pride of evil men 3. Vse Trust the Wisdom of God which made the World to govern it and the Affairs of it and the Wisdom which hath framed thy Body in so curious and exquisite a manner and formed thy Spirit within thee and hath made so many Creatures with reference to thy Necessity and Comfort trust him for thy future Provision Mat. 6.25 I say unto you Take no thought for your lives what ye shall eat c. Is not the life more than meat and the body than rayment He hath given us our Souls he hath breathed into us the breath of life and made these Bodies without our care and thought He hath done the greater will he not do the less When thou art ready anxiously and solicitously to say what shall I do for the necessaries of Life Consider whence thou didst receive thy Life who made this Body of thine thou mayst be assur'd that the Wisdom which hath created these consider'd how to supply them the Wisdom of God knew that you would want all these and hath accordingly provided for them therefore fear not SERMON VIII The Wisdom of God in his Providence Preached at Kensington I PETER V. 7 Casting all your care upon him for he careth for you AMONGST the several Duties which towards the conclusion of this Epistle the Apostle exhorts Christians to this is one not to be over-much solicitous and concerned about what may befal us but to refer our selves to the providence of God which takes care of us In speaking to this Argument I shall I. Consider the nature of the Duty here required which is to cast our care upon God II. The Argument used to perswade us to it because he careth for us I. For the nature of the Duty here required The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies an anxious care about Events a care that is accompanied with trouble and disquiet of Mind about what may befall us about the good that we hope for and desire or about the Evil which we fear may come upon us This the Apostle exhorts us to throw off and to leave to the Providence of God and his Care all those Events which we are apt to be so solicitous and disquieted about The Expression seems to be taken out of Psal 55.22 cast thy burthen upon the Lord and he shall sustain thee Now that we may not mistake our Duty in this matter I shall shew what is not here meant by casting all our care upon God and then what is meant by it The Apostle doth not hereby intend to take Men off from a provident care and diligence about the concernments of this life this is not only contrary to Reason but to many express Precepts and Passages of Scripture wherein Diligence is recommended to us and the Blessing of God and the good Success of our Affairs promised thereto wherein we are commanded to provide for those of our Family which cannot be done without some sort of care and wherein Sloathfulness and Negligence are condemned and threatned with Poverty so that this is not to cast our care upon God to take no care of our selves to use no diligence and endeavour for the obtaining of the Good which we desire and the prevention of the Evil we fear this is to tempt the Providence of God and to cast that Burthen upon him which he expects we should bear our selves But by casting our care upon God the Apostle intends these two things 1. That after all prudent Care and Diligence have been used by us we should not be farther solicitous nor trouble our selves about the event of Things which when we have done all we can will be out of our power And this certainly is our Saviour's meaning when he bids us take no care for the morrow When we have done what is fit for us for the present to do we should not disquiet and torment our selves about the Issue and Event of Things 2. Casting our care upon God implies that we should refer the issue of Things to his Providence which is continually vigilant over us and knows how to dispose all things to the best entirely confiding in his Wisdom and Goodness that he will order all things for our good and in that confidence resolving to rest satisfied and contented with the disposals of his Providence whatever they be You see then the nature of the Duty which the Apostle here exhorts to viz. That after all prudent Care and Diligence have been used on our parts we should not be disquieted in our Minds about the event of things but leave them to God who hath the Care of us and of all our Concernments Which is the II. Thing I proposed to speak to and which I intend chiefly to insist upon viz. The Argument which the Apostle here useth to perswade us to this Duty of casting all our care upon God because it is he that careth for us and this implies in it these two things 1. In general That the Providence of God governs the World and concerns it self in the Affairs of Men and disposeth of all Events that happen to us 2. More particularly That this Providence is peculiarly concerned for good Men and that he takes a special care of them and their Concerns He careth for you The Apostle speaks this to them not only as Men but as Christians And thus the Psalmist from whom these words seem to be taken does apply and limit this Promise Cast thy burthen upon the Lord and he shall sustain thee he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved 1. That God taketh care of us implies in general That the Providence of God governs the World and concerns it self in the Affairs of Men and disposeth of all Events that happen to us I shall not now enter upon a large Proof of the Providence of God that is too large and intricate an Argument for a short Discourse and hath a great deal of nicety and difficulty in it and tho' it be a fundamental Principle of Religion and hath been almost generally entertained and believed by Mankind and that upon very good Reason yet because the vindication of many particular appearances of Providence does in a great measure depend upon a full view and comprehension of the whole design therefore we must necessarily refer our selves for full satisfaction as to several difficulties and Objections to the other World when we shall see God's works together with the relation of every part to the whole design and then many particular Passages which may now seem odd and crooked as we look upon them by themselves will in Relation to the whole appear to have a great deal of Reason and Regularity in them Therefore I shall at present only briefly and in the general shew that it is very credible that there is a wise Providence that governs the World and interests it self in the affairs of Men and disposeth of all Events which happen to us And I desire it may be observed
against an Infinite God And thus the Mercy of God is exalted without the Diminution of his Justice And as his Incarnation did qualifie him for suffering so for compassion and fellow-suffering with us Heb. 2.17 18. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren that he might be a merciful and faithful high-priest in things pertaining to God to make reconciliation for the sins of the people for in that he himself hath suffer'd being tempted he is able to succour them that are tempted 2. His Life was a means admirably fitted to bring Men to Holiness and Goodness I might go through all the parts of it but because I intend to be very short upon these Heads I shall only take notice of that Part of his Life which was spent in his publick Ministry he went about doing good the Doctrine that he Preached was Calculated for the destroying of Sin and the promoting of Holiness the great End and Design of it was to advance Righteousness and Goodness and Humility and Patience and Self-denial to make us mortifie our sensual Desires and brutish Passions to contemn and renounce this present World and this being the design of it it was a most proper Engine to demolsh the Works of the Devil and to make way for the entertainment of his Doctrine the whole frame of his Life and all the circumstances of it did contribute His Life was the practice of his Doctrine and a clear comment upon it The meanness of his Condition in the World that he had no share of the possessions of it were a great advantage to his Doctrine of self-denial and contempt of the World The Captain of our Salvation that he might draw off our Affections from the World and shew us how little the things of it are to be valued would himself have no share in it Mat. 8.20 The Foxes have holes and the Birds of the air have nests but the son of Man hath not where to lay his head The mean circumstances of his Condition were very eminently for the advantage of his Design for had he not been stript of all worldly Accommodations he could not have been so free from suspition of a worldly Interest and Design nay he could not have been so Considerable he was really greater for his Meanness The very Heathens did account this true Greatness as we find in Aristotle not to admire the Pleasures and Greatness and Pomp of the World And that his Meanness might be no Disadvantage to him those Evidences that he gave of his Divinity in the wonderful Things that he did rendred him considerable and gained more Reverence and Authority to his Doctrine then his Meanness could bring Contempt upon it Besides the manner of his Conversation was a very great Advantage to him he was of a very sweet and conversable and obliging Temper and by this Means he did gain upon the People and was acceptable to them and thus he did apply himself to them in the most Humane ways to make way for the Entertainment of his Doctrins The Miracles that he wrought did confirm his Doctrine beyond all Exception as being a Divine Testimony and setting the Seal of God to the truth of it yet because many were blinded with prejudice and tho' they did see yet would not see Christ the Wisdom of God did so order the business of his Miracles as to make them Humane ways of wining upon them for they were generally such as were beneficial he healed all manner of Diseases and Maladies by this Miraculous Power and so his Miracles did not only tend to confirm his Doctrine as they were Miracles but to make way for entertainment of it as they were benefits this was a sensible demonstration to them that he intended them good because he did them good they would easily believe that he who healed their Bodies would not harm their Souls This for his Life III. His Death which was the lowest step of his Humiliation and the consummation of his sufferings Now the Death of Christ did eminently contribute to this Design of our Redemption The Death of Christ did not only expiate the guilt of Sin and pacifie Conscience by making plenary Satisfaction to the Divine Justice but did eminently contribute to the killing of Sin in us Rom. 6.6 Knowing this that our old Man is crucified with him that the body of sin might be destroyed that henceforth we might not serve Sin Rom. 8.3 God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin that is by being a sacrifice for Sin condemned sin in the flesh The Death of Christ convinceth Sin to be a great Evil and doth Condemn it because the impartial Justice of God did so severely punish it in his own Son when he appeared in the Person of a Sinner and this is the most powerful Argument to us to crucifie Sin that it crucified our Saviour That so Innocent and Holy a Person should suffer so cruel and ignominious a Death for our Sins should set us for ever against it and make us hate it with a perfect hatred The circumstances of Christ's sufferings are with admirable Wisdom fitted for the conquering of Sin and Satan Sin came by the Woman the seed of the Woman suffers for Sin and by suffering Conquers it Sin began in the Garden and there our Saviour began his sufferings for Sin Sin came by the Tree and Christ bears the curse of it in hanging upon the Tree and crucifies it by his Cross And as he conquer'd sin so he overcame Satan by his own Arts. The Devil found Christ in the likness of a Man he judged him Mortal and his great Design was to procure his Death and get him into his Grave Christ permits him to bring about his Design he lets him enter into Judas he lets the Jews crucifie and put him into his Grave and roll a great stone upon it but here his Divine Wisdom appears in ruining the Devil by his own Design and snaring him in the works of his hands Heb. 2.14 By death he destroys him that had the power of death that is the Devil I know the sufferings of Christ were by the wise of the World made the great Objection against the Wisdom of this dispensation the Cross of Christ was to the Greeks foolishness and yet the wisest of them had determined otherwise in general tho' not in this particular Case Plato in the second Book of his Common-Wealth saith That a Man may be a perfect Pattern of Justice and Righteousness and be approved by God and Men he must be stript of all the things of this World he must be poor and disgraced and be accounted a wicked and unjust Man he must be whipt and tormented and crucified as a Malefactor which is as it were a prophetical Description of our Saviour's sufferings And Arrian in his Epict. describing a Man fit to reform the World whom he calls the Apostle the Messenger the Preacher and
this kind than the King and Queen who are as they ought to be but as it very seldom happens the most bright and shining Examples of this greatest of all Graces and Virtues Charity and Compassion to the poor and persecuted I proceed to the IV. Thing considerable in the Text viz. Our unwearied Perseverance in this work of doing good let us not be weary in well-doing After we have done some few Acts of Charity yea tho' they should be very considerable we must not sit down and say we have done enough There will still be new Objects new Occasions new Opportunities for the exercise of our Charity springing up and presenting themselves to us Let us never think that we can do enough in the way of doing good The best and the happiest Beings are most constant and unweary'd in this work of doing good The holy Angels of God are continually employed in ministring for the good of those who shall be Heirs of Salvation And the Son of God when he appear'd in our Nature and dwelt among us that he might be a perfect and familiar Example to us of all Holiness and Virtue he went about doing good to the Bodies and to the Souls of Men. How diligent and unweary'd was he in this work It was his Employment and his Pleasure his Meat and Drink the Joy and the Life of his Life And God himself tho' he is infinitely and perfectly good in himself yet he still continues to do good and is never weary of this blessed work It is the Nature and the Perfection and the Felicity of God himself and how can we be weary of that work which is an Imitation of the highest Excellency and Perfection and the very Essence of Happiness V. And lastly Here is the Argument and Encouragement to the chearful discharge of this Duty because in due season we shall reap if we faint not therefore as we have opportunity let us do good unto all Men. In due season we shall reap that is sooner or later in this World or in the other we shall receive the full reward of our well-doing And now I have explain'd this Duty to you as plainly and briefly as I could the hardest part of my Task is yet behind to perswade Men to the practice of it and to this purpose I shall only insist upon the promise in the Text be not weary in well-doing for in due season ye shall reap if ye faint not We shall reap the pleasure and satisfaction of it in our own Minds and all the other mighty Advantages of it in this World and the vast and unspeakable Reward of it in the other First We shall reap the Pleasure and Satisfaction of it in our own Minds and there is no sensual Pleasure that is comparable to the delight of Doing good This Cato makes his boast of as the great Comfort and Joy of his old Age Conscientia bene actae vitae multorumque benefactorum recordatio jucundissima The remembrance of a well spent Life and of many Benefits and Kindnesses done by us to others is one of the most pleasant things in the World Sensual Pleasures soon die and vanish but that is not the worst of them they leave a Sting behind them and when the Pleasure is gone nothing remains but Guilt and Trouble and Repentance whereas the Reflection upon any good we have done is a perpetual Spring of Peace and Pleasure to us and no Trouble and Bitterness ensues upon it the Thoughts of it lye even and easy in our Minds and so often as it comes to our Remembrance it ministers fresh Comfort to us Secondly We shall likewise reap other mighty Advantages by it in this World It is the way to derive a lasting Blessing upon our Estates What we give in Alms and Charity is consecrated to God and is one of the chiefest and most acceptable Sacrifices in the Christian Religion so the Apostle tells us Heb. 13.16 To do good and to communicate forget not for with such Sacrifices God is well pleased It is like the first-Fruits under the Law which being dedicated and offered up to God did derive a Blessing upon their whole Harvest And it procures for us also the Blessings and Prayers of those to whom we extend our Charity their Blessing I say upon us and ours and all that we have and is it a small thing in our eye to have as Job speaks the Blessing of them who are ready to perish to come upon us The fervent Prayer of the poor for us availeth much for God hath a special regard to the Prayers of the destitute and his Ear is open to their cry Few Men have Faith to believe it but certainly Charity is a great security to us in the times of Evil and that not only from the special Promise and Providence of God which is engaged to preserve those from want who are ready to relieve the Necessity of others Prov. 11.25 The liberal Soul shall be made fat and he that watereth shall be watered also himself and Prov. 28.27 He that giveth to the poor shall not lack he shall not be afraid in the evil time and in the days of Dearth he shall be satisfiyed says the Psalmist But besides the Promise and Providence of God our Charity and Alms are likewise a great security to us from the Nature and Reason of the thing it self Whosoever is charitable to others does wisely bespeak the Charity and Kindness of others for himself against the day of necessity for there is nothing that makes a Man more and surer Friends than our Bounty this will plead for us and stand our Friend in our greatest Troubles and Dangers For a good Man saith the Apostle that is for one that is ready to oblige others by great Kindnesses and Benefits one would even dare to die It has sometimes happened that the Obligation which a man hath laid upon others by a chearful and seasonable Charity hath in time of Danger and Extremity done him more kindness than all his Estate could do for him Alms saith the Wise Man hath delivered from Death And in times of publick Distress and when we are beset with cruel and powerful Enemies who if God were not on our side would swallow as up quick the publick Charity oâ— a Nation does many times prove its best Safeguard and Shield There is a most remarkable Passage to this purpose Ecclus. 29.11 12 13. Lay up thy Treasure according to the commandment of the most high and it shall bring thee more profit than Gold shut up thine alms in thy Store-house and it shall deliver thee from all affliction it shall fight for thee against thy enemies more than a mighty Shield and a strong Spear And of this I doubt not but we of this Nation by the great Mercy and Goodness of Almighty God have had happy experience in our late wonderful Deliverance under the Conduct and Valour of one of the best and bravest of Princes and
His perfect Knowledge of them 2 ly That this is his peculiar Prerogative 1 st God perfectly knows the hearts of Men Jer. 17.10 I the Lord search the hearts and try the reins where by heart and reins which are the most inward parts of the Body and lie least open to discovery are signified the most secret Thoughts and Motions of the Soul these God is said to search and try not as if it were a work of Labour and Difficulty to the Divine Knowledge to penetrate the hearts of Men and to dive into their Thoughts but to signifie to us the Perfection and Exactness of the Divine Knowledge as when Men would know a thing exactly they search into every part of it and examine every thing narrowly so God is said to search the heart to signifie to us that he knows the hearts of Men as throughly as we do any thing upon the strictest Search and most diligent Examination upon the same account he is said elsewhere in Scripture to weigh the Spirits of Men Prov. 16.2 All the ways of Man are clean in his own eyes but the Lord weigheth the Spirits that is he hath as perfect a Knowledge of the secret Motions and Inclinations of Mens hearts as Men have of those things which they weigh in a Ballance with the greatest exactness Now that God hath this perfect Knowledge of Mens hearts the Scripture frequently declares to us that he knows the hearts of all Men 1 Kings 8.39 For thou even thou knowest the hearts of all the Children of Men. 1 Chron. 28.9 The Lord searcheth all hearts and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts How close and reserved soever Men may be what disguise soever they may use to hide their purposes from Men yet God sees them the things which are most dark and secret are open to his view Psal 44.21 He knoweth the secrets of the hearts Prov. 15.11 Hell and Destruction are before him how much more the hearts of the Children of Men Whatever pretences Men may make God sees through them and discovers the very intentions of their hearts Psal 7.9 The righteous Lord tryeth the hearts and reins Heb. 4.13 It is said there of the Word of God that it is a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the Heart for all things are naked and open to the Eye of him with whom we have to do and there is no Creature that is not manifest in his sight nay he knows our thoughts at a distance what they will be before they actually are Psal 139.2 Thou knowest my thoughts afar off 'T is true indeed every Man is conscious to his own Thoughts and privy to the Motions of his own Mind when they are present and when they are past if he have not forgot them but no Man knows what he shall think to morrow but this God knows for he knows us more intimately and throughly than we do our selves God is greater than our hearts and knows all things 1 John 3.20 And tho' the Scripture had not revealed this so plainly yet we had not been wholly ignorant of it it is a Principle implanted in us and born with us as being part of that natural Notion which Men have of God the Reason of our Minds tells us that God knows our Hearts and the Fears and Jealousies of our Minds are an Evidence of it 1 st The Reason of every Man's mind tells him that the Supreme Being whom we call God is endowed with all Perfection and among his other Perfections that he excels in Knowledge and to the Perfection of Knowledge it is required that it extend it self to all Objects and that nothing be exempted from it The Knowledge of God in respect of all Objects is like the Sun in respect of this lower World nothing is hid from the light of it We have naturally this Apprehension of God that he is an immense Being every where present that he intimately penetrates all places and things and consequently that he is present to our Spirits and sees all the motions of our Minds and discerns the very secrets of our Hearts and there can be no such thing as secresie and retirement from an Eye that is every where and a Knowledge that pierceth into all things And to convince us that these are the dictates of Natural Reason without the help and assistance of Divine Revelation we shall find that the Heathen who had only the advantage of Natural Light were firmly possest with this apprehension that God knows the hearts of Men. This may be sufficiently Collected from the frequent sayings of the wiser Heathens to this purpose that the best and most acceptable worship of the Deity is that which is inward that of the Heart and Mind To this Sense Tully speaks Cultus autem deorum est optimus idemque castissimus atque sanctissimus plenissimusque pietatis ut eos semper purâ integrâ atque incorruptâ mente voce veneremur The best and holiest worship of the Gods is to worship them with a pure and upright and sincere Mind To the same purpose is that known saying of the Poet Compositum jus fasque animi sanctosque recessus Mentis incoctum generoso pectus honesto Haec cedo ut admoveam templis farre litabo Do but offer to God a mind inwardly resolved to be just and honest and the plainest sacrifice will please him Now from hence that they judged the purity of our Hearts and Thoughts and an honest disposition of Mind to be most acceptable to their Gods we may certainly conclude that they did most firmly believe that God knows the Secrets of Mens Hearts otherwise there had been no need for Men to endeavour to recommend themselves this way to the Divine acceptance But we need not argue this by consequence there are many express passages in their Writings which do sufficiently signifie their belief of this Principle Thales one of their most ancient Philosophers being askt if an unjust Man could conceal himself from God he answer'd he cannot so much as hide from him the very thoughts and design of it Socrates as Xenophon tells us was wont to inculcate this Principle upon his Scholar that the Gods know all things what we say and what we do and what we think in silence To the same purpose Arrian in his Dissertations upon Epictetus laying down the Principles of a virtuous life first of all saith he we must learn this that there is a God who takes care of the World and that there is nothing hid from him not only what we do but not so much as what we think and design So likewise Tully in his Book of Laws let every Man be firmly perswaded of this that the Gods see what every Man is and with what Mind and Devotion they serve them I will add but one Testimony more and that is of Seneca in his Epistles nihil Deo clausum est interest animis nostris cogitationibus mediis intervenit we can
thousand ways they would not have been so well we ought to conclude that things are thus and not otherwise is the result of Wisdom Now the Wisdom of God in the Creation will appear by considering the Works of God Those who have studied Nature can discourse these things more exactly and particularly It would require perfect skill in Astronomy to declare the motions and order of Heavenly Bodies and in Anatomy to read Lectures of the rare contrivance of the Bodies of living Creatures But this as it is beyond my ability so it would probably be above most of your Capacities therefore I shall content my self with some general and more obvious instances of the Divine Wisdom which shine forth so clear in his Works that he that runs may read it 1. I shall take a short survey of the several parts of the World 2. Single out Man the Master-piece of the visible Creation 1. If we survey the World and travel over the several parts of it in our thoughts we shall find that all things in it are made with the greatest exactness ranged in the most beautiful order and serve the wisest and best Ends. If we look up to Heaven and take notice only there of that which is most visible the Sun you see how by the wise order and constancy of its course it makes Day and Night Winter and Summer This the Psalmist takes notice of Psal 19.1 2. The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament sheweth his handy work Day unto Day uttereth speech and night unto night sheweth knowledge It may easily be imagin'd many ways how the Sun might have had another Course in reference to the Earth but no Man can devise any other that should not be very much to the prejudice of the World so that this being the best it is an Argument that Wisdom had the ordering and disposing of it If we look down to the Earth we shall see God's ascending and descending I mean clear representations of Divine Wisdom in the Treasures that are hid in the Bowels of it and those Fruits that grow upon the surface of it What vast Heaps and what variety of useful Materials and Minerals are scatter'd up and down in the Earth as one would think with a careless Hand but yet so wisely disperst as is most proper for the Necessities and Uses of several Countries Look upon the surface of the Earth and you shall find it cloathed and adorned with Plants of a various and admirable Frame and Beauty and Usefulness Look upon the vast Ocean and there you may see the Wisdom of God in bridling and restraining that unruly Element I mean in sinking it below the Earth whereas the Water might have been above and cover'd the Earth and then the Earth had been in a great measure useless and incapable of those Inhabitants which now possess it Look again upon the Earth and in the Air and Sea and you shall find all these inhabited and furnisht with great store of living Creatures of several kinds wonderfully made in the frame of their Bodies endowed with strong inclination to increase their kinds and with a natural Affection and Care toward their Young ones and every kind of these Creatures armed either with strength or wit to oppose their Enemy or swiftness to flie from him or strong Holds to secure themselves But the Creation is a vast Field in which we may easily lose our selves I shall therefore call home our wandring Thoughts for we need not go out of our selves for a proof of Divine Wisdom I shall therefore 2. Select the choicest piece of it Man who is the top and perfection of this visible World What is said of the Elephant or Behemoth Job 40.19 in respect of the vast bigness and strength of his Body is only absolutely true of Man that he is divini opificii caput the chief of the ways of God and upon Earth there is none like him Man is Mundi utriusque nexus the bond of both Worlds as Scaliger calls him in whom the World of Bodies and the World of Spirits do meet and unite for in respect to his Body he is related to this visible World and is of the Earth but in respect of his Soul he is allied to Heaven and descended from above We have looked above us and beneath us and about us upon the several representations of God's Wisdom and the several parts of the Creation but we have not yet consider'd the best piece of the visible World which we may speak of without flattery of our selves and to the praise of our Maker God when he had made the World he made man after his own Image When he had finished the other part of the Creation he was pleased to set up this Picture of himself in it as a Memorial of the Workman Now we shall a little more particularly consider this piece of God's Workmanship being it is better known and more familiar to us as it is more excellent than the rest and consequently a higher instance of the Divine Wisdom It is observed by some that concerning the parts of the Creation God speaks the word let there be light and let there be a firmament and there was so but when he comes to make Man he doth as it were deliberate and enter into consultation about him And God said let us make man in our image after our likeness and let him have dominion Gen. 1.26 as if Man above all the rest were the Effect and Result of Divine Wisdom and the Creature of his Counsel Man may be consider'd either in himself and in respect of the Parts of which he consists Soul and Body or with relation to the Universe and other parts of the Creation 1. Consider him in himself as compounded of Soul and Body Consider Man in his outward and worse part and you shall find that to be admirable even to astonishment in respect of which the Psalmist cries out Psal 139.14 I am fearfully and wonderfully made marvellous are thy works and that my soul knoweth right well The frame of our Bodies is so curiously wrought and every part of it so full of Miracle that Galen who was otherwise backward enough to the Belief of a God when he had anatomized Man's Body and carefully survey'd the frame of it viewed the fitness and usefulness of every part of it and the many several intentions of every little Vein and Bone and Muscle and the beauty of the whole he fell into a pang of Devotion and wrote a Hymn to his Creator And those excellent Books of his de usu partium of the usefulness and convenient contrivance of every part of the Body are a most exact demonstration of the Divine Wisdom which appears in the make of our Body of which Books Gassendus saith the whole work is writ with a kind of Enthusiasm The Wisdom of God in the frame of our Bodies very much appears by a curious consideration of the several parts of
some Objections that may be made against it and then make some Vse of it I. What we are to understand by the Truth of God I shall take it as the Scripture useth it in a large Sense so as to include not only the veracity of God but his Faithfulness Hence it is that in Scripture Truth and Faithfulness are so often put together and frequently put one for another Isa 25.1 Thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth Rev. 21.5 These words are true and faithful And the Faithfulness of God in performing his Promises is frequently call'd his Truth And because the Scripture useth them promiscuously we need not be very solicitous to find out distinct Notions of them but if you will they may be distinguisht thus the truth or veracity of God hath place in every Declaration of his Mind the Faithfulness of God only in his Promises For the First The veracity or truth of God this hath place in every Declaration of his Mind and signifies an exact Correspondence and Conformity between his Word and his Mind and consequently between his Word and the truth and reality of Things The Correspondence of his Word with his Mind depends upon the rectitude of his Will the conformity of his Word with the reality of Things not only upon the rectitude of his Will but the Perfection of his Knowledge and the infallibility of his Vnderstanding so that when we say God is true or speaks Truth we mean thus that his Words are a plain Declaration of his Mind and a true representation of Things in opposition to False-hood which is speaking otherwise than the thing is and Hypocrisie that is speaking otherwise than we think For instance when God declares any thing to be so or not to be so to have been thus or not to have been thus the thing really is so and he thinks so when he expresseth his desire of any thing he does really desire it when he commands any thing or forbids us any thing it is really his Mind and Will that we should do what he Commands and avoid what he forbids when he declares and foretels any thing future it really shall come to pass and he really intended it should if the Declaration be to be understood absolutely it shall absolutely come to pass if the Declaration be to be understood Conditionally it shall come to pass and he intends it shall if the Condition be performed Secondly The Faithfulness of God This only hath place in his Promises in which there is an Obligation of Justice superadded to his Word for God by his Promise doth not only declare what he intends and what shall be but confers a right upon them to whom the promise is made so as that the breach of his Promise would not only cast an imputation upon his Truth but upon his Justice II. That this Perfection belongs to God And this I shall endeavour to prove First From the Dictates of Natural Light Secondly From Scripture First From the Dictates of Natural Light Natural Light tells us that Truth and Faithfulness are Perfections and consequently belong to the Divine Nature and that False-hood and a Lie are Imperfections and to be removed from God There is nothing that is amongst Men esteemed a greater contumely and reproach than to give a Man the Lie to call him a Lyar because it is an Argument of so much baseness and of a low and mean and servile spirit the usual Temptation to it being fear of losing some Advantage or incurring some danger Hence was that saying that it is the property of a Slave to lie but of a free Man to speak truth Now whatever argues baseness or imperfection our Reason tells us is infinitely to be separated from the most Perfect Being God cannot be tempted with evil the Divine Nature being all-sufficient can have no temptation to be otherwise than Good and Just and True and Faithful Men are tempted to Lie by advantage and out of fear but the Divine Nature hath the security of its fullness and all-sufficiency that it cannot hope for any increase nor fear any impairment of its Estate Men are unfaithful and break their Words either because they are rash and inconsiderate in passing of them or forgetful in minding them or inconstant in keeping of them or impotent and unable to perform them but none of these are incident to God his infinite Wisdom and perfect Knowledge and clear foresight of all Events secure him both from inconsiderateness and inconstancy and forgetfulness and his infinite Power renders him able to perform what he hath spoken and to make good his Word And that these are the Natural Dictates and Suggestions of our Minds appears clearly from the reasonings of the Heathen in this matter who were destitute of Divine Revelation Plato de Repub. l. 2. lays down this as a certain Truth That lying and Falsehood are imperfections and odious to God and Men 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And afterwards he tells us That the Divine Nature is free from all Temptation hereto either from advantage or fear 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Concludes Therefore God is true and deals plainly with us both in his Words and Actions and is neither changed himself nor deceives us Porphyry in the Life of Pythagoras tells us That this was one of his Precepts 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and afterwards he adds that Truth is so great a Perfection that if God would render himself visible to Men he would chuse Light for his body and Truth for his Soul Secondly From Scripture The Scripture doth very frequently attribute this to God 2 Sam. 7.28 And now O Lord God thou art that God and thy words be true Psal 25.10 All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth Psal 31.5 Into thy hand I commit my spirit thou hast redeemed me O Lord God of truth Rev. 3.7 These things saith he that is holy he that is true Rev. 6.10 How long O Lord holy and true 15.3 Just and true are thy ways thou King of Saints 16.7 True and righteous are thy judgments Hither we may refer those Texts which speak of the Plenty and Abundance of God's truth Ex. 34.6 Abundant in goodness and truth Psal 86.15 Plenteous in mercy and truth and those which speak of the Duration and Eternity of it Psal 100.5 And his truth endureth to all generations 117.2 And the truth of the Lord endureth for ever 146.6 Who keepeth truth for ever As the Scripture doth attribute this Perfection to God so it removes the contrary from him with the greatest abhorrence and detestation Num. 23.19 God is not a Man that he should lie neither the son of Man that he should repent hath he said and shall not he do it hath he spoken and shall he not make it good They are Balaam's Words but God put them into his Mouth 1 Sam. 15.29 The strength of Israel will not lie nor repent for he is not a Man that he should repent Rom.
upon the Account of any one of these simple Qualities then we would another Man destitute of these upon the account of a Hundred Titles of Honour and Ten Thousand Acres of Land A Wicked and Unholy Man he is a vile Person who deserves to be contemned and a holy man he is the right honourable Psal 15.4 In whose Eyes a vile Person is contemned but he honoureth them that fear the Lord. The vile person is opposed to him that fears the Lord. He that is bold to affront God and sin against him is the base and ignoble Person God himself who is possest of all Excellency and Perfection and therefore knows best how to judge of these he tells us how we should value our selves and others Jer. 9.23 24. Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom neither let the mighty man glory in his might let not the rich man glory in his riches But let him that glorieth glory in this that he understandeth and knoweth me that I am the Lord which exercise loving-kindness judgment and righteousness in the earth for in these things I delight saith the Lord. To know these Divine Qualities and Perfections signifies here to understand them so as to imitate them I do not speak this to bring down the value of any that are advanced in this World or to lessen the respect which is due to them I would have nothing undervalued but Wickedness and Vice and I would have those who have store of worldly Advantages to recommend them to add Religion to their Riches and Holiness to their Honour that they may be current for their intrinsick value rather than for the Image and Picture of worth which the World hath stampt upon them 3. If Holiness be the Chief Excellency and Perfection of the Divine Nature then what an absurd and unreasonable thing is it to scorn and despise Holiness to mock and deride men under this very Title The World is much blinded that they do not see the great Evil of Sin and the Beauty and Excellency of Holiness but that Men should be so infatuated as to change the nature of things and to mistake things of so vast difference as sin and Holiness to call Good evil and evil Good that sin which is the vilest thing in the World should be esteemed and cherish'd and accounted a piece of gallantry and reckon'd amongst the excellencies and accomplishments of Humane Nature and Holiness which is so great a Perfection should be a Name of hatred and disgrace to be contemned and persecuted that that which is the Glory of Heaven and the most radiant Perfection of the Divine Nature should be matter of scorn and contempt as the Apostle speaks in another case Behold ye Despisers and wonder and perish Do ye think the Holy and Just God will put up these Affronts and Indignities Ye do not only despise men but ye despise God also You cannot contemn that which God accounts his glory without reviling the Divine Nature and offering despite to God himself The malice reacheth Heaven and is level'd against God whenever ye slight Holiness 4. If God be a Holy God and hath such a repugnancy in his Nature to sin then this is matter of terror to wicked Men. The Holy God cannot but hate sin and be an Enemy to wickedness and the hatred of God is terrible We dread the hatred of a great Man because where hatred is back'd with power the Effects of it are terrible But the Hatred of the Almighty and Eternal God is much more dreadful because the Effects of it are greater and more lasting than of the hatred of a weak mortal man We know the utmost they can do they can but kill the body after that they have no more that they can do they cannot hurt our Souls they cannot follow us beyond the Grave and pursue us into another World But the Effects of God's Hatred and Displeasure are mighty and lasting they extend themselves to all Eternity for who knoweth the Power of his Anger Who can tell the utmost of what Omnipotent Justice can do to sinners It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God because he that lives for ever can punish for ever We are miserable if God do not love us Those words my soul shall have no pleasure in him signifie great misery and express a dreadful Curse but it is a more positive Expression of misery for God to hate us that signifies Ruin and Destruction to the utmost Psal 5.4 5. Thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness neither shall evil dwell with thee This is a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and expresseth less than is intended God is far from being of an indifferent negative Temper towards sin and wickedness therefore the Psalmist adds thou hatest all the workers of iniquity and then in the next verse to shew what is the effect of God's Hatred thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing Therefore Sinner fear and tremble at the thoughts of God's Holiness 5. Imitate the Holiness of God this is the Inference here in the Text be ye holy for I am holy Holiness in one word contains all the imitable Perfections of God and when it is said be ye holy 't is as much as if he had said be ye Good and Patient and Merciful and True and Faithful for I am so Therefore Religion is call'd the knowledge of the holy one Prov. 9.10 and Chap. 30.3 And our imitation of God is exprest by our putting on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness Eph. 4.24 Seeing then this is the chief Excellency and Perfection of God and the sum of all the Perfections which we are to imitate and wherein we are to endeavour to be like God let us conform our selves to the holy God endeavour to be habitually holy which is our conformity to the Nature of God and actually holy which is our conformity to the Will of God I will not enlarge upon this because I have prest the imitation of these particular Perfections Goodness Patience Justice Truth and Faithfulness upon other Texts I shall only mention two Arguments to excite and quicken our Desires and Endeavour after Holiness 1. Holiness is an imitation of the highest Excellency and Perfection Holiness I told you signifies a separation from Sin and Vice and all moral Imperfection and consequently doth comprehend and take in all the moral Perfections of the Divine Nature the Goodness and Mercy and Patience and Justice and Veracity and Faithfulness of God now these are the very Beauty and Glory of the Divine Nature The first thing that we attribute to God next to his Being is his Goodness and those other Attributes which have a necessary connexion with it for his Greatness and Majesty is nothing else but the Glory which results from his united Perfections especially from his Goodness and those Perfections which are akin to it Separate from God these Perfections which
wander up and down in dry and desart places seeking rest but finding none Were the whole World calm about a Man and did it not make the least attempt upon him were he free from the fears of Divine Vengeance yet he could not be satisfied with himself there is something within him that would not let him be at rest but would tear him from his own Foundation and Consistency so that when we are once broken off from God the sense of inward want doth stimulate and force us to seek our contentment else-where So that nothing but Holiness which re-unites us to God and restores our Souls to their primitive and original state can make us happy and give peace and rest to our Souls And this is the constant voice and language of Scripture and the tenour of the Bible Acquaint thy self with God that thou mayest be at Peace Job 22.21 Light is sown for the righteous and gladness for the upright in heart Psal 97.11 The work of righteousness is peace and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever Isa 32.17 Seeing then Holiness is so high a Perfection and so great a Happiness let these Arguments prevail with us to aspire after this temper that as he who hath called us is holy so we may be holy in all manner of Conversation because it is written be ye holy for I am holy ADVERTISEMENT THE Discourses of the Divine Goodness being more than can be contain'd in this Volume are together with those of the remaining Attributes reserv'd for the next But to complete this here follows a single Sermon upon another Subject SERMON XIV Of doing Good Being a Spital Sermon Preach'd at Christ-Church on Easter-Tuesday April 14th 1691. GALAT. VI. 9 10. Let us not be weary in well doing forin due season we shall reap if we faint not As we have therefore opportunity let us do good unto all Men especially unto them who are of the houshold of faith THE Apostle in these Words recommends unto us a great and comprehensive Duty the doing of good concerning which the Text offers these five particulars to our Consideration I. The Nature of the Duty it self which is called well doing v. 9. and doing good v. 10. II. The extent of this Duty in respect of it's Object which is all Mankind Let us do good unto all men especially unto them who are of the houshold of faith III. The measure of it as we have opportunity IV. Our unwearied perseverance in it let us not be weary in well doing V. The Argument and Encouragement to it because in due season we shall reap if we faint not Therefore as we have opportunity let us do good c. I. I will consider the Nature of the Duty it self of well doing and doing good And this I shall explain to you as briefly as I can by considering the extent of the Act of doing Good and the Excellency of it And 1. The extent of the Act. It comprehends in it all those ways wherein we may be beneficial and useful to one another It reaches not only to the Bodies of Men but to their Souls that Better and more Excellent part of our selves and is conversant in all those Ways and Kinds whereby we may serve the temporal or spiritual Good of our Neighbour and promote either his present or his future and eternal Happiness To instruct the Ignorant or reduce those that are in Error to turn the disobedient to the wisdom of the just and reclaim those that are engaged in any evil Course by good Counsel and seasonable Admonition and by prudent and kind Reproof to resolve and satisfie the doubting Mind to confirm the weak to heal the broken-hearted and to comfort the melancholy and troubled Spirits These are the noblest Ways of Charity because they are conversant about the Souls of Men and tend to procure and promote their eternal Felicity And then to feed the hungry to cloath the naked release the imprisoned to redeem the Captives and to vindicate those who are injur'd and oppress'd in their Persons or Estates or Reputation to repair those who are ruin'd in their Fortunes and in a word to relieve and comfort those who are in any kind of Calamity or Distress All these are but the several Branches and Instances of this great Duty here in the Text of doing good tho' it hath in this place a more particular respect to the Charitable supply of those who are in Want and Necessity and therefore with a more particular regard to that I shall Discourse of it at this time You see the extent of the Duty We will in the 2. Place briefly say something of the Ecellency of it which will appear if we consider That it is the imitation of the highest Excellency and Perfection To do Good is to be like God who is Good and doth good and it is to be like to him in that which he esteems his greatest Glory It is to be like the Son of God who when he was pleased to take our Nature upon him and live here below and to dwell amongst us went about doing good And it is to be like the blessed Angels the highest Rank and Order of God's Creatures whose great Employment it is to be ministring Spirits for the good of Men. So that for a Man to be kind and helpful and beneficial to others is to be a good Angel and a Saviour and a kind of God too It is an Argument of a great and noble and generous Mind to extend our Thoughts and Cares to the concernments of others and to employ our interest and power and endeavours for their benefit and advantage Whereas a low and mean and narrow Spirit is contracted and shrivel'd up within it self and cares only for its own things without any regard to the good and happiness of others It is the most noble work in the World because that inclination of Mind which prompts us to do good is the very temper and disposition of Happiness Solomon after all his Experience of worldly greatness and pleasure at last pitched upon this as the great felicity of humane Life and the only good Use that is to be made of a prosperous and plentiful Fortune Eccles 3.12 I know says he speaking of Riches that there is no good in them but for a Man to rejoice and do good in his life And certainly the best way to take joy in an Estate is to do good with it and a greater and wiser than Solomon has said it even he who is the Power and Wisdom of God has said it that it is a more blessed thing to give than to receive Consider farther That this is one of the great and substantial parts of Religion and next to the love and honour which we pay to Almighty God the most acceptable Service that we can do to him it is one Table of the Law and next the First and great Commandment of loving the Lord our God and very