Contemptible to the People and even to Great Men it being certain that in those Circumstances it is necessary that Ministers should live with some credit besides this I say that Poverty disables them from exercising
when it is joined with Ecclesiastical Discipline but to think that Civil Laws are sufficient to Regulate Manners and to reclaim Sinners is a Conceit almost as unreasonable as it would be ridiculous to proceed against Robbers or the other Disturbers of the publick Peace only by Spiritual Punishments Let no Man then confound those things which God has set asunder 6. It is farther said That these Rules of Discipline were only for a time and that the times are altered But how can it be proved that the Laws of Discipline were made only for a time Is there any ground for this either in the Scripture or in the Nature of those Laws Are the Laws of Discipline like those of Moses which do no longer bind us Did the Apostles make this distinction Did St. Paul say upon this Subject as he did in another Case * 1 Cor. I only give my judgement I have no Commandment of the Lord Does he not speak positively of the Order according to which the Church is to be Governed Does he not Command in the Name of Jesus Christ Does he not establish general Laws and Maxims for all the Churches The Apostles indeed appointed some Rules the observation of which is not necessary at this Day because those Regulations were visibly founded upon particular Reasons which do no longer subsist and therefore they are not proposed as general Laws But the Reasons upon which Discipline is founded and which are taken from Order and Edification from the Honour of the Church from the Conversion of Sinners and from the Nature of the Christian Religion those Reasons do still subsist and consequently the Rules of Discipline are Sacred and Inviolable especially being delivered by way of Command and repeated in so many Places The Christian Church is to be Diffused all the World over sometimes She is Persecuted and sometimes She enjoys a Calm but whatever State She may be in her Nature does not alter As there is but one God one Church one Faith one Baptism so there is to be but One Order at least as to Essential Things and that Order ought to be conformable to the Laws of the Apostles Or else there will be as in fact we see there are as many different Customs and Disciplines as there are Kingdomes States Provinces nay Towns and Churches 7. It is commonly objected That the Zeal of the Primitive Christians is extinct that Men are now very Corrupt and that it would be impossible to bring them to a submission to the Discipline of the Church But that very thing that Men are corrupt proves the Necessity of Discipline Order is never more necessary than when all is in Confusion * 1 Tim. I. 9. St. Paul says that the Law is not made for a righteous Man but for the Lawless and Disobedient Discipline seems more necessary now than it was in the first Centuries because then Persecution kept Corruption out of the Church but when the Church is in peace Vices and Scandals do infallibly multiply and then it is that good Discipline is of excellent use But then it is said that it would be impossible to restore it considering the Disposition Men are now in I confess this design would meet with opposition Those who go about to restore Order and suppress Licentiousness must still encounter difficulties but yet this might be compassed if Princes and Magistrates did not oppose it If all the Pastors did set about it with a Zeal accompanied with Prudence and Gentleness if they did carefully instruct the People concerning the necessity of Discipline and if they did apply themselves to the civil Powers with equal Vigour and Respect they would carry the point at Last After all the People are not in a worse disposition than the Heathens were in before the Apostles preached the Gospel to them and there are Christian Princes and Magistrates who have Piety and Zeal If then the Heathens of old could be brought under the Discipline of Christ in the sight of Heathen Magistrates should we despair of subjecting Christians to it The instance of those Churches where Discipline is observed at least in part and where Excommunication and publick Penances are in use shews that there is no impossibility to succeed in this design If the thing was impossible God would never have commandded it 8. In the last place here is an Objection which is commonly urged with great force and which seems to have much weight in it It is said that we have reason to fear that Discipline would bring Tyranny into the Church and that those who govern it would then assume too much Authority Let us see whether this Fear is well grounded And First if we suppose this Principle that Discipline is instituted of God and that the Apostles did commit it to the Church and her Governours which I think has been fully demonstrated will it not be a kind of Blasphemy to say that Discipline is not to be suffered lest Pastors should become Tyrants Would not this reflect upon our Saviour and his Apostles as if they had established a dangerous Order which is apt to introduce Tyranny At this rate the Apostles and the Primitive Christians did incroach upon the Liberty of the People and the Authority of Princes Every Christian will abhor this Consequence and yet it results naturally from the opinion of those who reject Discipline for fear of Tyranny Besides supposing that Christ has instituted the Order we speak of can we thus argue against it without shaking off his Yoke But Men do not consider this They fancy that every thing that is granted to the Church is granted to her Governors whereas they should remember that it is paid or yielded to Christ whose Right it is and who cannot be despoiled of it without Sacrilege Here we might retort the Charge upon those who bring it They talk of Tyranny and is it not an intolerable piece of Tyranny to oppose a Divine Law and to debar the Church and her Governors of the enjoyment of those Rights which God had given them But to come closer to the Objection Nothing can be feared but one of these two Inconveniences either an Empire over Consciences or some Prejudice to the Publick Tranquility and to the Authority of civil Powers As to the first of these two Inconveniences there is no great reason to fear it since the Apostles who so expresly recommend Discipline to Pastors forbid them at the same time to assume a Dominion over Consciences Provided Discipline is used only in those cases and in that Manner which the Scripture appoints and as it was practised by the first Christians * 1 Pet. V. 2. 2 Cor I. 14. nothing like this is to be feared from it The Discipline we speak of does not meddle with Points of Faith and so Fear in this respect is groundless As to those Cases which concern Manners Injustice can hardly be committed about them The Church does not Judge of secret and
Church Preaching is is without dispute a part of the Office of Pastors But it is a great mistake to think that God has appointed them only to Preach for they are entrusted besides with the Government of the Church and this part of their Employment is at least as essential as Preaching It is remarkable that the Scripture speaks of Pastors in divers Places and that the Titles it gives them and the Functions it ascribes to them relate chiefly to the Government of the Church This is implyed in the Name of Bishops Priests or Elders Guides and Pastors St. Paul has writ concerning the Duties of the Ministry if we examine what he says of the Functions of that Charge and of the Qualifications of those who are to be admitted into it we shall find that he is much larger upon the Government of the Church than upon Preaching To this purpose the Epistles to Timothy and Titus may be consulted But further all Church-men are not called to Preaching The Apostles distinguish their Functions they tell us * See 1 Cor. XII 4 5 6. 28 29 30. Act. VI. 2 c. Rom. XII 6 7 8. 1 Tim. V. 17. That all are not Doctors that all do not Interpret that all do not administer the Word that all do not Teach and Exhort that some are appointed to Instruct to Exhort and to Expound the Scriptures others to Govern and others to do works of Charity Tho' we should suppose that there is nothing in this which relates to the extraordinary Gifts conferred upon the first Ministers of the Gospel and to the Order which was then observed yet it is plain that these Places are to be understood of the Gifts and Functions of ordinary Pastors This is confirmed by the Practice of the Primitive Church The principal and the most general Function of Pastors then was the Inspection and Governing of the Church Preaching was not neglected but all Church-Men were not Preachers this Province was committed to those who were fit for it Would to God this Distinction was still observed The Church would be better governed and the Gospel better Preached than it is There are Talents requisite to Preach the Gospel which every Body has not and others are necessary for the Conduct of the Church and all these Gifts seldom meet in one Person If then no regard is had to different Gifts and Functions if without distinction ever thing is committed to one Person it is visible that the Church will be ill Edified Besides that I have shewed in the First Chapter of this Second Part that it is a dangerous Notion which restrains the Ministry to Preaching But to remove this Inconveniency it would be necessary that a competent Number of Ecclesiasticks should be had in every Church 1. To express my Thoughts more particularly concerning the Office of Pastors with relation to the Government of the Church I observe First that Discipline is worn out of use as I have shewn at large in a Chapter upon that Subject It is true that this Defect is not wholly to be imputed to Pastors If they do not Govern the Church by a good Discipline it is because they have been deprived of their Authority Many of them are sensible of this Disorder and lament it But what can they do when they Exercise their Ministry in Places where their Hands are tyed up where they dare not refuse the Sacrament to an Adulterer and where they should bring themselves into great troubles and perhaps be Deposed if they took upon them to observe the Apostolical Discipline They are forced to confine themselves to Preaching which when it is not backed with Discipline can never have that Effect which it would produce in conjunction with it There was nothing left to Pastors but what could not be taken from them without abolishing the whole Ministry All that remains is only Preaching and Administring the Sacraments And yet for all that a great part of the Clergy may justly be charged with that Fault we complain of and with that Corruption of the People which is a consequence of it since there are those among them who oppose the restoration of Discipline and look upon it as an indifferent Order and others who are placed in Churches where some Form of Discipline is left render the Exercise of it ineffectual either through Imprudence and excessive Severity or through a shameful Remisness and a cowardly Indulgence 2. Beside the Publick there is a Private Discipline which consists in Inspecting the Lives of Private Persons in Visiting Families in Exhortations Warnings Reconciliations and in all those other Cares which a Pastor ought to take of those over whom he is Constituted For neither general Exhortations nor publick Discipline can answer all the Occasions of the Church There are certain Disorders which Pastors neither can nor ought to repress openly and which yet ought to be remedied by them In such Cases Private Admonitions are to be used The Concern of Mens Salvation requires this and it becomes the Pastoral Carefulness to seek the the straying Sheep and not to let the Wicked perish for want of Warning But these are Cares to which some Pastors do not so much as think themselves obliged they content themselves with Admonishing Sinners from the Pulpit There is very little Intercourse between Pastors and those who are committed to their Charge Private Persons live without being accountable for their Conduct to any Body and except they commit the greatest Enormities they fancy no Man has a Right to enquire into their Actions Nothing reaches them but Sermons and these they mind as much and as little as they please this must needs produce Licentiousness The visiting of sick and dying Persons is one of the most important Functions of the Office of Pastors but when it is not performed with exactness and zeal it contributes as much as can be imagined to the keeping up of Security Every one must needs see of what Consequence this part of the Ministry is if he considers that it is at the end of Life that we are to be judged and that our eternal state depends upon the condition we dye in And if we reflect at the same time upon what the Scripture tells us * 2 Cor. V. 10. that we shall receive in the World to come according to the good or evil we have done in this we will easily apprehend what Ministers ought to do when they visit sick and dying Persons Their chief business should be to discover what state those Persons are in that they may suit their Exhortations to it Then is it that they ought to speak to the Conscience of Sinners and to perswade them by all possible Means to examine their Lives and the disposition they are in in reference to their Salvation And when a Minister meets as it happens too frequently with sick Persons who are engaged and hardned in vitious Habits or whose Repentance may justly be questioned it is then that
he had need use all his Skill and Prudence all his Zeal and Endeavours to save Souls which are in so great danger Upon such occasions both the Minister and the sick Person have need of Time Leisure and Freedom and a hasty discourse or Prayer signifies nothing And now we may judge whether a Man discharges the Office of a Pastor who only in general exhorts dying Persons to acknowledge themselvs miserable Sinners and backs those Exhortations with Assurances of the Divine Mercy through Jesus Christ or who only reads some Forms of Exhortations and Prayers as the Custom is in some places This method is fitter to lay asleep than to awaken a guilty Conscience and this way of ex-exercising the Ministry overturns the Doctrine of a future Judgment and most of the Principles of Religion A Minister speaks to a sick Person of the pardon of his Sins he exhorts him to leave the World with joy he discourses to him of the Happiness of another Life and fills him with the most comfortable Hopes And perhaps this sick Person is a Man loaded with Guilt a wretch who has lived like an Atheist who has committed divers Sins for which he has made no Satisfaction who has not practised Restitution who never knew his Religion and who is actually impenitent Such a Man ought to tremble and yet such Consolations from the mouth of his Pastor make him think that he dies in a state of Grace But if this way of visiting and comforting the sick betrays them into security it has the same effect upon the standers by who when they hear the Consolations which are administred to Persons whom every body knows not to have led very Christian lives make a tacit Inference that the same things will be said to them and that their Death will be happy whatsoever their past Life may have been Besides the want of Ability and Zeal there are two things which hinder Pastors from discharging towards dying People the important Duties to which their Office obliges them The one is that commonly Pastors visit the Sick only in cases of extremity and the other is that they have too little communication with their Flocks and no sufficient Knowledge of the Lives and Conduct of private Persons so that being ignorant of the State and Occasions of the Sick they cannot at the approach of Death administer to them wholesom Counsels and Exhortations These I think are the most essential Defects of Pastors both in the Instruction and in the Government of the Church Having thus far treated of the Duties of the Pastoral Charge I come now to consider those Qualifications with which Pastors ought to be endued And these are of two sorts First The Endowments of the Mind by which I mean those Abilities and Talents which are necessary for the Instruction and Conduct of the Church and Secondly the Qualifications of the Heart by which I mean Probity and Integrity of Life 1. No Man questions but that Abilities and Talents are requisite in those who exercise the Office of Ministers in the Church First Some are necessary for Preaching the Gospel and for the right expounding of Scripture Preaching requires a greater extent of Knowledge than is commonly imagined To Preach well a Man should be well skilled in Languages History Divinity and Morality He should be acquainted with Man's Heart he should be of a Sagacious and discerning Spirit and above all things he should have a true and exact Judgment to say nothing of some other Qualifications which are necessary to every Man who speaks in Publick Neither are these Endowments sufficient particular Talents are requisite for the Conduct of the Church To guide a Flock and to be accountable for the Salvation of a great number of Souls is no small Charge nor an Employment which every body is fit for A Man to whom the Government of a Church is committed in whose Hands the Exercise of Discipline is lodged whose Duty it is both to Exhort and Reprove both in publick and in private and who ought to supply all the occasions of a Flock and to be provided for all Emergencies such a Man has need of a great deal of Knowledge Zeal and Firmness as well as of much Wisdom and Prudence Moderation and Charity That all these Qualifications are requisite in a Pastor is evident from the Nature of his Office and St. Paul teaches it when he appoints that none shall be admitted to this Employment but those in whom they are to be found What Effect then can the Ministry have when it is Exercised by Men who want these Qualifications or perhaps have the quite contrary who are ignorant who know nothing in Matters of Discipline and Morality who can give no account of a great many things contained in Scripture and whose whole Learning is confined to a Commentary who can neither reason true nor speak clearly who are either Indiscreet Negligent or Remiss in the Exercise of their Office But I do not wonder that these Qualifications are wanting in most Clergy-men Vast Numbers who were not cut out for this Employment aspire to it And besides these Abilities are not to be acquired without Labour and Application Now many Church-men are shamefully idle they look upon their Profession as a mean to live easy so that declining the Duties of their Place they content themselves with the Incomes of it Those who are to Preach are more employed but their Sermons are almost their whole Business Their Work consists for the most part in copying some Commentaries and as soon as they have acquired a little Habit and facility of Speaking in Publick almost all of them give over Study and Labour We may almost make the same Judgment of those Ecclesiasticks who tho' they Study hard yet do not direct their Studies to the Edification of the Church The Learning and the Studies of Divines I speak of those chiefly who have Cure of Souls is often vain and of no use for the edifying of their Flocks They apply themselves to things suitable to their Inclinations and their Studies are but their Amusement or their Diversion Now he who neglects the Duties of his Calling and pursues other Employments differs very little from him who does nothing at all II. Probity is not less necessary to Pastors than Knowledge and Ability and this Probity ought to have three degrees 1. The first is that Pastors give no ill Example and that their Life be blameless This is the first Qualification which St. Paul requires in those who aspire to this holy Office * 1 Tim. III. Let a Bishop says he be blameless that is his Manners ought to be such that he may not justly be charged with any Vice or give any Scandal Then the Apostle specifies the faults from which a Pastor ought to be free †Tit. I. Not given to wine no striker not greedy of filthy lucre but patient not a brawler not covetous one that ruleth well his own house having his