much upon this one Article of Renouncing the Devil c. And so I have at length done with this no less Important than Copious Subject the Renouncing of the Devil the World and the Flesh It may seem indeed as if I have been too long upon the Explication of one single Article of our Covenant viz. the Renouncing of the Devil and all his Works the Pomps and Vanity of this wicked World and All the Sinful Lusts of the Flesh But if it be considered that half the Business of our Christian Religion is performed in Resisting the Enemies of our Salvation it will not be a Matter of blame that I have been so long upon this Point especially in Instructing of Youth about it who ought to be very well fore-arm'd in order to their coming off Conquerors The truth of it is this Renouncing of the World the Flesh and the Devil that is the Resisting and Overcoming of all their Numerous Host of Temptations is the Christian's Warfare and great Work For as the Holy Scriptures do in a multitude of Texts Represent our State as a State of Warfare Fight the good Fight of Faith lay hold on Eternal Life for hereunto ye have been called before many Witnesses 1 Tim. 6.12 That is we Listed our selves in this Warfare at our Baptism in the Presence of the Church of Christ As our State I say is a State of Warfare against all these Spiritual Enemies so it does infinitely concern all of us to know as far as is possible All their Arts and Stratagems to deceive us and this I hope will be a sufficient Apology that I have been so improportionably long to what I have and shall be upon other Heads in shewing you what it is and how far you must Renounce the Devil and all his Works the Pomps and Vanity of this wicked World and all the sinful Lusts of the Flesh THE XXII Lecture Secondly That I should Believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith HAving largely Explain'd the first Condition of Life and Happiness and shew'd you what I conceive is meant by Renouncing the Devil and all his Works the Pomps and Vanities of this wicked World and all the sinful Lusts of the Flesh I come now to do the like as to the Second Condition upon which we are to expect to be Justify'd to have our Sins Pardon'd and eternal Life and Happiness conferr'd upon us and which we have also Covenanted with God to do and that is that we Believe all the Articles of our Christian Faith In order to the Explication of which Point 1. I will declare to you the General Nature of those ARTICLES or Christian Truths which are to be believed 2. I will shew you What it is to BELIEVE those Articles or Christian Truths so as to make us capable of Life and Happiness And 3. I will shew you how we must Believe ALL the Articles of the Christian Faith And that I am to declare to you something in general Articles of Christian Faith of what Nature concerning the Nature of those ARTICLES or Christian Truths which are to be Believed The whole Bible both Old and New Testament is the proper Object of a Christians Faith The whole Bible the Object of a Christian's Faith both and whatever we find therein Recorded or deliver'd down to us we are to believe as a Divine Certain and Infallible Truth because all things therein contain'd are the Word of him who will not who cannot Lie who neither can be deceiv'd himself nor will he deceive others As to the Old Testament and the the Old Testament and the Writings of the Prophets Jehosophat in a Solemn Assembly of the whole People upon a Solemn Fast-day 2 Chron. 20.20 Proclaimed unto them stood up and said Hear me O Judah and Inhabitants of Jerusalem believe in the Lord your God so shall you be Established believe his Prophets so shall ye Prosper And let the Declarations of God Recorded therein be of what Nature they will the Truth of them is by no means to be called in doubt If you will not Believe surely ye shall not be Establish'd Isa 7.9 And so likewise as to the New Testament New Our Saviour upon his entrance to preach the Gospel did in the first place require of all Men to Believe it Jesus came into Galilee preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and saying the time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand Repent ye and Believe the Gospel Mark 1.14 15. And when he was also leaving the World and Commission'd his Disciples to go into all the World and to preach the Gospel to every Creature He declar'd that he that Believeth shall he Saved but he that Believeth not shall be Damn'd Mark 16.15 16. So that both the Old and New Testament and every part and parcel of Scripture therein contain'd is firmly to be Believ'd as the Divine Certain and Infallible Truth of God And the reason thereof as to the Old Testament is because Prophecy came not in Old time by the Will of Man but Holy Men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost 2 Pet. 1.21 And we are also firmly to Believe all the parts both of Old and New indifferently because all Scripture is given by Inspiration of God and is profitable for Doctrine for Reproof for Correction for Instruction in Righteousness that the Man of God may be perfect throughly furnished unto all good Works 2 Tim. 3.16 All the parts of it are the Dictates and Word of God himself and are more or less Useful to our Edification and Improvement in Divine Knowledge Faith and Practice And therefore all Ranks and Degrees of Men and of every Age Young as well as Old ought diligently to Study and firmly to Believe the Holy Scriptures The Bereans did so and they were accounted the more Honourable for so doing The Bereans were more Noble than those in Thessalonica in that they Received or Believed the Word with all readiness of Mind and searched the Scriptures daily Act. 17.11 And it is Recorded to the Immortal Honour of Timothy 2 Ep. 3.15 that from a Child he had known the Scriptures which were able to make him wise unto Salvation through Faith which is in Christ Jesus Well but tho' all Scripture as being the Infallible Word of him who neither can be deceived himself nor will deceive others does Challenge the Belief of every Christian yet among the great multitude of Truths of various Kinds deliver'd in the Scriptures some are of far greater Importance and Concernment to us than others Some Truths Revealed in Scripture of greater Importance and Concernment to us than others because they do more immediately and directly tend to give us due and worthy Apprehensions of God and to Instruct us in the only sure Method of Salvation by Jesus Christ There are some Principal Doctrines of Christianity which are in their own Nature apt to have a greater Influence
Christ's satisfaction as to make us neglect the Working out our own Salvation On the contrary the Socinian at the same time he pretends much for Morality and a Good Life denies the Sacrifice and Satisfaction of Christ and that God the Father gave him to be an Attonement for the Sins of Mankind and in the Vertue of his precious Blood to Intercede in Heaven for our Reconciliation so that he wholly takes off our Faith or Dependance on Christ for Justification Thus may the most dangerous Errors now in the Church of Christ with a little Watchfulness and Care to examine the Tendency of them be discovered by you from whose Suggestions they proceed and that they are Tares of the Enemies that is the Devils sowing whilst the Husbandman was asleep But do you I beseech you carefully beware of such false Doctrines and deceitful Teachers both which are Satan's Temptations to draw you unwittingly to sin against and dishononr God And tho' his Agents seem never so Demure and appear never so Sanctify'd who do teach Men such Doctrines Beware of those Wolves who come to you in Sheeps cloathing you shall know them by their Fruits If they shall endeavour to instill into your Minds any undue Apprehensions of God the Father Son and Holy Ghost contrary to what you are taught out of the Scripture in the Doctrine of our Church or any pernicious Opinions that in their Nature and Tendency shall render an Holy Good Life unnecessary to our Justification assure your selves they are no Ministers of Christ but of Satan And are set on work by him to destroy God's Authority amongst Men and to set up his own Laws in their Hearts the Thing he aims at And so much for this Time THE Tvvelfth Lecture First That I should Renounce the Devil and all his Works the Pomps and Vanity of this wicked World and all the sinful Lusts of the Flesh THE Point that we are now upon is to make as full a Discovery to you as here we can of that Great Work of the Devil his Tempting us to Sin A Work so eminently the Business and Employment of Satan and so Dangerous and Destructive to Mankind and also manag'd in such manifold and cunning Methods that it ought particularly to be consider'd by us The Devil says a Father has nothing else that he does but Tempt us to Sin He neither Eats nor Drinks nor Sleeps nor does he any thing else but Tempt Deceive and Subvert us This is his Meat this is his Honour this is his Joy In this he is Indefatigable and if he could have his Will he would never cease Tempting us but that he is restrain'd by the Power of God And now in order to the Countermining and Defeating this mischievous Work of his First Having shew'd you by what Temptations and Means he Overthrew the whole Race of Mankind and drew it off from Obedience to God to do Service to him And Secondly Having also laid before you such Temptations as he Levels against the Church of Christ the true Servants of God either utterly to destroy 'em or to Corrupt their Religion that by that they might Dishonour their Maker Thirdly I am now to shew you III. Satan's great Industry is to gain over to to his Party or to Tempt to some scandalous Enormity such Persons as are more than ordinarily Eminent for their Rank their Order or their Piety in the Church That next to his Destroying and Perverting of whole Churches his great Industry is to gain over to his Party or to Tempt to some grievous and scandalous Enormity such Persons as are more than ordinarily Eminent for their Rank or Quality their Order or their Piety in the Church of God And * First Such as are most Eminent for their Station or Quality First Such as are most Eminent for their Station or Quality Hence Elymas the Sorcerer that Child of the Devil apply'd himself so diligently to Sergius Paulus a Deputy and Great Man in his Country to turn him from the Faith Acts 13.7 8. And hence as in that long Catalogue of the Kings of Judah and Israel how few were there who were not Idolaters and highly Infamous for some high Abomination or other So since the World became Christian how many Kings of the Earth are there who have Committed Fornication that is Idolatry with the Whore of Babylon and liv'd Deliciously with her and how will both they and the Merchants of the Earth Weep and Mourn over her when her Calamities come upon her Rev. 18.9.11 It is Astonishing to consider how that so many of the Honourable and the Rich who of all Men living are Oblig'd to be Grateful to God for so many extraordinary Favours and Blessings which they Enjoy above other Men should yet carry it so insolently against their Great Benefactor lifting up their Heads above the Heavens as it were Trampling under Foot all Laws both Divine and Humane Such Men's â—ickedness â—ot altogether â—â—om the â—emptingness 〈◊〉 Riches but â—e Industry 〈◊〉 Satan to â—et over such â—â—ading Men â—o his Party Such Men's â—xamples if â—ad of maligâ—ant Influâ—nce because â—â—onspicuous and both in Word and Deed denying and disowning any Powers above ' em Why this is not altogether from the Temptingness of Greatness and Riches which it must be confest are alone a very considerable Temptation but also from Satan's more than ordinary Industry to gain over to his Party and Interest such Men above all others For why These are Generals and Great Officers as it were in the Church Militant and these therefore if they can be but Prevail'd upon to Revolt from God all the Herd of Mankind besides will in a manner follow of course There is indeed Satan does very well know it nothing that has a more malignant Influence upon the Lives and Manners of Men than the lewd and profligate Courses of those who are Eminent in Quality or Power Their Examples are doubtless of vast Importance As in this World they live in a Croud all their Life So they pass not into the Other without a Train of Followers at their Heels If their Examples are extraordinarily Good they bring many to Heaven along with 'em if they have been Vicious and Naughty whole Troops follow to Hell after them for Subjects Children Servants Dependants all take after their Lord and Master except it be very rarely So that those who abound either in Wealth or Honour And will â—ring upon 'em â—he Guilt not â—â—ly of their â—wn but of â—â—her Men's â—ins because 〈◊〉 and do therefore think they have a greater Priviledge to Sin than others because they have greater Temptations to it than other Men are miserably mistaken for as their Lives being publick and conspicuous lye more open to the Observation and Imitation of the World and therefore do cause more to Sin So they shall not have their own only but the Sins of others so far as they have Influenc'd 'em to Sin
who Besieges a City does always assault the weakest part of the Walls So does he attack the Soul where he perceives its greatest Infirmities Such infinite Reason have we to consider our own Natures and to keep a particular watch on that side where we are most Blind and to set our selves with the greatest Vigour to Resist and Repel the Temptations wherewith he will assault us there And this is the Second way given you in Scripture to Resist Satan's Temptations viz. Watchfulness and Diligence to know our selves and to discern his Temptations that so you may not be Ensnared by them The Third Is by Prayer to God to Protect you from them And Thirdly we must be constant and fervent in Prayer to 〈◊〉 to pro◠us from 〈◊〉 Thus Jam. 4.8 after we are commanded to Resist the Devil and he will Fly from us as an effectual way so to do we are bid to Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to us that is if we will make our humble Addresses to God by Prayer he will be ready to assist us against all his Temptations And indeed there is extraordinary Reason you should diligently and earnestly Pray to God to Protect and Preserve you from Satan's Delusions The Devil is a Spirit and therefore is naturally Endow'd with a great deal of Knowledge abundance more than we Men are capable of attaining to And moreover by the Experience of many Thousand Years from the Creation of the World unto this Day he has greatly Improv'd himself in all manner of mischievous Cunning and Subtlety so as not to be Ignorant of any way whereby he may most successfully prevail over us to draw us into Sin Both which things consider'd we were not capable to Cope with him if left to our selves But our Comfort is this that the Devil can go no farther than his Chain and as the Divine Goodness will not Permit him to attempt whom and how he pleases It was not before he had Leave that he could Tempt Job 2.6 so in reference to all sorts of Temptations whatsoever we have a most sure word of Promise 1 Cor. 10.13 that God is Faithful who will not suffer you to be Tempted above that you are able but will with the Temptation also make a way to escape that you may be able to bear it But then if you would have him a Protector always ready at Hand to assist you you must as was said Draw nigh to him and he will draw nigh to you What shall I say Why what farther Directions are necessary for Resisting of Satan's Temptations together with an earnest Exhortation so to do are given you in those most Excellent words of the Apostle to the Eph. 6.10 11 12. with which I shall conclude Finally Brethren be strong in the Lord and in the Power of his might Put on the whole Armour of God that ye may be able to stand against the Wiles of the Devil For we wrestle not against Flesh and Blood but against Principalities against Powers against the Rulers of the darkness of this world against Spiritual wickedness in high Places Wherefore take unto you the whole Armour of God that ye may be able to stand in the Evil day and having done all to stand And so goes on in several Verses shewing with what Armour you must prepare your selves wherewith to defend your Innocency against the Assaults of Satan viz. with Truth or the Knowledge of the Gospel with Righteousness Charity Faith the Hope of Salvation and the Word of God And then adds as I before directed you That you must Pray always with all Prayer and Supplication in the Spirit and watching thereunto with all Perseverance THE Fourteenth Lecture First That I should Renounce the Devil and all his Works the Pomps and Vanity of this wicked World and all the sinful Lusts of the Flesh HAVING already in order to the Explication of these Words shew'd you Who the Devil is what are his Works what is meant by Renouncing the Devil and all his Works and how necessary it is we should absolutely do so I come now Secondly In like manner to Explain unto you What 's meant by the Pomps and Vanity of the wicked World and in what sence and how far we must Renounce the wicked world w th its Pomps and Vanity Three things here to be explain'd and accordingly Renounced 1. The world 2. The wicked World and 3. The Pomps and Vanity of this wicked world What is meant by the Pomps and Vanity of this wicked World and to shew you in what Sence and how far you must Renounce the wicked World with its Pomps and Vanity To Renounce the Pomps and Vanity of this wicked World There is not a word here but will require some Explication As to the word Renounce indeed it may suffice what I before told you that it is of various Significations according to the Nature of the Thing to be Renounc'd by us And there being Three Things in these Words necessary to be Explain'd First The World Secondly the wicked World and Thirdly the Pomps and Vanity of this wicked World I will Expound to you the Meaning of each and will withal shew you in what sence and how far you are to Renounce every One of them And First I am to shew you what is meant by the World and in what Sence and how far you are to Renounce the World The World in Scripture does generally pass under a very bad Character and for the most part is mention'd as what does directly oppose God's Glory and our own Happiness Thus Jam. 4.4 Know ye not that the Friendship of the World is Enmity with God and whosoever therefore will be a Friend of the World is an Enemy of God And on the contrary Gal. 6.16 St. Paul gives this Character of himself The World a great Enemy to God's Glory and our own Happiness That through the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ the World is Crucified unto him and he unto the World And 1 Joh. 5.4 it is universally declar'd that Whosoever is born of God overcometh the World And therefore in the Second Chapter of the same Epist 15 16. we are commanded Not to love the World neither the Things that are in the World being assur'd that If any man love the World the love of the Father is not in him And indeed if we shall search throughout the whole Book of God we shall find such frequent and earnest Commands to Renounce this World and to beware of its Temptations that nothing except Satan the Ring-leader of all our Adversaries seems to be a more Mortal Enemy to the Happiness and Salvation of Mankind than this World And all this consider'd as also that it is made so material a Part of our Baptismal Covenant to Renounce as the Devil so the World I think it concerns you to be well informed what is meant both in Scripture and your Catechism by that World which you are so
upon our Lives and more powerfully to restrain us from a course of Sin and to unite us to the Practice of Vertue and Holiness than others and when they have done this to send us to God the Father to seek for Acceptance meerly through Christ his Son And upon these and the like accounts therefore such Truths as these are more particularly necessary to be Believed by us in order to our Justification before God and to our Salvation in the other World and are therefore called the Articles of our Christian Faith being a Summary and Collection of such Doctrines out of the Holy Scriptures as are of a more Concerning Nature than the rest And must therefore be distinctly Known and explicitely Believed All those other Truths of what Nature soever contained in the Holy Scriptures are indeed necessary also to be Believed at leastwise Implicitely that is we are to be possess'd with a General Perswasion that they are all certainly true because God has Reveal'd them as such But these latter which we call the Articles of our Christian Faith must be positively and Explicitely Believed that is we must throughly understand 'em and be assuredly and distinctly perswaded of each single Truth contained in 'em as without which understanding and perswasion a Good and Christian Life will not be wrought in us nor a reliance on God's Merits in Christ for the acceptance thereof Created in our Souls Such for instance is the Belief that there is a God Some Instances of such Truths for this is the very first Principle of all Religion and must necessarily make us stand in awe and fear of offending him if we throughly believe and consider it Such is the Belief that he is our Father who Created us and all the World for this will make us love him who gave us our Being And such again is the Belief that he Exercises a just and a wise Providence in the Government of the World for this will make us submit our selves to all his Dispensations as being the Appointments of one who knows better than our selves what is best for us And to instance also in some which are the Truths purely of Reveal'd Religion Such is the Belief that the Son of God came down from Heaven to suffer Death for us to Redeem us from the Punishments of Hell for this as it shews us how Odious a thing Sin is when nothing less could satisfie God's Justice against it than the precious Blood of the Son of God and consequently does extreamly tend to create in our Hearts an utter hatred to all Sin So hereby we are taught that Christ has made a full perfect and sufficient Sacrifice and Satisfaction for the Sins of the whole World And such lastly is the Belief for I need not now stand to mention every Article that all our Bodies shall rise again at the General Resurrection that then we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ to Receive a Just Sentence for whatever we have done in the Body whether it be good or bad for this will make us careful how to lead our Lives so in this World that we may not be Condemned in the next These now are some of those Articles of our Christian Faith and are such Divine Truths as are more particularly necessary to be Believed by us as containing in them the greatest reason in the World to restrain us from all manner of Sin and to encourage us in the Practice of all Religious Duties And yet are Doctrines withal of extraordinary force to remove all conceit out of our Minds concerning our own Merits and to make us rely solely upon God's Mercies in Christ for the Acceptance of our most Holy Performances And let this suffice as to the first thing proposed which was to declare unto you something in general of the Nature of the Objects or of those Truths to be Believed the Articles of our Christian Faith And now Secondly I will also shew you what it is to BELIEVE these Truths so as to make us capable of Life and Happiness And if it be ask'd how we must Believe these things What it is to Believe those Truths so as to make us capable of Life and Happiness why we must be so throughly and firmly perswaded of their undoubted Truth as to be accordingly Influenced as I have now said by the Belief thereof to the Practice of Good Works and then to betake our selves to Jesus Christ to Interceed with the Father for their Gracious Acceptance Our Belief thereof must be Operative and Practical I say our Faith must be such as does Influence us to a Good Life for such is the Faith that St. Paul tells us is now required in the Christian Religion in order to Salvation Gal. 5.6 In Jesus Christ says he neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor Vncircumcision but Faith which worketh by Love Some render the words and that more rightly Faith that is perfected by Love which does more expresly signifie the Apostles meaning that that Faith which will save us must be such which is perfected by the addition of those Duties which we owe to God and our Neighbour And St. James does with great Industry shew that the Christian Faith which has the promise of Justification and Salvation is a Powerful Practical Belief and that none other has any Promise What says St. James 2.14 doth it profit my Brethren tho' a Man saith he hath Faith and hath not Works can Faith save him Faith if it have not Works is dead being alone v. 17. and is no more than what the Devils have for the Devils believe and tremble v. 19. Such was the Faith of Abraham and of all the Saints And the Faith indeed for which the Holy Patriarchs and Saints were renowned of Old and are now so highly Rewarded in Heaven was a Powerful Practical and Working Faith indeed which excited them to the highest and the hardest Acts of Obedience that it was possible for Men to perform Thus Heb. 11.17 18. we read that by Faith Abraham when he was tryed offered up Isaac and he that had received the Promises offered up his only begotten Son and he a Son too in whom God had promised him great Blessings And yet at God's Command he readily Obeyed believing that God would be as good as his promise to him tho' it was by raising him again from the Dead By Faith Moses when he was come to Years refused to be called the Son of Pharaoh's Daughter chusing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of Sin for a season esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt for he had respect to the recompence of reward v. 24 25 26. It was a great temptation to Moses to be made a Prince if he pleased in which Estate he might enjoy the highest Pleasures this World could afford but he Believing that God would infinitely reward him
therefore to take down this proud and arrogant Presumption in us so natural to Man and so dishonourable to God together with his Design of making us Holy it was withal God's Intent by such a Dispensation of his Mercies as is given us in the Gospel to create in us such a Reliance and Dependance upon Christ for Salvation as to expect it not on the account of our own holy Performance but in the Vertue of his Mediation with the Father for us for so it is written 1 Cor. 1.29 30 31. That to the end that no flesh may glory in God's presence Jesus Christ is by him made to us Wisdom and Righteousness and Sanctification and Redemption that so he that glorieth might glory in the Lord. And indeed it does exceedingly tend to the praise and glory of his Grace that he hath made us accepted in the Beloved as it is said in Eph. 1.6 This does eminently set forth the exceeding Lustre of his Mercy towards us in the Gospel that our Imperfect if sincere Obedience shall be accepted through the Mediation of Christ It does utterly exclude Boasting and all occasions of proud Reflections on our Parts as if so mean an Obedience as ours could deserve such infinite Rewards as are made over to us in the Gospel a Temper of Mind which as it is very apt to get Entertainment in our Souls so ought of all things to be supprest within us And thus I have given you a larger account of the Nature of the Christian Religion than otherwise I should have done that I might clear the way towards coming to the Knowledge of those Fundamental Principles thereof which I told you are the proper Matter of a Christian Catechism And now answerably hereunto The Nature of Fundamental Principles the fundamental Principles of our Religion must be such Doctrines as being well understood and throughly believ'd do most powerfully and forcibly perswade and move Men to be thus Religious as to tend to destroy the Power of Sin to mortify our Lusts and all wicked Inclinations within us to render us pious and devout towards God just and charitable and peaceable Neighbours and sober chast and orderly Livers in this World And which shall withal create in us such an humble Opinion of our own Unworthiness that when we have done all that we can to deny our selves and have proceeded never so far in our Zeal to good Works we shall nevertheless confessing that we are but unprofitable Servants depend wholly on Christ's Merits and Mediation and in the Virtue of his Satisfaction and Intercession alone expect Salvation And now such is the Doctrine of the Covenant of Grace An Enumeration of Fundamental Principles particularly that part of it the Vow in Baptism wherein all do solemnly promise and vow Repentance Faith and Obedience engaging to renounce the World the Flesh and the Devil Whosoever considers this sees what Obligations ly upon him to deny himself the sinful Pleasures of the World I. The general Doctrine of the Covenant of Grace and to govern his whole Life and Conversation according to God's Commandments And whoever again understands the Constitution of this Covenant knows that it was obtain'd for him by the Mediation of Christ who is therefore Stiled The Mediatour of the New Covenant Heb. 12.24 and therefore that on his Mediation he must depend for the having those infinite Blessings made good to him which are promised therein to his Obedience And such fundamental Principles also in a prime Sense are the Belief of all the Articles of our Christian Faith as the Belief of God II. The Articles of our Christian Faith and of his Providence that he is our Creatour Governour and will Reward every Man according to his Works The Belief that Jesus Christ came into the World Died and Suffered to Attone for its Sins and Preach'd the Gospel to Reform it The Belief that he gives his Spirit to sanctify us and that he will hereafter come in Person to Judge us In a word The Belief of all the Articles of our Christian Faith These are indeed the true Principles of our Religion for these are all of them as I shall hereafter shew so many very powerful Motives to reform our Lives to forsake our Sins and to follow Holiness as that without which we shall never see God And these do most of them influence us as to a good Life so humbly to rely upon God's Mercies through Christ for the acceptance of it III. â—e Laws of Ten Comâ—â—dments And such also are the Laws of the Ten Commandments which contain the great Instances of our Duty to God our Neighbour and our Selves and to which all others may probably be reduced These Ten Commandments may properly enough be stiled the Principles of Religion for as the Root is the Principle as it were out of which all the Branches Stem forth so out of these Commandments do all the Duties of a Christian grow forth like so many Branches so that whosoever shall well study and digest these Ten Summary Commands shall scarcely fail of growing up to be a Good Christian IV. 〈◊〉 Doctrine Prayer 〈◊〉 of the â—raments And if to these we add the Doctrine of Prayer and of the Sacraments which are the necessary Means and appointed us by God of our procuring and conveying unto us his Assistance to enable us to mortify and forsake our Sins and to become Holy I do not know any other Principles that are Fundamentally necessary either to the promoting of a Good Life here or an Happy One hereafter at leastwise so far as to be the Matter of Catechetical Instruction and the Buisiness of a Catechist to inform you of them And indeed as these Doctrines are every One of them necessary to be Known Believ'd and Practic'd by every Christian that may have the Means of Knowing them and may be taught them being no other than the Covenant of Grace it self or those particular Articles contained in it and which are expresly Enjoined upon us by the Word of God to be Believ'd and Practic'd by us so our Church does account them the only Fundamental and Necessary Principles that are to be the Matter of a Christian Catechism There are it must be confest many other useful Truths contain'd in the Scriptures and those who having first laid the Foundation in these already mention'd would go on to Perfection should endeavour by Reading the Bible and other good Books and by Attending to the Preaching of the Word to gain the Knowledge of them But a Catechism ought not to be crouded with any thing more than what is purely Fundamental to a Good Life here Catechism â—ht not to crouded any thing â—e than â—at is pureâ—â—undamenâ— to a Good 〈◊〉 here and â—ppiness â—eafter and Happiness hereafter And if other Churches have fill'd their Catechisms either with many Unscriptural Tenets as the Church of Rome has hers or with any doubtful and nice Doctrines concerning
the Nature of a Catechism It is a general Instruction I have told you in the Fundamental Principles of the Christian Religion Secondly As to the proper Persons to be Catechized I have shewed you that it belongs to all New Beginners in the School of Christ to be so Instructed and indeed that every individual Person of what Age or Quality soever ought to lay the Foundation of his Christian Knowledge in Catechetical Instruction And Lastly The End thereof I have shew'd you is this That you may be duly fitted and prepared for Confirmation both to Renew your Baptismal Vow before the Bishop and may be Qualify'd to receive Benefit by the Bishop's Prayers Benediction and by his Laying on of Hands upon you Well but there are several other good Ends and Purposes to which Catechizing serves and because the Knowing of them may increase your Esteem thereof and cause you the better to attend it I will bestow One other Discourse in shewing you what they are before I proceed to Expound the Catechism it self And Secondly As for Confirmation Catechizing requisite to prepare Persons to be worthy Communicants so it is also requisite to fit and prepare you that you may be Worthy Communicants in the Lord's Supper Just as in Confirmation so in the Lord's Supper we do solemnly tho' not so publickly Ratify and Renew our Covenant with God and for the same reason therefore that Catechizing is requisite to prepare you for Confirmation it must be also necessary to fit you for worthy Communicants that you may Communicate with Knowledge and as Persons that understand what they do And alas To what is it but to their having been never Instructed in their Covenant by Catechizing that so many come so Ignorantly or else not at all to the Lord's Supper I say so Ignorantly for as too many of those The want â—hereof the Occasion of People's Igâ—orance conâ—erning the Sacrament and conseâ—uently that do now and then Communicate have but a slender Knowledge in the Nature and Conditions of their Covenant so too few do understand the Importance of the Blessed Sacrament that It is the New Covenant in Christ's Blood 1 Cor. 11.25 that is That it is the Seal of that Covenant which was Purchas'd by and Ratify'd in his Blood But such as have been throughly Catechized as they have been made to Understand the Terms and Conditions of the Covenant of Grace both the inestimable Priviledges made over to them on God's part and those very reasonable Conditions to be perform'd on their own so they have been also taught that One main End of Communicating in the Lord's Supper is to Ratify and Confirm and Seal this Covenant of Grace between God and Us. And then those that have been taught this cannot come Ignorantly to the Lord's Supper nor consequently are in such danger of coming Unworthily I. â—f Receiving â—nworthily for Ignorance of the Nature and Consequence of that Blessed Ordinance is generally as much the cause as any thing that any do approach Unworthily to it Nor if the People of our Nation had been ever throughly Catechized II. â—f not Receiâ—ing at all would so many Abstain as commonly do from ever coming at all for if all Men were throughly instructed in the Nature Terms and Conditions of their Covenant which it is the Business of Catechizing to do as they would then easily discern that it is the highest and most inestimable Priviledge in the World to be took into such a Covenant of Grace wherein they have God Almighty Engaging himself and putting his Seal to it in the Sacrament to make good to them the most inestimable Blessings Pardon and Happiness on the most reasonable Conditions Repentance Faith and Gospel Obedience So if they did rightly understand this they would then account it as it really is the highest Priviledge in the World to be Confederates with God in so advantagious a Covenant and would think they could never often enough Partake at the Lord's Table whereby the oft'ner they come they do more and more secure to themselves those inestimable Benefits made over to us by the Covenant of Grace and Engage as themselves more closely to God so God himself more inviolably as it were to make good those Blessings to them No surely if all Christians had been but Catechized in those Points both what a mighty Priviledge it is to be in Covenant with God and that Receiving of the Sacrament is the Rite of God's own Appointment of Confirming to our selves all the Benefits of this Covenant we should then have our People Daily crouding to the Lord's Table which they do now so profanely turn their Backs upon we should not then need so much to invite and entreat Persons to come but they would of their own accord Embrace all Opportunities of more and more Ensuring to themselves these most invaluable Benefits by often Coming In a word A Man is no more fit to partake of the Lord's Supper that does not well understand the Nature and Terms of that Covenant which he does therein Ratify and Seal with God than he is fit to Seal to Covenants and Leases whose Conditions and Obligations he never had so much as Read over to him nor does he know them But Catechizing is the appointed and most proper Means of gaining a competent Measure of Understanding in the Nature and Terms of the Covenant of Grace Without having been Catechized therefore a Man cannot be well expected to Partake worthily of the Lord's Supper And this is the Second Use to which Catechizing does therefore serve to prepare you that you may be fit and worthy Communicants at the Lord's Table Thirdly III. Catechizing is Requisite to Persons being Edifyed by Preaching Catechizing is very Useful to render you Capable to receive Edification by the Preaching of the Word and to your Profiting by Sermons That is certainly the true and only edifying Preaching which does most plainly lay open before you the Meaning the Reasons and the Importance of any Article of your Faith whereby you may best Know God and the Necessity of Serving him and which does most clearly Explain to you the Nature and true Extent of your Christian Duties whereby you may Know what it is you have to do and may be freed from all causless Doubts and Scruples about the way of your Happiness And lastly which does give you the most convincing Arguments and Reasons to move and stir you up faithfully to Discharge your manifold Obligations to God your Neighbour and your Selves Such as this is truly Edifying Preaching because this will if you do duly attend to it build you up perfect Christians in the Knowledge and Practice of true Religion And now One that has been Catechized so as to have a general Understanding in the Nature of his Covenant when such an One hears a Sermon upon any particular Point of that Covenant whereby he has more fully explain'd to him the Nature and Attributes of
Parents your Minister and your Godfathers who as your Proxies did at the same time they gave you a Christian Name undertake for you that you should live a Christian Life Holy and Unblamable as becomes those who bear so Glorious a Title You must therefore consider what your Name is and the Importance of it that it is Christian and you must take care that you Live not so as to bring a Scandal upon that Name in any Sin and Wickedness but so as becomes those who profess Christianity and wear the Name of Christians In Holiness and Righteousness all the Days of your Lives And as he who hath called you is Holy so be ye Holy in all manner of Conversation The Force there is in a Christian name to make a Man lead a Christian life as under that Name having Listed himself And there is indeed the greatest Force in our very Christian Names to render us Conformable to the Christian Doctrine and whereby we may be perswaded to live Christian-like otherwise the Apostle would not have laid so much stress upon our very Name and Profession of Christians as he does to perswade us from that very Reason to live Holy and Christian Lives Let every one that nameth the Name of Christ or upon whom the Name of Christ is called depart from Iniquity 2 Tim. 2.19 For why It is ever expected that those that profess to be guided by the perfectest Doctrines should answerably live the most perfect Lives The Heathens did therefore expect I. A Disciple of a most Holy and excellent Religion that their Philosophers who gave the highest Principles and Rules of Morality should themselves exceed all others in a vertuous and orderly Course of Life and when they found any of their Philosophers a Tripping and living at the rate of other Men of looser Principles how severely therefore would they Reflect upon them for it Now we Christians profess our selves the Disciples of a Philosophy that does infinitely exceed all others in the Powerfulness of its Principles and Doctrines and in the Holiness and Strictness of its Commands We have given up our Names II. A Servant of a most Holy and Just God and Listed our selves to be the Souldiers and Servants not of a Lewd Jupiter a Wanton Venus a Fiery Mars a Revengeful Juno a Drunken Bacchus and a Thievish Mercury Such were the Heathen Gods and no wonder then that they who did Worship them should also Imitate them But we have given up our Names and Listed our selves the Servants of A God that hath no pleasure in Wickedness neither shall any Evil dwell with him in whose sight the Foolish shall not stand and who hateth all the workers of Iniquity who will destroy all men that speak leasing that are crafty to Cheat and Deceive and will abhor the blood-thirsty and deceitful man Psal 5.4 5 6. Nay Who will rain upon the Wicked Snares Fire and Brimstone and an horrible Tempest this shall be the portion of their Cup for the Righteous Lord loveth Righteousness his Countenance doth behold the Vpright Psal 11.6 7. III. To fight against the World the Flesh and the Devil Such is the God to whom we have given up our Names to serve And we have Listed our selves in our Baptism under our several Christian Names to fight under his Banner against the World the Flesh and the Devil so as not to be tempted or drawn off to commit any Injustice or Unmercifulness any Intemperance or Filthiness any Act of Ungodliness or Profaneness In a word any Sin against him IV. As under that Name he professes to Believe such Articles as are the most powerful Motives to deny all Vngodlyness We have Engaged our selves under our several Names in the strongest Covenants in hopes of the most glorious Rewards and out of fear of the sorest Punishments to be Faithful in our Obedience to him We have openly Profest under our respective Christian Names firmly to Believe such a Set of Articles those of our Christian Faith as are every one of them as shall hereafter be made appear the most powerful Motives in the World to make us Deny all Vngodliness and worldly Lusts and to live soberly righteously and Godly in this present evil World And under the same Christian Names we have all of us profest V. To Obey the most Righteous Laws To be Governed by such Laws and Commands of Vertue and Goodness of Piety towards God of Righteousness to our Neighbours and which lay down such incomparable Rules concerning the Government of our selves as the like are not to be found in any other Philosophy And Lastly Lastly As having under that Name received Promises of most powerful Asistances to do all this We profess to have such Assistances derived to us from God by Prayer and Sacraments those Means of his own Appointment to convey down his Aid and Assistance to us to Enable us to do these Things as will make it not extreamly difficult to us to live very excellent and good Lives Thus have we Christians under our several Christian Names as under Hand and Seal profest our selves the Disciples of a Religion that does infinitely exceed all others in the Powerfulness of its Principles and Doctrines and the Holiness and Strictness of its Precepts and Rules Of a Religion that can work if its Dictates be follow'd the greatest Miracles in the changing Men's Natures and Tempers from worse to better that can turn a ravenous Wolf into a harmless Lamb a furious Lion into a tender Kid that is the most savage and violent Dispositions of Cruelty and Pride into perfect Charity and Meekness And now if we Christians should be found as Debauch'd and Evil Livers as Unconverted Heathens as Lewd as Turks as Griping as Jews as Impious and Profane as Atheists how severely and that deservedly will the rest of the Infidel World Upbraid us What Dishonour shall we thereby do to the true God and our most Holy Religion Which brings me to the Second Thing propos'd which was to Remind you that the Bad Lives of those who bear the Name of Christians do an infinite Prejudice and Dis-honour to Christianity The bad lives of Nominal Christians do an infinite Prejudice Dishonour to to Christianity And alas What bitter Reproaches have the Unchristian Lives of Christian Professors put into the Mouths of our Enemies making them to say that if we Christians did but Believe our selves those Promises in Scripture of such mighty Rewards to Holy Honest and Good Living we should sure our selves live better Lives And when any of our Christians would perswade them to forsake their own Superstition and Idolatry and to Embrace our most Holy Religion our Unanswerable Lives have provok'd them to return smartly enough upon us Would you have us to Believe the Truth of your Religion which you do not seem to Believe your selves It hinders the Conversion of Infidels And alas This is the main Thing the
very Unsuitable Lives of us Christians that so Prejudices the Infidel Part of the World Pagans Turks and Jews against our most Holy Religion and hinders their Conversion It is the Cruelty and Covetousness of our Christian Merchants in the Indies that makes the poor Indians even Abhor our Religion and Scornfully to say That Gold not Jehovah is our God Thus Is the Name of God Blasphemed amongst the Gentiles through us Rom. 2.24 It is the Idolatry of the Church of Rome which makes Turks and Jews both of them mortal Haters of Idols to loath and despise the Christian Worship It puts bitter Reproaches in the Mouth of Atheists especially when Wickedness is commited under the disguise of Religion But not to Travel so far as the Indies or Turkey to find out how much our Living so unbecoming our most Holy Profession has scandaliz'd Persons so as to Abhor it Observe the Men of No Religion amongst our selves our Atheists and Libertines and what bitter Scoffs and Jeers may we daily hear them cast forth upon Religion it self when they see some that make great outward Professions there guilty of so much Hypocrisy Cheating Cruelty and Rebellion making their very Religion a Cloak for the carrying on the most wicked Things as if the least Religious the most honest Man And now if there were but the least spark of Love and Honour in our Hearts for God and our most Holy Religion this were enough to make us careful to lead innocent and inoffensive Lives if it were only that we might not dishonour God and Religion thereby and might not bring a Reproach upon our Christian Name Every Man that desires the Honour and Reputation of his Calling and Profession whatever it is will live answerable to his Character and not so as to be a Scandal to his Place Few Men will endure their worldly Calling to be put at naught and Reproacht And therefore as we seldom see a Person of so abject and mean a Spirit as to endure with Patience whatever Art or Profession he is of to be set at naught and spoke against so Men are generally with respect to the Credit of their worldly Professions careful to act with that Decency and Becomingness as shall advance the Reputation thereof Hence the Lawyer as he cannot ordinarily endure except he be a profligate Person his Profession of the Law nor the Physician his nor the Tradesman his to be run down Exposed and made Ridiculous so each of these will be as much as possible for maintaining in their several Dealings a Reputation of Fairness and Honesty as that alone which will raise and preserve an Esteem for them And how then comes it about that a Christian can endure to hear his Christian Profession reproach'd and scorn'd by reason of his scandalous Living Whence is it but from the greater Zeal Men generally have for the Honour of their worldly Callings and Professions than for the Honour of their Christian Religion Profession and Calling And now therefore Thirdly Let me Exhort you An Exhortation therefore to Christians to stand upon the Dignity of their Christian Name and Profession to stand upon the Dignity of your Christian Name and Profession by living such good Lives as may be an Honour not a Disgrace unto it Let me therefore Admonish you from this very Name wherewith you are Honoured to render your selves wholly conformable to those Christian Principles and Doctrines to which you have given up your Names to be governed by and which being taught you in your Catechism I shall by God's leave with all the Plainness and in the most Useful manner I can explain unto you And pray let me Entreat you my Dear Youth seriously and diligently to hearken to me your Spiritual Father that studies no less the Eternal Interest of your Souls and to make you Heirs of Heaven than your Natural Parents do your Temporal Interest to gather you Riches and to leave you Estates in this World You have been Ask'd and you have Answer'd to your Christian Name and you see with what Title you are dignify'd viz. with the Name of Christians And first Wonder not at what I say those Titles of Honour which we daily hear sounding in our Ears I. As that which is more considerable than Titles of Honour and which are so much admired and doted upon I mean the Titles of Emperours Kings Dukes Earls Lords ought to be accounted as very inconsiderable in respect of our Christian Title They are but Earthly Glories and will soon decay and vanish away but this is of a Divine Original which will never fade but will Ennoble you to all Eternity I beseech you therefore seriously consider this and let a due Honour and Regard to so worthy a Name continually Admonish every one of you that you never commit in your whole Lives any thing that does unbecome it I do also Secondly II. Because of that near Alliance there is between the Christian Name and Profession Entreat every One of you to consider the near Alliance there is betwixt your Christian Names and your Christian Profession insomuch that they both began and will both end together In your Baptism you put on both your Name and your Profession of Christianity together and if ever you should abjure your Religion which God forbid you must also therewith abjure your Christian Names so near are they linkt one with another And therefore let this ever admonish you to Adorn your selves with Christian Graces Temperance Chastity Charity Justice Piety and not to defile your selves with Heathenish Brutish Vices Drunkenness Uncleanness Cruelty Infidelity Thirdly III. Because the primitive Christians did in vertue of the Christian Name resist the fiercest Temptations And is it Examples of this good Use of your Christian Name that you want Why the Christians of Old took Courage from this very Name whereby they overcame all their Enemies both Bodily and Ghostly the World the Flesh and the Devil and encourag'd themselves thereby to the Discharge of their Christian Duties In the Vertue of this Name they extinguisht their Lusts they overcame Tyrants they put to flight the Devil Their Persecutors with Fire and Fagot and all manner of cruel Torments would have them forc'd them to Blaspheme Christ to sacrifice and burn Incense to Devils to worship Idols But they in the midst of Flames and Torments would answer with Smiles on their Faces We are Christians we cannot do these Things Forbear your Assemblies and Church-meetings would the Heathen Persecutors say We are Christians and must not therefore Forsake the Assembling our selves together would they answer Such great things did the Primitive Christians perform under the Power of the Christian Name And let your very Christian Names likewise my Christian Youth encourage you to all manner of Vertuous and Religious Practices in imitation of those Blessed Primitive Christians and to the Examples of those that shall come after you IV. Because of
Jesus Acts 19.5 that is into the Belief that Jesus is the Christ or Mediatour between God and Man for this is the great Fundamental Doctrine of Christianity as the Apostle tells us 1 Cor. 3.11 assuring us that Other Foundation can no Man lay than that Jesus is the Christ And he that denyeth that Jesus is the Christ is the great Liar and an Anti-Christ 1 Joh. 2.22 But whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is Born of God 1 Joh. 5.1 that is is Adopted into the Christian Church and Family â—II â—njoy the â—ledges 〈◊〉 Gospel Fifthly And as Christians are a Society of Persons call'd out of the World to Repentance Faith and Gospel-Obedience so to the Enjoyment of those Inestimable Priviledges of the Gospel viz. 1. Most Reasonable and Excellent Laws given by a most Great and Gracious Governour to Conduct 'em to Heaven Laws writ in their Minds and in their Hearts Heb. 8.10 that is Laws which are for the most part the very Dictates of natural Reason 2. They are such as are Priviledg'd with having great Measures of Divine Grace and Assistance to enable 'em to Obey those Laws for whereas the Law was given by Moses Grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ Joh. 1.17 and is the Priviledge of the Church of Christ under the Gospel 3. They are such who have Assurance of Pardon of Sins upon their Repentance for the Transgression of those Laws for with Respect to those of the Christian Church God is pleas'd to say Heb. 8.12 I will be Merciful to their Vnrighteousness and their Sins and Iniquities will I remember no more And lastly As to the Eternal Life and Happiness Christ does assure us Joh. 17.2 that The Father has given him Power over all Flesh that he should give Eternal Life to as many as are given him or are given him out of the world ver 6. that is that he has a Power of conferring the Rewards in Heaven to as many as come within the Pale of the Church if they do withal live in Obedience to its Laws and Constitutions Thus is the Church of Christ a Society of Men call'd forth of the World as to a most Holy Profession and Calling so to the Enjoyment of most singular Priviledges Church â—h who 〈◊〉 End of â—ncorpoâ—â—nto one 〈◊〉 and of â—g God 〈◊〉 their Sixthly And they are such Who to the End of being Incorporated into One Society and of having God to be their God and they themselves his People have Enter'd into Covenant with him It is the Royal Charter granted by the King to the Members of a Corporation or City whereby they have certain Priviledges granted them from the King and wherein they are Tied to discharge certain Duties to him and to One another that makes 'em of a confus'd Multitude to become a Corporation or regulated Society And those who stand out and will not accept of those Priviledges nor oblige themselves to their several Duties shall not be reputed of that Corporation nor receive any Advantages from it And so it is here with that Society which is call'd the Church of Christ It is the Covenant of Grace granted us by the King of Heaven wherein we have the most inestimable Priviledges those contain'd in the Gospel graciously Ensur'd unto us and most reasonable Duties both to God and Man required of us that do embody and join us into one Spiritual Society the Church and those who will not Enter into such a Covenant with God are Aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel and Strangers from the Covenantts of Promise having no hope and without God in the world Eph. 2.12 But those who have join'd themselves in Covenant with Him are No more Strangers and Forreigners but Fellow-Citizens with the Saints and of the Houshold of God ver 19. And as by being United in one Covenant Christians are Incorporated into one Society so by the same Means it comes to pass also that they have God to be their God peculiarly and they become his People Thus Heb. 8.10 This is the Covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days that is in the time of the Gospel I will be to them a God and they shall be to me a People It is the Nature of all Covenants to Unite the Parties Covenanting together and to give to each Party an Interest in the other I entred into Covenant with thee and thou becamest mine Ezek. 16.8 So that by having Enter'd into Covenant with God we are Entitled to his particular Protection and Care over us and we give to him thereby a new and stronger Claim to our Obedience Seventhly I. In Baptism And Christians are thus Enter'd into Covenant with God and thereby made Members of Christ's Church in their Baptism For as all the Members of a Corporation are not usually made Members of that Society without some certain Solemnities so it pleased God that no One should be Enter'd into Christ's Church and be made a Partaker of the Priviledges of it without that outward Rite of Baptism for so we find that when our Saviour sent his Apostles to Found and Build the Church they receiv'd as a Commission to call forth out of the World a Church by the Preaching of the Gospel So an Appointment to Incorporate all Men therein by Baptism Go and Teach all Nations Baptizing them in the Name of the Father of the Son and of the Holy Ghost Matth. 28.19 And hence 1 Cor. 12.13 it is said That we are all Baptiz'd into one Body or admitted by Baptism into one Church Eighthly And they are Appointed to Renew the same II. To Renew it at the Lord's Supper by Feasting often together at the Lord's Supper This was anciently and is still the usual Method of Uniting more closely together the Members of any Society or Corporation their Feasting often together at one common Table and for this Reason amongst others it is that the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper is Appointed in the Church of Christ So the 1 Cor. 10.17 it is said That we being many are one Bread and one Body for we are all Partakers of that one Bread Ninthly And now upon all these foremention'd Accounts The Church one Body the Church of Christ is One Body Thus Eph. 4.4 5 6. There is one Body and one Spirit even as ye are all called in one Hope of your Calling one Lord one Faith one Baptism one God and Father of all who is above all and through all and in you all where you see that because all Christians are call'd out of the World into one Hope of their Calling or to the Enjoyment of the same Priviledges to one Faith or to Believe one God Father Son and Holy Ghost exprest here by one Spirit one Lord one God and Father of all and because Incorporated by one Baptism or by the Use of the same Sacraments that therefore they are one Body The Covenant of Grace that great
Member and cut off from the Body for so doing And so much was mutual Kindness and Charity to be the distinguishing Character of Christ's Church that our Saviour declar'd Joh. 13.35 That by this should all men know his Disciples that they had love one for another â—hurch 〈◊〉 into â—â—dy â—esus â—its suâ— Head And now Lastly It only remains to compleat this my Explication of Christ's Church to shew you That this whole Society of Men call'd forth out of the World to such Duties and Priviledges as has been spoke is to be United into one Body as has been declar'd under Jesus Christ its supreme Head Every Society of Men must have some supreme Head to keep it both in Being and Order and Christ is so much to all Intents and Purposes the Head of the Church that there is no respect in which any thing is the Head of the Body in which Christ is not in like manner the Head of the Church 〈◊〉 Poâ— Head â—â—urch And First There is the Political Head in every Kingdom which is the Prince that gives Laws to his People and Heads and Protects them against their Enemies And such a Head is Christ in that Spiritual Kingdom the Church of God Whom the Father having Raised from the Dead did put all things under his Feet and gave him to be Head over all things to the Church which is his Body Eph. 1.20 21 22 23. And therefore pursuant to this Power which was Given him in Heaven and in Earth to give Laws to Mankind did he Commission his Disciples and send them forth into the World to Proclaim his Laws to Teach all Nations Baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever he had Commanded them assuring them withal that Lo he would be with them always even unto the End of the World Matth. 28.18 19 20. that is That he would be ever with 'em to Head and Protect 'em against their Adversaries Secondly There is also a Domestick Head viz. the Husband in respect of the Wife and so likewise is Christ the Head of the Church and he is the Saviour of the Body Eph. 5.23 And indeed the Holy Spirit does love to Represent him as such a Head as also by the Title of a Shepherd over the Flock to signify the Gentleness of his Government and the Sweetness and Goodness of his Laws tending all for the Good of those he Governs And Thirdly There is the Natural Head of the Body which is the Fountain of Life and Spirit from whence it is deriv'd into all the Parts of the Body to enable and enliven all the Members thereof to discharge their several Offices and Duties And in Allusion to this â—ist the â—al 〈◊〉 of the â—h is Christ said to be the Mystical Head of the Church from whom all the Body by Joynts and Bands having Nourishment ministred increaseth with the Increase of God Col. 2.19 And thus I have at length sufficiently in order to my Design of Explaining this Article Wherein I was made a Member of Christ shew'd you What kind of Body the of Church of Christ is And by the By from what has been said it does appear That the Church of Christ is a Spiritual Kingdom put up in the World by God The Church of Christ a spiritual Kingdom on purpose to reduce Man to his due Allegiance to his Maker and to destroy the Dominion of Satan which he had so long Usurpt over Mankind It is a Kingdom as it consists of inferior Governours and Subjects combined together by special Laws of Allegiance to the Sovereign King of Kings and Lord of Lords and by Priviledges granted by that Supreme Head and Governour to such his Subjects and therefore it is so often in the Scripture call'd a Kingdom But you see withal it is a Spiritual Kingdom by the Nature and Design of which God is to Rule in the Hearts and Spirits of Men and therefore it is all over the New Testament call'd the Kingdom of God the Kingdom of Christ For Christ does Reign and Rule therein by his Gospel as the Laws of that Kingdom over the Spirits of Men and those are the People or Subjects of this Kingdom who own him for their King and his Gospel for the Laws of this Kingdom and who do give themselves up wholly both Body Soul and Spirit to be Governed by those Laws And the Church is also often call'd in the Holy Scripture the Kingdom of Heaven for indeed it is not a Kingdom of this World supported with outward State and armed Forces in order to promote and to secure from those who would Invade 'em our temporal Interests If my Kingdom were of this World then would my Servants fight that I should not be deliver'd to the Jews Joh. 18.36 but it is a Kingdom or Society of Men associated together and Listed to Fight under Christ the Great Captain of our Salvation against much more formidable Enemies than any Earthly Potentates Even against Principalities and Powers against the Rulers of the Darkness of this World against spiritual Wickedness in high Places Eph. â— 12 that is against the Devil and his wicked Angels who would despoil us of our Heavenly Inheritance Listed I say to fight under Jesus Christ the Great Captain of our Salvation for so he is call'd Heb. 2.10 and to our Comfort who are to fight under him he has already Spoiled these Principalities and Powers and has made a shew of them openly upon the Cross triumphing over them in it Col. 2.15 So that our Work is in a great measure already done under his Conduct for he himself has divested the Devils of much of their Power he has thrown 'em out of their Temples silenc'd their Oracles and does daily by his Assistances enable us to Foil ' em So that the Church of Christ you see is a Spiritual Kingdom But yet notwithstanding that this Society the Church But yet notwithstanding a Visible Society is a Spiritual Kingdom both as its Laws are Spiritual reaching to the Government of the Inward Man and also as it is a Body Listed under a Spiritual King to fight against Spiritual Enemies Yet however from what has been said it does appear that the Church or Kingdom of Christ is a Visible Society of Men consisting of such who make an Outward and Visible Profession of Allegiance to Christ having visibly by an Outward Sacrament Enter'd into Covenant with him and being such as do visibly Communicate together in his Holy Ordinances And therefore it is not only of such who by an inward real and true Faith are United to Christ that the Church and Kingdom of God in this World does consist but of all those outward Professors of Christianity who by the Sacrament of Baptism have Enter'd into Covenant with God Such indeed as besides an outward Covenanting which is certainly necessary are Renew'd withal to
Enjoyment of Women to those who shall slay the Unbelievers that is Christians for so they do call us especially because we believe not in their Mahomet This one Principle of their Religion I say is enough to debauch Humane Nature to the lowest Degree of Naughtiness by giving Encouragement to the Two worst of Sins Lust and Cruelty Its Principles tend to Lust and Cruelty and accordingly the Effects of it are That they give an unbounded Range to their Lusts amongst themselves and are Cruel and Blood-thirsty to all the World besides being Instigated by their very Religion to fill the whole Earth with War Desolations and Misery so that this is another Religion also which Tends instead of Improving to deprave Humane Nature and to make it much worse And Thirdly As to the Jewish Religion Judaism was an imperfect and unfinisht Draught of Religion tho' that indeed was of a Divine Original yet whether it were that the Infancy of the World was not ripe for a more deep and manly Instruction or whether that particular Nation however to whose Disposition and Capacity those Laws and Constitutions were suited was unfit for the highest and hardest Lessons so it was that St. Paul calls their Ordinances Poor and Beggarly Elements Gal. 4.9.3 And indeed as to the Ritual Part of their Law the Ceremonies and Sacrifices thereof were for the most part Types and Shadows of good things to come Heb. 10.1 And as to the Moral Part Moses for the hardness of their Hearts was forc'd to Indulge 'em what the Perfection and Purity of the Christian Religion will by no means allow of as may be seen in the Case of Putting away a Wife for every Cause Luke 19.8 But above all it is to be consider'd that universal Love and Charity to Enemies to all Mankind of what Nation and Religion soever they be which does so nearly resemble us to God himself Who maketh his Sun to rise on the Evil and on the Good Matt. 5.45 was as it were a New Commandment to them Joh. 13.34 And yet such an unbounded Charity and Kindness as this is the great and necessary Duty of Christianity So that Judaism at the best and before that it was Corrupted by the false Interpretations put upon the Law by the Scribes and Pharisees was but an imperfect Draught of Religion begun by Moses but left to be finished by the more perfect Stroaks of our Saviour's Pencil afterwards who is therefore said to have Come not to destroy the Law or the Prophets but to fill 'em up Matth. 5.17 Thus Imperfect at best was the Jewish Law But now consider Fourthly The whole Body of that Religion Christianity a most excellent Religion which Christ our supreme Head and Governour has given us and under whose Guidance we have the Happiness to be as we are the Members of Christ's Church and nothing can represent God in more Noble Characters and Glorious Perfections nothing can give a more Honourable and Rational Account of his Proceedings with Man both in his Creation and Redemption of him than it does And as his Laws are infinitely beyond what the Wisdom of any Humane Law-givers did ever yet contrive for the good Order of Man in this World and his real Happiness both in this and the World to come so no Motives nor Reasons can possibly be more Powerful than those which Christianity does give us to Obey those Laws 〈◊〉 Gives a excellent â—esentatiâ—â—f God As to the Nature of God Christianity does plainly Represent him as a Being that has no manner of Imperfection in his Nature but as One that is Adorn'd with all the most Glorious Attributes and highest Perfections possible It represents him to us so infinitely Wise Just and Holy and yet so wonderfully beyond all Comparison Good and Merciful and to add to all this so intimately Present to all we say or do so Omniscient in discerning the very Thoughts and Intents of our Hearts and withal so absolutely Powerful in doing whatsover he pleases in Heaven and in Earth that Shall not this his Excellency make us afraid Job 13.11 〈◊〉 gives an â—ourable â—â—nt of his â—eedings 〈◊〉 Manâ— with reâ—ce both â—s Creaâ—â— and Reâ—tion of 〈◊〉 And then as to his Proceedings with Man both in his Creation and Redemption of him Christianity gives us the most Plain and rational Account thereof in the World It gives us to know how that God made Man Upright and being so we were at perfect Agreement with him but that afterwards we fell by Transgression from him and must have suffered the Doom of Rebels for so doing It lets us then know That God taking Pity of us in this miserable Case sent his own Son to Preach Repentance and to offer Terms of Reconciliation to us And moreover because it was not consistent with God's Holiness nor with his Wisdom and Justice as Governour of the World to let Sin go unpunish'd or to accept of a Sacrifice and Satisfaction less infinite in Value than he was in Majesty who was Offended that he therefore gave this his only Begotten Son also to Dye for us and accepted of his infinitely Meritorious Sufferings here instead of our suffering Eternally hereafter and as a sufficient Satisfaction to his injur'd Justice which we in our own Persons could not pay without perishing Everlastingly Christianity does withal Reveal to us that this our High-Priest after having Offer'd himself for us here on Earth a Sacrifice for our Sins he is now gone into Heaven to Intercede with the Father in the Merit thereof that it may be accepted to the Pardon of ' em And it also Informs us that being Ascended to his Father which is in Heaven in order fully to Reconcile him to Man he has substituted his Holy Spirit here on Earth to perfect the Reconciliation and Conformity of our Natures to God by moving and moulding our Hearts to true Repentance and Faith in him This is in short that account which Christianity gives us both of our Creation and of our Redemption And so every way Rational it is in it self and so exceedingly agreeable to the wisest Methods of Government in the World that tho' it was beyond the reach of our Reasons before this whole Mystery of Redemption was Reveal'd to us in the Gospel to think of such an extraordinary way for our Recovery out of a lost and undone Condition and of Reconciliation to God yet now since it is Revealed all the reason of Mankind whose Vnderstandings the God of this world hath not blinded must own that there is no method of Proceeding in such a Case could be more worthy of the Holiness Justice Mercy and Wisdom of God nor so likely to work Repentance in Man nor consequently more agreeable to the wise Governour of the World to take than this So agreeable to the best improved reason of Mankind are the Doctrinal and even the most mysterious Parts of the Christian Religion that Religion which it
the very Image of God it is very reasonably requir'd of him That he should chiefly mind Heaven and Heavenly Things his near and chief Relations if I may so say which he is Everlastingly to enjoy and that he should not much concern himself with the Things of this world which he must shortly leave behind him and then all Relation betwixt 'em will cease But all the time of his Pilgrimage here Living and Conversing for the most part with the Things below he becomes sooner acquainted with them and they with him they have an easier Access to him than Heavenly Things and have therefore greater Opportunities to court his Affections and to win upon 'em So that in the End it too often falls out that St. Paul's Rule is liv'd Counter to and Men generally Set their Affections on things below and not on things above 〈◊〉 what manâ— it does â—ptivate us 〈◊〉 draw us â—m God The manner how the world Captivates and Enslaves and Draws the whole Man in Triumph after it is this It presents to the Senses Riches Honours and Pleasures and dazles 'em with their Glory and Beauty Men's outward Senses being so extreamly taken with these do easily bribe the Affections to love 'em above all other and cause 'em to Covet and Lust after ' em The Affections becoming hereby most eagerly desirous of 'em do put a false Biass upon the Judgment so that our Understanding and Reason usually becomes thereby so far Corrupted as to dictate to the Will that these outward and sensible good Things are the Objects which are above all others worthy of its Choice And thereupon the Will does immediately choose the present Objects of Sense the Riches Honours and Pleasures of this World prefering 'em far before spiritual Things And thus the whole Man Body and Soul is made a Slave to the world and neglects Heaven and minds not to perform the Conditions of the Covenant of Grace the way thither 〈◊〉 far thereâ—e as it enâ—ges our Afâ—tions too â—sely to it â—s to make 〈◊〉 Inordiâ—ely and â—egularly 〈◊〉 mind it â—d to neglect 〈◊〉 great Conâ—n the Buâ—ess of Reâ—ion it is to â—â—e Renounâ— and Reâ—â—ed by us So that upon the whole Matter the world is so far only our Enemy and to be Renounced and Overcome by us as it Engages our Affections too closely to it so as to make us Inordinately and Irregularly that is with an Affection to it or any Thing in it beyond its due Desert to mind it and too much to neglect our great Concern the Business of Religion and the Performance of the Conditions of the Covenant of Grace our way to Heaven and Happiness * So long as we wear these Earthly Bodies about us we are permitted the Vse and Enjoyment of worldly Things provided in Things lawful and in Degrees allowable So long as we live in this World and are Parts of it our selves and carry these Bodies of Earthly Materials about us there is no doubt but it is necessary for us and we are permitted to be concern'd in it and we may without scruple gratify our selves with the Enjoyments of it provided it be in Things lawful and in degrees allowable and that we suffer not our Hearts and Affections to be too much fixt upon it But in regard our Souls the principal Part of us by far are the Natives of Heaven and are only as Pilgrims and Tenants here Below to stay but for a short Time For As the Dust shall return to the Earth as it was so the Spirit shall return to God â—t being our â—uls our â—ncipal â—rt are soon 〈◊〉 remove to â—eaven we â—â—st chiefly 〈◊〉 our â—fections on â—ings above â—d mainly â—â—eavour to â—ain them who gave it Eccl. 12.7 we must therefore Set our Affections chiefly on things above on God the Society Interests and Enjoyments of that Ever-blessed State making it our main Business to Possess to Attain and Enjoy them and not on things below the foolish Interests and Satisfactions of this perishing and transitory State here on Earth Col. 3.2 And so far as the world or any thing in it Inveigles our Hearts and Affections to fix upon it and seduces us to commit any Thing sinful and hinders to mind the Business of Religion and the Performance of the Conditions of the Covenant of Grace our way to Happiness and everlasting Satisfaction it is to be Renounced Rejected and Overcome by us It is the Matter of a Christian's Warfare and the subject of his Victory And so far as this Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the World 1 Joh. 5.4 and in this sence St. Paul Professes Gal. 6.14 that The world was Crucified unto him and he unto the world And thus you see in General in what sence and how far we are to Renounce the World But Secondly II. Concerning the World consider'd in its Particulars those Temptations result both from the Good and the Evils thereof For the more full and compleat Explication of this Point of Renouncing the world it being a Matter wherein it concerns you to receive the most distinct Directions I will farther consider the Particulars of which this World is made up and will also shew you in what sence and how far you are to Renounce each of ' em And here it is observable that when we come to take a nearer View of the world in its Particulars it does not then appear as it does in the General to have nothing in it but Good but to contain withal a great mixture of Evil and indeed to be in the present State thereof almost wholly made up of Vanity and Vexation of Spirit And both the Good and the Evil Things thereof do give us considerable Temptations to Sin Now the Good Things of this world are summ'd up under these Heads The Riches Honours and the Pleasures it affords The good things of this World Riches Honours Pleasures the Evils Poverty Disgrace and Afflictions And Things of a middle Nature are the different Callings Conditions and Cares of this World And its Evils on the contrary may be reduc'd to Poverty Disgrace and those Afflictions of all sorts which in innumerable ways do assail us And there are also some Things therein of a middle Nature as different Callings Conditions or States of Life and the Cares of this World which are the Appurtenances to it and afford great matter of Temptation and Tryal to us therein And in what Sence and how far you are to Renounce it with reference to each of these I will endeavour to shew you And First As to the Riches of this World These are not in themselves Hurtful but Good and are bestowed by the Divine Providence upon those that have 'em to very excellent Purposes and Uses that they may do Good therewith and that not only in providing for their own Houshold but also by Stewarding them out to the Support and Advancement of Religion and Vertue I.
Herod had done Luk. 3.19 And in the World to come such a One above all Men will be Beaten with many Stripes Luk. 12.47 So much is that Honour to be Renounc'd which pretends to put a Man above the Laws of God or Man or beyond Reproof or Punishment for the Violation of ' em Secondly And so likewise is that to be Renounced and Detested which exalts Persons above their Brethren to that degree as to despise and oppress the rest of Mankind as if they were but a lower Rank of Creatures and had not the same God to their Father Bodies formed out of the same Clay and Souls as excellent in their Natures and as capable of Improvements as precious in God's sight and as much the Heirs of Heaven as their own II. As also that which exalts Persons above their Brethren to that degree as to despise and oppress the rest of Manâ—â—nd as if â—â—y were but â—lower Rank 〈◊〉 Creatures â—â—d had not â—â—e same God 〈◊〉 their Faâ—â—er Bodies â—ormed out 〈◊〉 the same â—lay Souls 〈◊〉 Excellent 〈◊〉 their Naâ—â—res and as â—â—pable of Imâ—â—ovements 〈◊〉 precious 〈◊〉 Gods sight â—â—d as much â—â—e Heirs of â—eaven as â—â—eir own This is indeed observ'd to be for the most part the Property of those only of Vpstart Quality for whether it be that such are Transported above themselves by a sudden Rise of Fortune so as not to know their mean Beginning or whether it be that their Fathers being rais'd to their Greatness meerly by Vertue of their successful Fortunes in the World not for any noble and worthy Performances these have not that Vein of Magnanimity Largeness of Soul Generosity Courtesy and Liberality running in the Blood as it were of some Families whose Nobility was founded in some noble Exploits of Vertue Whatever may be the reason it is generally observ'd that your New Gentry are apt above others to carry it with an unreasonable Haughtiness and Disrespect towards their poorer Brethren But alas There is no Ground in the World for this Distance nor that Slavery they put 'em to Have we not one Father and hath not one God made us Mal. 2.10 And was it not out of the same Lump of Clay that he made one Vessel to Honour and another to Dishonour And when this Earthly Tabernacle of ours shall be dissolved who shall be able to distinguish betwixt the Dust of Princes and their meanest Vassals And is not the Soul of the poorest Indian Slave as Spiritual and Immortal as that of the Richest Merchant in Europe And had it but the Education which our Europians have it is capable of receiving as clear Notions of God and of Religion and of Vertue as any of us all And no doubt were it adorn'd therewith and so had the Image of God consisting in these Graces restor'd within it it would be as Precious and Dear to him and be receiv'd into those Mansions of Bliss from which those proud Tyrants over their Fellow-Creatures Liberty will certainly be Excluded if they continue to treat 'em with such Distance and Slavery Sure I am the Poor Lazarus is now in Abraham's Bosom when the Rich and Noble Dives who treated him not with that Respect and Kindness as he did his Dogs is scorching in the Flames of Hell All which consider'd it does become the highest in Birth and Quality to carry it with all due Humility and Courtesy to the lowest and to Renounce and Abandon those Thoughts of Honour and Quality which thrust away their Fellow-Servants to the same God so far off 'em tho' they may not have the Pretence of the Pharisee for so doing nor can say to 'em Come not near me I am Holier than thou III. Such ought â—ven to Reâ—ounce all â—retensions to Honour who â—ave degeneâ—ated from â—hose worthy Qualities â—hich Ennoâ—led their Ancestors But Thirdly Those Persons ought indeed even to renounce all Pretensions to Honour who have degenerated from those worthy Qualities which Ennobled their Ancestors The true Nobility of those who are really of Birth or Quality was founded as I have told you in the Heroick and extraordinary Vertues of their Ancestors and therefore their Quality cannot be suppos'd to remain with 'em when those Vertues which gave Being to it are departed from ' em But so it is that none are half so apt to Pride themselves in their Families and to talk so much of their Pedigree as those who have the least of any true Worth remaining in 'em And sure it is a sign they have but little of their own who do so much value themselves upon others Deservings and seem to have nothing to Brag of but borrowed Titles We have Abraham to our Father was the constant Cry of the Jews when they had least of the Faith and Vertues of Abraham However as apt as such are to assume this Honour to themselves there is no reason in the World but what was purchas'd by the Merits of others should be forfeited by their ill Deserts and that Vice should lose what Vertue did gain And this our Saviour and his Apostles did determine in the Case This the Determination of our Saviour and his Apostles in their Case of those Jews Think not to say within your Hearts we have Abraham to our Father for I say unto you that God is able of these Stones to raise up Children to Abraham Matth. 3.9 that is by having degenerated from Abraham you have forfeited your Title to the Name and Honour of being Abraham's Children and the vile Gentiles as you account 'em shall be taken into that Dignity and Relation For he is the Father of all them that Believe tho' they be not of the Circumcision And accordingly in a true Estimation of Things all those and those only are Honourable who are Vertuous tho' they cannot derive their Pedigree from noble Ancestors The Honour of my House beginneth with me and the Honour of thine endeth with thee said a worthy Commander in Plutarch to a Banisht Wretch who upbraided him with the meanness of his Parentage Lastly And such ought also even to Renounce all Pretensions to Honour amongst Christians at leastwise who despise Religion and its chiefest Vertues as Qualities beneath them Lastly and such ought to Renounce all Pretensions to Honour amongst Christians at least-wise who despise Religion and its chiefest Vertues as Qualities beneath ' em And yet those are the Persons who take themselves to be the only Men of Honour who can talk most Atheistically and Profanely whose Life and Conversation is made up of Lewdness and Debauchery and as to those grand distinguishing Graces of Christianity Humility Meekness and a patient Enduring of Injuries and Affronts who count them a meer Jest which Men of Quality and Honour it is impossible should submit to But be it so only let 'em withal consider that Not many Mighty not many Noble were called but the base things of the World and things which are despised hath God
our Modern Writers of Play-Books and Songs whose Plays and Poetry seem design'd to nourish Profaneness and Immorality Now such Temptations as these will extend to all Parts where things of that Nature shall reach and will be Temptations in all Ages so long as there will be found wicked Men like themselves to propagate and promote the same The former sort may be compar'd to an Inferior Rank of Evil Spirits whose Province of doing Mischief is more narrow and confin'd But the latter are as it were Master Devils Like roaring Lions they are continually walking about the Earth seeking whom they may devour And now you must heartily Renounce and Refuse to Conform your selves to those wicked Men either First By becoming Tempters your selves of other People Or Secondly By yielding of your selves to be overcome by others Temptations First You must renounce that Diabolical Wickedness of becoming Tempters your selves of other Persons I. We must renounce that Diabolical Wickedness of becoming Tempters our selves of other Persons Renounce do I say You must Abhor Abominate and Detest this their Wickedness of Corrupting others and of Tempting 'em to Sin as being a Practice that of all others will render you likest to the Devil And I am sure you would of all things in the World detest this Piece of Villany if you would but attentively consider that One remarkable place of Scripture shewing you the high Impiety of such a Wickedness It is Acts 13.8 9 10. Elymas the Sorcerer withstood Barnabas and Paul seeking to turn away the Deputy from the Faith Then Paul filled with the Holy Ghost set his Eyes on him and said O full of Subtilty and all Mischief thou Child of the Devil thou Enemy of all Righteousness wilt thou not cease to pervert rhe right ways of the Lord Do you see here with what unusual Indignation and in what severe Language the Apostle does bespeak this Wretch meerly upon his Endeavouring to Tempt the Deputy from the right way of the Lord. And surely not without Reason for certainly it must be a terrible Consideration to any One that he has been the Instrument and Cause of another's Damnation It is a terrible thing to have been an Instrument of another's Damnation For should such a One ever hereafter return to a right Mind and he will be infinitely miserable if he does not as his Repentance if it be sincere will make him a Lover not only of his own but of other men's Souls So what Anguish will it give him to think that 't is to be fear'd there are now those in Hell Flames whom his ill Example or vicious Conversation or base and corrupting Flatteries in wicked Courses or Discouragements to Vertue or Encouragements to Sin have sent there never to be Retriev'd It is an Injury to men's Souls in some Cases hardly ever in other simpossible to be Repair'd It is an Injury to Mens Souls in some Cases hardly ever in others impossible to be Repair'd If his Temptations have been of that sort as to reach no farther than he was Known or was Conversant a very Eminent and very signal Repentance may in some measure put a stop to the Contagion thereof so that they spread no farther tho' not that altogether for some perhaps whom he has Corrupted will never be Reclaim'd tho' he be never so great a Penitent and Labour himself never so much their Conversion But if his Temptations have been of that more spreading and lasting Kind now spoke and he has been One that has Wrote Ill Books been a Broacher of Pestilent Heresies an Author of lewd Plays or wanton and prophane Verse the Mischief and Poyson of such Temptations do fly beyond his Recalling and tho' he may Burn 'em with his own Hands yet others will Rake 'em out of the Ashes And it is the Opinion of some of the Ancients that such Temptations as these will affect his Happiness even in Heaven it self insomuch that according as the Mischief thereof does daily spread and more do continue to be Damn'd thereby proportionably such a One will still fall thereupon lower and lower in Glory I know nothing in Reason or Religion that contradicts this Opinion However it be certainly it is the highest Misfortune can befal any One that he is or ever has been amongst that Rank of Sinners whom the Scripture does so peculiarly Stile the wicked and that because of their so near Resemblance to the Tempter himself These are the Persons by whom Offences come and it is a terrible Threatning that of our Saviour's Matth. 18.6 to such Whoso shall offend one of these little Ones which believe in me that is any-wise Tempt Gall Discourage drive from the Faith and Practice of a Christian any the meanest Person that comes to me whoso shall do this It were better for him that a Mill-stone were hanged about his Neck and he were cast into the midst of the Sea So that of all things in the World it concerns you to take care ye never become Tempters of others to Sin and either to omit that which is Good or to commit that which is Evil. Secondly Nor does it less concern you to refuse Conforming your selves to wicked Men when they shall Tempt you II. We must refuse to Conform our selves to wicked Men when they shall Tempt us viz. which they will do when either First by their ill Examples they shall Influence you or Secondly by falling into their Company they shall Entice you or Thirdly by their Flatteries they shall Corrupt you or Fourthly by their Discouragements to Vertue and Encouragements to Sin they shall Engage you or Fifthly by their Perswasions they would Prevail upon you or Lastly by their Customs would Constrain you to Sin And I will shew you how by all Means you must Renounce or Refuse to Conform your selves unto their evil Ways in any of these Cases And First That you must renounce or refuse to Conform your selves to the evil Examples I. By their evil Examples of wicked Men which would Influence you to Sin It has been ever observ'd that Examples have a much greater Influence Examples have the greatest Influence upon us especially than Precepts and that most are readier to do what they see than what they hear More particularly there is a great Inclination in us to follow the Examples of Sin especially if many if the Examples of those for whom we have an high Esteem and of whom we do stand in great Awe And First We are especially inclin'd to follow the Examples of Sin I. If Examples of Sin For Sin is what our Corrupt Nature is of it self dispos'd to and if moreover Examples do come in to help us forward these will highten our Desires and silence our Consciences and give us some plausible Pretence to Sin It looks like some Act of Modesty and Self-denial to deny our own private Judgment and to go along with the Croud when our Flesh is craving and
and 15.10 He that hateth Reproof shall dye and 29.1 A man of Reproof that hardneth his Neck shall be destroyed This indeed as any other Discipline is distastful to Flesh and Blood but it is in it self the most profitable sort of Correction for A Reproof entereth more into a Wise man than Stripes Prov. 17.10 And as you must bring your self to that humble and low Opinion of your own Perfections and to that sense of your Faults Especially the Reproofs of Gods Ministers are to be kindly received and regarded as to take kindly the Reproof of a Friend and to amend upon it so especially you are to receive with all Reverence and Respect and Kindness the Reproofs of God's Ministers tending either to better or reform you Of all Men living it must not be expected from us to favour you in any thing amiss to smile upon your Extravagancies to speak only Comforts and Consolations to you when we come to deal with your Consciences which ought to be searcht to the Bottom by us and the Corruption let out This was that Flattery which Jeremiah reprehends and severely threatens in the Prophets and Priests of his Time 6.13 14 15. But our Business is by Preaching Catechizing and all the Methods of Instruction to give you a through Understanding of all the Terms and Conditions of that Covenant wherein you stand Engag'd to God to be Watchmen over your Souls in order to discover your Errors and Failures therein to direct you for your better Improvement in those Graces whereunto you have already attain'd and you must expect it from us to frown upon your Follies and boldly to Reprove you when we perceive you to Transgress our Great Master's Laws And you must receive all this at our Hands not only as a necessary Discharge of our Duty but what you must apply to your own Improvement and Reformation And this if you should not do your Ruine will be imputed to it Hence Solomon warns the Young-man to beware of sinful Extravagancies Lest he be brought to Mourn at the last when his Flesh and his Bones are consumed and to own as the cause of all this That he hated Instruction and that his Heart despised Reproof that he obey'd not the Voice of his Teachers nor inclined his Ear to them that Instructed him Prov. 5.11 12 13. So far therefore is the Flattery of wicked Men to be Renounced that Reproof on the contrary is to be Kindly receiv'd But Fourthly Wicked Men will proceed farther to Tempt others to Sin even By their false and fallacious Argueings against the Necessity of a Holy Life IV. Wicked Men Tempt others to Sin by their false and fallacious Argueings against the Necessity of a Holy Life One would think there should be none professing Christianity that should openly Plead for Sin but yet such Factors and Agents Satan has amongst us as will openly Avow his Cause and will endeavour to Perswade you that you are not Obliged to that Strictness of Living which we Preachers are continually sounding in Men's Ears And to this Purpose you shall hear them Argue so hotly that God no doubt is a Merciful Being and will not surely for the Sins of a short Life Condemn the Guilty to an Eternity of Woe and Misery And as to the Duties of Religion you shall hear 'em argue that they are hard Sayings and who can bear ' em And as to themselves you shall hear these Men often Pleading that they are made of Flesh and Blood and therefore sure God will not require Men upon the Hazard of Salvation to mortify the Flesh and that they are set in a World full of Temptations and abounding in Delights and Pleasures and that therefore God who has Plac'd 'em in it will not command 'em upon Pain of Damnation to Overcome these strong Temptations and to deny these Pleasures of the World These are the common and pernicious and licentious Argueings of Men to perswade both themselves and others into such easy Notions of God and Religion that they may Sin with more Security and less Fear And this has been a powerful Art in all times and such Arguments as these Men are most ready to Believe because they love the Thing they Plead for because they favour their Lusts and grant 'em so much Liberty in what they long for the satisfying the Flesh and enjoying the World All which wicked Reasonings we must fortify our selves against as when they Plead But do you beware and fortify your selves well against those false Argueings of Sinful men in Behalf of their Lusts and against the Strictness of Religion whereby they would Perswade you as well as themselves into a sinful Security and with-draw you from or slacken you in your Duty They are false and fallacious Arguments that would perswade us to Comply in the least with Sin for there is nothing more plain in Scripture than that Sin must with all possible Care be avoided It tells us positively That we must deny all Vngodliness and worldly Lusts and live soberly righteously and godly in this present World Tim. 2.12 And that all that name the Name of Christ must depart from Iniquity 2 Tim. 2.19 And that all true Christians must be Cleansed from all filthiness of Flesh and Spirit and perfect Holiness in the fear of God 2 Cor. 7.1 And in order to Perfection that they must Cut off right Hands and put out right Eyes when they offend 'em that is any Lusts that are so dear and useful to you as these Members are Matth. 29.30 What shall I say It tells us that the Friendship of the world is Enmity against God and that whosoever will be a Friend of the world is an Enemy of God Jam. 4.4 And then as for the Punishment of Sin there is not One but has the Penalty of Eternal Death and Misery if Unrepented of affixt to it Particularly Rev. 21.8 it is said that the Fearful or those who Apostatize from the Faith out of fear And unbelieving and the abominable and Murderers and Whore-mongers and Sorcerers and Idolaters and all Liars shall have their part in the Lake which burneth with Fire and Brimstone which is the second death This the Word of God does assure us and then for Men to raise to themselves Hopes of Impunity so contrary to the express Declarations of Scripture when if they shall be mistaken and find after all God's Threatnings to prove real as there is infinite Reason to believe they shall this is certainly the most desperate Presumption in the World But if you consider these Arguments asunder there is no strength in 'em wherefore any should venture to rely upon ' em For in the first place it is in no wise Inconsistent with God's Mercy for the Sins of a short Life to Condemn the Guilty to an Eternity of Woe and Misery I. That it is inconsistent w th God's Mercy for the Sins of a short life to Condemn the Guilty to
an Eternity of Woe and Misery His Mercy is sufficiently satisfied in laying no Tyrannical Impositions upon us as Satan and all false Gods have done upon their superstitious Votaries It is yet a farther Demonstration of his Mercy that our vertuous Performances tho' they are their own Reward here yet they shall be also abundantly Recompenced hereafter He does moreover let us see his Mercy in his long Forbearance of us notwithstanding that by our numberless Provocations we do Grieve his Holy Spirit But he has given us the greatest Discoveries of his Mercy beyond what could ever enter into the Hearts of Men to expect when he gave his own Son to be an Atonement and Expiation for our Sins that his Justice might not proceed against us and when he sent him to us with a Covenant of Grace as an Act of Pardon proposing to us not only a perfect Reconciliation with our offended God but infinite Rewards in Heaven if we would return to our due Obedience and Pay him no other but a reasonable Service I think this is sufficient for Mercy to do and if such immensurable Mercies will not win upon us it is time that as severe a Justice should then take place for we are to consider God as the supreme Governour of Men and Justice is as necessary an Attribute in Government as Mercy Nor is his Severity in Punishing the Sins of a short Life with an Eternity of Woe and Misery but what is agreeable to his Justice and Wisdom as supreme Governour of the World It is necessary in all Governments that the Laws thereof should be enforc'd with such Penalties as shall be sufficient to deter People from the Transgression of those Laws And therefore the Penalties being future it is necessary they should be vastly Great to Over-balance the Profits or Pleasures of Sin which are present It may seem hard indeed at first sight in Humane Governments that a Person for Clipping a Peice of Silver which bears the Image and Superscription of Caesar or for Stealing it from another should forfeit not only his Goods and Chattels but also his Life it self but yet since upon the Temptations of present Profit bad Men will adventure to commit such Facts and the Authority of Laws cannot otherwise be kept up nor Men's Rights and Properties preserv'd It is not thought by the Honest Part of Mankind Inconsistent with the Wisdom and Justice of Governours to inflict even such Punishments as extend to the loss of Life It is these alone are sufficient to Out-weigh the present Consideration of Profit to the Offender and effectually to move him to live in Obedience to Government and therefore these as great as they be are esteem'd but Just and Equal So here in the Government of God over us The Pleasures and Profits of Sin to compass which Men will Transgress the Laws of Heaven are but short true it is but yet being present and the Punishments Threaten'd to 'em being apprehended by most Sinners to be at a great distance they are therefore generally prevailing and Men for that Reason do venture to Transgress the Laws of God a Thing of worse Consequence than the Violation of Humane Ordinances and therefore it is no other than what can be expected from the Justice and Wisdom of the supreme Governour of the World to inflict such infinite and eternal Punishments In short Divine Vengeance as well as Humane must be such as will Over-balance the Reasons and Motives to Sin And the Pleasures and Profits of Sin being present and the Divine Punishments not taking place but in another World according to the Fundamental Rules and Reasons of Government they must be Infinite and Eternal and all little enough or otherwise they will not be sufficient to secure our Obedience to the Laws of Heaven So that there is no Strength in this Argument of Sinful Men against the Justice of Eternal Torments in the behalf of their Lusts whereby they would perswade you as well as themselves into a most dangerous Security and with-draw you from or slacken you in your Duty Secondly Nor are the Duties of our Religion hard Sayings which no Man can bear II. That the Duties of Religion are hard Sayings which no man can bear as they will likewise plead All the Duties enjoin'd us in the Gospel respect either God our Neighbour or our Selves Those to God as we find 'em laid down in pure and undefiled Christianity undefiled I say with the Inventions of Men are no superstitious senseless and uncouth Observances so much the matter of all other Worships besides the Christian but are all of 'em indeed a most reasonable Service Those which respect our Neighbour are no other than Acts of Justice Peace and Charity the contrary of which would destroy Humane Society or make us Beasts of Prey one to another And as to those Duties we owe to our selves why they are no other than that we should truly and justly Value our selves neither overmuch by Pride nor too little by letting base Lusts to reign over us or the inferiour Part of our Nature to Domineer it over our Reason and Understanding the Superiour and in all Equity the governing Part of us And what is there hard in all this that we should Quarrel with our Duty except we count it hard that God who has made us reasonable Creatures would not suffer us to Transform our selves into unreasonable Brutes Thirdly And this is a sufficient Answer also to that other Pleading of sinful Men That they are made of Flesh and Blood and therefore sure God will not require Men upon the Forfeiture of Salvation if they do not to Mortify the Flesh III. That they are made of Flesh and Blood and that therefore sure God will not require Men upon the Forfeiture of Salvation if they do not to mortify the Flesh For these Men who Plead thus ought to consider that they consist of Soul and Spirit as well as of Flesh and Blood and as the Soul is Superiour and the Governing Part within us So it is highly Reasonable it should have the Obedience of the Other And this is all the Mortification which Religion puts the Flesh to It would keep it in Subjection to the Dictates of right Reason and that is all And tho' this Mortification of the Flesh is to be exercis'd by Imposing some Severities sometimes upon the Body as by Fasting and Watching c. Yet this is no more to be complain'd of than that Refractory Children and Servants and Subjects must be sometimes kept up under Discipline as there shall be occasion Nay but Lastly say these Men God has set us in a World full of Temptations and abounding with sensual Delights and Pleasures and he therefore who has Plac'd us in it sure will not Command us upon Pain of Damnation to Overcome those strong Temptations and to Deny these Pleasures of the World Lastly that God has set us in a World full of Temptations and abounding with sensual Delights and Pleasures and that he therefore who has placed us in it will not command us upon Pain of Damnation to over-come those
for his Self-denial in refusing such Worldly Honours and Pleasures chose rather to be one of those mean Persecuted People the Children of Israel By Faith thousands of Blessed Saints before us endured tryals of cruel Mockings and Scourgings yea moreover of Bonds and Imprisonments they were Stoned they were Sawn asunder were Tempted were Slain with the Sword they wandred about in Sheep-skins and in Goat-skins being destitute afflicted tormented of whom the world was not worthy they wandred in Desarts and in Mountains and in Dens and in Caves of the Earth Heb. 11.35 36 37 38. They were terrible Sufferings which the Servants of God in former times have been put to undergo but as dreadful as they were being supported with a firm belief that they should be infinitely recompenced for their Sufferings and Losses they thereupon cheerfully underwent the severest that the Wit or Malice of Men or Devils could invent or inflict upon ' em Such a powerful practical working Faith indeed was that for which the Holy Patriarchs and Saints were of Old renowned and are now rewarded in Heaven A Faith I say which excited them to the highest and hardest Acts of Obedience that it was possible for Men to perform And such a Powerful Practical Active and Working Principle is Faith whensoever the things Believed are of great Importance or Concernment to us And such an Operative and Practical Principle is Faith whenever the Things believed are of great Importance or Concernment to us Some things indeed as an Excellent Person does well observe are of such a Nature that the Belief or Knowledge of 'em goes no farther but rests in it self as the Knowledge or Belief of bare Speculative Truths that do not at all Concern us but some things again are of such a Nature as being once firmly and truly believed and known carry a Man out to action Thus for Example If you should hear another threaten'd that he should certainly be Kill'd if he stir out of his House to morrow it would not hinder you from going Abroad tho' you firmly believe the threatning because it is a truth in which you are not Concern'd But the Person so threatned if he does throughly believe the danger will certainly not stir out of his House that day because it is a Truth that he is very much Concerned in On the other side If you should hear of a Promise made to another Person of a Thousand Pound if he will be at the Pains to go but to such a place it will not make you go there because it is a Promise that you are not Concerned in but the other Person if he be certainly perswaded the Promise will be made good to him will certainly go to the appointed place because it is a Promise that he is Concerned in And so likewise as to the case in hand That a sure Promise of the Pardon of our Sins and Eternal Happiness is made over to us in the Second Covenant on condition we will forsake the Service of Satan and of Sin that we will Repent heartily Believe practically and Obey sincerely is a Truth that the Devils to their great grief are fully perswaded of for they believe and tremble St. James tells us But this Faith of theirs does not put them upon Repentance and Amendment because those gracious Promises do not Concern them and they have no Promise of Salvation tho' they should Repent and Amend But as to us whom they do Concern and to whom they are made if we are really perswaded that if we amend we shall be certainly Saved we shall immediately upon such perswasion seriously Repent of what has been done amiss heretofore and take care to Obey God for the future for every Man that hath this Hope in God purifieth himself even as he is pure 1 Joh. 3.3 In short the Articles of our Christian Faith are every one of 'em so many Motives and those the most powerful ones in the World to stir us up to a diligent Reformation of our Hearts and Lives They are in themselves the most obliging Arguments to it and with respect to us they are the most Concerning and Important Truths that can be containing in the meaning of 'em either Threatnings to scare us out of Sin or Promises to allure us to Obedience Either such considerations as are apt to excite our fears when we are in a course of Impiety or are Grounds whereon we may build the vastest hopes in the Performance of our Duty And if any one does not live accordingly a Godly Righteous and a Sober Life I dare be bold to say it is owing to some spice of Infidelity lurking in his heart whereby he is not throughly perswaded of or does not actually consider these Truths But he that does throughly Believe and Consider them can hardly fail of being a good Liver Thus necessary you see it is that our Belief of all the Articles of our Christian Faith be such as does Influence us to good Works And then after all 2. It must be a Belief that causes us to betake our selves to Jesus Christ to Interceed with God the Father for their Gracious Acceptance 2. To Believe savingly we must apply our selves to Jesus Christ to interceed with God the Father for our Gracious Acceptance This I have formerly in the beginning of my Exposition insisted upon yet such is the growing Infidelity of the World with respect to this which is the most Essential part of Christian Faith that it would not be unseasonable should I again shew you that we must depend upon the Mediation of Christ with the Father for us that our imperfect Righteousness may be graciously accepted to our Justification This is that Act of Faith which is called in Scripture Believing in Christ and to such a Believing as this it is that our Justification is Attributed by St. Paul Gal. 2.16 Know this that a Man is not Justified by the Works of the Law but by the Faith of Jesus Christ even we have Believed in Jesus Christ that we might be Justify'd by the Faith of Christ and not by the Works of the Law for by the Works of the Law shall no flesh be Justify'd And as this Act of Faith the Relying upon God's Mercies in Christ does wonderfully exalt the Divine Justice and Mercy so it leaves no place to the Creature to Attribute any part of its Happiness to it self but does utterly exclude all occasions of Boasting God hath set forth Jesus Christ his Son to be a Propitiation through Faith in his blood to declare his Righteousness for the Remission of Sins that are past through the forbearance of God Where is Boasting then it is excluded By what Law of Works nay but by the Law of Faith Rom. 2.25 27. So that it is not enough that we Believe punctually but it is moreover necessary that we rely also on God's Mercies in Christ that our imperfect Holiness may be accepted or otherwise even our Assent to all the
the Apostles Creed does but in these Creeds many Articles of our Christian Faith are express'd in the full Sense and Importance of 'em in opposition to those Heresies which did and do still pervert or restrain the Meaning of those Articles And thus you also see how you are to Believe All the Articles of your Christian Faith that you are not only to Believe every one of 'em but all that Divine Truth which is contained in each And so as I have before laid before you how you are to Renounce the Devil the World and the Flesh so now what it is to Believe all the Articles of your Christian Faith And so it only remains and then I shall have fully Explain'd to you all the Conditions of the Covenant of Grace that I shew you next what it is to obey God's Holy Will and Commandments and to walk in the same all the days of our Life THE XXIII Lecture Thirdly That I should Obey God's Holy Will and Commandments and Walk in the same all the Days of my Life I Hope I have sufficiently explained unto you the Two first Conditions bound upon you in your Baptismal Covenant as indispensibly necessary to your obtaining the Benefits of it which Conditions are First That you should Renounce the Devil c. Secondly That you should Believe c. And now I come to the Third which is That you should Obey c. And that I may fully and to the purpose explain this to you I will First Lay before you what it is to Obey God's Holy Will and Commandments or how far you must be obedient to the Holy Will and Commandments of God as ever you will hope to obtain Salvation or to be Inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven Secondly I will shew you what it is to Walk in the same all the Days of your Life or how long you must persevere in such Obedience which must be to the end of your Lives And Thirdly I will clear the Doctrine of Evangelical Obedience as so stated from those Doubts that may be raised against it And First Because nothing can be more necessary for you to be Instructed in than the Measures of that Obedience now under the Gospel or Covenant of Grace upon the performance of less than which you cannot expect to be made Inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven I will with what clearness I can shew you How far we must be Obedient to God's Holy Will and Commandments 1. What it is to obey God's Holy Will and Commandments as ever we 'll hope to obtain Salvation or to be Inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven And that Evangelical or Gospel-Obedience which now under the Covenant of Grace is the indispensible Condition of Man's Salvation to give it you according as it is most exactly stated by the Learned Author of The Measures of Christian Obedience The Nature and Measures of Christian Obedience for it is impossible I do think for any one to do it more exactly therefore I shall give you an Abstract of that whole Work Is a sincere and entire Obedience to all the Laws of the Gospel Sincere it must be by being a true and undissembled Service of God opposite to all Hypocrisie or a false and feigned Pretence of obeying Him when in reality we only serve our own Selves or our own Lusts and Interests Entire it must be by being the Obedience of the whole Man to the whole Will of God and that at all times with this abatement of Rigour That all our unwilling and involuntary Failings which through Ignorance and Frailty we commit shall upon our Prayers to God and Charity to our Neighbour be forgiven us and even our wilful Transgressions when we repent and forsake 'em through the Mediation of Christ and the Grace of the Gospel shall not be imputed to our Condemnation Such is the Obedience which every one of you must carefully pay to the Holy Will and Commandments of God as ever you hope to be Inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven But for your better understanding the Nature and Extent of your Christian Obedience I will a little farther unfold each Part of this Description of it And I. Our Obedience to all the Laws of the Gospel must be sincere by being a true and undissembled Service of God opposite to all Hypocrisie or a false and feigned Pretence of obeying Him when in reality we only serve our own selves 1st Our Obedience must be sincere by being a true and undissembled Service of God opposite to all Hypocrisie or a false and feigned Pretence of obeying Him when in truth we serve our own selves This is a certain Truth That our Gracious God for the most part hath made such Things the Matter of His Laws and of our Duty as really make for our own Interest Reputation or Profit to perform for so it really is to be Temperate and Chaste and Contented and Humble to be Vpright and Charitable and Peaceable c. But then our Obedience is sincere and done as unto God when we observe His Laws for His sake and because He commands it for otherwise we do not observe God's Will but our own His Commands had no share in what we did because it had been done although He had said nothing And thus sincere must our Obedience be unto God as ever we expect that God should Judge us at the last Day to have obeyed Him I say it must be done as unto God and sincerely from our Hearts to please Him and not only our selves And this is plainly expressed in the very Words of the Gospel for it accepts not an heartless Service nor accounts it self obeyed by what was never intended for it The Lord thy God requires of thee to serve him with all thy Heart and with all thy Soul Matth. 22.36 37. And therefore St. Paul does pray that the Philippians may be sincere in their Profession being filled with the Fruits of Righteousness or Good Works to the Praise and Glory of God not themselves Phil. 1.10 11. God indeed has not forbidden us all intending and designing of our own Advantage in the performance of his Commandments God does not forbid us all intending our Advantage in the performance of his Commandments When He requires us to obey Him He doth not forbid us all Love of our Selves and Regard to our own Self-interests For why He does propose to us in Scripture the greatest Rewards possible as Motives to us to persuade us to obey And the Blessed Saints in the Scripture so Eminent for their Service to God are said to have had an eye at the Recompense of Reward But then our Intention of our own Advantage in God's Service is forbidden and renders our obedient Performances corrupt and insincere when together with our Intention of serving God we either join first another Intention of serving Sin Or secondly when we design some temporal Ends as much or more than we design God's Service First I
or none at all which is the sence of the Hebrew Phrase So that the Obedience upon which alone we must expect to be Inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven must be a Faithful and Entire Obedience to all the Laws and Commands of the Gospel Thus we must Obey all God's Holy Will and Commandments which brings me III. To my general Proposal which was to shew you What it is to Walk in the same all the Days of our Lives 3dly What it is to Walk in the same all the Days of our Lives we must continue in such a Sincere and Entire Obedience even to the End of our Lives We must not think to please God by an Obedience that comes and goes by Fits or by serving him only at such times as we are in Humour and have no Temptation to the contrary but our Service of Him must be Constant and Vniform we must obey Him in all things and wilfully transgress in none Some indeed there are who parcel out their Time and divide it betwixt God and their Sins they observe a constant course of Transgressing and Repenting of Sin and Sorrow for they are always won when they are tempted and they are always sorrowful when they have done And others there are who wholly fall off at last and sin against God for altogether But now as for such a broken Service as this is God will by no means accept of it For when Christ comes to Judgment God will not endure a constant Revolution of Sin and Repentance he will pass Sentence upon Men according to what they are then and not according to what they have been formerly If the righteous Man turn away from his Righteousness and commit Iniquity and do according to all that the wicked Man doth Shall he live No by no means For all his Righteousness that he hath done formerly shall not be mentioned but in his Trespass that he hath since trespassed and in his Sin that he hath since sinned in them shall he die Ezek. 18.24 And it is they which by patient continuing in Well-doing seek for Glory and Immortality that shall inherit eternal Life Rom. 2.6 7. But as for all those who fall off from a good Course and turn Apostates from Obedience their Case is desperate and their Condition extreamly damnable For if after Men have once escaped the Pollution of the World through the Knowledge of Christ's Gospel they are again entangled therein and overcome then is the latter End worse with them than the Beginning 2 Pet. 2.20 So that the Obedience which God will accept and which will render us Inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven must be as of our whole Man and to all the Laws of the Gospel so it must be perform'd to 'em at all times We must persevere in it through all Seasons and take care both to live and die in it for our Reward will be dispenced unto us according to the nature of our Service at the time of Payment and he only as our Saviour says that endureth to the End shall be saved Matth. 10.22 And thus I have shew'd you first What it is to Obey God's Holy Will and Commandments or how far you must be Obedient to the Holy Will and Commandments of God as ever you will hope to obtain Salvation or to be Inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven And secondly I have also shewed you What it is to Walk in the same all the Days of your Life or how long you must persevere in such Obedience even to the End of your Lives In short I have also shewed you That the Obedience which is the Condition of our Salvation even now under the Gospel must be a Sincere and Entire Observance of all the Laws of Christianity Sincere it must be as I have shewed you by being a true and undissembled Service opposite to all Hypocrisie or a false and feigned Pretence of Obeying him when in reality we only serve our own selves our own Lusts and Interests And Entire it must be by being the Obedience of the whole Man to the whole Law and not for some short but for our whole Time and to the End of our Lives Object But here it will be demanded That if this be that Obedience which now under the Gospel or Covenant of Grace is required as the indispensible Condition of our being made Inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven wherein lies the difference between this and the First Covenant or Covenant of Works which Christ came to purchase our Freedom from and to establish this in its room The Condition of the First as I have told you was no less than a Perfect Exact Unsinning Obedience the never offending in any one Point and if our Obedience now must be so Sincere and Entire an Obedience of the Whole Man to all the Laws of the Gospel and this to be performed at all times as has been now described wherein does this come short you 'll say of that Perfect Obedience required of us in our State of Innocency or that Legal Obedience required under the Covenant of Works And now therefore to clear the Doctrine of Evangelical Obedience Answ The difference between Evangelical and a Legal Obedience as thus stated from any such Doubt as if there were no difference betwixt the Covenants in matter of Rigour I shall shew that there is a very material Difference and such as makes this we are now under deservedly be styled a Covenant of Grace And the difference is this That whereas under the First the Obedience was to be so perfect that there was no Mercy upon the least Transgression but the Offender became immediately liable to the threatned Punishment Now under the Second as Sincere and Entire as our Obedience must be yet no more is required at our hands than what by God's Grace and our own honest Endeavours we shall be enabled to perform And therefore since the Weakness of our Nature is such that we cannot continue in an unsinning Obedience though all our wilful and chosen Sins indeed if persisted in will still put a Barr to our Salvation yet all our Unavoidable Infirmities and Involuntary Transgressions shall be constantly forgiven us and even our Wilful and more Heinous Sins when by Repentance we bewail and forsake 'em and take better care to Avoid 'em for the future they also through the Mediation of Christ according to the Terms he has obtained for us in the Covenant of Grace shall be forgiven us and not prejudice our being Inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven True it is the difference betwixt the Covenant of Works and the Covenant of Grace is not so great but our Wilful Chosen Sins if still persisted in will put a Barr to our Salvation This difference not so great but that our wilful and chosen Sins will put a Barr to our Salvation A wilful Sin is when we see and consider of the Sinfulness of any Action which we are tempted to and after
Malice against it pag. 108 So that for the first 300 Years we hear of nothing but of bloody Persecutions The Emperors of Rome the Instruments but Satan the Instigator And wheresoever any Attempt is made to Convert a Country from Paganism he does instigate the Princes and People thereof to Persecute and Destroy the Preachers of the Gospel And he is no less Industrious to drive Christianity out of those Countries whereof it had once Possession And he has an Anti-Christian Party within the Bowels of Christendom most sadly weakening Christ's and most effectually promoting the Interest of his own Kingdom pag. 109 And now all Christians are so far to Renounce Satan with respect to those his persecuting Temptations as to submit to the sorest Sufferings which Satan and his wicked Instruments can inflict rather than deny Christ or his Truths Secondly When those bloody Methods fail Satan then does endeavour so to corrupt Mens Notions of God and Religion that by their very Christianity they may dishonour him pag. 110 This Politick Methods of his discover'd to us under the Parable of a malicious Enemy coming privately in the Night and sowing Tares where the Husbandman had before sowed good Seed Like a skilful Husbandman he is choice about the Nature of the Seed the Temper and Preparedness of the Soil the Fitness of the Season and the Skilfulness of the Seeds-man First As to the Nature of the Seed he takes care his Heretical Opinions and Practices should bear some Resemblance of Divine Truth in order to conceal their Discovery Thus especially he Gilds his Errors where the Light of the Gospel does most clearly shine as here First When under the plausible Appearance of Advancing God's Honour in some of his Attributes he renders him odious and despis'd in Others pag. 111 Secondly When under the Colour of Advancing Gospel-Truths he propagates Heresies which do undermine Religion and the Necessity of a holy Life Thirdly When he teaches to prefer some eminent Christian Duty or some part of a Duty or one Way of performing a Duty to the Disparagement of another As to prefer Prayer to the neglect of Preaching or Sermons to the contempt of Prayer As also Praying in Spirit to the regard of Bodily Worship And Extemporary Prayer to the utter Contempt of Forms of Prayer pag. 112 By this latter Means Satan has utterly Defeated those excellent Helps we have in our Church and brought in a great Neglect of Publick Family and private Devotion pag. 113 Secondly As to the Temper and Preparation of the Soil in Churches where the Scriptures are Lockt up and Ignorance prevails he imposes the grossest Heresies as Articles of Faith Especially he introduces Idolatry and Superstition whereby he is most immediately and directly serv'd Thirdly As to the fitness of the Season he is dexterous in Accommodating his Counsels his Actions and his manner of Acting to such Seasons as are most proper to his Purpose of seducing Mankind pag. 114 Hence in dark and ignorant Ages nothing so common as the Apparitions of Saints as was Pretended to introduce the Belief of Purgatory Image-worship and the like Superstitions And in Learn'd and Philosophical Ages he is as shy in appearing lest she should destroy the prevailing Sadducism Fourthly As to the Skilfulness of the Seeds-man Satan is wonderfully Cunning in making choice of fit and proper Instruments and in furnishing those with the proper Arts of Deceiving and with suitable Qualities whom he employs to sow the Seed of corrupt Doctrine in the Souls of Men. pag. 115 Such as place all Religion in Morality shall be adorned with Humanity Such as turn it all into Mystery shall be Gifted with Canting pag. 116 And yet sometimes the Crooked Serpent by Men seeming Godly will propagate Principles extreamly Immoral The most difficult Part of a Christian's Warfare is to preserve One self untainted with Heretical Pravity colour'd over with the Varnish of Gospel-Truth But yet by Trying it by proper Rules it may be done viz. First By its Tendency to an ill Life Secondly By its taking off from our Dependance upon the Mediation of Christ for the Acceptance of a good One pag. 117 LECT XII Thirdly Satan's great Industry is to gain over to his Party or to Tempt to some scandalous Enormity such Persons as are more than ordinarily Eminent for their Rank their Order or their Piety in the Church First Such as are most Eminent for their Station or Quality pag. 119 Such Men's Wickedness not altogether from the Temptingness of Riches but the Industry of Satan to get over such leading Men to his Party Such Men's Examples if bad of malignant Influence because Conspicuous And will bring upon 'em the Guilt not only of their own but of other Men's Sins because Their Actions have the force of a Precept as well as of a Pattern which Inferiors are afraid to shew their dislike of pag. 120 Great Men therefore must of all others Renounce the Temptations of Satan Secondly Such as are most Eminent on the account of their Order viz. the Ministers of Religion He is doubly Enrag'd against such both because in the Nature and Design of their Office they are to destroy his Kingdom and because the rest of the World do altogether Eye them for their Pattern Hence no Temptation left untried to withdraw such into some scandalous Enormity pag. 121 And hence the more Industrious a Minister is the more Industrious is Satan to overcome him And in the very way wherein he is most serviceable to the Church of God Satan does endeavour to make him most Mischievous As by turning his Zeal into Faction His spiritual Mindedness into Enthusiasm If he cannot prevail over him by real Miscarriages he will render him useless by forged Calumnies pag. 122 It wonderfully concerns the Interest of Religion that the Reputation of its Ministers be kept unsullied Hence Satan and Satanical Men so Industrious to blast it And slanderous Reports lessen the Authority and Influence of the Clergy almost as much as real Sin pag. 123 It behoves the Clergy therefore so far to Renounce and Resist the Devil's Temptations as to take care not only to be really Blameless but also to abstain from all appearance of Evil. Thirdly Such as are signal for their extraordinary Piety and Vertue Good Men the Devil knows will be scandaliz'd at such a One's Fall And the Atheistical will triumph therein And withal the lapst Person will be rendered almost incapable ever after of Converting others by his Example or Exhortations pag. 124 Against this Bulwark of Religion therefore the Devil draws up all his Artillery The Pride and Pains he takes in overcoming such a One represented in a Parable pag. 125 The more Exemplarily Pious therefore any Man is the more it concerns him to beware of the Devil and all his Temptations pag. 126 LECT XIII Lastly what Temptations Satan levels against all Persons indifferently consider'd The Devil's Temptations not easily known to be his nor
of Riches Men do run themselves into many grievous Sins As also into many miserable Snares so as to be hardly ever able to disentangle themselves out of ' em For as Restitution is necessary to Peace with God so it is extreamly difficult to be willing or able afterwards to make pag. 146 Secondly And no less Temptations are those subject to who do possess ' em In the Possession of Riches Men are Tempted to the highest Offences against God their Neighbour and Themselves But lastly the great Sins of all are occasion'd by a Lothness to part with and a Fear of losing ' em pag. 147 From a lothness to part with Riches arises Unmercifulness to Men. From the Fear of losing 'em Apostacy from God In what sence and how far Riches are to be Renounced pag. 148 In General being they are not Evil in themselves they are in Cases only to be Renounced by us wherein we cannot without Sin Pursue Possess or Retain them As First Riches consider'd in the Getting no Man must so put his Heart upon 'em as to Esteem 'em his chiefest Good and Happiness Nor must he labour after 'em with immoderate Care so as to neglect the great Duties of Religion and Devotion Especially he must beware of Enriching himself by unjust Means pag. 149 Particularly not by Sacriledge Whoever has unjustly gain'd any thing must renounce it by making Restitution thereof Secondly Riches consider'd in the Possession are to be renounced by paring off those Superfluities which tempt Idleness and Luxury Pride and Insolence and an Idolatrous Trust in Riches and by bestowing it to Pious and Charitable Uses pag. 150 And Lastly By suffering the Loss thereof rather than Apostatize from the Faith pag. 152 LECT XV. What is meant by the Honours of this World and in what Sence and how far they are to be Renounced What is meant by Honour properly and strictly What in the general Meaning of the word pag. 153 First Nobility or Gentility The original Nature of Nobility or Gentility The Abuses it is subject to and in what Instances to be renounced First A Gentleman be he of what Rank or Quality soever must utterly renounce all that Honour which pretends to Place him above the Laws of God or Man and beyond Reproof or Punishment when he has Violated either pag. 154 Such a One is bound above others to be a strict and orderly Liver and upon his Failure is more open to Reproof and more liable to be severely Punished Secondly As also that which exalts Persons above their Brethren to that degree as to despise and oppress the rest of Mankind as if they were but a lower Rank of Creatures and had not the same God to their Father Bodies Form'd out of the same Clay and Souls as Excellent in their Natures and as capable of Improvements as precious in God's sight and as much the Heirs of Heaven as their own pag. 155 Thirdly Such ought even to Renounce all Pretensions to Honour who have degenerated from those worthy Qualities which Ennobled their Ancestors pag. 156 This the Determination of our Saviour and his Apostles in their Case Lastly And such ought to Renounce all Pretensions to Honour amongst Christians at least-wise who despise Religion and its chiefest Vertues as Qualities beneath ' em But if such are accounted Honourable by vain Men they are Despicable in the Eyes both of God and of all Wise and Good Men. pag. 157 The Summ how far Paternal Honour is to be Renounced Secondly In what Sence and how far Civil Honour is to be Renounced whether the Favour of Princes or the Effects of their Favour Posts of Honour pag. 158 These kind of Honours and outward Glories are dazling and bewitching Things But First A Prince's Favour tho' extreamly Valuable when it can be had without Sin yet no Man must gain possess or retain it by wicked Arts or sinful Compliances Nor Secondly the Effects of their Favours high Places and Titles of Honour First In the obtaining of these no Man must grasp at that which is above his Capacities and Abilities to manage to the Publick Good pag. 159 This Mischievous to the State This Mischievous to the Church Nor Secondly ought Persons of the best Capacities and greatest Abilities be over-eager and importunate in their Suits and Applications to those who bestow them pag. 160 Thirdly How far and in what Sence that Honour which consists in the high Esteem and Reputation of the wise and vertuous part of Mankind is to be Renounc'd This is what the Wise Man calls a Good Name and is more Valuable than Riches or precious Ointments pag. 161 It is a more peculiar Blessing than any the greatest Treasures and procures better Security to our Persons and Estates It is a necessary Qualification to the Episcopal Promotion It is Comfortable to a Man 's own self pag. 162 And smells Sweet in the World It renders a Person capable of doing Good in it And active in Promoting it A desire of Reputation and Credit is a thing Implanted in our Natures by God And to preserve a Reputation untainted and unsuspected of Evil is a Duty enjoin'd us by his Laws pag. 163 Nevertheless even a Good Name is in some measure to be Renounced by us and the Temptations it gives us As First we must so far Renounce the Honour that shall accrue to us from our good Works as not to make our own Glory the End and Reason of any Good we do pag. 164 Secondly We must not affect but renounce those Praises which are above our Deserts Thirdly We must beware of taking the Honour and Respects given us for any worthy Performances wholly to our selves and of not transferring it to God to whom the Glory of all that is Good in us does properly belong pag. 165 Fourthly We must abhor making a Reputation for Religion an Instrument only to our own Advancement But must use the Authority our Credit gives us to discountenance Vice and to encourage Vertue in the World pag. 166 Fifthly As valuable as is a Good Name and Reputation amongst Men we must renounce all undue Means of preserving it Such are Duelling upon the account of Slanders amongst the great Ones Going to Law thereupon usual amongst common People Lastly We must utterly renounce and forfeit the Esteem of Men rather than incur the Dis-favour of God pag. 167 Fourthly How far that Honour is to be renounced which consists in the Applauses of the Vulgar upon what they do account Praise-worthy and Honourable pag. 168 This sort of Honour must be utterly and absolutely renounced Lastly In what Sence and how far we must renounce those outward Expressions of Respect either by Word or Deed which are usually given upon the account of any of the foremention'd Honours pag. 169 First No Created Being either Men or Angels must suffer those Respects to be given them whether by word or deed which are proper and peculiar to signify our sence of God's Majesty
possible Care to avoid it pag. 201 But Thirdly when Employment and necessary Occasions draw Men forth into the World they must refuse to Conform themselves to the Manners of ill Company First By discountenancing their Profaneness and Riot Secondly By diverting 'em by useful Discourse from both Thirdly If all Methods fail by openly Reproving them To do this Service to God we are particularly Listed in our Baptism We shall be much discouraged from this by Men. But have infinite Encouragements to such Fidelity from God pag. 202 LECT XVIII Thirdly Flattery a great Temptation to Sin The Ground thereof our own immoderate Self-love pag. 204 This Flattery keeping Men ignorant of the good or ill Qualities in 'em thereupon the Good never come to Perfection And the Ill that is in Men does thereby grow Incorrigible pag. 205 First In order to Renounce Flattery we must Cashier every vain Opinion of our own selves Secondly We must so far Renounce the Flatteries of Men as to take it kindly to be Reproved pag. 206 Especially the Reproofs of God's Ministers are to be kindly received and regarded Fourthly Wicked Men Tempt others to Sin by their false and fallacious Arguings against the Necessity of a Holy Life pag. 207 All which wicked Reasonings we must fortifie our selves against as when they Plead First That it is inconsistent with God's Mercy for the Sins of a short Life to Condemn the Guilty to an Eternity of Woe and Misery pag. 208 Secondly That the Duties of Religion are hard Sayings which no Man can bear Thirdly That they are made of Flesh and Blood and that therefore sure God will not require Men upon the Forfeiture of Salvation if they do not to mortifie the Flesh Lastly That God has set us in a World full of Temptations and abounding with sensual Delights and Pleasures and that he therefore who has placed us in it will not command us upon Pain of Damnation to over-come those strong Temptations and to deny these Pleasures of the World Fifthly Wicked Men will add Kindnesses and Promises to Oblige us to do ill Things and on the contrary will much discourage us nay sometimes Threaten us to forbear our Duty pag. 210 211 First Kindnesses must not corrupt us to Sin Secondly Promises must not bribe us Thirdly Discouragements must not hinder us from discharging our Duty Nor Fourthly must Threatnings or Frowns fright us from it pag. 212 Lastly The evil Customs which have prevailed in the World are a powerful Temptation to Sin Custom takes off the Sence and Fear of Hurt in the most Vnchristian Practices pag. 213 A Christian must courageously and vigorously renounce and withstand the Force of all sinful Customs whatsoever Such only as are Immoral are to be Renounced pag. 214 The greatest Courage required to this Part of a Christian's Warfare Cowardice the Cause of Complying with the Custom of Duelling or any other Custom of Sinning pag. 215 LECT XIX First Thereby were anciently meant those pompous Spectacles Plays and Scenical Representations exhibited in the Roman Theaters pag. 217 Our Modern Plays no less Inferior to 'em in Impiety than in Pompousness And having such a malignant Influence upon Faith and Manners ought never to be frequented by Christians pag. 218 Secondly By Pomps in the sence of the Ancients were meant the solemn Processions of the Heathens in Honour of their Gods The Idolatrous Processions of the Papists in the honour of the Saints answerable to these And must not therefore be joined in Thirdly By Pomps Reduâ—ely may be meant the Revels and Drunken Riots of our Youth at Wakes and Festivals pag. 219 â—o be Abstain'd from Vanity of the World What First When Perrous outgo their Ability 〈◊〉 Building and Furniture pag. 220 â—dly It appears in striving for Precedence Thirdly In affecting Titles above ones Quaâ— and to be esteem'd Vertuous above ones Desert IV. In the vain Affectation of costly Apâ—el and Ornaments As First When Persons exceed what becomes their Rank and Degree 〈◊〉 â—hat they wear Secondly When they are proud of their Ornaments Thirdly When they â—orn themselves to undue Ends and Purposes pag. 221 222 〈◊〉 When they spend too much Time and at unfitting Seasons therein Decency according to â—t is suitable to Age Sex or Quality the Rule in this Case pag. 223 LECT XX. â—ow our selves especially our natural Imperfection a most useful part of Knowledge pag. 225 â—lesh variously exprest What is meant by the Flesh 1. The whole Vnregenerate Nature of Man 〈◊〉 and Body 2. The whole Man not as created by God but as he is now in the State of Corâ—ted Nature 3. As spoiled in his Original Frame and Constitution as despoiled of the Image 〈◊〉 God and as inordinately tending towards the Creature pag. 226 â—riginal Frame and Constitution of Humane Nature what The Image of God wherein Man 〈◊〉 at first created what pag. 227 â—ent and Inclination of the Soul towards God what 1. In the Vnregenerate Nature the Oriâ—al Frame and Constitution of Man wherein he was created is broken pag. 228 â—e Image of God wherein he was first created defaced Lastly the Tendency of all the Faculâ— both of Soul and Body are towards the Creature pag. 229 〈◊〉 renounce the Flesh is to be renewed in the whole Frame and Constitution of our Nature after 〈◊〉 Image of God The Image of God must be restored as far as it can in this Corrupt State 〈◊〉 must be renewed to a perfection of Parts tho not of Degrees pag. 230 〈◊〉 renounce the Flesh is to be converted in the whole Bent and Inclination of the Soul towards God pag. 231 LECT XXI â—inful Lusts of the Flesh what pag. 232 â—inful Lusts of the Fleshly Mind what 1. When we are curious to know Things which are either â—rtful to be known Or not proper for Man to know pag. 253 â—hen we do immoderately study to be exquisitely skilled in whatever Humane Arts and Sciences the neglect or contempt of Divine Knowledge The Knowledge of our Christian Religion as it â—ves to nobler purposes so ought it to be preferred to any other pag. 234 Necessary Points of Christian Knowledge 3. When out of Pride Prejudice and Contradiction 〈◊〉 all sacred Truths we set up our own carnal Imaginations and fleshly Reasonings against those â—iritual Notions and those Mysterious Articles of our Faith which are delivered to us in Scripture pag. 235 〈◊〉 Humour of opposing Reason to Revelation proceeds from mere Pride This corrupt Will what â—d how to be renounced pag. 236 â—he Affections what and how to be renounced pag. 437 As they are misplaced upon wrong Objects 2. As they are disproportionate to the Love Worth â—nd Evil that is in those Objects towards which it is lawful to be well or evilly affected in moderate â—egrees 3. The Lusts and Appetites are such sinful Lusts of the Flesh as are to be renounced pag. 238 As they do desire undue Objects 2. As they desire them in immoderate Measures Lastly the